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nana_darling's review against another edition
5.0
...wow... This book was so amazing!!! I loved every line and chapter in this book!!! Plus the characters are absolutly loveable, I loved Kestrel's confidence and her quick, smart mind and Arins strong and bold sprit . This is definitely one of my favorite books !
eponineeurydice's review against another edition
4.0
This was pretty good! The writing was lyrical and the characters were compelling, but I don't think I felt very emotionally attached to the characters for some reason. I liked them, but I felt like the connection was missing. Still, I'd like to continue this series. If you liked An Ember in the Ashes, you may like this book.
tale_of_tales's review against another edition
adventurous
emotional
mysterious
tense
fast-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
5.0
Content Warnings
Graphic: Pandemic/Epidemic, Slavery, Classism, and Blood
Moderate: Death
Minor: Colonisation, Sexual assault, Death of parent, Blood, Violence, Alcohol, Gore, Grief, Medical content, Racism, and War
shadowbunny101's review against another edition
dark
mysterious
sad
medium-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? A mix
- Strong character development? It's complicated
- Loveable characters? It's complicated
- Diverse cast of characters? No
- Flaws of characters a main focus? It's complicated
3.75
Honestly I really enjoyed this. The writing is excellent for a romantasy book. The reason I rated this as a 3.75 (instead of something higher) is largely because I didn’t feel convinced that the main characters truly loved each other? Yes, they cared deeply for one another but I didn’t really see them connect outside of their shared love for music. So, I think this limited my interest in the book series as a whole. Additionally, the fantasy world was pretty tame. One nation conquers another yada yada. If I wanted to read about conquests I could pick up any book about the Roman Empire. The beauty of fantasy (in my mind) is the magical elements. The lack of a magic system is another reason I didn’t love love this book. Overall, my appreciation of this book was driven by the quality of the writing rather than the subject matter.
daisyjones_andthesix's review against another edition
challenging
dark
mysterious
reflective
sad
tense
medium-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? Plot
- Strong character development? It's complicated
- Loveable characters? N/A
- Diverse cast of characters? Yes
- Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes
4.0
brisingr's review against another edition
5.0
There is a particular niche of enemies to lovers that I enjoy the most, and yes - this is another one of them. Rereading this 6 years later, just as breathlessly engaged in everything and everyone in these books.
asaph95's review against another edition
5.0
LOVED IT. Why didn't I pick this up sooner!! Review to come.
_gyska1's review against another edition
adventurous
emotional
fast-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? Character
- Strong character development? Yes
- Loveable characters? It's complicated
- Diverse cast of characters? No
- Flaws of characters a main focus? No
2.75
leurireads's review against another edition
fast-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? N/A
- Strong character development? No
- Loveable characters? No
- Diverse cast of characters? Yes
- Flaws of characters a main focus? No
1.0
Ladies and gentlemen my worst 2024 read so far! Coloniser romance, coloniser apologist, the author showed her white saviour complex very thoroughly!
General spoilers ahead!!!
Reading this book was very much like reading current news and the main protagonist being a coloniser who we should sympathise for and root for because she’s battling her feelings of loyalty to her people or to heart left a very bad taste in my mouth. It starts with her questioning her people's actions while very much benefiting from them (does it not resonate with current life events?)then its her being angry that the oppressed people who she previously sympathised with have fought back and are trying to reclaim their home (again does it not resonate?) Arin the love interest, the slave, the colonised who chose the women he loves over his people??? Again bad taste in my mouth!!
I’m supposed to start sympathising with kestrel & its basically like sympathising with an !srael! :) IK she later on switches sides but for all the WRONG reasons :)
Wdym love can bring peace between the oppressed and oppressor? This is such a poorly executed concept and the fact that the main character is part of the colonisers’ empire is just disgusting. I do not wish to sympathise with her I do not wish to read her horrible thoughts of the oppressed and I do not wish to see how she dehumanises them to the point she’s just exchanging lives with the emperor, it was basically a “listen dont colonise them (the man I love is part of them) but colonise the other side instead” the worse part is that she didnt choose to switch sides out of humanity and morals, no she switched sides because she wants a man!! One more thing I need to add is the fact that ARIN who was a slave and whose home was colonised is the one who keeps APOLOGISING to the coloniser!!!!!!!!!!!!!!
this is such a horribly executed concept, bad writing and lacks depth. I have so much to say about this but mostly, if you as an adult have read this in this day and age and ENJOYED this book then some self reflection is due.
I will not continue this series & I will not recommend it to anyone ever.
General spoilers ahead!!!
Reading this book was very much like reading current news and the main protagonist being a coloniser who we should sympathise for and root for because she’s battling her feelings of loyalty to her people or to heart left a very bad taste in my mouth. It starts with her questioning her people's actions while very much benefiting from them (does it not resonate with current life events?)then its her being angry that the oppressed people who she previously sympathised with have fought back and are trying to reclaim their home (again does it not resonate?) Arin the love interest, the slave, the colonised who chose the women he loves over his people??? Again bad taste in my mouth!!
I’m supposed to start sympathising with kestrel & its basically like sympathising with an !srael! :) IK she later on switches sides but for all the WRONG reasons :)
Wdym love can bring peace between the oppressed and oppressor? This is such a poorly executed concept and the fact that the main character is part of the colonisers’ empire is just disgusting. I do not wish to sympathise with her I do not wish to read her horrible thoughts of the oppressed and I do not wish to see how she dehumanises them to the point she’s just exchanging lives with the emperor, it was basically a “listen dont colonise them (the man I love is part of them) but colonise the other side instead” the worse part is that she didnt choose to switch sides out of humanity and morals, no she switched sides because she wants a man!! One more thing I need to add is the fact that ARIN who was a slave and whose home was colonised is the one who keeps APOLOGISING to the coloniser!!!!!!!!!!!!!!
this is such a horribly executed concept, bad writing and lacks depth. I have so much to say about this but mostly, if you as an adult have read this in this day and age and ENJOYED this book then some self reflection is due.
I will not continue this series & I will not recommend it to anyone ever.