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adventurous
emotional
fast-paced
Plot or Character Driven:
A mix
Strong character development:
Yes
Loveable characters:
Yes
Diverse cast of characters:
No
Flaws of characters a main focus:
Complicated
wow. where to begin? war hour was such an impressive debut novel, one i enjoyed immensely! the writing, the characters, the plot! *mwah* the worldbuilding was simple, but with how the novel was set up i didn’t
mind that it wasn’t a ton of background. because!!! instead, we got a great layout of the political system mwahaha. the promised political intrigue in this book was delightful… leading into the trials! OH MY GOODNESS. i so loved the idea of earned-powers and all that comes with that, and i really liked how that played out and effected characters. the power system was interesting, new, and well done. i do have to say, for the focus/hype around the trials, i did think they were going to be more intense/longer than they were… maybe in the next installment…? 👀
for characters, i was really happy with our protagonists. our primary gal, lysta, was strong, smart, and genuine. you could actually see the character growth, the realistic building of confidence which had me rooting for her all the way. i would say the romance of the novel accompanies the plot rather than drives it or IS the plot (haha), and i really liked it that way. it was woven in well. torryn… honestly, i can see where he’s going as a character, and i look forward to his final arc, but for now his whole “edgy” and avoiding vibe just doesn’t do it for me. he’s written well in that i can see the goodness underneath his gruff exterior, he DID redeem himself here at the end, but we’ll see how he continues in the upcoming novels. i really am excited and intrigued to see where lysta and torryns relationship goes! on evanders end, i loved him from the start. rant: i seriously enjoyed evander so much. AND THEN HE BETRAYED HER. THE ABSOLUTE PAIN. i felt it coming throughout the entire novel and KEPT AVOIDING IT. i wanted him as the love interest so bad, and i hope he maybe(???) will have a change of heart. good old heart stab there. 🤠 my only real character complaint was that i felt drytas was never really explored or explained, just the figurehead evil guy. the ‘oh he just wants power’ felt to easy/quick an explanation.
overall, war hour is a great novel and i would recommend. i will likely be purchasing the paper copy for my shelf and am excited for the next installment of the series!! (that cliffhanger… ILLEGAL!)
i was lucky enough to be picked as an arc reader for this novel, and these are my honest thoughts towards the book :)