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A review by heabooknerd
Shadebloom by Felicia Davin
4.0
SHADEBLOOM was a good conclusion to The Gardener's Hand trilogy and I was glad to see Ev, Thiyo, and Alizhan together at last. Of course, it takes a long time to get there and the majority of the book is spent with the characters separated in various ways. Though I wanted all three together sooner, I did enjoy watching Thiyo and Ev begin to bond as their own couple. And all the distance does make the reunion that much sweeter.
Ev is still definitely my favorite character and I enjoyed seeing her take control and really begin to find her place in the world. Thiyo, who was a bundle of charm in the previous book, was much more grumpy and subdued. I won't spoil it, but he has a good reason for his mood and it was different to see such a serious side to Thiyo. Alizhan also really comes into her own as she finds her independence and begins to see the real side of Iriyat. There was a lot of growth for each character.
Overall, I enjoyed the story and liked the conclusion. My only real complaint is that memory loss/manipulation was a huge factor in the story and may have been overused to advance the plot. It felt like as soon as someone would get their memory back they'd lose it in another way.
Content Warning: References to abuse, torture, homophobia based on sexual orientation and gender identity; main character references almost being raped
Ev is still definitely my favorite character and I enjoyed seeing her take control and really begin to find her place in the world. Thiyo, who was a bundle of charm in the previous book, was much more grumpy and subdued. I won't spoil it, but he has a good reason for his mood and it was different to see such a serious side to Thiyo. Alizhan also really comes into her own as she finds her independence and begins to see the real side of Iriyat. There was a lot of growth for each character.
Overall, I enjoyed the story and liked the conclusion. My only real complaint is that memory loss/manipulation was a huge factor in the story and may have been overused to advance the plot. It felt like as soon as someone would get their memory back they'd lose it in another way.
Content Warning: References to abuse, torture, homophobia based on sexual orientation and gender identity; main character references almost being raped