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4.43 AVERAGE
4.43 AVERAGE
adventurous
emotional
mysterious
tense
medium-paced
adventurous
emotional
tense
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:
Complicated
3.5 great story & writing, but was a little long winded and the ending felt a little lackluster to me.
adventurous
emotional
hopeful
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:
Yes
adventurous
challenging
dark
emotional
hopeful
inspiring
mysterious
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:
Complicated
adventurous
dark
emotional
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
adventurous
dark
emotional
medium-paced
Plot or Character Driven:
Character
Strong character development:
No
Loveable characters:
Complicated
Diverse cast of characters:
Yes
Flaws of characters a main focus:
Yes
A solid read but very similar to The Priory of the Orange Tree and therefore quite predictable.
adventurous
dark
emotional
medium-paced
Plot or Character Driven:
A mix
Strong character development:
Yes
Loveable characters:
Yes
Diverse cast of characters:
Yes
4.5 stars ⭐️ i wish i could have given this five stars because i truly did love it, but it just fell a BIT short of my expectations after TPOTOT. Don’t get me wrong this was still an amazing book; the characters are rich and multi dimensional despite the sheer number of them, the love stories are beautiful, the universe is incredibly immersive and there is once again amazing diversity and representation without it feeling cheap or forced.
However, the plot just lacked the same level of excitement we experienced in TPOTOT. Some of this was kind of unavoidable, it is just the nature of a prequel that you lose some of the suspense when you know the future. I guess for such a long book it just still feels like it’s missing something. I disagree with people saying this should have been shorter, I think if it was shorter we would have missed out on some major character development. But I will admit after the middle of the book my interest started waning until the last 100 pages or so. I just think we could have felt the stakes a little more.
Despite my criticisms, I did really love this book. Shannon does a great job of tying up the ending in a way that’s satisfying but still leaves a lot to the imagination. This universe is beautifully built and it’s easy to lose myself in it. I’m definitely excited to know that there will be more of this world in the future.
However, the plot just lacked the same level of excitement we experienced in TPOTOT. Some of this was kind of unavoidable, it is just the nature of a prequel that you lose some of the suspense when you know the future. I guess for such a long book it just still feels like it’s missing something. I disagree with people saying this should have been shorter, I think if it was shorter we would have missed out on some major character development. But I will admit after the middle of the book my interest started waning until the last 100 pages or so. I just think we could have felt the stakes a little more.
Despite my criticisms, I did really love this book. Shannon does a great job of tying up the ending in a way that’s satisfying but still leaves a lot to the imagination. This universe is beautifully built and it’s easy to lose myself in it. I’m definitely excited to know that there will be more of this world in the future.
adventurous
emotional
reflective
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:
Complicated