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4.26 AVERAGE
4.26 AVERAGE
WoW.
I spent MONTHS reading this book and a few things contributed to it taking so long such as mental and physical health and some major life changes but the main reason was because it was an amazingly immersive read that I took my time with. About 20 pages in I knew I needed to annotate and really appreciate the depth of this novel.
The list of characters is long and if you're not into keeping up with multiple plot-lines and multiple character personalities this probably won't be for you. I however loved the relationships and just the sheer depth of each character.
They felt like my friends and the found family really connected with me. I had characters I loved and characters I despised. It felt so real and so much like my family.
I do highly recommend this book and is a favorite of all time.
I spent MONTHS reading this book and a few things contributed to it taking so long such as mental and physical health and some major life changes but the main reason was because it was an amazingly immersive read that I took my time with. About 20 pages in I knew I needed to annotate and really appreciate the depth of this novel.
The list of characters is long and if you're not into keeping up with multiple plot-lines and multiple character personalities this probably won't be for you. I however loved the relationships and just the sheer depth of each character.
They felt like my friends and the found family really connected with me. I had characters I loved and characters I despised. It felt so real and so much like my family.
I do highly recommend this book and is a favorite of all time.
adventurous
hopeful
inspiring
reflective
medium-paced
Plot or Character Driven:
Plot
Strong character development:
Yes
Loveable characters:
Yes
Diverse cast of characters:
Yes
Flaws of characters a main focus:
No
The only reason this is not a 5 star book for me is that I reserve that for when I either laugh out loud or cry. Superb world building, extremely well written characters with lots of depth and growth, and a battle that will likely be in my dreams tonight. Loved it!
adventurous
what a gorgeous, sprawling behemoth of a novel! this, out of any queer fantasy book i’ve read thus far, really can only be described as “epic fantasy.”
just as a note: don’t read this if you are looking for a romance - come back when you’re in the mood for high fantasy. while i utterly adored the sapphic romance that did occur, it was definitely a side plot.
just as a note: don’t read this if you are looking for a romance - come back when you’re in the mood for high fantasy. while i utterly adored the sapphic romance that did occur, it was definitely a side plot.
adventurous
hopeful
mysterious
slow-paced
Plot or Character Driven:
A mix
Strong character development:
Yes
Loveable characters:
Complicated
Diverse cast of characters:
Yes
Flaws of characters a main focus:
Complicated
hopeful
inspiring
mysterious
medium-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:
Complicated
adventurous
hopeful
mysterious
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
adventurous
challenging
dark
hopeful
mysterious
fast-paced
Plot or Character Driven:
Plot
Strong character development:
Yes
Loveable characters:
Yes
Diverse cast of characters:
Yes
Flaws of characters a main focus:
Yes
Oof. This may be my longest review yet and I will 1000% come back and add to it as I digest this book.
What a disappointment.
I so desperately wanted to like this book. This is the kind of book that was built for me. I love an epic. I love fantasy. I saw it was 800+ pages long and I was so excited. I was promised strong female protagonists, dragons, magic, a beautiful and complex story with interweaving characters!! And I got none of that! Let me try to break it down.
I’ll start with the positive. *Some* of this book did work for me. There were parts of the plot that did make me feel invested in the story. I felt the sapphic turn was overall believable but was handled indelicately within the context of recent events leading up to the bedroom scene and thus lacked luster for me. The first kiss was whiplash to me, I was expecting the plot line from a completely different set of characters. Once I got past that, I did enjoy it and really rooted for their relationship. I think for the characters it made sense and it did make me love them (as much as I could muster).
Now the negative. *Most* of this book did not work for me. The characters were flat and contrived. They were simply puppets for exposition. As every chapter passed, my hope for the need for the author to use the characters for awkward exposition waned. Character A sees Character B do Action C. Character A intuits almost immediately all motivations, consequences, and potential challenges to Character B’s actions. Now put two names interchangeably for A and B, and any action for C and you have this book in a nutshell. EVERY single character just had perfect intuition? Where are the stakes of any interaction? Do you have so little faith in your readers that you must build a sign in neon that says “WARNING. PLOT POINT AHEAD.” I felt a bit insulted by this book. The author demanded an incessant amount of hand holding and exposition to slog through these 800 pages.
