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rorikae's review against another edition
adventurous
dark
emotional
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
3.75
'Whispers of Shadow & Flame' by L. Penelope is the second installment of the Earthsinger Chronicles, which does a great job of expanding the readers understanding of the world.
The story follows three characters, Darvyn, Kyara, and Zeli. Daryvn works as the Shadowfox, a rebel that helps people without revealing his true identity. Kyara is the True Father's assassin who is tasked with finding the Shadowfox. Zeli is a servant within a noble's house. Searching for the Shadowfox, Kyara falls in with Darvyn and his group as she searches for the identity of the Shadowfox.
I really appreciate how this installment expands our understanding of Lagrimar and presents parallel events to what we followed in book one. This did a great job of expanding the world and giving backstory to characters that we glimpsed in book one. I really appreciate how Penelope utilizes this plus her novellas to give the reader a better understanding of her characters and the political situation they are wrapped up in.
I'm interested to see what happens next as I assume we will see more of the characters across the two books interacting with each other.
The story follows three characters, Darvyn, Kyara, and Zeli. Daryvn works as the Shadowfox, a rebel that helps people without revealing his true identity. Kyara is the True Father's assassin who is tasked with finding the Shadowfox. Zeli is a servant within a noble's house. Searching for the Shadowfox, Kyara falls in with Darvyn and his group as she searches for the identity of the Shadowfox.
I really appreciate how this installment expands our understanding of Lagrimar and presents parallel events to what we followed in book one. This did a great job of expanding the world and giving backstory to characters that we glimpsed in book one. I really appreciate how Penelope utilizes this plus her novellas to give the reader a better understanding of her characters and the political situation they are wrapped up in.
I'm interested to see what happens next as I assume we will see more of the characters across the two books interacting with each other.
Content Warnings
Graphic: Death, Kidnapping, Racism, Classism, Violence, War, Colonisation, and Grief
Moderate: Sexual content
allisonwonderlandreads's review against another edition
adventurous
dark
hopeful
mysterious
slow-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? A mix
- Strong character development? Yes
- Loveable characters? Yes
3.0
This sequel ushers in a shift in approach from its predecessor. The original book in the series, A Song of Blood & Stone, read like a romantasy book to me. While there is world-building and conflict that go beyond the romantic plot, the majority focus on the hot-and-heavy love story qualifies it as a fusion of two genres. In Whispers of Shadow & Flame, there is still a central romantic plot with a new couple, but a secondary and completely separate (for now) plot with a focus on found sisterhood made this book feel less like a romance at heart. Also, the romance here ends on a cliffhanger before being much resolved or explored. In other words, this read more like a general fantasy novel, which is something I like but didn't anticipate from the style of book one.
The premise of this book is intriguing because it shares a timeline with the first book but largely in the enemy nation. There are interconnected characters across the two, and big events spurred on by characters in one book inevitably affect those in the other. Some intentional plot holes in the first book are plugged up once the actions of this group are known to the reader. This was an intriguing way to join the two books, and it was interesting but perhaps also frustrating to end at the same point in time with no further knowledge of what comes next.
The two major plotlines in this book are a romance between an assassin and the rebel she's meant to catch (the first time she's been asked to return someone alive), and the adventures of a servant girl whose dreams of improving her rank face challenges the more she understands the realities of power. The latter story grew to be my favorite, introducing conspiracy, kidnapping, and hope, where the romance relied on angst, disjointed exploration of magic system(s), and instalove.
Beyond my mismatched feelings about the two plotlines, the world-building didn't strike my fancy. The decisions of where to explain versus where to leave some mystery didn't always make sense to me. I'm still confused about elements of magic and history because I think big reveals are coming later, but other aspects were discussed in detail. I think the problem for me was that I'm not left curious to know more; I'm just frustrated with my spotty understanding of what's going on. That's purely subjective, so I think other readers will have different experiences. On my part, I am undecided about whether to finish out the series when my commitment is lukewarm.
The premise of this book is intriguing because it shares a timeline with the first book but largely in the enemy nation. There are interconnected characters across the two, and big events spurred on by characters in one book inevitably affect those in the other. Some intentional plot holes in the first book are plugged up once the actions of this group are known to the reader. This was an intriguing way to join the two books, and it was interesting but perhaps also frustrating to end at the same point in time with no further knowledge of what comes next.
The two major plotlines in this book are a romance between an assassin and the rebel she's meant to catch (the first time she's been asked to return someone alive), and the adventures of a servant girl whose dreams of improving her rank face challenges the more she understands the realities of power. The latter story grew to be my favorite, introducing conspiracy, kidnapping, and hope, where the romance relied on angst, disjointed exploration of magic system(s), and instalove.
Beyond my mismatched feelings about the two plotlines, the world-building didn't strike my fancy. The decisions of where to explain versus where to leave some mystery didn't always make sense to me. I'm still confused about elements of magic and history because I think big reveals are coming later, but other aspects were discussed in detail. I think the problem for me was that I'm not left curious to know more; I'm just frustrated with my spotty understanding of what's going on. That's purely subjective, so I think other readers will have different experiences. On my part, I am undecided about whether to finish out the series when my commitment is lukewarm.
Content Warnings
Graphic: Child abuse, Kidnapping, Torture, Slavery, Death, and Classism
Moderate: Gore, Physical abuse, Ableism, Confinement, Injury/Injury detail, Murder, Sexism, Sexual content, Violence, Abandonment, Blood, Death of parent, and Emotional abuse
Minor: Animal death, Sexual harassment, Animal cruelty, Child death, and Excrement
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