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4.03 AVERAGE
4.03 AVERAGE
I really enjoyed this book, all the court politics and intrigue made it very compelling. You never knew who to trust. The magic system is a new one for me and I liked that it varied based on the person and how they acquire it. Can't wait for book 2, I am too impatient for cliff hangers.
i really wanted to give this a five star rating, but i want to be fair here. (six stars for torryn alone though).
all the elements of this book were really creative – i loved the idea of the trials. having them represent the corresponding values of the courts and gaining different powers based on different ways to beat it is just genius.
war hour (if you read it you know) is such a cool concept too! this series has a lot of potential so i really hope for the best.
the found family aspect just has my heart. i can already see their dynamics being explored more in the upcoming books :)
torryn honestly caught me. i loved his character so much. the way he wasn’t forced upon lysta 24/7 was refreshing considering what other enemies-to-lovers books ate doing and i found the(at times) passiveness in his behavior so interesting.
but just so you know: this is slow burn – but i just know that it will serve.
the plot twist and cliffhanger were nice, though i‘ve personally seen them coming.
criticism:
general:
the trial(s) were built up to be far more interesting than they ended up being.
since this makes up the main theme of the books, i wish it would have been executed better.
world-building:
there are a lot of plot-holes/inconsistencies and too many things left unexplained.
how do they gain their powers after trialing? lysta‘s life before the book started? how did nobody know about drytas' regime?
his plan also seemed so flawed that i couldn't really imagine war coming. i mean how is his army of untrialed people supposed to stand against trialed people of six courts?
a lot of details were left out and made it seem bland sadly.
i feel like we should have been giving more about falland and the state it is in. i personally felt really distant from the people's situation and i just wish we could have seen more interactions between lysta and the citizens (like what suzanne collins did with the hunger games. it all felt so much more real). all we basically got was a description of them being poor and too scared of the guards to go out. how where they brought up? why do we not get any deep insight on lysta's life beforehand? it would have helped a lot in shaping her character. it just didn't quite have a big impact on me.
this also makes me not quite buy into lysta's insistence to save falland and 'her people', considering that she only ever mentioned being close to/caring about two of them. i mean don't get me wrong, it absouletly makes sense that she's grown up distant from anyone and that you generally wouldn't want innocent people to die in war/from trialing - HOWEVER: i just wish we would have seen lysta more emotionally invested with the people there to understand better.
lysta:
not gonna lie, she got on my nerves a bit.
her mood swings: she feels scared to her bones in one second and brave in the other. she is shaking from fear and spitting at drytas in the next second? when drytas threatened her so she would train her powers, she was incredibly scared an ran off to 'ardis' to make him help her. later she says that she would rather be punished for failing than being exposed of having used her powers to help her friends? what?
her blaiming torryn for evrything that goes awry: i get it, she has trust issues and is being gaslighted, but why does she acknowledge the lies she is being told and not the ones being told against torryn?
this is specially about the truthsayer: she knows something fishy is going on since she can lie under his influece, but doesn't question drytas' ability to do the same when 'exposing' torryn??? girl.
i felt her to be a little bland :(
writing:
i can not say much about grammar and such as a non-native english speaker, but i read a lot of reviews saying that they had issues. i personally didn’t notice much out of the ordinary (keeping the ya genre in mind), but i still wanted to mention it – apparently the author didn’t really answer to the criticism? i‘m not sure but i heard that arc readers' feedback wasn’t engaged with which i am quite disappointed by.
___
i think i might be trying to make this book better in mind? but i did have a great time reading this, really like the ideas (and torryn) so i do hope for the best.
all the elements of this book were really creative – i loved the idea of the trials. having them represent the corresponding values of the courts and gaining different powers based on different ways to beat it is just genius.
war hour (if you read it you know) is such a cool concept too! this series has a lot of potential so i really hope for the best.
the found family aspect just has my heart. i can already see their dynamics being explored more in the upcoming books :)
torryn honestly caught me. i loved his character so much. the way he wasn’t forced upon lysta 24/7 was refreshing considering what other enemies-to-lovers books ate doing and i found the(at times) passiveness in his behavior so interesting.
but just so you know: this is slow burn – but i just know that it will serve.
the plot twist and cliffhanger were nice, though i‘ve personally seen them coming.
criticism:
general:
the trial(s) were built up to be far more interesting than they ended up being.
since this makes up the main theme of the books, i wish it would have been executed better.
world-building:
there are a lot of plot-holes/inconsistencies and too many things left unexplained.
