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A review by accidentalrambler
Lie by Natalia Jaster
5.0
*ARC provided by the author in exchange for an honest review.*
I'm...wow. I have been waiting months for this book and I can say with surety, it was worth it. Natalia Jaster has proven once again why she's one of my very favourite authors. The worlds she builds are interesting and vivid, the characters are intriguing, flawed and engaging and the love stories are never easy but always tugging at your heartstrings.
This has been a very VERY solid 4.5 star read for me (I rounded up to 5 since I liked it slightly more than "Dare" but it's not quite 5-star level of "Trick"). Now, onto why I loved this book and why everyone should read it!
(this might turn spoilery so read at your own risk!)
First of all, one of the strongest qualities of this book is the writing style itself, something that has bewitched me since the very first story I read by this author. It's poetic, expressive, sometimes theatrical but never boring. And it has this...somewhat sensual element to it, something elusive that makes the words flow seamlessly, that makes your breath catch in your throat at certain passages. What's more, each character has a very distinct personal voice. And although speech patterns of some of them are flowery and tangled or too formal/ceremonial at times (like Aire's or Jester's), it's not tiring at all - it just feels right and it fits both into the characters' personalities and the fantasy/medieval setting of the books.
Another thing I mighty appreciate about this series - no heteronormativity. When she (wrongly) draws a conclusion that Aire is still married, Aspen doesn't just assume that the knight is married to a woman, she always refers to his spouse as "a wife or a husband". It might seem like a small detail but it means a lot.
Apart from the above, it's of course the characters who make this book so good. I loved Aspen and Aire both individually and as a couple. Naturally, they are (almost) total opposites, which leads to a well-executed "enemies to friends to lovers" trope. Aspen is brazen, unapologetic, a tad selfish and mean and confident with her sexuality. PLUS, when it comes to her appearance, she's NOT SLIM/THIN/SKINNY but curvy so yay! Now, Aire may seem like the perfect (or perfectly rude, depends on how you look at it) knight but in reality, he's far from it. He's honest but he's also self-righteous, he's loyal but too hung-up on his past, he's too quick to judge people.
All in all, they are both living, breathing, complicated and flawed characters but not so flawed that they're past redemption. What I loved about their story was that while they were quite different, you could still feel this connection between them, this push-and-pull and how they understood each other. And both of them had a lot of things to work on, to grow from. Reading about their respective journeys and how they then ended up together was a pleasure. Their dynamic was entertaining to read about as one never let the other get away with the foolish things they said/did - like Aspen calling Aire out on his unreasonable, ungrounded jealousy.
However, apart from Aspen and Aire, there were also some other characters there. I LOVED LOVED LOVED Aspen's and Nicu's brotp as well as the hints we got about Nicu and Liryk. And, last but ABSOLUTELY NOT LEAST, appearance of Briar and Poet! It was such a delight to get some glimpses of their relationship and banter and hopelessly in love they still are.
The ending was...perhaps a bit too drawn-out but still, I adored it as well. I wasn't kidding when I said the writing is one of the best aspects of these books. I pretty much couldn't help but cry over some of more heartbreaking moments and the delivery of those moments - in simple, yet piercing words - had a lot to do with that. It really shows that more often that not, less is more (Poet probably wouldn't agree with that haha).
One of my favourite lines in the entire book was this one:
"Best of all, she learned to love herself."
I think it's pretty self-explanatory WHY I love this particular line but I thought it was worth mentioning, because that's what Aspen's journey basically boils down to. How having someone in your corner doesn't really fix anything, not unless you learn how to love and accept yourself. Love might help you but most of the time, it only complicated things and it's not a magical force that will cure you of your pain and your insecurities.
Overall, I had (VERY) few issues throughout the book. Mostly, it's about pacing being too slow here and there or the way Aspen's figure was mentioned over and over again. Don't get me wrong, I am simply DELIGHTED to get a heroine who is curvy and she likes it but I really don't need to read about her "great bosom" or "buxom curves" every few pages.
So...this has been my totally honest review of this "dishonest love story". Few things are certain: 1) Natalia Jaster has secured her place as one of my very favourite fantasy authors 2) I will definitely go back to this book 3) unless I wither away and fade while waiting for "Dream", CAN IT BE "EARLY 2019" ALREADY???!
