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3.82 AVERAGE
3.82 AVERAGE
3.5 stars, rounded up to four because I think that's what it would have been if I hadn't completely misjudged the kind of audiobook I was in the mood for
adventurous
dark
emotional
tense
slow-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
Lada kicks ass and takes names. She's my kind of girl.
As a transylvania saxon, I approve.
I honestly very pleasantly surprised. I went in expecting a kitschy vampire love story BUT NO! Instead I got a historic retelling from a new and exciting perspective.
I honestly very pleasantly surprised. I went in expecting a kitschy vampire love story BUT NO! Instead I got a historic retelling from a new and exciting perspective.
adventurous
challenging
tense
slow-paced
Plot or Character Driven:
Character
Strong character development:
Yes
Loveable characters:
Complicated
Diverse cast of characters:
Yes
Flaws of characters a main focus:
Yes
The audio was a little difficult to follow at times. The best character through the whole book was Radu (sp?) by far.
I was impressed by the descriptions of the importance of girls vs boys during this particular time. I felt that the love interests were extremely well done. I also appreciated the decisions that were forced: personal happiness or the overall success of a nation.
I was impressed by the descriptions of the importance of girls vs boys during this particular time. I felt that the love interests were extremely well done. I also appreciated the decisions that were forced: personal happiness or the overall success of a nation.
adventurous
medium-paced
Plot or Character Driven:
Character
Strong character development:
No
Loveable characters:
Yes
Diverse cast of characters:
Yes
Flaws of characters a main focus:
Yes
*BC, 0-499, 500-999, 1000, 1100, 1200, 1300, 1400, 1500, 1600, 1700, 1800-1849, 1850-1899, 1910, 1920, 1930, 1940, 1950, 1960, 1970, 1980, 1990, 2000, 2010, 2020, The Future
DNF at about 50%.
I don't like YA, and unfortunately this reinforced all my prejudices about the genre. It started off well, and I really enjoyed the descriptions of Lada and Radu's childhood, and their different reactions to an unloving, threatening household. But then nothing kept happening. It's just angst and frustration and obsessing over Mehmed. It's candy floss--fun and easy while you're eating it, but leaves you feeling dissatisfied. Or leaves me feeling dissatisfied, because this just isn't my type of fluff. Only one guy has gotten impaled so far. What the heck.
My biggest complaint is the fact that a lot of awesome historical and plot-relevant stuff does happen--off-page. So much super-cool plot: their half-brother betraying and usurping their father, a minor Crusade, various political assassinations, a Janissary revolt, all off-page. WHY. WHY. And seriously, 500 pages doesn't need to be the standard length for your novel. 300 is a perfectly good number, especially when there is almost no actual plot to go around (and no, I don't count kissing as plot. It is not an event).
Anyway, I can completely understand why people who enjoy YA and the like will really love this. It's not bad, it's just really, really not for me. I rarely DNF, but honestly, why force myself onward when I know it will be more of the same. I need a whole lot more action to relax, and preferably some blood and guts to boot. If you want strategy and political intrigue, there is some, but prepare to spend dozens of pages on frustrating teenage angst for a paragraph of something cool.
DNF at about 50%.
I don't like YA, and unfortunately this reinforced all my prejudices about the genre. It started off well, and I really enjoyed the descriptions of Lada and Radu's childhood, and their different reactions to an unloving, threatening household. But then nothing kept happening. It's just angst and frustration and obsessing over Mehmed. It's candy floss--fun and easy while you're eating it, but leaves you feeling dissatisfied. Or leaves me feeling dissatisfied, because this just isn't my type of fluff. Only one guy has gotten impaled so far. What the heck.
My biggest complaint is the fact that a lot of awesome historical and plot-relevant stuff does happen--off-page. So much super-cool plot: their half-brother betraying and usurping their father, a minor Crusade, various political assassinations, a Janissary revolt, all off-page. WHY. WHY. And seriously, 500 pages doesn't need to be the standard length for your novel. 300 is a perfectly good number, especially when there is almost no actual plot to go around (and no, I don't count kissing as plot. It is not an event).
Anyway, I can completely understand why people who enjoy YA and the like will really love this. It's not bad, it's just really, really not for me. I rarely DNF, but honestly, why force myself onward when I know it will be more of the same. I need a whole lot more action to relax, and preferably some blood and guts to boot. If you want strategy and political intrigue, there is some, but prepare to spend dozens of pages on frustrating teenage angst for a paragraph of something cool.
challenging
dark
reflective
medium-paced
Plot or Character Driven:
Character
Strong character development:
Yes
Loveable characters:
Complicated
Diverse cast of characters:
Yes
Flaws of characters a main focus:
Yes
I can't believe I took this long to read this book.
slow-paced
Plot or Character Driven:
A mix
Strong character development:
Complicated
Loveable characters:
Yes
Diverse cast of characters:
Yes
Flaws of characters a main focus:
Yes
This was not at all what I was expecting and gave me complicated feelings. If I had known it was not actually a fantasy book, and closer to a historical fiction on the Ottoman Empire I probably wouldn't have picked it up. I was uninterested in everything about the time period, the politics, the world building, the side characters, and most of the plot. None of that is on the author, just my reading preferences. All that being said it's really well written and I enjoyed the characters enough that I want to know what happens next, which seems like a huge accomplishment considering how many aspects of the book didn't appeal to me.