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thebooseller's review against another edition
dark
mysterious
sad
tense
slow-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? Character
- Strong character development? No
- Loveable characters? It's complicated
- Diverse cast of characters? No
- Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes
3.0
This is quite possibly the most infuriating book I've read this year, and I've read over 150.
A general review: This book is not for plot girlies. It's 95% smut, 5% plot. The smut is good, but I wish there was a little more action to the plot. It was a whole lot of exposition, so maybe the rest of the books will be stronger. But for this one, I always felt like I'd read 1,000 pages, just to look down and see I was only 32% of the way through the book. And there are plenty of errors and earcorns and it was sometimes a little painful.
That said, I think I hate these characters so much that I kind of like them, and at the very least, I can't take my eyes off the absolute trainwreck that is this story.
A more detailed review: Raven is somehow worse than Feyre Archeron and every one-dimensional heroine. And to be fair, it works for her—but only to an extent. She's been sheltered her whole life, which explains so much about her character; on that front, I applaud the author's accuracy. But my god, is she the most immature, insecure, selfish 20-something-year-old FMC. The only reason there's any relationship tension in this book is because she overhears some shit or sees something out of context and takes a hot air balloon ride to whatever worst case scenario her little bird brain (pun intended) can devise.
But again, that's gotta all be by design given how few people she's had in her life and how remote her kingdom is. Doesn't mean I don't hate it with every ounce of bone marrow in my body and wish she had some goddamn self respect, though. Also, the Jeanine thing? Girl, get a grip. How many times can you beat a horse that was never alive?
Cade? The hardest of passes. Is Zeke toxic as fuck? Absolutely. But does he at least respect Raven as a human being and want to challenge her to be better? You bet your ass. Cade is just such a gross character so I guess once again, the author did a great job of building that out.
He is the most dense motherfucker I've ever read in a book, and that's accounting for Jacob Black. And I don't think I've ever felt nauseated while reading about a character, but here we are. All I gotta say about Cade is that I can't wait for Zeke to kill his ass.
And Zeke. Oh, Zeke. My guy is an alcoholic and a jealous creature, but he's great in bed, and I love that for Raven. Honestly, Raven is the problem here. She's the iceberg that sinks her own damn Titanic—every. time.
Anyway, I just got book 2 on KU so here goes.
A general review: This book is not for plot girlies. It's 95% smut, 5% plot. The smut is good, but I wish there was a little more action to the plot. It was a whole lot of exposition, so maybe the rest of the books will be stronger. But for this one, I always felt like I'd read 1,000 pages, just to look down and see I was only 32% of the way through the book. And there are plenty of errors and earcorns and it was sometimes a little painful.
That said, I think I hate these characters so much that I kind of like them, and at the very least, I can't take my eyes off the absolute trainwreck that is this story.
A more detailed review: Raven is somehow worse than Feyre Archeron and every one-dimensional heroine. And to be fair, it works for her—but only to an extent. She's been sheltered her whole life, which explains so much about her character; on that front, I applaud the author's accuracy. But my god, is she the most immature, insecure, selfish 20-something-year-old FMC. The only reason there's any relationship tension in this book is because she overhears some shit or sees something out of context and takes a hot air balloon ride to whatever worst case scenario her little bird brain (pun intended) can devise.
But again, that's gotta all be by design given how few people she's had in her life and how remote her kingdom is. Doesn't mean I don't hate it with every ounce of bone marrow in my body and wish she had some goddamn self respect, though. Also, the Jeanine thing? Girl, get a grip. How many times can you beat a horse that was never alive?
Cade? The hardest of passes. Is Zeke toxic as fuck? Absolutely. But does he at least respect Raven as a human being and want to challenge her to be better? You bet your ass. Cade is just such a gross character so I guess once again, the author did a great job of building that out.
He is the most dense motherfucker I've ever read in a book, and that's accounting for Jacob Black. And I don't think I've ever felt nauseated while reading about a character, but here we are. All I gotta say about Cade is that I can't wait for Zeke to kill his ass.
And Zeke. Oh, Zeke. My guy is an alcoholic and a jealous creature, but he's great in bed, and I love that for Raven. Honestly, Raven is the problem here. She's the iceberg that sinks her own damn Titanic—every. time.
Anyway, I just got book 2 on KU so here goes.
Content Warnings
Moderate: Alcoholism and Sexual assault
Minor: Death of parent
hopecobblepotworld's review against another edition
adventurous
challenging
dark
emotional
funny
mysterious
tense
medium-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? A mix
- Strong character development? It's complicated
- Loveable characters? It's complicated
- Diverse cast of characters? No
- Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes
4.0
Stars: 🌟 🌟🌟🌟
Scoville Spice Scale: 🌶🌶🌶½
Book overview:
At ten years old, Raven was mysteriously willed to be the next ruler of Seolia, a kingdom nestled within the realm of The Four Kingdoms. Orphaned as a baby, she has spent fifteen years ruling over a kingdom she believes she did not earn all while hiding secrets: she possesses dark magic, and she thirsts for blood.
