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3.59 AVERAGE
3.59 AVERAGE
It felt like we were thrown into the action too fast and all the characters were pretty annoying and dumb
Everything with Kestra is awesome. This book appealed to a lot of my personal tastes: super proactive protag, lots of scene level conflict, snark, and a fantasy book where the magic sits in the background rather than at the forefront. Reads more like the first season of a television show than a book that stands alone. And I can't pin down Simon, all the parts are there but their sum doesn't do it for me. Will read the next book sooner than later.
“Life doesn’t give us what we want. It gives us what we need and asks what we will do with it.”
3.5
3.5
A disappointment. I love Nielsen's other books, so I was shocked that this one was so poorly written and lacked the main three things that Nielsen excels at as an author:
1. Strong characters
2. Character development
3. Twists
Strong characters: this was always Nielsen's downfall; in all of her books I've read, her main character is, without exception, a stubborn teenager who wishes to run away from the stereotypes they were born into. The first time, it was fun. As it happens again and again, it's beginning to become annoying. At least, for the other MCs, other than the stubbornness, they had something else to them that made them unique. Kestra lacked that, and so did Simon. They were both annoyingly stubborn and weak-willed at the same time. Their personalities and narrative voices were so similar that, half the time, I couldn't honestly tell them apart.
Character development: there was no character development in this story. The characters admitted that they were not strongly on any side at the beginning and had their doubts about their current side, and, at the end, they were still very unsure about their current side. Any personality change already half-happened in the first 30 pages.
Twists: they weren't all obvious, but there was only one that both surprised and impressed me. Nielsen usually has a ton of great twists, but this one lacked that. The reader was not interested enough in the subject of the twist to really be impressed by it.
Also, the writing was irritating. It was all tell and barely any show. When the characters were hiding something, instead of leaving hints up to show, they simply were omitted. It wasn't show vs tell; it was tell vs not tell.
So, I would not recommend this to those who love Nielsen's work. A disappointment.
1. Strong characters
2. Character development
3. Twists
Strong characters: this was always Nielsen's downfall; in all of her books I've read, her main character is, without exception, a stubborn teenager who wishes to run away from the stereotypes they were born into. The first time, it was fun. As it happens again and again, it's beginning to become annoying. At least, for the other MCs, other than the stubbornness, they had something else to them that made them unique. Kestra lacked that, and so did Simon. They were both annoyingly stubborn and weak-willed at the same time. Their personalities and narrative voices were so similar that, half the time, I couldn't honestly tell them apart.
Character development: there was no character development in this story. The characters admitted that they were not strongly on any side at the beginning and had their doubts about their current side, and, at the end, they were still very unsure about their current side. Any personality change already half-happened in the first 30 pages.
Twists: they weren't all obvious, but there was only one that both surprised and impressed me. Nielsen usually has a ton of great twists, but this one lacked that. The reader was not interested enough in the subject of the twist to really be impressed by it.
Also, the writing was irritating. It was all tell and barely any show. When the characters were hiding something, instead of leaving hints up to show, they simply were omitted. It wasn't show vs tell; it was tell vs not tell.
So, I would not recommend this to those who love Nielsen's work. A disappointment.
DNF @45%
Recycled YA tropes, meh characters, mediocre writing. I'm outta here.
Recycled YA tropes, meh characters, mediocre writing. I'm outta here.
This book wasn’t bad, but it wasn’t great. My biggest problem with this book was the characters. None of them were loveable or relatable enough to get pulled into the plot. The connections between characters was weak throughout the story as well. The plot was interesting, but I wish we would have gotten more context at the beginning of the book to learn more about the world and the people in it.
adventurous
challenging
emotional
mysterious
reflective
tense
fast-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:
Yes
This book had me staying up late to read.
adventurous
challenging
dark
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:
Yes
I don’t love to read fantasy books anymore, it’s not my current taste… but i love this author and didn’t fully realize this book had some fantasy in it so I read it. I’m hooked on this trilogy now. How the author switches between Kestra and Simon’s pov makes for such an interesting read! You learn so much about the two characters while also reading from the opposite point of view seeing how much the other half doesn’t know what we just read in the last chapter! It’s simply amazing! 50 or so pages into this book I almost debated not finishing it, I was quite close. But boy and I’m I happy I didn’t. I’m super excited to finish the trilogy and I hope to see Simon and kestras relationship flourish! I love their romance story and all they’ve been through is too good to let go now. I need it. Simon as king with Kestra by his side? Hello?? Power Couple! If either of them die I don’t know what I’ll do in the end, this is a great a read! And if you’re an inheritance games fan (whether you like fantasy or not!!) please do read this book.
Content Warnings
Graphic: Death, Death of parent
I got a very LOTR, one ring to rule them all vibe from this book. There was a lot of misdirection and competing loyalties. This author tried really hard to keep you off guard with who knew what, who was actually doing what they pretended they were doing, and who had a completely different hidden agenda. Kestra attempted to be a female Kaz Brekker but her plans were not nearly as well constructed or revealed.
The story is good. It's fast paced and the plot moves along steadily but I felt like I'd read this story before. That's not always a bad thing, but I had hoped for something more.
The story is good. It's fast paced and the plot moves along steadily but I felt like I'd read this story before. That's not always a bad thing, but I had hoped for something more.