Take a photo of a barcode or cover
3.63 AVERAGE
3.63 AVERAGE
Full review on Stellar Kitten Book Reviews:
*Received from Netgalley in exchange for an honest review
Overall, I have to say that the book was pretty good. Though as you can tell from my rating, I did have some issues with it. Right away, one of the things that kinda put me off about the book was that the author dropped an information bomb. There was so much backstory that I almost felt like taking notes in case there was a quiz. I mean, there’s the kingdoms, the Faceless leaders/cults, the Deathseekers, the heartsglass, the different witches–it was all sort of dropped throughout the first chapter or so instead of being spaced out throughout the book. I honestly had to shut a lot of it out because there was no way I was going to remember every location/focus of every kingdom. Something that helped this out a bit was that it was pretty much covered again here and there throughout the story, so it wasn’t like you were expected to know it by heart.
One of the strong points in the story was probably the bond between Tea and her brother, Fox. This was something that I thoroughly enjoyed because it was protective, genuine, and rooted in love. It was just something nice to have throughout the story. I enjoy sibling bonding in a story. He was really her anchor throughout the book, and was the only one not really concerned about her being a bone witch. He wanted to stay with her for as long as she wanted him around and ugh, that loyalty was just adorable.
Sadly, I can’t really say that there were too many other strong bonds like that in the book. I would count Tea and Polaire, Mykaela, Parmina, and maybe Likh. But besides them, I didn’t feel like I got to know any other characters very well. Most of them were encountered in passing (especially where other asha were concerned). But I still really enjoyed the characters that I did get to know.
I liked the style of the book, although it confused me at first. I didn’t understand right away that the two speakers (past and present/future) were both Tea. That definitely could’ve been made clearer, but aside from that it was good. I liked it in the sense that it gave me a glimpse into who she’d become, what had happened to her, and that made me curious. It made me wonder what happened that made her change from the young girl to this now full-blown and exiled asha. It also gave it an overall storyteller quality/tone that made it feel more like hearing a bedtime story. I liked that.
I didn’t really understand her infatuation with the prince. It was like some random romance just kinda stuck in there. They didn’t interact nearly enough to make any real connections that would make me think of them as romantic interests. It was just really, really in the background and just not a part of the story for me. And then towards the end of the book, it kinda hints at a love triangle that I never saw evidence of in the book.
As for the ending: it wasn’t as strong as I had hoped. I could tell that it wasn’t going to end at a good point because of how many questions I still had when I was reaching the last chapters but still. I was so confused about the romance (the man she “loved” was not who I was expecting based on everything in the book), I wanted to know why the exiled her (it didn’t really say), and what she planned to do (it kinda hinted, and that was alright as it would be a good allusion to the next book). These were some basic questions that I really wanted to be answered, that I think really should have been but weren’t.
Overall, a good story but the execution could have been better. I would still tell people to give it a chance and I’m still interested enough in the story that I would be willing to pick up the next book. I just hope it’s better put together.
*Received from Netgalley in exchange for an honest review
Overall, I have to say that the book was pretty good. Though as you can tell from my rating, I did have some issues with it. Right away, one of the things that kinda put me off about the book was that the author dropped an information bomb. There was so much backstory that I almost felt like taking notes in case there was a quiz. I mean, there’s the kingdoms, the Faceless leaders/cults, the Deathseekers, the heartsglass, the different witches–it was all sort of dropped throughout the first chapter or so instead of being spaced out throughout the book. I honestly had to shut a lot of it out because there was no way I was going to remember every location/focus of every kingdom. Something that helped this out a bit was that it was pretty much covered again here and there throughout the story, so it wasn’t like you were expected to know it by heart.
One of the strong points in the story was probably the bond between Tea and her brother, Fox. This was something that I thoroughly enjoyed because it was protective, genuine, and rooted in love. It was just something nice to have throughout the story. I enjoy sibling bonding in a story. He was really her anchor throughout the book, and was the only one not really concerned about her being a bone witch. He wanted to stay with her for as long as she wanted him around and ugh, that loyalty was just adorable.
Sadly, I can’t really say that there were too many other strong bonds like that in the book. I would count Tea and Polaire, Mykaela, Parmina, and maybe Likh. But besides them, I didn’t feel like I got to know any other characters very well. Most of them were encountered in passing (especially where other asha were concerned). But I still really enjoyed the characters that I did get to know.
