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3.35 AVERAGE
3.35 AVERAGE
adventurous
mysterious
tense
fast-paced
Plot or Character Driven:
Plot
Strong character development:
Yes
Loveable characters:
Yes
Diverse cast of characters:
Complicated
Flaws of characters a main focus:
Complicated
Overall really good, I enjoyed this a lot. A few plot things I didn’t quite get but there was a lot going on and it’s possible I missed a thing or two.
adventurous
lighthearted
tense
slow-paced
Plot or Character Driven:
A mix
Strong character development:
No
Loveable characters:
No
Diverse cast of characters:
Yes
Flaws of characters a main focus:
Yes
adventurous
medium-paced
Plot or Character Driven:
A mix
Loveable characters:
No
Flaws of characters a main focus:
No
adventurous
challenging
dark
emotional
mysterious
tense
medium-paced
Plot or Character Driven:
A mix
Strong character development:
Complicated
Loveable characters:
Complicated
Diverse cast of characters:
Yes
Flaws of characters a main focus:
Yes
adventurous
challenging
emotional
mysterious
tense
medium-paced
Plot or Character Driven:
A mix
Strong character development:
Complicated
Loveable characters:
Yes
Diverse cast of characters:
Yes
Flaws of characters a main focus:
Yes
adventurous
tense
medium-paced
Plot or Character Driven:
Plot
Strong character development:
No
Loveable characters:
No
Diverse cast of characters:
Yes
Flaws of characters a main focus:
No
I’m so thankful to the author and HarperCollins for granting me this arc to review. All thoughts are my own.
This was an epic fantasy with the very creative idea of having kingdoms be separated by “spice gates” and only those with the mark can travel through these gates and trade spices between kingdoms. Those with the mark however are also treated as lowly, like the main character, Amir, who is fighting to change this and stumbles on a much bigger political conspiracy in the process.
I thought the concept of the plot was awesome and creative. There was a lot to it when the different kingdom leaders got involved, but at the heart, it was truly about the way people misrepresent religion to look down on others and how that is a system that needs to change.
I also really liked the writing style. The descriptions were beautifully done and at first, the book was comforting to read.
However, I lost interest about a third of the way through the 450 pages. Some of the worldbuilding was a bit too complex to follow, the characters’ relationships seemed unbelievable, and even though this was a story based around spice, there may have been too much of it.
While I thought this book was super promising, I think there were scenes and lines that could have been cut that would’ve made the story a more compelling read.
This was an epic fantasy with the very creative idea of having kingdoms be separated by “spice gates” and only those with the mark can travel through these gates and trade spices between kingdoms. Those with the mark however are also treated as lowly, like the main character, Amir, who is fighting to change this and stumbles on a much bigger political conspiracy in the process.
I thought the concept of the plot was awesome and creative. There was a lot to it when the different kingdom leaders got involved, but at the heart, it was truly about the way people misrepresent religion to look down on others and how that is a system that needs to change.
I also really liked the writing style. The descriptions were beautifully done and at first, the book was comforting to read.
However, I lost interest about a third of the way through the 450 pages. Some of the worldbuilding was a bit too complex to follow, the characters’ relationships seemed unbelievable, and even though this was a story based around spice, there may have been too much of it.
While I thought this book was super promising, I think there were scenes and lines that could have been cut that would’ve made the story a more compelling read.
adventurous
slow-paced
Plot or Character Driven:
Character
Strong character development:
Complicated
Loveable characters:
No
Diverse cast of characters:
Yes
Flaws of characters a main focus:
Yes
adventurous
challenging
dark
emotional
informative
mysterious
sad
tense
medium-paced
Plot or Character Driven:
A mix
Strong character development:
Complicated
Loveable characters:
No
Diverse cast of characters:
N/A
Flaws of characters a main focus:
No
This is a new debut epic fantasy called The Spice Gate. This story is a series of 8 kingdoms that are ruled by spices. Spice is the currency of this world. There are 8 gates to travel through these kingdoms and you have to have a specific spice as a “fee” to the Gods to travel between them. Also, there is a particular marking of the body that designates a person as a Spice Carrier.
Relics of a mysterious god, the Spice Gates connect the eight far-flung kingdoms, each separated by a distinct spice and only accessible by those born with this special mark. This is not a caste of distinction, but one of subjugation: Spice Carriers suffer the lashes of their masters, the weight of the spices they bear on their backs, and the jolting pain of the Gates themselves.
This is the story of Amir who is one of these spice carriers, but he dreams of escaping his fate of being a slave to the rich who gorge themselves on spices as addicts. He also has a mother and brother that he is supporting and protecting.
Amir’s journey is one of traveling through gates, adventure, Gods, assassins, and throne keepers. Amir will have to decide what kind of world he wants to live in if the world survives at all.
There is a great deal of world-building in the beginning of the book which was slow to start for me and took a bit of time to move forward. There are many characters and the names are a challenge to read and the pronunciation was difficult for me, which slowed it down even more. I enjoyed the premise but did not connect with any of the characters. I honestly lost interest after 200 pages and wasn’t sure I wanted to finish the book. But I did finish it and rated it 3.5 stars. I can see that this story would appeal to many.
Relics of a mysterious god, the Spice Gates connect the eight far-flung kingdoms, each separated by a distinct spice and only accessible by those born with this special mark. This is not a caste of distinction, but one of subjugation: Spice Carriers suffer the lashes of their masters, the weight of the spices they bear on their backs, and the jolting pain of the Gates themselves.
This is the story of Amir who is one of these spice carriers, but he dreams of escaping his fate of being a slave to the rich who gorge themselves on spices as addicts. He also has a mother and brother that he is supporting and protecting.
Amir’s journey is one of traveling through gates, adventure, Gods, assassins, and throne keepers. Amir will have to decide what kind of world he wants to live in if the world survives at all.
There is a great deal of world-building in the beginning of the book which was slow to start for me and took a bit of time to move forward. There are many characters and the names are a challenge to read and the pronunciation was difficult for me, which slowed it down even more. I enjoyed the premise but did not connect with any of the characters. I honestly lost interest after 200 pages and wasn’t sure I wanted to finish the book. But I did finish it and rated it 3.5 stars. I can see that this story would appeal to many.
Not in the right mood for this - I'll give it another shot eventually.
adventurous
slow-paced
Plot or Character Driven:
Plot
Strong character development:
Complicated
Loveable characters:
Complicated
Diverse cast of characters:
N/A
Flaws of characters a main focus:
Yes
No rating because I dnfd. Reached around page 140. It was too much a rollercoaster in pacing. Very fast and very slow.