how do they gain their powers after trialing? lysta‘s life before the book started? how did nobody know about drytas' regime?
his plan also seemed so flawed that i couldn't really imagine war coming. i mean how is his army of untrialed people supposed to stand against trialed people of six courts?
a lot of details were left out and made it seem bland sadly.
i feel like we should have been giving more about falland and the state it is in. i personally felt really distant from the people's situation and i just wish we could have seen more interactions between lysta and the citizens (like what suzanne collins did with the hunger games. it all felt so much more real). all we basically got was a description of them being poor and too scared of the guards to go out. how where they brought up? why do we not get any deep insight on lysta's life beforehand? it would have helped a lot in shaping her character. it just didn't quite have a big impact on me.
this also makes me not quite buy into lysta's insistence to save falland and 'her people', considering that she only ever mentioned being close to/caring about two of them. i mean don't get me wrong, it absouletly makes sense that she's grown up distant from anyone and that you generally wouldn't want innocent people to die in war/from trialing - HOWEVER: i just wish we would have seen lysta more emotionally invested with the people there to understand better.
lysta:
not gonna lie, she got on my nerves a bit.
her mood swings: she feels scared to her bones in one second and brave in the other. she is shaking from fear and spitting at drytas in the next second? when drytas threatened her so she would train her powers, she was incredibly scared an ran off to 'ardis' to make him help her. later she says that she would rather be punished for failing than being exposed of having used her powers to help her friends? what?
her blaiming torryn for evrything that goes awry: i get it, she has trust issues and is being gaslighted, but why does she acknowledge the lies she is being told and not the ones being told against torryn?
this is specially about the truthsayer: she knows something fishy is going on since she can lie under his influece, but doesn't question drytas' ability to do the same when 'exposing' torryn??? girl.
i felt her to be a little bland :(
writing:
i can not say much about grammar and such as a non-native english speaker, but i read a lot of reviews saying that they had issues. i personally didn’t notice much out of the ordinary (keeping the ya genre in mind), but i still wanted to mention it – apparently the author didn’t really answer to the criticism? i‘m not sure but i heard that arc readers' feedback wasn’t engaged with which i am quite disappointed by.
___
i think i might be trying to make this book better in mind? but i did have a great time reading this, really like the ideas (and torryn) so i do hope for the best.
adventurous
fast-paced
Plot or Character Driven:
Character
Strong character development:
N/A
Loveable characters:
Yes
Diverse cast of characters:
No
adventurous
medium-paced
STARS: ☆☆☆☆☆
I have always loved media with magical abilities—specifically where the characters were born with their powers. Reading War Hour was breathtaking as Lauren Loscig did a fantastic job of giving the reader an experience to the tune of the question, “What would it be like if you had to earn your abilities instead of being born with them”? Throughout the book, the reader meets well-crafted characters that you come to both hate and love and are expertly introduced to the world of Aloria and the power-hungry Courts that rule it.
As I began reading the book, from a reader’s standpoint, I was immediately entrenched. The world-building and character development Loscig did was immediate and well crafted. As a reader, you are introduced to Lysta, an untrialed street girl from the Court of Valor, who is ready to defend herself if any problems arise. You immediately connect with her as the reader - the book’s POV is in first person from Lysta’s viewpoint - giving you lots of feelings going into the inciting incident, pushing the book forward to introduce you to the Trialing system, the other courts, and meeting the Ardis (or should I say, his Highness, Lord Torryn). Meeting characters like Torryn, Ardis, Sar, Bash, Visha, and Evander was incredible and gut-wrenching for reasons I will not spoil. I loved them all and am literally screaming, “LAUREN, I NEED BOOK TWO NOW. I NEED TO KNOW WHAT HAPPENED TO THEM T^T!!!”.
The overall magic system is compelling, giving insight into the world’s hierarchy. The Courts make me want to fully break down each court’s supposed trialing system and the powers someone could earn from them just to understand the possibilities for each trialing outcome! Although I could see the end plot twist dealing with that one specific character because of some fantastic foreshadowing... I still need to know what happened officially before I make my final decisions about him. Right now, he is in the category of “I hate you, and I know what you did. Come near her again, and I will bring war upon you myself. Screw what Torryn would do to you (lol)”. Despite my personal feelings towards this character, Lysta couldn’t see what was happening due to her focus on helping her people. That was beyond realistic and in character of her, considering her motivations and experiences. I have many questions, though, which I hope to get answered whenever the second book comes out! (I will be buying it as soon as it hits shelves).
