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evekenzinator's review against another edition
adventurous
dark
emotional
mysterious
sad
tense
fast-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
3.5
Content Warnings
Graphic: Rape, Miscarriage, Police brutality, Slavery, Domestic abuse, Acephobia/Arophobia, and Blood
Moderate: Slavery, Blood, Colonisation, Torture, and Toxic friendship
Minor: Kidnapping
booksalacarte's review against another edition
adventurous
challenging
dark
informative
mysterious
tense
slow-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? Plot
- Strong character development? No
- Loveable characters? No
- Diverse cast of characters? Yes
- Flaws of characters a main focus? It's complicated
2.75
The Battle Drum- 2.75⭐️ 1🌶️
Anoor is the first blue-blooded ruler of the Wardens' Empire. But when she is accused of a murder she didn't commit, her reign is thrown into turmoil. She must solve the mystery and clear her name without the support of her beloved, Sylah.
Hassa's web of secrets grows ever thicker as she finds herself on a trail of crimes in the city. Her searching uncovers the extent of the atrocities of the empire's past and present. Now, she must guard both her heart and her land.
Sylah braves new lands to find a solution for the hurricane that threatens to destroy her home. But in finding answers, she must make a decision, does she sacrifice her old life in order to raise up her sword once more?
The three women find their answers, but they're not the answers they wanted. The drumbeat of change thrums throughout the world.
Ready we will be, when the Ending Fire comes,
Ready we will be, for war will come.
And it sings a song of war.
✨My Opinion✨
The story being retold at the beginning was very helpful for diving back into the story. I wish that more authors did this!
This book was not for me. I felt like it suffered from the second book issue and I didn’t love the first enough. I will not be continuing the series.
Finishing this book was like pulling teeth. I just lost interest in how unfocused it was. It took forever to get to the underlying connections of the plot. One minute they are solving a murder mystery, the next we are on the ocean or in an earthquake/acid rain/monsoon rain situation. It seemed like pointless wandering in the plot. The mini cliffhangers at the end of POV’s didn’t drive the story forward for me, but annoyed me because I couldn’t really tell the difference between plot cliffhangers and POV cliffhangers. So when big plot reveals happened, they felt insignificant.
I was reminded time and time again why I didn’t like the MC’s in the first book. They didn’t improve in a tangible enough way for me to start liking them.
Sapphic
Traveling
Revolution
War
TW
Colonization
Miscarriage
Murder
Domestic abuse
Religious bigotry
Gore
Thank you Random House Publishing and Del Ray for an advanced reader copy of The Battle Drum in exchange for an honest review.
Available May 23, 2023
Content Warnings
Graphic: Colonisation, Confinement, Cursing, Fire/Fire injury, Gaslighting, Injury/Injury detail, Toxic friendship, Violence, War, Domestic abuse, Gore, Miscarriage, Sexual assault, Slavery, Grief, Murder, Physical abuse, Blood, Child death, Classism, Death, Religious bigotry, Sexual content, and Emotional abuse
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