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redsrecs's Reviews (309)
Okay, so I don't think this book is bad so much as it just wasn't the right book for me.
I understand the the main characters development and growth is the point of this book, I unfortunately just found her to be obnoxious. Her lack of confidence and ambition rubbed me the wrong way.
I really tried to enjoy this book, in theory it sounded amazing but it was more miss than hit for me personally. I was drawn in the the whimsical cover and the cosy vibes, but the excessively ornate writing made it feel like I was dragging myself through the story.
It really felt like I was reading for ages and getting nowhere.
I'm not discouraging anyone from reading this book, I just think that a bit more excitement, a faster pace and a bigger emphasis on the romance would've made all the difference.
I understand the the main characters development and growth is the point of this book, I unfortunately just found her to be obnoxious. Her lack of confidence and ambition rubbed me the wrong way.
I really tried to enjoy this book, in theory it sounded amazing but it was more miss than hit for me personally. I was drawn in the the whimsical cover and the cosy vibes, but the excessively ornate writing made it feel like I was dragging myself through the story.
It really felt like I was reading for ages and getting nowhere.
I'm not discouraging anyone from reading this book, I just think that a bit more excitement, a faster pace and a bigger emphasis on the romance would've made all the difference.
5 Shadowborn Swords for The Songbird and the Heart of Stone by Carissa Broadbent.
"𝘍𝘰𝘳 𝘵𝘩𝘦 𝘧𝘪𝘳𝘴𝘵 𝘵𝘪𝘮𝘦, 𝘐 𝘴𝘵𝘢𝘳𝘦𝘥 𝘮𝘺𝘴𝘦𝘭𝘧 𝘪𝘯 𝘵𝘩𝘦 𝘧𝘢𝘤𝘦.
𝘕𝘰𝘵 𝘔𝘪𝘴𝘤𝘩𝘦, 𝘤𝘩𝘰𝘴𝘦𝘯 𝘰𝘧 𝘵𝘩𝘦 𝘴𝘶𝘯, 𝘵𝘦𝘦𝘯𝘢𝘨𝘦 𝘱𝘳𝘰𝘥𝘪𝘨𝘺 𝘰𝘧 𝘭𝘪𝘨𝘩𝘵.
𝘔𝘪𝘴𝘤𝘩𝘦, 𝘷𝘢𝘮𝘱𝘪𝘳𝘦, 𝘚𝘩𝘢𝘥𝘰𝘸𝘣𝘰𝘳𝘯, 𝘸𝘩𝘰 𝘩𝘢𝘥 𝘢𝘭𝘳𝘦𝘢𝘥𝘺 𝘭𝘦𝘵 𝘵𝘩𝘦 𝘥𝘢𝘳𝘬 𝘥𝘦𝘷𝘰𝘶𝘳 𝘩𝘦𝘳 𝘢 𝘭𝘰𝘯𝘨 𝘵𝘪𝘮𝘦 𝘢𝘨𝘰, 𝘢𝘯𝘥 𝘩𝘢𝘥 𝘴𝘪𝘮𝘱𝘭𝘺 𝘳𝘦𝘧𝘶𝘴𝘦𝘥 𝘵𝘰 𝘴𝘦𝘦 𝘪𝘵."
Thank you Pan Macmillan South Africa for sending me a copy of this book, also thank you to Pan Macmillan for allowing me a copy of this arc via Netgalley.
I'm honestly struggling to put into words how mind-blowing this book is. Carissa Broadbent is my drug of choice and this book is no exception.
My only struggle with this book is the sheer magnitude of the worldbuilding. Morthryn and the Underworld are so intense and vast, and I'm not sure if this book was able to fully build them up. It was a bit difficult to follow in parts, not because Carissa didn't do an amazing job of explaining each level of the Underworld, but just because of how big and daunting the Underworld as a whole is.
