Take a photo of a barcode or cover
contactlynds 's review for:
Bride of the Shadow King
by Sylvia Mercedes
adventurous
mysterious
medium-paced
Plot or Character Driven:
A mix
Strong character development:
No
Loveable characters:
No
Diverse cast of characters:
Yes
Flaws of characters a main focus:
Complicated
I was INVESTED in this book. I blazed through the first 40% and really enjoyed it.Then, like a switch flipped, something happened. The story got off the rails a bit. Side storylines, plot circles spinning round and round, more and more hints of something without any actual reveal. I know this is setting us up for a trilogy, but the first book can’t just be about that. There has to be more than breadcrumbs left for future books to come. Every single plot line was left on a cliffhanger, and at some point, 5, 6, 7 cliffhangers is too much. I’m curious to see how books 2 & 3 go but I’m not convinced I’ll read them. This book didn’t capture me enough to be invested in the series. That should’ve been just as much of a focus as setting up for future books. The world building was ALMOST there, but SO much was dropped never to be revisited again. We needed a little more backstory and explanation; I’m afraid that even more will be added in future books instead of actually explaining anything currently out there.
Spoilers: I don’t know how this was only book 1 because it could probably have been trimmed down and more from book 2 added. There was so much but so little at the same time. We are supposed to believe that Vor and Farraine develop this deep connection after such a short time, but we really only see them interact on the page maybe three times as their true selves not in disguise. And to that end, there are some holes because they say early on that water will ruin her magical disguise and show her true eyes so you’re telling me that from the point they got married under the waterfall to the bed chamber and kissing and stuff, they didn’t make eye contact Until the very end? It’s just not believable. And some things were so drawn out with so much detail while other scenes were just rushed through or mentioned in passing. It’s crazy that we get a whole chapter dedicated to a ball and then literally one paragraph dedicated to announcing her sisters are dead and she’ll have to replace one in the alliance. And then the witchcraft that is kind of introduced at the 11th hour and conveniently there’s this law that you can assume someone’s dead identity felt so random and contrived and much too convenient. And from the get-go, the premise that the king would only agree to this alliance if the shadow King married, his favorite daughter is faulty because the king needs the shadow king and his warriors just as badly as the shadow king and his people need the human magic. So they had bargaining chips that they could’ve taken into negotiations for Vor to have ended up with faraine from the start.
Spoilers: I don’t know how this was only book 1 because it could probably have been trimmed down and more from book 2 added. There was so much but so little at the same time. We are supposed to believe that Vor and Farraine develop this deep connection after such a short time, but we really only see them interact on the page maybe three times as their true selves not in disguise. And to that end, there are some holes because they say early on that water will ruin her magical disguise and show her true eyes so you’re telling me that from the point they got married under the waterfall to the bed chamber and kissing and stuff, they didn’t make eye contact Until the very end? It’s just not believable. And some things were so drawn out with so much detail while other scenes were just rushed through or mentioned in passing. It’s crazy that we get a whole chapter dedicated to a ball and then literally one paragraph dedicated to announcing her sisters are dead and she’ll have to replace one in the alliance. And then the witchcraft that is kind of introduced at the 11th hour and conveniently there’s this law that you can assume someone’s dead identity felt so random and contrived and much too convenient. And from the get-go, the premise that the king would only agree to this alliance if the shadow King married, his favorite daughter is faulty because the king needs the shadow king and his warriors just as badly as the shadow king and his people need the human magic. So they had bargaining chips that they could’ve taken into negotiations for Vor to have ended up with faraine from the start.