A review by caitsreadingcorner
The Emperor of Evening Stars by Laura Thalassa

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

3.75

I didn’t know going into this that it would be entirely from Desmond’s POV but I was pleasantly surprised (didn’t know it was a novella or 2.5 book in the series). Although I found it redundant at times reading repeated scenes and words from the first book, I adored getting it from his angle and felt that the writing style was better. For some reason, some of his thoughts felt more poignant, sentences and scenes felt more compelling and it helped shift a few questions into place for me about his past and his fate. 

I just found myself more enthralled by things in this book. I think I honestly would have enjoyed the first book better if it was this well executed through dual POV but I get the idea of wanting to build up that mystery around Des and his dark side. I think Thalassa likely wanted readers intrigued by his motives and to get into their romance before bringing in how he felt all those years. I came out of this feeling that he is more multidimensional and layered than I originally thought him to be. Still, this didn’t do anything to move the needle on the mystery with the Thief of Souls but nevertheless, I enjoyed this
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