That being said, it was my only issue with this book. We follow Mische, Raihn's best friend from the Nightborn Duet. In The Ashes and the Star Cursed King, Mische murders her creator, who happens to be the Shadowborn Crown Prince. This book starts with the Shadowborn capturing her and to not be executed, she is sent with Asar, the Shadowborn King's bastard son, on a borderline suicidal quest through the Underworld.
This is an amazingly, beautifully tragic story of Mische's life, how she was chosen by the sun god, and how her choices, character, and sins led her to this journey through the Underworld where she is able to discover herself, try and make peace with her life and fall in love. Asar's story is equally tragic and beautiful and his true character being unmasked is such an amazing thing to read.
The plot twists were amazing, the journey was tragic and the ending left me swearing, gasping, and demanding more. Please go read this book.
"𝘍𝘰𝘳 𝘵𝘩𝘦 𝘧𝘪𝘳𝘴𝘵 𝘵𝘪𝘮𝘦, 𝘐 𝘴𝘵𝘢𝘳𝘦𝘥 𝘮𝘺𝘴𝘦𝘭𝘧 𝘪𝘯 𝘵𝘩𝘦 𝘧𝘢𝘤𝘦.
𝘕𝘰𝘵 𝘔𝘪𝘴𝘤𝘩𝘦, 𝘤𝘩𝘰𝘴𝘦𝘯 𝘰𝘧 𝘵𝘩𝘦 𝘴𝘶𝘯, 𝘵𝘦𝘦𝘯𝘢𝘨𝘦 𝘱𝘳𝘰𝘥𝘪𝘨𝘺 𝘰𝘧 𝘭𝘪𝘨𝘩𝘵.
𝘔𝘪𝘴𝘤𝘩𝘦, 𝘷𝘢𝘮𝘱𝘪𝘳𝘦, 𝘚𝘩𝘢𝘥𝘰𝘸𝘣𝘰𝘳𝘯, 𝘸𝘩𝘰 𝘩𝘢𝘥 𝘢𝘭𝘳𝘦𝘢𝘥𝘺 𝘭𝘦𝘵 𝘵𝘩𝘦 𝘥𝘢𝘳𝘬 𝘥𝘦𝘷𝘰𝘶𝘳 𝘩𝘦𝘳 𝘢 𝘭𝘰𝘯𝘨 𝘵𝘪𝘮𝘦 𝘢𝘨𝘰, 𝘢𝘯𝘥 𝘩𝘢𝘥 𝘴𝘪𝘮𝘱𝘭𝘺 𝘳𝘦𝘧𝘶𝘴𝘦𝘥 𝘵𝘰 𝘴𝘦𝘦 𝘪𝘵."
Thank you Pan Macmillan South Africa for sending me a copy of this book, also thank you to Pan Macmillan for allowing me a copy of this arc via Netgalley.
I'm honestly struggling to put into words how mind-blowing this book is. Carissa Broadbent is my drug of choice and this book is no exception.
My only struggle with this book is the sheer magnitude of the worldbuilding. Morthryn and the Underworld are so intense and vast, and I'm not sure if this book was able to fully build them up. It was a bit difficult to follow in parts, not because Carissa didn't do an amazing job of explaining each level of the Underworld, but just because of how big and daunting the Underworld as a whole is.
That being said, it was my only issue with this book. We follow Mische, Raihn's best friend from the Nightborn Duet. In The Ashes and the Star Cursed King, Mische murders her creator, who happens to be the Shadowborn Crown Prince. This book starts with the Shadowborn capturing her and to not be executed, she is sent with Asar, the Shadowborn King's bastard son, on a borderline suicidal quest through the Underworld.
This is an amazingly, beautifully tragic story of Mische's life, how she was chosen by the sun god, and how her choices, character, and sins led her to this journey through the Underworld where she is able to discover herself, try and make peace with her life and fall in love. Asar's story is equally tragic and beautiful and his true character being unmasked is such an amazing thing to read.
