Reviews with content warning for Sexual assault - Pozlacené

I thought this had some potential to be a 5 star read for me, at least until the ending went completely off the rails. When I read in her bio that Forna is a screenwriter, that made total sense to me with how the ending was written. Action, action, action, and then a few seconds of denouement before we cut to black. However, this rapid chain of events meant that the twist I had seen coming for most of the book ended up being one turning point among many, which I did appreciate.

Setting that aside, this was an entertaining twist on the chosen one trope in which the main character, Deka rose up against a crushingly patriarchal society. This book was dark and extremely violent; those elements and the pacing were strongly reminiscent of <i>The Poppy War </i> for me, and I would hesitate to recommend this to anyone who isn't late into their teen years, if not older.

Deka's friendships were more compelling than her love interest, and the squad's dedication to protecting their own was admirable, especially since we saw this camaraderie grow throughout the story. The conclusion was also quite movie-esque in that it had a clean ending that could either unfold into a sequel or be left as-is. Personally, I don't think I'll be continuing on with this series, so I love how Forna offers readers that choice.

Content Warnings

dr_steph's review against another edition

Go to review page

adventurous dark reflective fast-paced

Plot- or character-driven? Plot
Strong character development? It's complicated
Loveable characters? Yes
Diverse cast of characters? Yes

3.0

I think the overall plot of this novel was interesting and there were some really great concepts. But unfortunately lots of things felt underdeveloped and rushed (especially towards the very end). The main character experiences a fundamental belief system change, and yet this change happens in a very choppy and sudden way rather than gradually building. There was lots of telling instead of showing, and in my opinion this manuscript needed further editing and development.

Content Warnings

corngod31's review against another edition

Go to review page

adventurous dark inspiring 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? No

4.25

Slow start but got better.

Content Warnings

katiesbookmarks's review against another edition

Go to review page

adventurous challenging dark emotional hopeful inspiring mysterious tense medium-paced

Plot- or character-driven? Character
Strong character development? Yes
Loveable characters? Yes
Diverse cast of characters? Yes
Flaws of characters a main focus? It's complicated

4.0

Solid 4 stars for me! I loved the world building and this was a great reprieve from the semi-typical Fae/mostly white-based mythology. I loved the characters and while the romance fell flat for me, I thought this was a really solid read. It’s marketed as YA and I definitely felt as a reader in my 30s, some traits of the MC bothered me, likely only due to her age - same for some aspects where I felt it was too much telling rather than showing. But I think this series would be great for anyone wanting to read more fantasy and adventure.

Content Warnings

mollyv's review against another edition

Go to review page

adventurous dark mysterious tense medium-paced

Plot- or character-driven? A mix
Strong character development? Yes
Loveable characters? It's complicated
Diverse cast of characters? Yes
Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes

4.0

Content Warnings

kodeboer's review against another edition

Go to review page

adventurous medium-paced

Plot- or character-driven? A mix
Strong character development? Yes
Loveable characters? No
Diverse cast of characters? Yes
Flaws of characters a main focus? No

2.75

Content Warnings

annniina98's review against another edition

Go to review page

3.0

I was left wanting more. There were so many time skips, that you really didn't see Deka's character arc, nor the relationships building. They learned things and became friends, but it wasn't shown as it was happening. It was just told that it had happened. That left me at an arms length from everything that happened in the book. I liked it, it just had potential to be better, with like 100 pages more of the book.

Content Warnings

ctara2123's review against another edition

Go to review page

adventurous dark emotional fast-paced

Plot- or character-driven? Plot
Strong character development? Yes
Loveable characters? It's complicated
Diverse cast of characters? Yes
Flaws of characters a main focus? It's complicated

3.75

Content Warnings

More...