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A review by votesforwomen416
The Deceiver's Heart (the Traitor's Game, Book 2), Volume 2 by Jennifer A. Nielsen
5.0
Reread #3: Long, drawn-out, incoherent screaming
Reread #2: Hello, I am so obsessed with this series that I have attempted (and failed) four seperate pieces of fanart, read the book three times, literally scream about it while walking down my own street, and made a ship playlist for my babies. (Kestrimon? Should that be their ship name or is it too unwieldy?)
THE BRIDGE SCENE.
THE ENDING.
THE DRAGON.
EVERYTHING.
*screams*
Reread #1: Yes, I did just read this AGAIN.
All I can say is that my children had better have a happy ending.
Also, Simon and Kestra’s theme, in my humble opinion, is “Bring Me to Life” by Evanescence.
ORIGINAL REVIEW:
OF COURSE IT'S FIVE STARS, WHY WOULD IT BE ANYTHING LESS?!
I'm not sure why this series is so unpopular/disliked. It's fantastic. It's SO GOOD. The characters are the greatest thing ever, the worldbuilding is impeccable, and while the writing style is imperfect, it's still AWESOME. And the plot twists! The cliffhangers! Excuse while I go DIE because I think I might die.
SOME THINGS TO LOVE:
-SIMON HAAAAAAAATCH. My word, this cinnamon roll is shaping up to become one of my favorite characters of all time. He's so complex and detailed--neither he nor Kestra is just a "love interest" in this story, but both of them are wildly necessary and ridiculously strong. And this time, Simon is on the run from 99.99999% of Antora, and he's a wreck...oh my word, I can't even explain my love for my little bullheaded beloved son.
-I guess Kestra's pretty good too. (Kidding, kidding, she was fantastic as always.) She dims in comparison to Simon, but oh my word, she was still the GREATEST. Her sass isn't quite as strong in this book, as she struggles with her identity and her heart, but AGH. Character-driven authors, take note. THIS is how to write a feisty strong female lead.
-Trina and Tenger weren't as important this time, but they still kept the plot twisting and their loyalties were a question mark for the entire book.
-The whole SCALE felt way bigger this time. Instead of a couple of bickering clans and a heist situation, this one was full-on war. And it was mind-blowing.
-The new characters? Meh. I didn't like Wynnow, Loelle is weird, and Harlyn can go die if she doesn't mind. (Seriously, I know what she said, but I HATED Harlyn. Keep your hands to yourself, girl.)
-Surprisingly, I liked Basil this time? At least, I liked him a little better. He's such an honorable person--to draw comparison to another Nielsen novel, he's kind of become the Tobias of the series and I loved that about him.
-This whole series is so stabby and full of grey loyalties and honestly that reminds me so much of my own stories? So I loved that.
-I'm not gonna lie--I was pretty happy when a certain character died. I mean, there was someone else I wish had died more (Harlyn, lol) but this person was in a close second. *slow applause* *sips lemonade*
-The plot twists, while not as major in this one as in the first, were still mind-blowing.
-I CAN'T BELIEVE SIMON DID THE THING.
-OR THAT HE DID THE OTHER THING.
-SIMON YOU'RE GOING TO GET YOURSELF KILLED HERE AND IT WON'T BE FOR LACK OF TRYING.
-I must admit, I was remarkably mad that a certain somebody died. It was a minor character, but MAN that made me angry.
-Did I mention Simon is fantastic?
-And that I hate Harlyn?
-Trina, though. Trina is something else. *wavers between shooting Trina with a disc and sending her heart eyes*
-I have no words.
SOME THINGS NOT TO LOVE:
-Nielsen, can you please be nice to your poor characters? Please?! They deserve life! They do not deserve white discs and All Spirits Forest and amnesia and explosions and DAH! (Please excuse me while I glare daggers at the Halderians here because GOSH I hate the Halderians)
-That ending. That was NOT okay. Not in the least. I think I got a defective copy because there is NO WAY that was the actual ending. Basically, someone needs to die, someone else needs to not die, another person needs to REALLY not die, and someone else needs to STOP BEING A PUSHOVER. *glares at every character in this book and shakes them until their teeth rattle*
OVERALL:
This was my most anticipated book of the year (as you probably all know), and it BLEW ME AWAY. I don't even have words beyond what I've said here. If you've read it/as soon as you've read it, LET ME KNOW because I neeeeeeeed someone to scream with over that ending (and the other plot twists, because WHAT THE HECK!) also, can I get a title/cover/ARC of book 3? Please? I have NO IDEA how this is going to end and I'd really like to know. *screams*
Reread #2: Hello, I am so obsessed with this series that I have attempted (and failed) four seperate pieces of fanart, read the book three times, literally scream about it while walking down my own street, and made a ship playlist for my babies. (Kestrimon? Should that be their ship name or is it too unwieldy?)