The plot twists were amazing, the journey was tragic and the ending left me swearing, gasping, and demanding more. Please go read this book.
adventurous
challenging
mysterious
tense
slow-paced
Plot or Character Driven:
A mix
Strong character development:
No
Loveable characters:
No
Diverse cast of characters:
Yes
Flaws of characters a main focus:
Yes
Thank you to Penguin Random House for allowing me to get my hands on a copy of the e-arc for this book via Netgalley.
Silver Elite is an action-packed dystopian novel with all the nostalgic feels of the 2010 dystopian YA era, but make it spicier because we're all adults now.
The world that Dani Francis creates is a unique spin on the war-torn, dystopian America we often see in these dystopian novels, adding some elements of people who have been fundamentally changed by a combination of wartime experiments and radiation that lead to children being born and growing up to discover telepathic abilities.
"The Continent" is run by a General who puts the military and the lives of normal people aka "Primes" above all else. That means that Wren, our FMC, is in hiding as a very strong telepath but after her uncle is arrested and sentenced to death, her world changes when she gets arrested and added to the most elite military training program on the Continent by a man she met early on in the book. Aka our MMC Cross.
Overall, this book felt a bit more juvenile than I expected it to be as a new adult book. The Silver training program felt very cliquey and gossipy for a bunch of adults in the military who are trying to get into the most elite team that exists.
As much as Wren's character is our typical dystopian FMC who is the most badass, the best at everything, and the most resilient, her recklessness and not thinking things through started feeling more teenage than I would've liked.
A lot of the characters and relationships lacked depth for me and the only character I ended up feeling for, was Kaine. Even the relationship between Cross and Wren felt like it happened too easily for me and I would've loved to have more inner monologue around their struggles and evolving feelings.
The plot twists to me felt predictable as well and I would've liked the foreshadowing to be more subtle and in terms of the world-building, it seemed like random information was added in throughout the book that would've made more sense if we knew it from the beginning.
Overall though, I LOVED this book. I don't know what Dani wrote into these pages but I was addicted to reading it, not having an appetite for any of my other books until I was able to finish this one. The Dystopian nostalgia alone is 1000% worth it, but being able to know this world takes it above and beyond.
Silver Elite is an action-packed dystopian novel with all the nostalgic feels of the 2010 dystopian YA era, but make it spicier because we're all adults now.
The world that Dani Francis creates is a unique spin on the war-torn, dystopian America we often see in these dystopian novels, adding some elements of people who have been fundamentally changed by a combination of wartime experiments and radiation that lead to children being born and growing up to discover telepathic abilities.
"The Continent" is run by a General who puts the military and the lives of normal people aka "Primes" above all else. That means that Wren, our FMC, is in hiding as a very strong telepath but after her uncle is arrested and sentenced to death, her world changes when she gets arrested and added to the most elite military training program on the Continent by a man she met early on in the book. Aka our MMC Cross.
Overall, this book felt a bit more juvenile than I expected it to be as a new adult book. The Silver training program felt very cliquey and gossipy for a bunch of adults in the military who are trying to get into the most elite team that exists.
As much as Wren's character is our typical dystopian FMC who is the most badass, the best at everything, and the most resilient, her recklessness and not thinking things through started feeling more teenage than I would've liked.
A lot of the characters and relationships lacked depth for me and the only character I ended up feeling for, was Kaine. Even the relationship between Cross and Wren felt like it happened too easily for me and I would've loved to have more inner monologue around their struggles and evolving feelings.
The plot twists to me felt predictable as well and I would've liked the foreshadowing to be more subtle and in terms of the world-building, it seemed like random information was added in throughout the book that would've made more sense if we knew it from the beginning.
Overall though, I LOVED this book. I don't know what Dani wrote into these pages but I was addicted to reading it, not having an appetite for any of my other books until I was able to finish this one. The Dystopian nostalgia alone is 1000% worth it, but being able to know this world takes it above and beyond.
