A review by yarisbooksandbevs
The Sun and the Void by Gabriela Romero Lacruz

adventurous reflective medium-paced
  • Plot- or character-driven? A mix
  • Strong character development? It's complicated
  • Loveable characters? No
  • Diverse cast of characters? Yes
  • Flaws of characters a main focus? It's complicated

2.0

I wanted more from this book. I felt like he world building and magic system was a bit unclear and incomplete. I thought the characters started to show some growth until they made questionable decisions in the end and it felt like a step back in their development.

Honestly this book left me with so many questions on the world building front.
Why does Reina see her heart as monstrous? Because of iridio? Then why does she admire when Celeste uses it? Eva’s family treated her like crap and she refused to believe that they were lying about her father? How do the nozariel wear clothes with their tails? Is iridio inherently tethered to Rahmagut? Why do some users acknowledge him and others don’t? Among others
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On a character front, many of them didn’t stick with me or make me love them or hate them. I didn’t have strong feelings for a lot of the characters other than annoyance at their dumb decisions. I did like Maior and her fiery personality.
I liked that Reina chose Maior in the end. I thought they had more chemistry and fit better than Reina and Celeste. Reina started off very naive and impressionable and stayed that way for the majority of the book but I’m glad we saw some development, even if it was toward the last couple of chapters. On Eva’s side, she really started to upset me toward the end. She refused to believe her kind father and stuck to what her horrible grandmother told her, she refused to defend Javier. I know Javier was morally grey but at least he knew he wasn’t a saint. Eva acts all high and mighty then turns around and acts cruel to Javier and caused the whole mess in the end! Not to mention she becomes arrogant with her abilities. I thought Doña Ursulina was easy to hate and Doña Laurel was easy to love which was nice.
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I wanted more clarity in the world building and character development. There were a few characters I enjoyed and I thought the fighting scenes were well described. I don’t think I will be picking up the rest of the series but I am glad I gave it a chance and someone who isn’t as nit picky about world building may enjoy this more than I did.
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