I unfortunately hated some characters and felt just simply bothered by others like they were gnats. Erasing their presence or tying them into the plot rather than having them as a POV would have been a wildly better alternative. When characters were no longer useful to the author, she simply killed them off, but it always felt secondary. When it was a character that needed to be alive to continue what bare bones plot this book was dragging along, it was through some deus ex machina shenanigans which saved a character from death. It got to a point when people died I just realized they never mattered in the first place. WHERE. ARE. THE. STAKES.
Some people may say “it’s all about the world” or “it’s all about the journey” and all I have to say and this author could have done better. I am a patient reader, I often BEG for authors to lengthen their books; give me more world, give me more character development, give me more lore. With this book I was begging for mercy.
I don’t want to include spoilers in this which is why I’m keeping it vague. If you have the stomach for 800+ pages of a book that made me finish and just say “meh” then go ahead. I struggled through the first 150 pages to understand the world, its characters, and their religions and it felt all for naught. This author had a strong idea and just didn’t deliver.
P.S. My last gripe is where are the dragons. I got almost no dragons. Don’t put a beautiful dragon on the cover and not give her to me!!!
What a disappointment.
I so desperately wanted to like this book. This is the kind of book that was built for me. I love an epic. I love fantasy. I saw it was 800+ pages long and I was so excited. I was promised strong female protagonists, dragons, magic, a beautiful and complex story with interweaving characters!! And I got none of that! Let me try to break it down.
I’ll start with the positive. *Some* of this book did work for me. There were parts of the plot that did make me feel invested in the story. I felt the sapphic turn was overall believable but was handled indelicately within the context of recent events leading up to the bedroom scene and thus lacked luster for me. The first kiss was whiplash to me, I was expecting the plot line from a completely different set of characters. Once I got past that, I did enjoy it and really rooted for their relationship. I think for the characters it made sense and it did make me love them (as much as I could muster).
Now the negative. *Most* of this book did not work for me. The characters were flat and contrived. They were simply puppets for exposition. As every chapter passed, my hope for the need for the author to use the characters for awkward exposition waned. Character A sees Character B do Action C. Character A intuits almost immediately all motivations, consequences, and potential challenges to Character B’s actions. Now put two names interchangeably for A and B, and any action for C and you have this book in a nutshell. EVERY single character just had perfect intuition? Where are the stakes of any interaction? Do you have so little faith in your readers that you must build a sign in neon that says “WARNING. PLOT POINT AHEAD.” I felt a bit insulted by this book. The author demanded an incessant amount of hand holding and exposition to slog through these 800 pages.
I unfortunately hated some characters and felt just simply bothered by others like they were gnats. Erasing their presence or tying them into the plot rather than having them as a POV would have been a wildly better alternative. When characters were no longer useful to the author, she simply killed them off, but it always felt secondary. When it was a character that needed to be alive to continue what bare bones plot this book was dragging along, it was through some deus ex machina shenanigans which saved a character from death. It got to a point when people died I just realized they never mattered in the first place. WHERE. ARE. THE. STAKES.
Some people may say “it’s all about the world” or “it’s all about the journey” and all I have to say and this author could have done better. I am a patient reader, I often BEG for authors to lengthen their books; give me more world, give me more character development, give me more lore. With this book I was begging for mercy.
I don’t want to include spoilers in this which is why I’m keeping it vague. If you have the stomach for 800+ pages of a book that made me finish and just say “meh” then go ahead. I struggled through the first 150 pages to understand the world, its characters, and their religions and it felt all for naught. This author had a strong idea and just didn’t deliver.
P.S. My last gripe is where are the dragons. I got almost no dragons. Don’t put a beautiful dragon on the cover and not give her to me!!!
adventurous
dark
emotional
mysterious
tense
medium-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:
Complicated
i liked the characters and the world being built... but also, meh