Some of my favorite quotes from the book include:
“‘…Just because you are born to a court doesn’t mean you owe anything to it’” (Loscig, pg. 158).
“Narrowing my eyes at the fight, I lean forward with renewed interest. I’d thought for a moment Lord Rhen had some resistance or immunity to the pain he experienced, but that suspicion is disproven now” (Loscig, pg. 195).
“‘Treaty or not, Baralas. Call her that again, and I will bring war upon you myself’” (Loscig, pg. 234).
“‘I yield, to Lysta of Valor’” (Loscig, pg. 290).
“‘I just needed one real lie from you, and you would have been mine.’ ... ‘But alas, not speaking the truth is not the same as lying’” (Loscig, pg. 373).
I have always loved media with magical abilities—specifically where the characters were born with their powers. Reading War Hour was breathtaking as Lauren Loscig did a fantastic job of giving the reader an experience to the tune of the question, “What would it be like if you had to earn your abilities instead of being born with them”? Throughout the book, the reader meets well-crafted characters that you come to both hate and love and are expertly introduced to the world of Aloria and the power-hungry Courts that rule it.
As I began reading the book, from a reader’s standpoint, I was immediately entrenched. The world-building and character development Loscig did was immediate and well crafted. As a reader, you are introduced to Lysta, an untrialed street girl from the Court of Valor, who is ready to defend herself if any problems arise. You immediately connect with her as the reader - the book’s POV is in first person from Lysta’s viewpoint - giving you lots of feelings going into the inciting incident, pushing the book forward to introduce you to the Trialing system, the other courts, and meeting the Ardis (or should I say, his Highness, Lord Torryn). Meeting characters like Torryn, Ardis, Sar, Bash, Visha, and Evander was incredible and gut-wrenching for reasons I will not spoil. I loved them all and am literally screaming, “LAUREN, I NEED BOOK TWO NOW. I NEED TO KNOW WHAT HAPPENED TO THEM T^T!!!”.
The overall magic system is compelling, giving insight into the world’s hierarchy. The Courts make me want to fully break down each court’s supposed trialing system and the powers someone could earn from them just to understand the possibilities for each trialing outcome! Although I could see the end plot twist dealing with that one specific character because of some fantastic foreshadowing... I still need to know what happened officially before I make my final decisions about him. Right now, he is in the category of “I hate you, and I know what you did. Come near her again, and I will bring war upon you myself. Screw what Torryn would do to you (lol)”. Despite my personal feelings towards this character, Lysta couldn’t see what was happening due to her focus on helping her people. That was beyond realistic and in character of her, considering her motivations and experiences. I have many questions, though, which I hope to get answered whenever the second book comes out! (I will be buying it as soon as it hits shelves).
Some of my favorite quotes from the book include:
“‘…Just because you are born to a court doesn’t mean you owe anything to it’” (Loscig, pg. 158).
“Narrowing my eyes at the fight, I lean forward with renewed interest. I’d thought for a moment Lord Rhen had some resistance or immunity to the pain he experienced, but that suspicion is disproven now” (Loscig, pg. 195).
“‘Treaty or not, Baralas. Call her that again, and I will bring war upon you myself’” (Loscig, pg. 234).
“‘I yield, to Lysta of Valor’” (Loscig, pg. 290).
“‘I just needed one real lie from you, and you would have been mine.’ ... ‘But alas, not speaking the truth is not the same as lying’” (Loscig, pg. 373).
4.5 ⭐
I received an eARC.
It took me a few chapters to get into the story (which isn't unusual for me), but at one point I was just hooked. I felt a connection to Lysta (the protagonist) and was (and still am) really invested in her development, which was great. There were some unexpected twists and turns. The only downside: there's a massive cliffhanger and no second book yet!
Edit: I just ordered a physical copy and will re-read it before Valor Born comes out.
I received an eARC.
It took me a few chapters to get into the story (which isn't unusual for me), but at one point I was just hooked. I felt a connection to Lysta (the protagonist) and was (and still am) really invested in her development, which was great. There were some unexpected twists and turns. The only downside: there's a massive cliffhanger and no second book yet!
Edit: I just ordered a physical copy and will re-read it before Valor Born comes out.
Aneinander Reihung von Geschehnissen ohne Emotionen und Seele.
Protagonistin super naiv, anstrengend und weinerlich.
Story hätte Potential wenn man denn mal etwas mehr über die Welt erfahren würde.
Protagonistin super naiv, anstrengend und weinerlich.
Story hätte Potential wenn man denn mal etwas mehr über die Welt erfahren würde.