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eliotadrift's review against another edition
adventurous
emotional
mysterious
tense
medium-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? Character
- Strong character development? Yes
- Loveable characters? Yes
- Diverse cast of characters? Yes
- Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes
4.0
Content Warnings
Graphic: Rape and Sexual assault
kenzie_f's review
adventurous
dark
emotional
funny
tense
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? Yes
4.5
Content Warnings
Graphic: Rape
Moderate: Grief, Mental illness, Injury/Injury detail, and Sexual assault
fractaltexan's review
adventurous
emotional
fast-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? Character
- Strong character development? Yes
- Loveable characters? Yes
- Diverse cast of characters? Yes
- Flaws of characters a main focus? It's complicated
4.75
An interesting book. I spent the first few chapters trying to figure out how the magic of this world worked; and the fusion of magic with our world was something I had to take a few minutes to really digest.
Overall, Edwards does a great job at world-building and character building, and provides us a good story that is full of emotion, interesting main characters and some recurring characters, and a world of magic and intrigue. I look forward to Book 2.
Overall, Edwards does a great job at world-building and character building, and provides us a good story that is full of emotion, interesting main characters and some recurring characters, and a world of magic and intrigue. I look forward to Book 2.
Content Warnings
Graphic: Rape, Sexual content, Sexual assault, and Death
xaniya's review
adventurous
emotional
tense
fast-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? Plot
- Strong character development? It's complicated
- Loveable characters? Yes
- Diverse cast of characters? It's complicated
- Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes
4.0
For a book so incredibly dense with action and heavy, deep world building, it felt like glimpsing a city through the window of a bullet train: fast enough for glimpses, rushing from one thing to the next.
I never got bored, but there was so much information and things moving, getting picked up and put down and thrown around, that it's a mystery I ended up finishing this book calmly instead of annoyed by all the loose ends. If anything, Last Sun feels like the longest prologue ever to an action-urban fantasy series.
Still, though fast-paced narrative usually isn't for me, I'm tempted to know what happens next. I like the characters, as quick as I had to be to learn them all (and there are A Lot). Brand is my favorite.
I never got bored, but there was so much information and things moving, getting picked up and put down and thrown around, that it's a mystery I ended up finishing this book calmly instead of annoyed by all the loose ends. If anything, Last Sun feels like the longest prologue ever to an action-urban fantasy series.
Still, though fast-paced narrative usually isn't for me, I'm tempted to know what happens next. I like the characters, as quick as I had to be to learn them all (and there are A Lot). Brand is my favorite.
Content Warnings
Graphic: Sexual assault, Violence, Gore, Torture, Sexual violence, Murder, Child abuse, Physical abuse, Rape, and Blood
asveen's review
adventurous
mysterious
medium-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? Plot
- Strong character development? No
- Loveable characters? Yes
- Diverse cast of characters? N/A
- Flaws of characters a main focus? It's complicated
2.75
I almost DNF'd this book like, three separate times. I had to physically force myself to sit down and read more of it. That being said, the book wasn't BAD per say. I've read bad books and this doesn't quite fit the criteria.
The characters in this book are pretty fun and interesting. I enjoyed the banter between the Rune and Brand, as well as their history and dynamic. That being said, I didn't understand Max's purpose at ALL. Not to say that every character requires a purpose, but he showed up consistently throughout the story and contributed very, very little.
I had a bit of trouble with the setting -- thank god I had played a bit of Baldur's Gate 3 to be able to understand what a cantrip is. I feel as though the world had the opportunity to be very well developed and fleshed out, but it fell slightly flat to me. If more time had been put into world building and development, that would have been fantastic. Especially as we moved into battles where Rune would suddenly pull out an ace from his sleeve we had never heard of before.
That was my other issue with the story. There were a few too many times of being able to escape just fine, or last minute saviors. At the end we had this happen with Brand, the Tower, and Ella. Like for reference: in the Lord of the Rings: The Return of the King, both Rohan and Aragorn and the undead come in and essentially save the day during the final battle. The difference was that we knew these were coming and were waiting for it, but that doesn't take away from the tension, and in fact, contributes to it, leading to a better release. In this, we get no warning for any last minute saviors. It makes it feel cheaper. Like the author wasn't sure how the character was going to escape this, so let's just have someone else randomly show up to save it.
