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4.03 AVERAGE
4.03 AVERAGE
Thank you to the author for an early reading of this book. All thoughts and opinions are my own, I do not accept money for reviews.
WHAT?!?!!?!?? THATS WHERE THE BOOK ENDS?!?!?!? HOW LONG UNTIL BOOK 2, I NEED IT RIGHT NOW!!!
I came across this author on instagram as she was posting a promo video about a book where powers are earned and I was sold! I immediately signed up for an arc and am so happy I was able to receive one! I cannot wait for my copy to get here, I might have to buy another copy for annotations.
I will say, I am probably going to go straight into a reread when I get my book because I think my copy I was sent was missing pages. I say that because there was a sentence saying something like “this copy is for _” at the end of some of the chapters, but not all the chapters. Even if I missed some pages, it’s still a fantasy book! More want to check if there was anything I missed.
Who hurt you, powerless to powerful fmc, slight red queen vibes, rebellion, there’s a ball, earned powers, personal trials
‼️‼️ spoilers, don’t read past this if you don’t want them ‼️‼️
Jumping right into spoilers, let’s talk the main plot twist at the end. Has the “the guy I grew to trust betrayed my trust and is not working with my sworn enemy” trope been done before, yes. Was I still rooting for this man and making excuses for him because I wanted it to be someone else, also yes! I don’t care, this is a hill I will die on! I was getting Red Queen vibes in the best way from this book, except this time I actually like “Maven” and am conflicted on who I want the main love interest to be.
Edit: I am not saying this book is trying to be Red Queen, just that both authors used this trope, and I enjoy it more in this book!
I am super intrigued as to what Lystras truth power might be, I feel like it would be very fun if she was also a Truthslayer, but we’ll see. Also, what did the siren-esk creature mean by there were two who could lie? We already know that the Truthslayer power didn’t work when used on Lystra, so is there another? Does the Truthslayer power work on other Truthslayers, and his power didn’t work on Lystra because it recognized one of their own? Is that a bit of a stretch? Who else is immune to the Truthslayer power of that was what the trial meant? I NEED ANSWERS.
I am so hyped for this book, I am almost sad I’m reading this early because now I have to wait for my friends to read it who didn’t sign up for arcs :( and wait for the next book. I’m currently staring into the void.
WHAT?!?!!?!?? THATS WHERE THE BOOK ENDS?!?!?!? HOW LONG UNTIL BOOK 2, I NEED IT RIGHT NOW!!!
I came across this author on instagram as she was posting a promo video about a book where powers are earned and I was sold! I immediately signed up for an arc and am so happy I was able to receive one! I cannot wait for my copy to get here, I might have to buy another copy for annotations.
I will say, I am probably going to go straight into a reread when I get my book because I think my copy I was sent was missing pages. I say that because there was a sentence saying something like “this copy is for _” at the end of some of the chapters, but not all the chapters. Even if I missed some pages, it’s still a fantasy book! More want to check if there was anything I missed.
Who hurt you, powerless to powerful fmc, slight red queen vibes, rebellion, there’s a ball, earned powers, personal trials
‼️‼️ spoilers, don’t read past this if you don’t want them ‼️‼️
Jumping right into spoilers, let’s talk the main plot twist at the end. Has the “the guy I grew to trust betrayed my trust and is not working with my sworn enemy” trope been done before, yes. Was I still rooting for this man and making excuses for him because I wanted it to be someone else, also yes! I don’t care, this is a hill I will die on! I was getting Red Queen vibes in the best way from this book, except this time I actually like “Maven” and am conflicted on who I want the main love interest to be.
Edit: I am not saying this book is trying to be Red Queen, just that both authors used this trope, and I enjoy it more in this book!
I am super intrigued as to what Lystras truth power might be, I feel like it would be very fun if she was also a Truthslayer, but we’ll see. Also, what did the siren-esk creature mean by there were two who could lie? We already know that the Truthslayer power didn’t work when used on Lystra, so is there another? Does the Truthslayer power work on other Truthslayers, and his power didn’t work on Lystra because it recognized one of their own? Is that a bit of a stretch? Who else is immune to the Truthslayer power of that was what the trial meant? I NEED ANSWERS.
