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3.52 AVERAGE
3.52 AVERAGE
I received a copy of this book from the publisher on Netgalley. All thoughts and opinions are my own.
When I first started this book, I was pretty sure that this was going to be a 1 star book. There's a lot about this book that makes it... very cliche. The main character isn't very pretty according to her, but is still chosen to be the Rajah's last queen. She can't fight but somehow wins the battles. She falls in love with LITERALLY the first man she ever saw. She has some kind of power that makes her unique, but she doesn't know she has it until suddenly it's awakened within her. Shocking!! Laid out like that, this could be literally ANY YA novel from the last 10 years.
That being said, there's something about this book that is oddly charming. For a while I thought I would DNF it, but I hate to do that for books I got from Netgalley so I held on. It was a pretty fast read anyway, and when you're traveling like I was, you don't really want something with a super complex plot.
Anyway, I ended up liking this book a lot more than I thought I would. The first reason being the characters. Even though the main character Kalinda had moments were she was insufferable, I also thought she had a lot of good qualities. I really liked the way she was with her best friend Jaya as well. Even when her life was changing and she met the man of her dreams, she didn't forget about Jaya in the least. Captain Naik is talking about them moving out and she's like "yep, and we'll bring Jaya" like OF COURSE THEY WOULD DUH??? But honestly I loved that. I loved how sweet she was, how she was actually pretty smart, pretty headstrong, and in general I liked all the characters in this. And in a refreshing change of pace, the female characters were the most developed, while the male characters weren't. They weren't neglected, but you could see that all the female characters, even the most background, were fully fleshed out.
I also really liked this book for the sisterhood aspect. There's a lot of this book that's centered on helping your fellow woman, even if she's not exactly nice. It's a lot about women supporting each other, especially against men who are awful. So much of this book is just reaffirming sisterhood with ALL women, and I thought that was just a great message
Finally, I actually really enjoyed this world. The blurb at the beginning said it was based on Ancient Sumerian mythology and I reallllllly loved that, I thought it was a super different take. I enjoyed the religion, the mythology, and the setting of this world a lot. The magic I thought was unnecessary because the setting was interesting enough.
All things told, I don't think this book is unique or fantastic by any means. But, that being said, it is a pretty enjoyable read and I think there are some good things that really shine in this. Do I think it's for everyone? Definitely not. But I do know there are some that are going to love this book.
When I first started this book, I was pretty sure that this was going to be a 1 star book. There's a lot about this book that makes it... very cliche. The main character isn't very pretty according to her, but is still chosen to be the Rajah's last queen. She can't fight but somehow wins the battles. She falls in love with LITERALLY the first man she ever saw. She has some kind of power that makes her unique, but she doesn't know she has it until suddenly it's awakened within her. Shocking!! Laid out like that, this could be literally ANY YA novel from the last 10 years.
That being said, there's something about this book that is oddly charming. For a while I thought I would DNF it, but I hate to do that for books I got from Netgalley so I held on. It was a pretty fast read anyway, and when you're traveling like I was, you don't really want something with a super complex plot.
Anyway, I ended up liking this book a lot more than I thought I would. The first reason being the characters. Even though the main character Kalinda had moments were she was insufferable, I also thought she had a lot of good qualities. I really liked the way she was with her best friend Jaya as well. Even when her life was changing and she met the man of her dreams, she didn't forget about Jaya in the least. Captain Naik is talking about them moving out and she's like "yep, and we'll bring Jaya" like OF COURSE THEY WOULD DUH??? But honestly I loved that. I loved how sweet she was, how she was actually pretty smart, pretty headstrong, and in general I liked all the characters in this. And in a refreshing change of pace, the female characters were the most developed, while the male characters weren't. They weren't neglected, but you could see that all the female characters, even the most background, were fully fleshed out.
I also really liked this book for the sisterhood aspect. There's a lot of this book that's centered on helping your fellow woman, even if she's not exactly nice. It's a lot about women supporting each other, especially against men who are awful. So much of this book is just reaffirming sisterhood with ALL women, and I thought that was just a great message
Finally, I actually really enjoyed this world. The blurb at the beginning said it was based on Ancient Sumerian mythology and I reallllllly loved that, I thought it was a super different take. I enjoyed the religion, the mythology, and the setting of this world a lot. The magic I thought was unnecessary because the setting was interesting enough.
All things told, I don't think this book is unique or fantastic by any means. But, that being said, it is a pretty enjoyable read and I think there are some good things that really shine in this. Do I think it's for everyone? Definitely not. But I do know there are some that are going to love this book.