THE BRIDGE SCENE.
THE ENDING.
THE DRAGON.
EVERYTHING.
*screams*
Reread #1: Yes, I did just read this AGAIN.
All I can say is that my children had better have a happy ending.
Also, Simon and Kestra’s theme, in my humble opinion, is “Bring Me to Life” by Evanescence.
ORIGINAL REVIEW:
OF COURSE IT'S FIVE STARS, WHY WOULD IT BE ANYTHING LESS?!
I'm not sure why this series is so unpopular/disliked. It's fantastic. It's SO GOOD. The characters are the greatest thing ever, the worldbuilding is impeccable, and while the writing style is imperfect, it's still AWESOME. And the plot twists! The cliffhangers! Excuse while I go DIE because I think I might die.
SOME THINGS TO LOVE:
-SIMON HAAAAAAAATCH. My word, this cinnamon roll is shaping up to become one of my favorite characters of all time. He's so complex and detailed--neither he nor Kestra is just a "love interest" in this story, but both of them are wildly necessary and ridiculously strong. And this time, Simon is on the run from 99.99999% of Antora, and he's a wreck...oh my word, I can't even explain my love for my little bullheaded beloved son.
-I guess Kestra's pretty good too. (Kidding, kidding, she was fantastic as always.) She dims in comparison to Simon, but oh my word, she was still the GREATEST. Her sass isn't quite as strong in this book, as she struggles with her identity and her heart, but AGH. Character-driven authors, take note. THIS is how to write a feisty strong female lead.
-Trina and Tenger weren't as important this time, but they still kept the plot twisting and their loyalties were a question mark for the entire book.
-The whole SCALE felt way bigger this time. Instead of a couple of bickering clans and a heist situation, this one was full-on war. And it was mind-blowing.
-The new characters? Meh. I didn't like Wynnow, Loelle is weird, and Harlyn can go die if she doesn't mind. (Seriously, I know what she said, but I HATED Harlyn. Keep your hands to yourself, girl.)
-Surprisingly, I liked Basil this time? At least, I liked him a little better. He's such an honorable person--to draw comparison to another Nielsen novel, he's kind of become the Tobias of the series and I loved that about him.
-This whole series is so stabby and full of grey loyalties and honestly that reminds me so much of my own stories? So I loved that.
-I'm not gonna lie--I was pretty happy when a certain character died. I mean, there was someone else I wish had died more (Harlyn, lol) but this person was in a close second. *slow applause* *sips lemonade*
-The plot twists, while not as major in this one as in the first, were still mind-blowing.
-I CAN'T BELIEVE SIMON DID THE THING.
-OR THAT HE DID THE OTHER THING.
-SIMON YOU'RE GOING TO GET YOURSELF KILLED HERE AND IT WON'T BE FOR LACK OF TRYING.
-I must admit, I was remarkably mad that a certain somebody died. It was a minor character, but MAN that made me angry.
-Did I mention Simon is fantastic?
-And that I hate Harlyn?
-Trina, though. Trina is something else. *wavers between shooting Trina with a disc and sending her heart eyes*
-I have no words.
SOME THINGS NOT TO LOVE:
-Nielsen, can you please be nice to your poor characters? Please?! They deserve life! They do not deserve white discs and All Spirits Forest and amnesia and explosions and DAH! (Please excuse me while I glare daggers at the Halderians here because GOSH I hate the Halderians)
-That ending. That was NOT okay. Not in the least. I think I got a defective copy because there is NO WAY that was the actual ending. Basically, someone needs to die, someone else needs to not die, another person needs to REALLY not die, and someone else needs to STOP BEING A PUSHOVER. *glares at every character in this book and shakes them until their teeth rattle*
OVERALL:
This was my most anticipated book of the year (as you probably all know), and it BLEW ME AWAY. I don't even have words beyond what I've said here. If you've read it/as soon as you've read it, LET ME KNOW because I neeeeeeeed someone to scream with over that ending (and the other plot twists, because WHAT THE HECK!) also, can I get a title/cover/ARC of book 3? Please? I have NO IDEA how this is going to end and I'd really like to know. *screams*