Overall, not a horrible book. I just felt like I was slogging through it and almost DNF'd multiple times. Characters ok. Worldbuilding could be better. Not fully engaging.
The characters in this book are pretty fun and interesting. I enjoyed the banter between the Rune and Brand, as well as their history and dynamic. That being said, I didn't understand Max's purpose at ALL. Not to say that every character requires a purpose, but he showed up consistently throughout the story and contributed very, very little.
I had a bit of trouble with the setting -- thank god I had played a bit of Baldur's Gate 3 to be able to understand what a cantrip is. I feel as though the world had the opportunity to be very well developed and fleshed out, but it fell slightly flat to me. If more time had been put into world building and development, that would have been fantastic. Especially as we moved into battles where Rune would suddenly pull out an ace from his sleeve we had never heard of before.
That was my other issue with the story. There were a few too many times of being able to escape just fine, or last minute saviors. At the end we had this happen with Brand, the Tower, and Ella. Like for reference: in the Lord of the Rings: The Return of the King, both Rohan and Aragorn and the undead come in and essentially save the day during the final battle. The difference was that we knew these were coming and were waiting for it, but that doesn't take away from the tension, and in fact, contributes to it, leading to a better release. In this, we get no warning for any last minute saviors. It makes it feel cheaper. Like the author wasn't sure how the character was going to escape this, so let's just have someone else randomly show up to save it.
Overall, not a horrible book. I just felt like I was slogging through it and almost DNF'd multiple times. Characters ok. Worldbuilding could be better. Not fully engaging.
Content Warnings
Graphic: Rape, Sexual assault, and Sexual violence
leoxo's review
adventurous
mysterious
tense
medium-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? Plot
- Strong character development? It's complicated
- Loveable characters? It's complicated
- Diverse cast of characters? N/A
- Flaws of characters a main focus? It's complicated
4.25
Content Warnings
Moderate: Rape and Sexual assault
captperfecthair's review against another edition
adventurous
dark
emotional
funny
hopeful
mysterious
tense
slow-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
4.25
Content Warnings
Graphic: Sexual assault, Sexual violence, and Rape
comfycryptid's review
adventurous
dark
funny
tense
fast-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? Plot
- Strong character development? Yes
- Loveable characters? It's complicated
- Diverse cast of characters? Yes
- Flaws of characters a main focus? No
1.5
I might be an outlier when I say I think this book is a mess. From the convoluted plot to the unlikable characters to the world-building; it all felt like one giant, overwhelming infodump. You will spend most of this book confused and not sure what's happening but not in a way that felt at all rewarding by the end.
This book is extremely fast paced but that may be it's downfall because it made for a lot of confusion and throwaway world building. K.D. Edwards does excel at dialogue, I will give him that! His banter is funny and it made me exhale harshly out of my nose a few times. Reading the action and the explanations of the magic system, which I STILL don't feel like I understand at all, felt jarring and overwhelming in comparison.
Also there's some quirky little body shaming moments, misogyny, and a little racist throwaway line which was very cool of this white male author to do.
The book leaves you with a StIcK aRoUnD aNd FiNd OuT for MOST of the interesting/infuriating(see spoiler) plot points. And there was so many untied and badly executed threads I truly don't even care to read the rest of the series.
Spoilers ahead (trigger warning for graphic sexual assault and rape of a minor):
The villain reveal barely felt like a reveal. My friend put it well when they called it a "Scooby-Doo ass reveal." I had to go back and recheck who was who because some of these characters were so forgettable or swept away in other explanations of other things that I genuinely didn't know who they were.
Also soulbound soulmates is my favorite trope and SOMEHOW I still hated the "romance". They had no chemistry and it leaves you on an unexplained cliffhanger that I don't even CARE to try and read the second or third book to find out. You literally create a universe where characters' souls are intertwined and you mAyBe intertwined the 2 characters who have 0 chemistry. Nice.