I am so hyped for this book, I am almost sad I’m reading this early because now I have to wait for my friends to read it who didn’t sign up for arcs :( and wait for the next book. I’m currently staring into the void.
adventurous
dark
tense
fast-paced
Plot or Character Driven:
A mix
Strong character development:
No
Loveable characters:
No
Diverse cast of characters:
Complicated
Flaws of characters a main focus:
Yes
RTC
Content Warnings
Graphic: Body horror, Death, Violence, Blood, Injury/Injury detail
Moderate: Toxic relationship, War
I found out about this book on TikTok when I saw a video posted by the author advertising her new book. I had read a couple of reviews on StoryGraph about the book and I even read some comments on the video that she had posted. A lot of the comments said that this book is very similar to The Hunger Games, Game of Thrones, Divergent, and Fourth Wing.
I love those books, so I figured this book would be an easy read for me... that's where I was wrong. I only made it 42% of the way through this book and it took me around 4 days to do that. For reference, I read a book in about 2 to 3 days.
While I didn't make it half way through, I will say that I loved the concept of this book. I think it's so cool to be in a world where you earn your power through a Trial. I loved the various Thrones in the book too.
Where the book lost me was that it wasn't executed well. I found myself going back and re reading sections to make sure I wasn't confused. The author would often slightly change what had happened in later paragraphs. Sar went from sitting on an armchair to having her legs propped up on a couch within a couple paragraphs - yet she never stated that Sar moved. It may feel like a minuscule thing, but it was really distracting to me that the author wasn't keeping those little details consistent. There were a few other instances of that too.
This book may be for some people, but it just wasn't for me due to the weak writing. This author has fabulous ideas. I hope she can either strengthen her writing or find a better publisher to help clean things up.
This book could use: better world building from the start; stronger character development, so not too much is just left to the reader to assume; a more developed plot line; and MUCH stronger writing.
I think if she would have focused more on what I listed above, and shortened the book to around 350 pages, she would have had a much stronger novel for the first in her series.
I love those books, so I figured this book would be an easy read for me... that's where I was wrong. I only made it 42% of the way through this book and it took me around 4 days to do that. For reference, I read a book in about 2 to 3 days.
While I didn't make it half way through, I will say that I loved the concept of this book. I think it's so cool to be in a world where you earn your power through a Trial. I loved the various Thrones in the book too.
Where the book lost me was that it wasn't executed well. I found myself going back and re reading sections to make sure I wasn't confused. The author would often slightly change what had happened in later paragraphs. Sar went from sitting on an armchair to having her legs propped up on a couch within a couple paragraphs - yet she never stated that Sar moved. It may feel like a minuscule thing, but it was really distracting to me that the author wasn't keeping those little details consistent. There were a few other instances of that too.
This book may be for some people, but it just wasn't for me due to the weak writing. This author has fabulous ideas. I hope she can either strengthen her writing or find a better publisher to help clean things up.
This book could use: better world building from the start; stronger character development, so not too much is just left to the reader to assume; a more developed plot line; and MUCH stronger writing.
I think if she would have focused more on what I listed above, and shortened the book to around 350 pages, she would have had a much stronger novel for the first in her series.
I’m so thankful to have gotten and ARC copy and give this book 3 stars.
Once I got halfway through I found this to be an entertaining and intriguing book. Some of the language used, mainly in the beginning, seemed a bit repetitive and the pacing felt a bit off to start with. I wasn’t too sure where the plot was going until quite a ways into the book. I do wish there had been a bit more interaction between Lysta in Torryn, but I’m hoping I can look forward to that in the second book.
It felt like a lot of scenes that had really big build up kinda felt flat, especially at the start of the book. The world also felt pretty empty, I’m not sure if it’s because it was just written from Lysta’s point of view but I’m hoping it gets developed more in the 2nd book.
Toward the end I felt like the story really got going. Lysta seemed to fall more into herself and pull me in a lot more. I did enjoy my read and the ending really had me hooked, I wasn’t ready for it to be over. I’m looking forward to the next book and seeing where the story goes!
