A review by marie_thereadingotter
Daindreth's Empress by Elisabeth Wheatley

adventurous dark tense medium-paced
  • Plot- or character-driven? Character
  • Strong character development? It's complicated
  • Loveable characters? It's complicated
  • Diverse cast of characters? No
  • Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes

3.5

 
This book took be a bit longer to get through than I thought it would. I had some minor pacing issues with this book. This book is fairly short, and a lot is happening to the point where I didn't feel like the plot had enough time to breathe. 
 
I've been watching the author's videos about how she approaches characters so I know why she wrote Vesha the way she did in this book, but in a way she felt like a completely different character than she did at the start of the series. In a more inconsistent way than in a 'character growth' way. I didn't hate how she was portrayed in this book, I just would've preferred  had those nuances been there at the start of the series. I also didn't hate how her arc was resolved, I think it was possibly the best outcome. I did grow rather frustrated with her by the half-way point of the book. I feel like she should've realized a lot sooner that she was being duped. They're demons, and she was willing to trust them. 
 
Amira and Daindreth, my care of them as a couple had dwindled a little by this book. I knew they were 'safe', since that is what makes a romance, but I they started to be boring. A lot of repetitiveness with their characterization. While their love for each other is the driving force for how they make decisions, I personally feel that there as a little too much emphasis on them over what was going on around them, and considering what is going on around them the focus, for me, felt misguided.
Sair and Thadred were a far more interesting pairing. Rhis, Sair's son, was also adorable. And I think he added to their dynamic. Neither was in this book as much as I would've liked. 
 
This book is just under 300 pages, but I feel that it could've used another 50-100 pages. The ending was very abrupt. A lot was left unresolved, and while there is a spin-off sequel, it follows Thadred and Sair. Which is cool and could be interesting, I feel there's more with Daindreth and Amria that's left more or less unresolved. 
Expand filter menu Content Warnings