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evief_'s review
3.0
pretty much just an average fantasy. i got a little bored but if you like worldbuilding go for it!!
marieintheraw's review
4.0
I will be honest, it took me quite a bit of time to finish this one up. This mostly boiled down to this book deserving a bit of extra focus due to the fantasy elements interwoven in.
I received an ecopy of this book through Netgalley; however, my opinions are my own.
I received an ecopy of this book through Netgalley; however, my opinions are my own.
theeuphoriczat's review
4.0
"Death had stripped away even the most rigid societal restraints, leaving my family desperately grasping for the things they'd cared about in their former lives."
"...the outside world's beauty was only exceeded by its venom and cruelty"
I finished this book in under 3 hours, I was so captivated by the story. Set in an Imperial Russian inspired country currently ravaged by war (called the Kosa Empire). A supposed democratic revolution funded by the powerful elites threatens to tear the country apart, after they have successful dethroned the royal family and the Tsar has gone missing and suspected dead.
At the edge of country lives Toma and her adopted family. But her family is different and made up of the undead. They are being kept alive by magic and Toma is seen throughout the book sewing and ensuring that their decaying body parts remain intact. This is where we are introduced to the different types of undead, the magic that keeps them alive and the power & magic structure of the society.
I am trying not to spoil too much of the magic structure because it is one that you need to read and be in awe of. At the start of the book, we see Toma save a young man who turns out to be Tsar Mikhail, the rightful emperor. While she is tending to his wounds her undead sister is kidnapped by the revolutionary leader Koschei and she decides to go on a journey to find her sister.
This takes them on a journey that involves monster fighting, train-hopping, circus acts, death, kidnapping, friendship, loyalty, magic, devotion and love. The characters are so well written, i loved how the author wrote the Toma's naivety, especially since she has not been around the living in such a long time. You can see that in the way she relates with Mikhail and Vanya and the other cast of characters they meet and seek help from in the course of their journey. I love her relationships with Vanya, it was dark, gory, and in no better word to describe it, faithful.
There is a part in the book where she is trying to thread her needle so that she can sew a dismembered body part and her tears well up and her vision goes blurry, I can tell you I felt that into my soul.
I really found the glossary at the back to be really helpful, but I would have loved if we got a bit more discussion around the undead, especially the difference between the different types. I would have loved some on page action as that would have helped my understanding with the war in general. I have to be honest, while I was readying the book, I was too focused on our characters dilemma to notice. There were also certain scenes that I wished the author had drawn out a bit more, unless there is a follow up book which I don't think there is.
Overall, I thought it was solid world building, great magic-political system, well thought out historical context, and well-rounded characters.
Thanks to Pride Book Tours for making this book available to me.
"...the outside world's beauty was only exceeded by its venom and cruelty"
I finished this book in under 3 hours, I was so captivated by the story. Set in an Imperial Russian inspired country currently ravaged by war (called the Kosa Empire). A supposed democratic revolution funded by the powerful elites threatens to tear the country apart, after they have successful dethroned the royal family and the Tsar has gone missing and suspected dead.
At the edge of country lives Toma and her adopted family. But her family is different and made up of the undead. They are being kept alive by magic and Toma is seen throughout the book sewing and ensuring that their decaying body parts remain intact. This is where we are introduced to the different types of undead, the magic that keeps them alive and the power & magic structure of the society.
I am trying not to spoil too much of the magic structure because it is one that you need to read and be in awe of. At the start of the book, we see Toma save a young man who turns out to be Tsar Mikhail, the rightful emperor. While she is tending to his wounds her undead sister is kidnapped by the revolutionary leader Koschei and she decides to go on a journey to find her sister.
This takes them on a journey that involves monster fighting, train-hopping, circus acts, death, kidnapping, friendship, loyalty, magic, devotion and love. The characters are so well written, i loved how the author wrote the Toma's naivety, especially since she has not been around the living in such a long time. You can see that in the way she relates with Mikhail and Vanya and the other cast of characters they meet and seek help from in the course of their journey. I love her relationships with Vanya, it was dark, gory, and in no better word to describe it, faithful.
There is a part in the book where she is trying to thread her needle so that she can sew a dismembered body part and her tears well up and her vision goes blurry, I can tell you I felt that into my soul.
I really found the glossary at the back to be really helpful, but I would have loved if we got a bit more discussion around the undead, especially the difference between the different types. I would have loved some on page action as that would have helped my understanding with the war in general. I have to be honest, while I was readying the book, I was too focused on our characters dilemma to notice. There were also certain scenes that I wished the author had drawn out a bit more, unless there is a follow up book which I don't think there is.
Overall, I thought it was solid world building, great magic-political system, well thought out historical context, and well-rounded characters.
Thanks to Pride Book Tours for making this book available to me.
vaporization's review
4.0
It was all right. There's not really anything to complain about but not really anything spectacular either. I liked the world and all the different elements of folklore that came into it. But I read The City Beautiful first, and I was kind of expecting a bit more. It does make sense that this was written before The City Beautiful, you can kind of tell with the maturity of the writing and themes.
kleonard's review
5.0
I loved this fantasy novel about three young people trying to find the protagonist's unusual sister and end up creating world-shaking changes through magic and love and smart thinking. The world, its magic, and its peoples are well-crafted and deep, full of detail and character. It's easy to get pulled in by the adventure and fast pacing, and the elements of hope and resistance and persistence are part of what makes falling into this story so welcome. I also love the way the character relationships evolve, and how it models a lovely romantic trio of a straight woman, a bi man, and a gay man. I hope there will be more books set in this universe from the author.
mm691984's review
adventurous
dark
emotional
mysterious
sad
tense
slow-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? A mix
- Loveable characters? No
- Diverse cast of characters? No
- Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes
2.5
I wanted so terribly to like this book. It had all good aspects: new world to build, ability to create unique characters, touch of romance, sense of family. However, I felt the author fell shy of being able to make it all come together. It is a story of an orphaned girl who remembers little of her parents during a civil war that is modeled after eastern European, Russian history and folklore. She has lived with adopted parents that are of the undead who had a young daughter also now of the undead. She has a belted embordered scarf that we learn was from her mother and gives her some magically powers that are slowly (and I do mean slowly) fleshed out over the book. I felt the story moved very slow and lost caring about the characters. The main arc is the little undead sister being kidnapped and the MC with the current overthrown Czar by her side seeking her return. It lacked action and sometimes you spent 50 words describing the look of a dead body. not grotesquely but the color of hair, the turn of a cuff, a torn pantleg, etc. Editing could have been better in these parts. The ending is rushed and then rather predictable.
camsyams's review
medium-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? Plot
- Strong character development? Yes
- Loveable characters? Yes
- Flaws of characters a main focus? No
4.5
Really good world building and engaging story — I just kinda hated the ending. I feel like we didn’t get enough time w/ our characters especially in the aftermath of their journey together.
nyanyona's review
adventurous
challenging
emotional
hopeful
fast-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? A mix
- Strong character development? Yes
- Loveable characters? Yes
- Diverse cast of characters? Yes
- Flaws of characters a main focus? It's complicated
5.0