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A review by lolasreviews
Deathmaker by Lindsay Buroker
3.0
I enjoyed Deathmaker, the second book in the Dragon Blood series. Where the first book featured Sardelle and Ridge this book has two new main characters Cas and Tolomek. At first the two books only seem loosely related with having the same setting, but later in the book we meet the characters form book 1 again and the plot lines intertwine a bit more. While both books have been enjoyable I am still not quite sure where the series as a whole goes, but I am looking forward to the next book.
Deathmaker is another engaging read. As long as I am reading these books I want to keep reading. There is enough going on and happening and I like Lindsay Buroker's writing style. I did notice that once I do put the book down I am not as excited to pick it up again as with some other books, but while reading I always enjoy the book. As usual I like the action scenes and fast paced type plot the author writes as well as the banter between the characters. It's more of a 3.5 stars rating, better than a 3 star read, but not quite 4 star level.
In Deathmaker we get to see Cas' and Tolomek's perspectives, they meet when they're both taken captive by the Cofah and thrown into the same cell. I like seeing how they escape together. They both have plans for the other, but also acknowledge it's handy to escape together and that's how their friendship slowly starts. I quite enjoyed the start, after that the plot got a bit less good in my opinion.
I was a bit sad this one again has the prisoner type of plot line with one of the characters being captive. It all seems handled quite lightly, which I am happy about. I am not a fan of those type of stories in general and while written that part of the plot didn't appeal to me as much. Besides trying her best there isn't as much Cas can really do to improve her situation which wasn't as interesting. Due to the whole prisoner type of situation I also didn't really feel the romance between Tolomek and Cas. I did like how it's quite a slow build at first and they had some great banter. I liked them slowly growing closer, but then their relationship suddenly made a jump when Tolomek started seeing her as more and it felt a bit too sudden instead of developing organically to me. There also is a scene later on that felt a bit forced and uncomfortable way to reveal some important background information.
I did like both characters. Cas seemed capable and loyal to her country. I liked how she was capable and especially knew her way around firearms and throwing and aiming things. She seems quite smart too, although a few of her escape plans didn't seem very well thought out after the first few steps. I liked how Tolomek seemed really bad, but was mostly a good guy. Although I did feel like his character could've been developed a bit more about his motivations and also about a change of heart he has later in the book as now that felt a bit sudden. I liked reading about all the weird inventions be made, except for one very deadly one. He did seem a bit naive in a way about that and how he still believed the best in people or that people do what they say even while having been around pirates for a long time.
It was fun to see Sardelle and Ridge again later in this book as well as the talking sword. And it was interesting to see how their plot line kinda ties in with these two new characters. There are some interesting developments and I like the hints that the whole Dragon Blood thing will be more important later on, but for now the bigger picture plot line is still very slow to develop if not almost absent. Most of the first two books seem to focus on the immediate problems going on right then and resolving those. They feel more like a standalone adventure, but I am curious to see how that develops in later books.
I like how in this book we get to see a bit more of the world, but sadly most of the focus was on the pirates and I felt like they didn't have as big of a role in the overarching plot line but were a convenient enemy for the big showdown at the end. We did get to see the famous fliers in action and also see a bit more about the technology. Although I still find hard to really get a good grip on the technology level and was quite surprised when a cable cabin suddenly popped up. I hope we get to see more of the world building in future books.
To summarize: this was an enjoyable read. This book follows two different main characters, but is set in the same world and later ties in with the first two main characters. It's a good read that keeps my attention while reading, although when I put the book down I don't find myself as eager to get back in. There are some minor things that bother me while I think about, but when reading it's mostly just a great entertaining story. This one had a solid start, although I didn't really care for the prisoner type plot line later on. I liked the two main characters and how the author gave us a feel for their personalities, although I would've liked to see a few things get more developed. I liked the banter and interactions between the two main characters, but felt the romance developed a bit suddenly with a leap that didn't feel as natural. And there's a forced background reveal scene later on that bothered me. I liked seeing more of the world, although I still struggle a bit getting a good feel for some things like the technologies they have. There are a few hints to where the overarching plot line could go, but for the most part I am unsure what to expect from future books. I look forward to seeing what happens next.