Once I got halfway through I found this to be an entertaining and intriguing book. Some of the language used, mainly in the beginning, seemed a bit repetitive and the pacing felt a bit off to start with. I wasn’t too sure where the plot was going until quite a ways into the book. I do wish there had been a bit more interaction between Lysta in Torryn, but I’m hoping I can look forward to that in the second book.
It felt like a lot of scenes that had really big build up kinda felt flat, especially at the start of the book. The world also felt pretty empty, I’m not sure if it’s because it was just written from Lysta’s point of view but I’m hoping it gets developed more in the 2nd book.
Toward the end I felt like the story really got going. Lysta seemed to fall more into herself and pull me in a lot more. I did enjoy my read and the ending really had me hooked, I wasn’t ready for it to be over. I’m looking forward to the next book and seeing where the story goes!
adventurous
emotional
inspiring
tense
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:
Yes
adventurous
hopeful
mysterious
medium-paced
Plot or Character Driven:
A mix
Strong character development:
Yes
Loveable characters:
Yes
Diverse cast of characters:
N/A
Flaws of characters a main focus:
No
*Thank you to Lauren Loscig for the arc*
I was on the edge of my seat the whole time! This is world building at its finest: immersive, breathtaking, beautiful. It has all the makings of a fantastic series- which I most definitely will be reading! Gah, the cliffhanger!!
I was on the edge of my seat the whole time! This is world building at its finest: immersive, breathtaking, beautiful. It has all the makings of a fantastic series- which I most definitely will be reading! Gah, the cliffhanger!!
adventurous
challenging
emotional
mysterious
reflective
sad
tense
medium-paced
Plot or Character Driven:
A mix
Strong character development:
Yes
Loveable characters:
Yes
Diverse cast of characters:
N/A
Flaws of characters a main focus:
Complicated
My first ever ARC and I’m so thankful for the opportunity! A great story where powers are earned through trials. Complete with political rivalries, betrayals, romantic subplot, secrets, and manipulation. Captivating twists made it hard to put this book down. We did go from minimal characters to many very quickly and it became difficult to follow for a period of time. I had to reread a few chapters to decipher what was going on. I feel like the author could have used more assistance in the editing stage so there was more clarity provided to the reader. You can definitely tell at certain points that this is the authors first published book. I have no issues with the plot and overall really enjoyed the book and will continue reading the series!
⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️ = life changing book. Thinking about it for weeks. Recommending to everyone. Gives you a book hangover.
⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️ = captivating but could put it down. Would recommend to most people.
⭐️⭐️⭐️ = good book. Would recommend to most people. May have issues with writing, plot, or editing.
⭐️⭐️ = poor quality, story lacks substance, would not recommend to most readers
⭐️ = DNF, poor quality, would not recommend to my worst enemy
⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️ = life changing book. Thinking about it for weeks. Recommending to everyone. Gives you a book hangover.
⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️ = captivating but could put it down. Would recommend to most people.
⭐️⭐️⭐️ = good book. Would recommend to most people. May have issues with writing, plot, or editing.
⭐️⭐️ = poor quality, story lacks substance, would not recommend to most readers
⭐️ = DNF, poor quality, would not recommend to my worst enemy
4 stars. I was selected to be an ARC reader for this book (thank you, Lauren!) and all opinions are my own.
This was a fantastic book. I loved every minute of it. I have always loved YA fantasy, and this one did not disappoint. Recently, I feel like a lot of the fantasy books on the market have the same/very similar plot points- especially in regards to main characters and the powers that they have/ how they acquire them. The idea that you earn your powers yourself was a HUGE breath of fresh air, and kept me engaged throughout the entire book.
As this was a debut, some of the writing structure was hard to follow at times, and I wish that the lore and world building was more in-depth, but overall, I really enjoyed the story and can't wait to see what happens in future books in the series!
This was a fantastic book. I loved every minute of it. I have always loved YA fantasy, and this one did not disappoint. Recently, I feel like a lot of the fantasy books on the market have the same/very similar plot points- especially in regards to main characters and the powers that they have/ how they acquire them. The idea that you earn your powers yourself was a HUGE breath of fresh air, and kept me engaged throughout the entire book.
As this was a debut, some of the writing structure was hard to follow at times, and I wish that the lore and world building was more in-depth, but overall, I really enjoyed the story and can't wait to see what happens in future books in the series!