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A review by leahegood
All This Twisted Glory by Tahereh Mafi
dark
emotional
mysterious
slow-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? Character
2.0
3 stars for story telling.
2 stars for personal preferences on language and romantic content.
1 star for the level of "romantic" content in a book marked, on Amazon, for readers ages 13-17.
Summary
Nothing is as it seems. Alizeh is increasingly suspicous that Cyrus, the young king of Tulan, is not as wicked as he allows people to believe. The potential that a kind heart hides behind his terse exterior only makes her path forward more difficult. Whatever the truth is about Cyrus, his offer to give her his kingdom--and his life--in exchange for her hand in marriage, is her best option to serve her people well. Her people must come before all else.
Matters are further complicated when Prince Kamran storms into Tulan. Kamran is bent on revenge, wants to marry Alizeh, and is completely blind to his perpetual attitude of entitled arrogance. With Kamran comes a gaggle of unlikely allies.
My Thoughts
I'm rather annoyed at this book. The writing style is good. The storytelling is good. There are even really good themes about self-control, sacrifice, and not allowing discomfort to prevent you from fully engaging in life.
The characters are also, in my opinion, compelling. Alizeh is a bit of a Mary Sue, but I still like her. The chemistry between her and the triangulated male leads is even good for what it is. But this book, more than the previous two, is filled with moments where it feels like the story hits pause in order for some steamy, lust-driven attraction, before once again resuming ... including an open-door bedroom dream scene which, though not fully explicit, was much too far for a book targeted at 13-17 year olds in my opinion. I think the story would be better marked as New Adult instead of Young Adult. The hyper-focus on the "romance" also slowed the story down by repeating elements of attraction we've already been hit over the head with repeatedly.
Content
Romance: See my mini rant above. Chemistry is good, but interrupted by lust-driven attraction that often did not, in my opinion, even seem to fit the character development. Also one open-door bedroom scene.
Language: Infrequent but consistent swearing, including a few f-bombs.
Violence: Characters are injured, though descriptions are not overly graphic. Cyrus is tortured by the devil.
Religion: The devil is an infrequent character that strongly impacts the storyline and is portrayed in negative light. The diviners seem to be the positive mirror to the devil.
2 stars for personal preferences on language and romantic content.
1 star for the level of "romantic" content in a book marked, on Amazon, for readers ages 13-17.
Summary
Nothing is as it seems. Alizeh is increasingly suspicous that Cyrus, the young king of Tulan, is not as wicked as he allows people to believe. The potential that a kind heart hides behind his terse exterior only makes her path forward more difficult. Whatever the truth is about Cyrus, his offer to give her his kingdom--and his life--in exchange for her hand in marriage, is her best option to serve her people well. Her people must come before all else.
Matters are further complicated when Prince Kamran storms into Tulan. Kamran is bent on revenge, wants to marry Alizeh, and is completely blind to his perpetual attitude of entitled arrogance. With Kamran comes a gaggle of unlikely allies.
My Thoughts
I'm rather annoyed at this book. The writing style is good. The storytelling is good. There are even really good themes about self-control, sacrifice, and not allowing discomfort to prevent you from fully engaging in life.
The characters are also, in my opinion, compelling. Alizeh is a bit of a Mary Sue, but I still like her. The chemistry between her and the triangulated male leads is even good for what it is. But this book, more than the previous two, is filled with moments where it feels like the story hits pause in order for some steamy, lust-driven attraction, before once again resuming ... including an open-door bedroom dream scene which, though not fully explicit, was much too far for a book targeted at 13-17 year olds in my opinion. I think the story would be better marked as New Adult instead of Young Adult. The hyper-focus on the "romance" also slowed the story down by repeating elements of attraction we've already been hit over the head with repeatedly.
Content
Romance: See my mini rant above. Chemistry is good, but interrupted by lust-driven attraction that often did not, in my opinion, even seem to fit the character development. Also one open-door bedroom scene.
Language: Infrequent but consistent swearing, including a few f-bombs.
Violence: Characters are injured, though descriptions are not overly graphic. Cyrus is tortured by the devil.
Religion: The devil is an infrequent character that strongly impacts the storyline and is portrayed in negative light. The diviners seem to be the positive mirror to the devil.
Content Warnings
Graphic: Sexual content
Moderate: Injury/Injury detail and Torture