I liked the style of the book, although it confused me at first. I didn’t understand right away that the two speakers (past and present/future) were both Tea. That definitely could’ve been made clearer, but aside from that it was good. I liked it in the sense that it gave me a glimpse into who she’d become, what had happened to her, and that made me curious. It made me wonder what happened that made her change from the young girl to this now full-blown and exiled asha. It also gave it an overall storyteller quality/tone that made it feel more like hearing a bedtime story. I liked that.
I didn’t really understand her infatuation with the prince. It was like some random romance just kinda stuck in there. They didn’t interact nearly enough to make any real connections that would make me think of them as romantic interests. It was just really, really in the background and just not a part of the story for me. And then towards the end of the book, it kinda hints at a love triangle that I never saw evidence of in the book.
As for the ending: it wasn’t as strong as I had hoped. I could tell that it wasn’t going to end at a good point because of how many questions I still had when I was reaching the last chapters but still. I was so confused about the romance (the man she “loved” was not who I was expecting based on everything in the book), I wanted to know why the exiled her (it didn’t really say), and what she planned to do (it kinda hinted, and that was alright as it would be a good allusion to the next book). These were some basic questions that I really wanted to be answered, that I think really should have been but weren’t.
Overall, a good story but the execution could have been better. I would still tell people to give it a chance and I’m still interested enough in the story that I would be willing to pick up the next book. I just hope it’s better put together.
adventurous
dark
mysterious
tense
medium-paced
Plot or Character Driven:
A mix
Strong character development:
Yes
Loveable characters:
Yes
Diverse cast of characters:
Complicated
Flaws of characters a main focus:
Yes
adventurous
challenging
dark
emotional
informative
mysterious
tense
medium-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
adventurous
emotional
mysterious
slow-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
I think there were issues with pacing, there were parts where the book dragged but then I suppose it's hard to make training sound entertaining.
The fact it flicks back and forth between two time periods is interesting, and I think contributions to the pacing problem because there far more happening in the later time.
I'm going to continue the series because I think it has promise. The way it ended does make me want to read the next one which is a good sign. Hopefully I like it more or I'll leave it there.
The fact it flicks back and forth between two time periods is interesting, and I think contributions to the pacing problem because there far more happening in the later time.
I'm going to continue the series because I think it has promise. The way it ended does make me want to read the next one which is a good sign. Hopefully I like it more or I'll leave it there.
I could tell right away that I wasn’t going to love it. I’m a fan of dual POV’s but not when they are also mixed with a flashback narrative.
dark
mysterious
slow-paced
Plot or Character Driven:
Character
Strong character development:
Yes
Loveable characters:
Yes
Diverse cast of characters:
Yes
Flaws of characters a main focus:
Yes
First of all, the FMC audiobook narrator performed this like rent was due and honestly she's the main reason I stuck it through! Otherwise, just meh. I wanted dark and broody, which this book has in spades, but I also wanted an interesting plot, which it does not have. The world-building is mostly well done. The magic system and political landscape are unique, but there are aspects of the asha practice that remain unclear, paticularly the hosting of parties.
It's mostly giving Memoirs of a Geisha (which I loved) with a healthy dose of magic and monsters (which I loved). It's very slow paced and it's just vibes for the first 75% or so, but there are a handful of interesting (if somewhat flat) minor characters.
It's mostly giving Memoirs of a Geisha (which I loved) with a healthy dose of magic and monsters (which I loved). It's very slow paced and it's just vibes for the first 75% or so, but there are a handful of interesting (if somewhat flat) minor characters.
DNF at 85%, I enjoyed the world building and it distracted me from the fact that literally nothing happens in this book. We're told from the beginning there is doom and DESPAIR, and we still never arrive at any kind of inclination of the MC that she is going to wind up where we're told she is going from the beginning. There is a BIG OLD REVEAL in the last act where suddenly a great and evil plot apparently happening the whole time is revealed. After that I just had to put this down. I just can't.
I really wanted to like this.
I really wanted to like this.
adventurous
challenging
dark
funny
slow-paced
adventurous
dark
mysterious