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3.7 AVERAGE
3.7 AVERAGE
adventurous
dark
emotional
reflective
medium-paced
I enjoyed the book, I found Hellavir's ventures into death fascinating, as was death's character. Beyond he and Hellavir, however, I didn't feel as though many of the characters were all that fleshed out. Beyond their soul bond, I saw no reason for Hellavir's feelings for Sullivain for example, it became a bit frustrating. I wished there were more instances of Hellavir declining to resurrect someone, or coming into contact with natural deaths. I was also a tad put off by the fact that a book with a necromancer who will raise literally everyone and everything, still manages a bury your gays trope . All that said, I'd still continue with the series.
dark
emotional
mysterious
sad
tense
slow-paced
Plot or Character Driven:
Plot
Strong character development:
No
Loveable characters:
Complicated
Diverse cast of characters:
No
Flaws of characters a main focus:
Complicated
dark
mysterious
sad
medium-paced
Plot or Character Driven:
Plot
Strong character development:
Yes
Loveable characters:
Complicated
Diverse cast of characters:
No
Flaws of characters a main focus:
Yes
adventurous
dark
slow-paced
Plot or Character Driven:
A mix
Strong character development:
Yes
Loveable characters:
Complicated
Diverse cast of characters:
No
Flaws of characters a main focus:
Yes
a nearly perfect fantasy imo. i loved the magic system, the character dynamics, and the worldbuilding. the dynamic between hellevir and sullivain was intriguing, and though i wish there had been more buildup for it, i do love where it winds up at the end. i have a few small nitpicks re: plotting and i think the author pulled her punches a bit with hellevir (she is almost flogged for heathenism where in an adult fantasy with already dark themes i think she could have upped the stakes with either the threat of being burned at the stake or with actual physical harm to her main character. but instead hellevir gets out of that situation unscathed, so the scene almost feels santized. regardless the stakes feel less high ). but outside of minor critiques, i found it incredibly captivating and i will absolutely be picking up the sequel soon!
medium-paced
The person who commissioned this cover has it out for the author because what a tragic misrepresentation of the story. I tend to steer clear of romantasy because romance in general isn’t my favourite genre, and if it hadn’t been for @Greekchoir recommendation I likely wouldn’t have picked this up.
Beneath the cover this is just a very solid, well written, character driven fantasy with a touch of romance and no spice. I have read a range of sapphic fantasy and this is fully up there with my favourites. Fans of Priory of the Orange Tree would enjoy this, despite being less ‘high’ fantasy, and it would also appeal to ‘cozy’ fantasy readers.
Hellevir can visit death and bring people back - at a cost. She is forced by the queen to save the princess in a city that is growing increasingly hostile to ‘heathen’ magic like hers. Her relationship with her family is so well developed, they feel like well rounded, complex, and realistic characters. Same for the princess Sullivain.
Very surprised by how much I liked this, and was pleasantly surprised when I found out the sequel came out just the other day. I feel like it’s due for a new cover because it seems to be attracting the wrong readers for this title and steering the right ones away.
Plot or Character Driven:
Character
Strong character development:
No
Loveable characters:
No
Diverse cast of characters:
No
dark
mysterious
slow-paced
Plot or Character Driven:
Character
Strong character development:
Complicated
Loveable characters:
No
Diverse cast of characters:
No
Flaws of characters a main focus:
No
Pulled it back in the last quarter… book was very slow until the end and character growth took center stage. I was way more interested in death as a character and he/Hellevir’s dynamic than any other relationship in the book. It was hard to get behind Hellevir’s internal conflicts as the book continued and her motivations fell flat for me.
dark
emotional
mysterious
tense
medium-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:
Yes
"I meant the missing pieces of your soul," he said as he examined it. "Do you feel the wind whistling through the gaps?"
I thoroughly enjoyed this! The cover gave me more romantasy vibes but it really isn't that. It's a dark political fantasy, with a side of toxic yuri. The characters are not perfect people and are all deeply flawed, but their actions line up with their characterizations. There was a mix of royalty politics and religious politics at play, both intertwining wonderfully. The religious politics has the witches (women herbalists) against the catholic church flavour/style but with this world's equivalent which isn't to everyone's tastes, but it was well handled here. I also enjoyed the necromancy and the depiction of Death, and I'm excited for the sequel.
Queerness was casual and not societally frowned upon, which I find refreshing in political fantasies like this.
4.5-4.75, bumped up because I just want to see more of this kind of thing
I thoroughly enjoyed this! The cover gave me more romantasy vibes but it really isn't that. It's a dark political fantasy, with a side of toxic yuri. The characters are not perfect people and are all deeply flawed, but their actions line up with their characterizations. There was a mix of royalty politics and religious politics at play, both intertwining wonderfully. The religious politics has the witches (women herbalists) against the catholic church flavour/style but with this world's equivalent which isn't to everyone's tastes, but it was well handled here. I also enjoyed the necromancy and the depiction of Death, and I'm excited for the sequel.
Queerness was casual and not societally frowned upon, which I find refreshing in political fantasies like this.
4.5-4.75, bumped up because I just want to see more of this kind of thing