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The repeat of three was annoying (drowning isn't so bad, burning isn't so bad, ... forgot the other examples. I just remember my eyes almost rolling out of my eyes... they did that alot while reading this book). The nativity of Paedyn and the blind 'yes, sir'-ing of the princes (without any critical thinking) was just stupid.
And then there were all the obvious tropes shoved in ('who did this to you' literally word for word, not even paraphrased or dressed up a bit more originally). The author also blatantly stole so many ideas (there is a difference between stealing and being inspired. She didn't even attempt to hide it.): Harry Potter (maze), of blood and ash (scar on face), Hunger Games (damn near the whole book!), divergent, throne of glass, red queen, trail of the sun queen (didn't even fully read this one and still saw the similarities), fourth wing (cruel, vicious little thing, the silver hair)... and the list goes on and on. => At this point I changed the star rating from a 2.25 to a 1.0 This book just makes me angry by how bad it is and how much time I wasted on it. I really tried to like it. The one star is for how mildly entertaining it was.
oh and almost everything that happened to Paedyn in the trail happened to Kai and vise versa (climing trees to find water, similar injuries/fights, the snakes; it laked variation in ideas)
Normally, I can easily switch my brain off and ignore similar story lines/books or dialogues that are a bit mid. This book made that possible by being so unoriginal that it was annoying. (For example twilight; it's not stellar writing, but god did I enjoy those books)
Do yourself a favour and do not read this book. You'll get more enjoyment by (re-)reading one of the book that this author stole from.
Graphic: Bullying, Child abuse, Death, Emotional abuse, Genocide, Gore, Hate crime, Misogyny, Panic attacks/disorders, Physical abuse, Racial slurs, Sexism, Sexual content, Torture, Toxic relationship, Violence, Blood, Grief, Death of parent, Murder, Fire/Fire injury, Gaslighting, Injury/Injury detail, Classism
Graphic: Bullying, Death, Emotional abuse, Gore, Physical abuse, Torture, Toxic relationship, Violence, Blood, Kidnapping, Grief, Death of parent, Murder, Injury/Injury detail, Classism
Minor: Alcohol
"'I’m tougher than I look, I assure you. The strongest weapon a woman has at her disposal is that she is often underestimated,' I answer with a small smile. 'And I wield that all the time.'”
When I started reading this, I thought this was a copycat of The Hunger Games. Don't get me wrong, that series is one of my faves, but mirroring its formula feels unnecessary. That said, the more I kept reading, the more unique elements of this story emerged. The Trials are a series of challenges, there are less contestants, more than one survivor is allowed but there's only one winner. Plus, there's quite the variation in abilities people have without it being too confusing.
"... we are trading off blows and blocks as we toy with one another. It’s like a dance, and she is a fierce partner... One minute we’re flirting and the next we’re fighting—possibly even both at the same time. I can’t seem to figure this vicious girl out."
Okay, so I get it now… this is a great book! It’s very “The Hunger Games” but with a unique twist. The relationship dynamic between Kai and Paedyn is amazing (some of their scenes are my absolute favorite). Plus, the way the Trials are set up leaves me on the edge of my seat with anticipation of what’s going to happen next. And it’s interesting to have so many different kinds of enabled people that society can’t keep track of all the different power types, allowing Paedyn to fake an ability in order to blend in. Some moments broke my heart, some made me laugh out loud, but all of them were entertaining and engaging. Highly recommend this book and look forward to the rest of the series!
"I’ve never been looked at like it’s a privilege to be in my presence, an honor to hold my gaze, a gift to get a glimpse of me. Not until I met him. His mask slips, splinters, shatters, leaving only a boy beholding a girl like she is worthy of his wanting... I can’t help but long for this boy who has saved my life more times than I care to admit. This boy who is equally calculating and charming, equally cool and caring. The one who’s tended to my wounds, learned about my past, been my distraction when I needed it most. The one who understands me."
As for the audio, I'm a bit spoiled & have only listened to duet or full cast audiobooks, but dual narration makes up the majority of the audiobook space. And this book is narrated in dual form: the male POV chapter is read entirely by the male narrator & vice versa, meaning he reads female parts & she reads some male parts that occur within their specified chapters. So, this is not my favorite style because when the narrators switch genders, it takes me out of the performance a little bit. That said, it didn't make me hate the narration or take much away from the story's impact because both of these narrators did a fantastic job (especially with the banter moments).
Graphic: Death, Panic attacks/disorders, Torture, Toxic relationship, Violence, Blood, Death of parent, Murder, Injury/Injury detail
Moderate: Confinement, Grief, Classism
Minor: Animal death, Child abuse, Chronic illness, Fire/Fire injury, Alcohol, Pandemic/Epidemic
Moderate: Child abuse, Confinement, Cursing, Death, Emotional abuse, Gore, Panic attacks/disorders, Physical abuse, Self harm, Torture, Toxic relationship, Violence, Blood, Grief, Death of parent, Murder, Gaslighting, War, Injury/Injury detail, Classism
Cons: Unrealistic power description. Lack of description about the length of the trials. Mirrored a lot of previous work like the hunger games, ACOTAR (darling).
Graphic: Cursing, Death, Emotional abuse, Genocide, Panic attacks/disorders, Torture, Toxic relationship, Violence, Blood, Police brutality, Grief, Death of parent, Murder, Fire/Fire injury, Alcohol, Sexual harassment, War, Injury/Injury detail, Pandemic/Epidemic
Graphic: Bullying, Cursing, Death, Emotional abuse, Gore, Panic attacks/disorders, Physical abuse, Sexual content, Torture, Toxic relationship, Violence, Blood, Grief, Death of parent, Murder, Fire/Fire injury, Gaslighting, Alcohol, Sexual harassment, Injury/Injury detail
Graphic: Death, Gore, Toxic relationship, Violence, Blood, Grief, Death of parent, Murder, Abandonment, Injury/Injury detail, Classism
Moderate: Torture
Graphic: Death, Gore, Violence, Blood, Grief, Death of parent, Murder, Injury/Injury detail
Moderate: Child abuse, Emotional abuse, Physical abuse, Toxic relationship, Toxic friendship, Colonisation, War
Minor: Mental illness, Panic attacks/disorders, Torture, Alcohol, Sexual harassment, Pandemic/Epidemic
It is dual POV tho.
Graphic: Genocide, Gore, Torture, Toxic relationship, Violence, Blood, Death of parent, Murder, War, Pandemic/Epidemic
Moderate: Emotional abuse, Panic attacks/disorders
Minor: Suicide, Alcohol
Paedyn, Kai, Kitt. The elites and the ordinarys. The kingdom and its cruelty. All forced together by the king and his purging trails.
The dystopian aspect of all the ordinaries being seen as diseased by the elites was so well written and I like that Lauren didn’t shy away from truly setting the scene and talking realistically about how bad the slums could be.
My heart hurts with paedyn both for the unexpected ending but that she has been unfairly overwhelmed in loss more than the average person but I truly envy her strength despite it all.
I’m a huge sucker for fantasy as many already know, and this one sealed the deal easily. I instantly ordered the novella and and sequel and I cannot wait to follow paedyns fate and the fight for fairness.
Graphic: Animal cruelty, Body horror, Bullying, Child death, Confinement, Death, Gore, Physical abuse, Torture, Toxic relationship, Violence, Blood, Police brutality, Medical content, Grief, Death of parent, Murder, Fire/Fire injury, Toxic friendship, Alcohol, War, Injury/Injury detail, Classism