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A review by kayu99
Wake of the Phoenix by Chelsea Harper
3.0
I received a digital ARC from the publisher through Netgalley in exchange for an honest review.
This book blends politics and intrigue at the court level and street level. Parallels are drawn between nobles' scheming and scheming among thieves, along with the power structures in place at both. The book is primarily told from Arkaen's and Niamsha's points of view, but other characters do occasionally narrate.
I found the plot very confusing and hard to follow with choppily written action scenes. There are short blurbs before each chapter, some of which describe events that took place prior to the book, but because those events are so significant, I almost would have preferred to be reading a book about what happened then. Different names are used for the same character, and it is sometimes hard to know who is whom.
As far as characters go, I didn't find myself particularly attracted to any of them. Niamsha was a difficult character to root for; she did not seem developed enough for me to sympathize with her or fully understand her motivations. The relationships between Niamsha and the Rendells were also not very developed, and I feel like I would have been more invested in the plot and Niamsha's decsions had I had a better understanding of how the group worked and interacted with one another.
The ending seemed like it was supposed to have a shock factor, but it fell flat, partly because . There was also a loose end that was never alluded to at all. It seems that this is the first in a series, but the complete omission of that plot point left me feeling confused.
This book blends politics and intrigue at the court level and street level. Parallels are drawn between nobles' scheming and scheming among thieves, along with the power structures in place at both. The book is primarily told from Arkaen's and Niamsha's points of view, but other characters do occasionally narrate.
I found the plot very confusing and hard to follow with choppily written action scenes. There are short blurbs before each chapter, some of which describe events that took place prior to the book, but because those events are so significant, I almost would have preferred to be reading a book about what happened then. Different names are used for the same character, and it is sometimes hard to know who is whom.
As far as characters go, I didn't find myself particularly attracted to any of them. Niamsha was a difficult character to root for; she did not seem developed enough for me to sympathize with her or fully understand her motivations. The relationships between Niamsha and the Rendells were also not very developed, and I feel like I would have been more invested in the plot and Niamsha's decsions had I had a better understanding of how the group worked and interacted with one another.
The ending seemed like it was supposed to have a shock factor, but it fell flat, partly because . There was also a loose end that was never alluded to at all. It seems that this is the first in a series, but the complete omission of that plot point left me feeling confused.