Take a photo of a barcode or cover
nikwes 's review for:
The Phoenix King
by Aparna Verma
Really enjoyed. Beautiful, gorgeous world that's moved by compelling prose. While's there's often musch to learn and see because of rich details and tight sentences there's never a slowing down in pace. The plot is compelling without needing to rely on unnecessary action scenes or unearned romance beats instead weaving action, character work, romance and more in a great mix.
The characters are all strong and I loved them. Elena of course who I think has so many layers to her and I'm excited to see how this deep desire to be queen pushes up against her moral compass. Yassen, my shayla, I love a regretful soldier and Yassen delivers for sure. Leo, the man doesn't do anything right and I love him for it. It's also an interesting look at violence because Leo is not unknowing in fact him and everyine around him is like what are you doing but he persist because he fills it's his duty and not only is it interesting to see in this novel I'm excited to see how it manifests for Elena. And of course Samson. Who does not have a perspective but is able to loom large on the page through everyone else's POV. Playing the guessing game of who he told the truth and who he lied to was fun throughout the whole thing.
If I had one thought is that there were times when I think some relationships needed a bit more work Yassen/Elena were very sweet and I believed them for most of the novel. However, when they came up against a major problem, I wasn't so convinced in their relationship that it ever felt real that they overcame it.
The characters are all strong and I loved them. Elena of course who I think has so many layers to her and I'm excited to see how this deep desire to be queen pushes up against her moral compass. Yassen, my shayla, I love a regretful soldier and Yassen delivers for sure. Leo, the man doesn't do anything right and I love him for it. It's also an interesting look at violence because Leo is not unknowing in fact him and everyine around him is like what are you doing but he persist because he fills it's his duty and not only is it interesting to see in this novel I'm excited to see how it manifests for Elena. And of course Samson. Who does not have a perspective but is able to loom large on the page through everyone else's POV. Playing the guessing game of who he told the truth and who he lied to was fun throughout the whole thing.
If I had one thought is that there were times when I think some relationships needed a bit more work Yassen/Elena were very sweet and I believed them for most of the novel. However, when they came up against a major problem, I wasn't so convinced in their relationship that it ever felt real that they overcame it.