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A review by lexisartsy
Lie by Natalia Jaster
5.0
I received an ARC of this book through the author in exchange for an honest review!
Since I started reading Natalia Jaster's work, which was truthfully at the beginning of the year on the recommendation of a fellow reader, I have fallen deeply in love with her talent and the true craftsmanship of her stories. Every read, including this one, leaves me in tears, astonished at the characters, the world, the love, and the dedication woven into these books by a true writer. And with "Lie," the same rings true again.
Aspen is a liar, indeed. She likes to be ahead of the curve, intimidating, and will lie in exchange for for things that benefit herself (as well as others!). In the same vein, Aire, a knight, is brutally honest and holds honesty to a truly black-and-white standard. Both of them have flaws amidst their many beautiful traits, and those flaws are what make them so admirable and worthy characters to fall in love with and to watch fall in love with each other. They change each others minds, challenge each other, do things that alter their views in both good and bad ways. Never once did I not believe in them or not wish to see them succeed, because they deserve the happy ending, lies and truths and all.
The side characters and surprise visits from characters from past books were also a delight to see. I never not love my court jester, or my Autumn princess, or their lovely emerald-eyed boy, so seeing them again as well as getting to meet a few new people was also riveting. Every character is appealing and multi-faceted and you want to take every piece of their stories and never let go.
If I haven't mentioned already, the worldbuilding is astonishingly impeccable. This is the third book in a series, so we do understand parts of these kingdoms already, but Natalia always infuses something new into each setting and gives the reader more to understand and love about every specific part of the world. The lore, the tales, and the beautiful specifics of each land are what makes these places shine so much, and I could not enjoy it more.
Of course, do I need to say again the writing is remarkable? Natalia has a knack for writing in the style of this time and setting, but the characters do not have interchangeable voices at all, and the way they view the world in their words is entirely up to them. The way they live and talk and think is different in every way, and Natalia doing this while keeping every other part of the story at the same exceptional level is all down to the way she writes. If she struck any deals to weave this kind of magic, I would love to know!
Another part to the Foolish Kingdoms series wowed me again. However, to not lie, I wasn't surprised one bit. Natalia continues to confound me with the way all of the pieces of her story stand at a subpar level, greater than any of the stories I have read in my nineteen years of life. And you could say I still have a lot of reading to do, but I wholeheartedly believe no matter the authors and the stories I read from here on, I will go back to these books and the books Natalia continues to write after Lie and know this is the work of a magical writer; these are the books I will turn to and know I strive to create even an ounce of the beauty that these books have.
Since I started reading Natalia Jaster's work, which was truthfully at the beginning of the year on the recommendation of a fellow reader, I have fallen deeply in love with her talent and the true craftsmanship of her stories. Every read, including this one, leaves me in tears, astonished at the characters, the world, the love, and the dedication woven into these books by a true writer. And with "Lie," the same rings true again.
Aspen is a liar, indeed. She likes to be ahead of the curve, intimidating, and will lie in exchange for for things that benefit herself (as well as others!). In the same vein, Aire, a knight, is brutally honest and holds honesty to a truly black-and-white standard. Both of them have flaws amidst their many beautiful traits, and those flaws are what make them so admirable and worthy characters to fall in love with and to watch fall in love with each other. They change each others minds, challenge each other, do things that alter their views in both good and bad ways. Never once did I not believe in them or not wish to see them succeed, because they deserve the happy ending, lies and truths and all.
The side characters and surprise visits from characters from past books were also a delight to see. I never not love my court jester, or my Autumn princess, or their lovely emerald-eyed boy, so seeing them again as well as getting to meet a few new people was also riveting. Every character is appealing and multi-faceted and you want to take every piece of their stories and never let go.
If I haven't mentioned already, the worldbuilding is astonishingly impeccable. This is the third book in a series, so we do understand parts of these kingdoms already, but Natalia always infuses something new into each setting and gives the reader more to understand and love about every specific part of the world. The lore, the tales, and the beautiful specifics of each land are what makes these places shine so much, and I could not enjoy it more.
Of course, do I need to say again the writing is remarkable? Natalia has a knack for writing in the style of this time and setting, but the characters do not have interchangeable voices at all, and the way they view the world in their words is entirely up to them. The way they live and talk and think is different in every way, and Natalia doing this while keeping every other part of the story at the same exceptional level is all down to the way she writes. If she struck any deals to weave this kind of magic, I would love to know!
Another part to the Foolish Kingdoms series wowed me again. However, to not lie, I wasn't surprised one bit. Natalia continues to confound me with the way all of the pieces of her story stand at a subpar level, greater than any of the stories I have read in my nineteen years of life. And you could say I still have a lot of reading to do, but I wholeheartedly believe no matter the authors and the stories I read from here on, I will go back to these books and the books Natalia continues to write after Lie and know this is the work of a magical writer; these are the books I will turn to and know I strive to create even an ounce of the beauty that these books have.