Deathmaker is another engaging read. As long as I am reading these books I want to keep reading. There is enough going on and happening and I like Lindsay Buroker's writing style. I did notice that once I do put the book down I am not as excited to pick it up again as with some other books, but while reading I always enjoy the book. As usual I like the action scenes and fast paced type plot the author writes as well as the banter between the characters. It's more of a 3.5 stars rating, better than a 3 star read, but not quite 4 star level.
In Deathmaker we get to see Cas' and Tolomek's perspectives, they meet when they're both taken captive by the Cofah and thrown into the same cell. I like seeing how they escape together. They both have plans for the other, but also acknowledge it's handy to escape together and that's how their friendship slowly starts. I quite enjoyed the start, after that the plot got a bit less good in my opinion.
I was a bit sad this one again has the prisoner type of plot line with one of the characters being captive. It all seems handled quite lightly, which I am happy about. I am not a fan of those type of stories in general and while written that part of the plot didn't appeal to me as much. Besides trying her best there isn't as much Cas can really do to improve her situation which wasn't as interesting. Due to the whole prisoner type of situation I also didn't really feel the romance between Tolomek and Cas. I did like how it's quite a slow build at first and they had some great banter. I liked them slowly growing closer, but then their relationship suddenly made a jump when Tolomek started seeing her as more and it felt a bit too sudden instead of developing organically to me. There also is a scene later on that felt a bit forced and uncomfortable way to reveal some important background information.
I did like both characters. Cas seemed capable and loyal to her country. I liked how she was capable and especially knew her way around firearms and throwing and aiming things. She seems quite smart too, although a few of her escape plans didn't seem very well thought out after the first few steps. I liked how Tolomek seemed really bad, but was mostly a good guy. Although I did feel like his character could've been developed a bit more about his motivations and also about a change of heart he has later in the book as now that felt a bit sudden. I liked reading about all the weird inventions be made, except for one very deadly one. He did seem a bit naive in a way about that and how he still believed the best in people or that people do what they say even while having been around pirates for a long time.
It was fun to see Sardelle and Ridge again later in this book as well as the talking sword. And it was interesting to see how their plot line kinda ties in with these two new characters. There are some interesting developments and I like the hints that the whole Dragon Blood thing will be more important later on, but for now the bigger picture plot line is still very slow to develop if not almost absent. Most of the first two books seem to focus on the immediate problems going on right then and resolving those. They feel more like a standalone adventure, but I am curious to see how that develops in later books.
I like how in this book we get to see a bit more of the world, but sadly most of the focus was on the pirates and I felt like they didn't have as big of a role in the overarching plot line but were a convenient enemy for the big showdown at the end. We did get to see the famous fliers in action and also see a bit more about the technology. Although I still find hard to really get a good grip on the technology level and was quite surprised when a cable cabin suddenly popped up. I hope we get to see more of the world building in future books.
To summarize: this was an enjoyable read. This book follows two different main characters, but is set in the same world and later ties in with the first two main characters. It's a good read that keeps my attention while reading, although when I put the book down I don't find myself as eager to get back in. There are some minor things that bother me while I think about, but when reading it's mostly just a great entertaining story. This one had a solid start, although I didn't really care for the prisoner type plot line later on. I liked the two main characters and how the author gave us a feel for their personalities, although I would've liked to see a few things get more developed. I liked the banter and interactions between the two main characters, but felt the romance developed a bit suddenly with a leap that didn't feel as natural. And there's a forced background reveal scene later on that bothered me. I liked seeing more of the world, although I still struggle a bit getting a good feel for some things like the technologies they have. There are a few hints to where the overarching plot line could go, but for the most part I am unsure what to expect from future books. I look forward to seeing what happens next.