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betharanova's review against another edition
2.0
All in all, I kind of had to power through it.
Some POV chapters are written in third person, and some in first. It threw me off.
The emotion was really hit-or-miss here. It was clearly trying for a high degree of interpersonal drama, but so much of the impact didn't land, leaving me indifferent to the characters' sudden revelations or bouts of weeping. I'm not sure whether the last third was really full of strange out-of-character decisions, or if I just couldn't follow the emotional journey that got them there.
That said, I did eventually get attached to certain characters. The removed writing style worked pretty well for Witt and Khosa in particular, neither of whom were very emotional or expressive. That's probably why they're the two I got most invested in. Apart from a side character guard, of course. I love those good guard boys.
I may well pick up the sequel to give it a go, but almost certainly from the library instead of the store.
Some POV chapters are written in third person, and some in first. It threw me off.
The emotion was really hit-or-miss here. It was clearly trying for a high degree of interpersonal drama, but so much of the impact didn't land, leaving me indifferent to the characters' sudden revelations or bouts of weeping. I'm not sure whether the last third was really full of strange out-of-character decisions, or if I just couldn't follow the emotional journey that got them there.
That said, I did eventually get attached to certain characters. The removed writing style worked pretty well for Witt and Khosa in particular, neither of whom were very emotional or expressive. That's probably why they're the two I got most invested in. Apart from a side character guard, of course. I love those good guard boys.
I may well pick up the sequel to give it a go, but almost certainly from the library instead of the store.
jthobe's review against another edition
adventurous
dark
medium-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? Character
- Strong character development? It's complicated
- Loveable characters? No
- Diverse cast of characters? Yes
- Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes
3.0
ominouslilraven's review against another edition
2.0
Ok, so it’s took me quite some time to get through this book. I liked the premise of the story and I felt like it could be very interesting, which is why I gave it 2 stars, but the delivery just didn’t work. The writing was OK, it wasn’t my favorite but it was manageable. The characters *heavy sighs*. There was not a single character that I genuinely liked. The only one I felt interested in was Witt and he wasn’t even central to the story. His whole piece felt like an afterthought. He definitely served as a plot device.
I think the biggest distraction in this book is that there is A LOT of talk of rape and attraction between siblings (albeit adopted, its still weird).
I could probably continue to go on with why I didn’t like this book but I’m not gonna bother. I need to go read something else to read my mind of this book.
Damn that pretty cover for suckering my in.
I think the biggest distraction in this book is that there is A LOT of talk of rape and attraction between siblings (albeit adopted, its still weird).
I could probably continue to go on with why I didn’t like this book but I’m not gonna bother. I need to go read something else to read my mind of this book.
Damn that pretty cover for suckering my in.
deutschemausi's review against another edition
adventurous
challenging
dark
medium-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? Plot
- Strong character development? No
- Loveable characters? No
- Diverse cast of characters? No
- Flaws of characters a main focus? No
3.0
Eh….
That’s all I can really say. There’s a lot wrong with this book but I did still think it was somewhat enjoyable.
My biggest issue is the world building. There’s almost none and although I think this story and world had a lot of potential; it just wasn’t explained so it left me confused and somewhat irritated at times. There were point of views that didn’t really aid to the story and made me question as to why they were included in the first place. As well as the switch of which persona it’s written in.
I did enjoy the story I was just lacking a grasp on the world it’s set in due to no introduction into it.
The one thing I will say that gives this book a big pro is that it’s completely accepted as a way of life for all is that rape and sexual assault or harassment is unacceptable and those who see it differently are seen as those in the wrong which was incredibly refreshing to see especially in a world with royalty.
That’s all I can really say. There’s a lot wrong with this book but I did still think it was somewhat enjoyable.
My biggest issue is the world building. There’s almost none and although I think this story and world had a lot of potential; it just wasn’t explained so it left me confused and somewhat irritated at times. There were point of views that didn’t really aid to the story and made me question as to why they were included in the first place. As well as the switch of which persona it’s written in.
I did enjoy the story I was just lacking a grasp on the world it’s set in due to no introduction into it.
The one thing I will say that gives this book a big pro is that it’s completely accepted as a way of life for all is that rape and sexual assault or harassment is unacceptable and those who see it differently are seen as those in the wrong which was incredibly refreshing to see especially in a world with royalty.
Content Warnings
Moderate: Sexual assault
sydneybeth's review against another edition
adventurous
emotional
mysterious
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? It's complicated
4.5
abashton's review against another edition
dark
tense
medium-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? Plot
- Strong character development? Yes
3.0
shelbyday's review against another edition
3.0
I'm not really sure what the hell I just read... It was definitely interesting and kept my attention. All the longing, sexual tension, and innuendos were a bit much. It could have easily turned into a teen version of Game of Thrones. The world-building and cultures were fabulous, but I felt like the individual characters fell flat. They could have been much stronger in many respects. My fave character moment involved Vincent's mom. She had a SPECTACULAR moment that made me give a shout of joy. This is not one of my favorite YA novels, but is a wildly different concept that was good enough to get me to read the sequel. It's going to take me a few days to process this one.
livinliterary's review against another edition
3.0
This had a lot of potential but for me, it fell short of delivering on that.