I'm...wow. I have been waiting months for this book and I can say with surety, it was worth it. Natalia Jaster has proven once again why she's one of my very favourite authors. The worlds she builds are interesting and vivid, the characters are intriguing, flawed and engaging and the love stories are never easy but always tugging at your heartstrings.
This has been a very VERY solid 4.5 star read for me (I rounded up to 5 since I liked it slightly more than "Dare" but it's not quite 5-star level of "Trick"). Now, onto why I loved this book and why everyone should read it!
(this might turn spoilery so read at your own risk!)
First of all, one of the strongest qualities of this book is the writing style itself, something that has bewitched me since the very first story I read by this author. It's poetic, expressive, sometimes theatrical but never boring. And it has this...somewhat sensual element to it, something elusive that makes the words flow seamlessly, that makes your breath catch in your throat at certain passages. What's more, each character has a very distinct personal voice. And although speech patterns of some of them are flowery and tangled or too formal/ceremonial at times (like Aire's or Jester's), it's not tiring at all - it just feels right and it fits both into the characters' personalities and the fantasy/medieval setting of the books.
Another thing I mighty appreciate about this series - no heteronormativity. When she (wrongly) draws a conclusion that Aire is still married, Aspen doesn't just assume that the knight is married to a woman, she always refers to his spouse as "a wife or a husband". It might seem like a small detail but it means a lot.
Apart from the above, it's of course the characters who make this book so good. I loved Aspen and Aire both individually and as a couple. Naturally, they are (almost) total opposites, which leads to a well-executed "enemies to friends to lovers" trope. Aspen is brazen, unapologetic, a tad selfish and mean and confident with her sexuality. PLUS, when it comes to her appearance, she's NOT SLIM/THIN/SKINNY but curvy so yay! Now, Aire may seem like the perfect (or perfectly rude, depends on how you look at it) knight but in reality, he's far from it. He's honest but he's also self-righteous, he's loyal but too hung-up on his past, he's too quick to judge people.
All in all, they are both living, breathing, complicated and flawed characters but not so flawed that they're past redemption. What I loved about their story was that while they were quite different, you could still feel this connection between them, this push-and-pull and how they understood each other. And both of them had a lot of things to work on, to grow from. Reading about their respective journeys and how they then ended up together was a pleasure. Their dynamic was entertaining to read about as one never let the other get away with the foolish things they said/did - like Aspen calling Aire out on his unreasonable, ungrounded jealousy.
However, apart from Aspen and Aire, there were also some other characters there. I LOVED LOVED LOVED Aspen's and Nicu's brotp as well as the hints we got about Nicu and Liryk. And, last but ABSOLUTELY NOT LEAST, appearance of Briar and Poet! It was such a delight to get some glimpses of their relationship and banter and hopelessly in love they still are.
The ending was...perhaps a bit too drawn-out but still, I adored it as well. I wasn't kidding when I said the writing is one of the best aspects of these books. I pretty much couldn't help but cry over some of more heartbreaking moments and the delivery of those moments - in simple, yet piercing words - had a lot to do with that. It really shows that more often that not, less is more (Poet probably wouldn't agree with that haha).
One of my favourite lines in the entire book was this one:
"Best of all, she learned to love herself."
I think it's pretty self-explanatory WHY I love this particular line but I thought it was worth mentioning, because that's what Aspen's journey basically boils down to. How having someone in your corner doesn't really fix anything, not unless you learn how to love and accept yourself. Love might help you but most of the time, it only complicated things and it's not a magical force that will cure you of your pain and your insecurities.
Overall, I had (VERY) few issues throughout the book. Mostly, it's about pacing being too slow here and there or the way Aspen's figure was mentioned over and over again. Don't get me wrong, I am simply DELIGHTED to get a heroine who is curvy and she likes it but I really don't need to read about her "great bosom" or "buxom curves" every few pages.
So...this has been my totally honest review of this "dishonest love story". Few things are certain: 1) Natalia Jaster has secured her place as one of my very favourite fantasy authors 2) I will definitely go back to this book 3) unless I wither away and fade while waiting for "Dream", CAN IT BE "EARLY 2019" ALREADY???!