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3.72 AVERAGE
3.72 AVERAGE
adventurous
challenging
funny
inspiring
tense
fast-paced
Plot or Character Driven:
Character
Strong character development:
Yes
Loveable characters:
Yes
Diverse cast of characters:
Yes
Flaws of characters a main focus:
No
Was a super interesting concept and was pretty interesting however I felt that it lacked a little bit of oomph and follow through.
yet another book that could have been amazing in theory. I was so disappointed in having to put this down, but they're just wasn't anything for the reader to grasp. Characters meant nothing to me ad the plot was just "there". Failed to keep me entertained or interested.
I would ONLY recommend this if you like dragons.
I would ONLY recommend this if you like dragons.
Blazewrath Games is an epic read. A fantastically vivid world with a protagonist you cannot help but become attached to, This book has it all, gutwrenching in parts, funny in others, it doesn't shy away from tough subjects. It's a YA book you need to add to your to read list.
Victoria is singlehandedly the reason why this book can't be any higher than a 3.5. I'm a SUCKER for mean and selfish characters that have depth and complexity. but Victoria, holy shit she was just straight up agitating. ofc she had some backstory building up as to why she ostracized and treated Lana like shit every time she breathed but I do not care whatsoever. her apology was so meek and we're supposed to just forgive her. Lana says something at the end along the lines of "all my teammates lost the championship to save my dad" and the funny thing is VICTORIA DIDNT EVEN WANT TO SAVE HIM. and I quote "your dad's probably dead. now you're killing my hopes, too". This "friend" left all her other friends to fight a deadly dragon out to murder everyone because her ass wanted to win a rigged championship. the only reason she joined later on to help the rescue mission was bc she realized she couldn't play anyways with just her and her dragon. she's so pathetic holy crap. anyways... loved the pacing and action of this book, it really kept me at the edge of my seat.
adventurous
emotional
tense
fast-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
It's always tough when a new release you'd been really looking forward to isn't as good as you hoped it would be. I've let Blazewrath Games sit for a bit as I tried to figure out what specifically didn't work for me here and I think I've finally figured it out. There are a ton of things going on in this book -- magical bureaucracy, sports, found family, a nefarious villain, subterfuge, and lots of smaller mysteries -- that don't quite come together into a cohesive story. This book can't quite seem to decide what its main theme is, which makes for a reading experience that felt all over the place and often quite confusing. There were a lot of times when I had to stop reading to try to remember who someone was, how they fit into the larger story, and why I was supposed to care about them. On top of that, the decisions that the main character Lana makes often didn't make sense within the context of earlier things she had said and done. It seemed as though her actions were for the sake of the plot, rather than true to her character. She flip-flopped sides frequently throughout the story to the point that I was surprised other characters didn't call her out on it more frequently.
Some of the individual elements of Blazewrath Games were well done. I really enjoyed the action scenes about Blazewrath. They put me right in the thick of the action and made me wish that this was a real sport I could watch on TV. I also thought that Lana's journey to figure out her identity was moving. This made for a compelling emotional arc that I would've loved to see a bit more of in the story. I also really liked the way the book tackled the issue of activism and sports. It was handled with care while also raising a lot of important questions about how we view athletes and the power they have.
This wasn't a bad book -- it just seemed like it needed a little more editing to make it a cohesive story and to flesh out character motivations a bit more.
C/W:homophobia (challenged), violence, death
Some of the individual elements of Blazewrath Games were well done. I really enjoyed the action scenes about Blazewrath. They put me right in the thick of the action and made me wish that this was a real sport I could watch on TV. I also thought that Lana's journey to figure out her identity was moving. This made for a compelling emotional arc that I would've loved to see a bit more of in the story. I also really liked the way the book tackled the issue of activism and sports. It was handled with care while also raising a lot of important questions about how we view athletes and the power they have.
This wasn't a bad book -- it just seemed like it needed a little more editing to make it a cohesive story and to flesh out character motivations a bit more.
C/W:
adventurous
challenging
dark
emotional
hopeful
inspiring
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:
Yes
The cover of this book and the description of "Quidditch meets dragons" drew me right in. I love dragon books, I love Harry Potter, and I love all the the pink on this cover. Unfortunately, I think I set my expectations a little too high. The first half of the book moves really slowly with Lana figuring out her role in the Blazewrath Games, and there's lots of world building details to cover. By the time the pace picked up with the second half, Lana annoyed me as a character, and the "big reveals" didn't seem that impressive. The world is clever, but the characters and plot fell flat for me.
Writing Aesthetic/Style: 3.5
Plot/Movement: 3
Character Development: 3
Overall: 3
Thank you, Page Street Publishing, for the review copy!
Writing Aesthetic/Style: 3.5
Plot/Movement: 3
Character Development: 3
Overall: 3
Thank you, Page Street Publishing, for the review copy!