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lwest1 's review for:
Realms of Wrath and Ruin
by Alli Earnest
Still reeling from the events and losses in Myrrai, Kase deals with family infighting and understanding his next role. Hallie busies herself with helping the Yalvs integrate into society within the city of Kyvena, but she can’t bear to attend University, so takes a job as a server. When Hallie’s family sends her a note that she needs to come home, Hallie asks Kase to fly her there. Kase agrees, as he’s running from a massive secret that could mean his death.
The adventure results in flashes of lovely, touching moments and action reminiscent of the best parts of the first book. Any time Hallie and Kase are working as a team, overcoming their traumas, and expanding their budding romance that neither will admit exists, the story shines. And to be fair, about two thirds of the book is lovely and enjoyable.
Other reviewers found the first half slow, but I found it just right. I loved Hallie and Kase’s inner conflicts as they process what happened in Myrrai and their new worldviews. I also adored most parts of Jove and Clara’s chapters, but …
Where it falls flat is too much explanation and diving into politics, particularly in Jove’s chapters. I love political intrigue, but the politics were over-explaining just to land on a simple conflict. Ok, it’s realistic - politics are messy - but the overly complicated politics were like red herrings, which just landed me confused and bored for some of the story’s second half. It made me wonder why much of the story was necessary.
Hallie made me roll my eyes several times. At the beginning, her character shifted too far into damsel, even fainting from hearing about deaths. Luckily, she redeems herself as the brave scholar I’d come to know later in the book.
We meet a few new characters from Hallie’s past, and unfortunately, these characters were rather flat, including a “mountain man” dialect that disrupted reading. They’re likely to be part of the third book, so hopefully they’ll be better rounded. I would have preferred learning about these new characters rather than understanding the political turmoil.
This story is not as well-written as the last one.. It was over described with dramatic stage direction, making it read far more amateur than the first book.
If you really loved the first book, especially if you loved Kase and Hallie and want to see where they go, it’s worth reading this one. Just be prepared to slog through the politics.
Also, I rounded up to 3 stars, but really find it about 2.5 stars. I liked it, but there were issues.
The adventure results in flashes of lovely, touching moments and action reminiscent of the best parts of the first book. Any time Hallie and Kase are working as a team, overcoming their traumas, and expanding their budding romance that neither will admit exists, the story shines. And to be fair, about two thirds of the book is lovely and enjoyable.
Other reviewers found the first half slow, but I found it just right. I loved Hallie and Kase’s inner conflicts as they process what happened in Myrrai and their new worldviews. I also adored most parts of Jove and Clara’s chapters, but …
Where it falls flat is too much explanation and diving into politics, particularly in Jove’s chapters. I love political intrigue, but the politics were over-explaining just to land on a simple conflict. Ok, it’s realistic - politics are messy - but the overly complicated politics were like red herrings, which just landed me confused and bored for some of the story’s second half. It made me wonder why much of the story was necessary.
Hallie made me roll my eyes several times. At the beginning, her character shifted too far into damsel, even fainting from hearing about deaths. Luckily, she redeems herself as the brave scholar I’d come to know later in the book.
We meet a few new characters from Hallie’s past, and unfortunately, these characters were rather flat, including a “mountain man” dialect that disrupted reading. They’re likely to be part of the third book, so hopefully they’ll be better rounded. I would have preferred learning about these new characters rather than understanding the political turmoil.
This story is not as well-written as the last one.. It was over described with dramatic stage direction, making it read far more amateur than the first book.
If you really loved the first book, especially if you loved Kase and Hallie and want to see where they go, it’s worth reading this one. Just be prepared to slog through the politics.
Also, I rounded up to 3 stars, but really find it about 2.5 stars. I liked it, but there were issues.