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A review by cursedepub
The Capital by A.H. Lee
adventurous
dark
emotional
hopeful
medium-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? Character
- Strong character development? Yes
- Loveable characters? Yes
- Diverse cast of characters? Yes
- Flaws of characters a main focus? No
4.0
This "trilogy" is really just one book split into three parts - so here is my review for the whole thing: seriously exceeded my expectations. This is a very solid fantasy adventure, complete with riveting fight scenes, stunning feats of magic, and characters that honestly surprised me. The romance is woven very well into a larger plot that explores prejudice, trauma, and politics, and hits all the right spots for fantasy readers in search of a good old tale. And I genuinely loved the depiction of dark and necromantic magic as well - perfect balance of eerie, unsettling, and majestic in its own way.
This really is a romance novel though, and the romance is well-developed despite falling back on an instant attraction and bond between protagonists Sairis and Roland to kick it off; they are both fully realised characters that grow and evolve in relation to and because of their dynamic.
I had an unusual reading process here - I listened to the first and third installments as audiobooks and read the second as text. Kirt Graves' narration elevates the novel. I can't critique the accuracy of his accents but he had a different accent (as well as overall tone and personality) per character, and was consistent with them across the whole novel. Reading the text exposed some weakness and clunkiness in the prose that I honestly did not sense listening to the audiobook. I would definitely recommend the audiobook experience.
This really is a romance novel though, and the romance is well-developed despite falling back on an instant attraction and bond between protagonists Sairis and Roland to kick it off; they are both fully realised characters that grow and evolve in relation to and because of their dynamic.
I had an unusual reading process here - I listened to the first and third installments as audiobooks and read the second as text. Kirt Graves' narration elevates the novel. I can't critique the accuracy of his accents but he had a different accent (as well as overall tone and personality) per character, and was consistent with them across the whole novel. Reading the text exposed some weakness and clunkiness in the prose that I honestly did not sense listening to the audiobook. I would definitely recommend the audiobook experience.