Then we come to my BIGGEST gripe. The rape plot. The rape as a plot device was handled poorly. In fact, it felt barely handled - just thrown at you a few times. Then it slaps you with the weirdest couple of sex scenes to drive the point home that Rune is extremely traumatized some more I guess? It doesn't truly get resolved in this book so if you need a resolution or some sort of unpacking you don't get it in this book. I don't need to read the next 2 books to know this plot point will get stretched out even more and that feels really inappropriate.
I do feel bad ripping into this book so hard because it is very obvious that the author put his heart and soul into it. HOWEVER, the execution was not there for me. Maybe it's me, because I've read so many glowing reviews that I genuinely wasn't sure I was reading the same book as everyone else.
This book is extremely fast paced but that may be it's downfall because it made for a lot of confusion and throwaway world building. K.D. Edwards does excel at dialogue, I will give him that! His banter is funny and it made me exhale harshly out of my nose a few times. Reading the action and the explanations of the magic system, which I STILL don't feel like I understand at all, felt jarring and overwhelming in comparison.
Also there's some quirky little body shaming moments, misogyny, and a little racist throwaway line which was very cool of this white male author to do.
The book leaves you with a StIcK aRoUnD aNd FiNd OuT for MOST of the interesting/infuriating(see spoiler) plot points. And there was so many untied and badly executed threads I truly don't even care to read the rest of the series.
Spoilers ahead (trigger warning for graphic sexual assault and rape of a minor):
Also soulbound soulmates is my favorite trope and SOMEHOW I still hated the "romance". They had no chemistry and it leaves you on an unexplained cliffhanger that I don't even CARE to try and read the second or third book to find out. You literally create a universe where characters' souls are intertwined and you mAyBe intertwined the 2 characters who have 0 chemistry. Nice.
Then we come to my BIGGEST gripe. The rape plot. The rape as a plot device was handled poorly. In fact, it felt barely handled - just thrown at you a few times. Then it slaps you with the weirdest couple of sex scenes to drive the point home that Rune is extremely traumatized some more I guess? It doesn't truly get resolved in this book so if you need a resolution or some sort of unpacking you don't get it in this book. I don't need to read the next 2 books to know this plot point will get stretched out even more and that feels really inappropriate.
I do feel bad ripping into this book so hard because it is very obvious that the author put his heart and soul into it. HOWEVER, the execution was not there for me. Maybe it's me, because I've read so many glowing reviews that I genuinely wasn't sure I was reading the same book as everyone else.
Content Warnings
Graphic: Violence, Rape, Torture, and Sexual assault
Minor: Misogyny and Racism
ayuming_reads's review against another edition
adventurous
mysterious
medium-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? Plot
- Strong character development? Yes
- Loveable characters? It's complicated
- Diverse cast of characters? No
- Flaws of characters a main focus? No
2.75
The characters were really hard to like, which made it difficult to root for them. Loved Quinn though!!!
The info dumping could have been handled better, and the book’s magic system explained more.
There was too much action and I think it held the book back. The scenes where the characters are just having genuine dialogue with one another were the best parts of the book. There was little life elsewhere to be found.
Rune didn’t feel like a fully fleshed out character and neither did his companion Brand. They were very bland.
The rape scene felt out of nowhere and I’m not sure how I feel about how it was handled.
The info dumping could have been handled better, and the book’s magic system explained more.
There was too much action and I think it held the book back. The scenes where the characters are just having genuine dialogue with one another were the best parts of the book. There was little life elsewhere to be found.
Rune didn’t feel like a fully fleshed out character and neither did his companion Brand. They were very bland.
The rape scene felt out of nowhere and I’m not sure how I feel about how it was handled.
Content Warnings
Graphic: Sexual violence, Sexual assault, Rape, and Sexual harassment
vyralvyris's review
adventurous
dark
emotional
funny
mysterious
sad
tense
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? Yes
5.0
Absolutely adored this book, can't wait to continue the series. The writing is really fun and adds a lot of characterize, the plot is engaging, and I love interesting magic world building.
Content Warnings
Graphic: Violence, Grief, Murder, Sexual content, Sexual violence, Panic attacks/disorders, Rape, and Sexual assault
Moderate: Kidnapping