Now at almost twenty-five years old and with a sudden addiction to stealing life, Raven must fight through her new procured darkness to save her soul, but when a mysterious stranger arrives in her kingdom, she starts experiencing vivid dreams that detail who she truly is. As she slowly starts to unravel her story, what she uncovers at the end of the spool will change the course of her life and her kingdom forever.
My Thoughts:
Raven, the FMC of this book, has been lied to by everyone. By her best friend. By her Court. And now by Zeke, our MMC who is tangled in his shadows, shortcomings, and misdirection. Raven rules the small island nation of Seolia but she still doesn't understand why she was chosen. Things unravel to us, the reader, but not to Raven until the end. Raven is caught between two men who seem hell bent on hurting her; secrets about herself; and her evolving magic. While Raven has her Elements, she must learn to depend on herself rather than those who have their own agendas.
One of the things I really enjoyed about this book was the excellent Worldbuilding. I felt totally immersed in the kingdom of Seolia. I loved the village and the progression of Raven's relationships with the villagers. Especially Eva.
Tropes:
🔥Forced Proximity
🌎Abandonment
❄️Love Triangle
⚔️Insta-Lust
🔥Magic
🌎Secrets
❄️One Bed
⚔️Break Up, Make Up, Break Up, etc.
Check for trigger warnings.
Thank you to rrbooktours and authorwhitneydean for a gifted copy in exchange for an honest opinion.
Content Warnings
Moderate: Bullying, Blood, Violence, Physical abuse, Gaslighting, Confinement, Toxic relationship, Toxic friendship, Sexual assault, Death of parent, Torture, Suicide attempt, Stalking, Sexual content, and Rape
bellebookcorner's review against another edition
dark
mysterious
slow-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? Character
- Strong character development? It's complicated
- Loveable characters? No
- Diverse cast of characters? No
- Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes
2.5
I really want to like this one because the blurb sounds interesting, unfortunately this one was not what I expected. It has the potential to be a good series with unique world building and magical powers. Unfortunately, I didn’t fully enjoy reading it for some reasons.
At the beginning I was enjoying the story, the writing style is actually pretty good. There’s no info dumping – the world building was explained as the story goes.
Raven (FMC) has an interesting power and she was such a badass in the first few chapters, I also like how she cared for her people and interact with them and in return they also respect and accept her.
However, things started to go downhill when Raven meets the love interest – Zeke. Raven’s character started to change into this whiny and weak character, like she can’t do anything and started losing herself.
I’m not fond of Zeke’s character as well, I questioned his decision-making skill. I don’t understand his reason for his actions toward Raven which only prolong Raven’s misery instead of helping her.
I wasn’t a huge fan of the insta-love happening between Raven and Zeke. There wasn’t any progress of getting to know each other.
I usually don’t mind with spicy books as long as it balanced out with the plot but for me this one has slightly too many spicy scenes.
I was also surprised that the mystery of this plot with Raven’s past and Zeke’s mission was revealed very early at the beginning which confused me even more. The plot started to shift into focusing more about the love triangle romance which slows the pacing down and I started to lose interest in the plot.
Some scenes/topics can be sensitive to some readers so I highly suggest checking out the trigger warnings before picking up this dark fantasy romance series.
⚠️ 𝐓𝐖: Sexual content, Sexual assault, Toxic relationship, Gaslighting, Toxic friendship, Emotional abuse, Physical abuse and Blood
<i>Thank you to RR Book Tour and the author for giving me an e-ARC of the book and for having me on this book tour. I’m leaving this review voluntarily.</i>
Content Warnings
Graphic: Sexual assault, Sexual content, Toxic friendship, and Toxic relationship
Moderate: Gaslighting
Minor: Emotional abuse, Blood, and Physical abuse
kesbooks's review against another edition
- Diverse cast of characters? No
- Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes
3.25
I had a lot of fun reading this one! From the start it grabbed me, and I was in for the ride. I really loved Raven’s magic and seeing her grow into her power. I liked Raven and Zeke even when their relationship got toxic.
As much as I enjoyed the story, it was flawed. This book is extremely spicy and in my opinion was way too much so. Not that that’s a bad thing, but it’s something I personally don’t want too much of in my books.
I found the constant repetitive conversations incredibly frustrating to read. I know that miscommunication between characters is supposed to happen in this, but it was giving me a headache. Raven also is incredibly stubborn, and I thought her actions at the end of the book made no sense.
I never understand the hiding of the “secret”. If Zeke could have been just honest, we could have had less repetitiveness and more development of their relationship.
Overall, it was a fun start to a series that I want to continue!
As much as I enjoyed the story, it was flawed. This book is extremely spicy and in my opinion was way too much so. Not that that’s a bad thing, but it’s something I personally don’t want too much of in my books.
I found the constant repetitive conversations incredibly frustrating to read. I know that miscommunication between characters is supposed to happen in this, but it was giving me a headache. Raven also is incredibly stubborn, and I thought her actions at the end of the book made no sense.
I never understand the hiding of the “secret”. If Zeke could have been just honest, we could have had less repetitiveness and more development of their relationship.
Overall, it was a fun start to a series that I want to continue!
Content Warnings
Graphic: Sexual assault
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