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A review by jaspers__library
Hall of Smoke by H.M. Long
4.0
I’ll start off with - the plot of this book is absolutely a five star plot. It was imaginative and had some of truly incredible unique world building. The gods and universe here, while they do have some mythological influences, are unlike any I have ever seen.
The only reason I’m giving four and not five stars, is I feel like the different regions/cultures, and all the different gods, could have been a lot more fleshed out, with a lot more detail (other than physical description and description of clothing) given. I think part of this is me just wishing the book was a bit longer, but at the risk of sounding like a high school English teacher, I really feel like the show don’t tell critique could be applied here. This book could have easily been 100 pages longer and I would have appreciated the extra insight into the different cultures we meet!
The MC of this series is amazing, and I love how the author treats the romantic aspects of her life. Plot wise, it doesn’t follow a typical romance arc. Character wise, it’s not even remotely her defining trait. And on top of that, her emotions and relationships and beautifully, realistically nuanced. Hess’s gets to be her own character, with feelings and emotions, while still being badass as shit.
TRULY amazing world, characters, and plot!!! I preferred the sequel even more, and from what I’ve read of the digital ARC for the third companion book, that will be my favorite of the three. I will continue to read each and every book by HM Long if they keep being this fantastic, and it seems like each book is better than the next!
The only reason I’m giving four and not five stars, is I feel like the different regions/cultures, and all the different gods, could have been a lot more fleshed out, with a lot more detail (other than physical description and description of clothing) given. I think part of this is me just wishing the book was a bit longer, but at the risk of sounding like a high school English teacher, I really feel like the show don’t tell critique could be applied here. This book could have easily been 100 pages longer and I would have appreciated the extra insight into the different cultures we meet!
The MC of this series is amazing, and I love how the author treats the romantic aspects of her life. Plot wise, it doesn’t follow a typical romance arc. Character wise, it’s not even remotely her defining trait. And on top of that, her emotions and relationships and beautifully, realistically nuanced. Hess’s gets to be her own character, with feelings and emotions, while still being badass as shit.
TRULY amazing world, characters, and plot!!! I preferred the sequel even more, and from what I’ve read of the digital ARC for the third companion book, that will be my favorite of the three. I will continue to read each and every book by HM Long if they keep being this fantastic, and it seems like each book is better than the next!