This would have been a 3 star read if the captain was dead for real with jaya........this would have still be a 3 star if jaya was the one who survived and not the captain.....I mean he was not bad but useless I would say......and I honestly did not see any chemistry between him and kali
This author is very good at writing romance. I think I would have rated this book better if they had truly embraced the romance genre. As-is, I agree with other reviewers that the romance happens too soon and without adequate character development.
Now, I am very conflicted by this book, whilst I can accept that it has a lot of flaws I couldn't help but be totally engrossed by it. And despite a lot of the issues I have with it personally, I can definitely see myself continuing on with the series. I enjoyed the plot and there were certain elements that did catch me by surprise, but overall it was pretty simplistic. But if you are looking for an easy read I don't think you will mind. The main issue I had with this book from the start was the relationship that was so instant and unnecessary from the very start. Particularly at the beginning of the novel, I found it extremely uncomfortable and hard to read however as the book went on I certainly found it more bearable. But I do think there are a lot of red flags with how women are portrayed in this novel, I did notice that our main character did challenge these views on multiple occasions. But I do expect this to be built upon more in following books if they are to receive the same rating.
adventurous
tense
slow-paced
I received a copy through Netgalley for an honest review
I gave this book 2.5 stars. Honestly, I have read way better. I appreciate the attempt at diversity, but this book was severely lacking in many different ways.
This book had a pretty big element of romance. Sadly, I could not have cared less about the romance in this book. There was a love triangle that was just frustrating so it was best to just not care what happened with that.
The plot itself was much more engaging anyway, however, it’s pretty overused. Do you have any idea how many books I’ve read that have tournaments? To name a few there’s the Hunger Games, Divergent, Olympian Challenger, Throne of Glass, and The Goblet of Fire. There are just too many books like that out there for this to be an original story. I loved the fact that there was a unique setting in a sort of eastern inspired fantasy.
I just could not get into this book. Nothing about the characters really spoke to me. I didn’t care about Kalinda at all. She was a pretty flat character. And of the millions of other characters in this book, I can honestly say I didn’t like a single one of them. They just weren’t interesting or dynamic at all.
I also hate the thing that happens in so many books where someone will tell the protagonist that she just has to deal with something because others have it worse and she’s just got it so much better than them. It honestly pisses me off every single time it happens. These people act like they know so much about the protagonist but they don’t. You shouldn’t tell someone that they have to deal with something they are having a hard time with it’s honestly so stupid to me.
Overall, I know for a fact I will never read this book again or read any of the sequels because I’m just not that into it.
I gave this book 2.5 stars. Honestly, I have read way better. I appreciate the attempt at diversity, but this book was severely lacking in many different ways.
This book had a pretty big element of romance. Sadly, I could not have cared less about the romance in this book. There was a love triangle that was just frustrating so it was best to just not care what happened with that.
The plot itself was much more engaging anyway, however, it’s pretty overused. Do you have any idea how many books I’ve read that have tournaments? To name a few there’s the Hunger Games, Divergent, Olympian Challenger, Throne of Glass, and The Goblet of Fire. There are just too many books like that out there for this to be an original story. I loved the fact that there was a unique setting in a sort of eastern inspired fantasy.
I just could not get into this book. Nothing about the characters really spoke to me. I didn’t care about Kalinda at all. She was a pretty flat character. And of the millions of other characters in this book, I can honestly say I didn’t like a single one of them. They just weren’t interesting or dynamic at all.
I also hate the thing that happens in so many books where someone will tell the protagonist that she just has to deal with something because others have it worse and she’s just got it so much better than them. It honestly pisses me off every single time it happens. These people act like they know so much about the protagonist but they don’t. You shouldn’t tell someone that they have to deal with something they are having a hard time with it’s honestly so stupid to me.
Overall, I know for a fact I will never read this book again or read any of the sequels because I’m just not that into it.
I generally enjoyed this book. The world is interesting and complex.
The characters however are simple, and there are many cliches.
It's a good read.
The characters however are simple, and there are many cliches.
It's a good read.
Wonderfully crafted story
There was a lot to love about this book. The world was beautifully written, and the characters we perfect in their flaws. There was a lot going on, and a few twists I didn't expect. Would definitely recommend.
There was a lot to love about this book. The world was beautifully written, and the characters we perfect in their flaws. There was a lot going on, and a few twists I didn't expect. Would definitely recommend.