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azathaliya's review against another edition
- Plot- or character-driven? Character
- Strong character development? It's complicated
- Loveable characters? No
- Diverse cast of characters? No
- Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes
2.0
You can easily tell this was written by a woman, as she goes into detail about the bodies of men, especially Xaden Riorson's, and how Violet feels about this. Men are being objectified here, not women. While this is a breath of fresh air for once, I was not a fan of this. Yarros mentions how hot the men are plus Violet Sorrengail wanting to have sex with them or wanting them in general far more than it mentions the dragons and war college, which are supposed to be the focuses of the book.
This book was actually really fun at first, but as Violet began to crush on Xaden, it began to feel more like a cheesy enemies to lovers book. I was slowly turned off by the book once they started to develop a relationship when Xaden was supposed to be the antagonist in a way. Then, there was the sex scene. It felt awkward to read through! Not even thirty pages later, there's another sex scene. Between both scenes, Violet mentions sex so many times and Xaden does too. It got on my nerves, and I didn't feel like finishing the book, but I powered through. The final battle was short and anti-climactic, it felt rushed too. It was at the tail end of the book right after the second sex scene, you could tell Yarros probably realized, "Oh crap, the book is about to end and I forgot to include a real battle scene!"
Violet felt awkwardly cliche too. She was weak, and followed the lame "Not like other girls" trope as always. They barely go into why she was so weak and had silver hair because Yarros was too focused on talking about how sexy Xaden was.
Xaden felt like the cliche "bad boy" with his broody attitude and generic "sexy" body.
Liam Mairi, Rhiannon, Zidoc, and Sawyer were better characters. I think the story would've been greater if it focused on them instead of Violet and Xaden.
Not to mention the story had a plot twist ending with a cliffhanger. Immediately, I knew this story will become a "the enemies are actually the good guys, and the good guys are evil" trope.
The only redeeming qualities were two things; The war college's worldbuilding (one star) and the dragons (second star). Both were written well and I was invested in them.
Graphic: Bullying, Death, Sexual content, Violence, Blood, Medical content, Stalking, Murder, and Injury/Injury detail
Moderate: Animal death, Grief, and Death of parent
Minor: Toxic relationship
miss_cr's review against another edition
- Plot- or character-driven? A mix
- Strong character development? Yes
- Loveable characters? Yes
- Diverse cast of characters? Yes
- Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes
5.0
I'll be buying these books for my personal collection. Just... stunning.
Graphic: Bullying, Chronic illness, Sexual content, Injury/Injury detail, and Classism
Moderate: Ableism, Death, Violence, Blood, Stalking, Death of parent, Murder, and War
Minor: Animal cruelty, Animal death, and Drug use
thatswhatshanread's review against another edition
- Plot- or character-driven? Plot
- Strong character development? Yes
- Loveable characters? Yes
- Diverse cast of characters? Yes
- Flaws of characters a main focus? It's complicated
4.5
But alas!!! This was a fun one!!
You’ve got dragons, you’ve got a war college, you’ve got enemies to lovers, you’ve got mysterious happenings outside of the border that are kept hush hush, you’ve got redacted history and rebellion, you’ve got strong friendships and literal soulmates… I loved it. Our female protagonist Violet is not unlike any other leading character in these kinds of books—she’s weak and fragile, not cut out for the life she’s forced to take on, a disappointment to her mother, the least impressive of her siblings. UNTIL! She proves everyone wrong, even herself, as she is meant to do for the story to exist of course. Which isn’t a bad plot, even if it’s been done many times before, because it clearly works. Violet goes from meek little sister who prefers books over battle, to the incredible dragon rider who packs a striking punch. And Xaden—pretends he loathes her and wants to kill her, broody and closed-off, strong and intimidating to everyone else, but in reality a very kind, caring person who would do anything for Violet. Their chemistry was sizzling, and I loved learning more about their fated connection. The YOU DIE, I DIE trope to a T.
Dain—basically Gale from The Hunger Games but even worse—however, can suck a dozen eggs.
Overall, an intriguing and heart-pounding introduction to the Empyrean series! Great mix of fantasy and romance! You’ll want your own dragon and wingleader boyfriend asap.
Graphic: Animal cruelty, Animal death, Bullying, Cursing, Death, Sexual content, Violence, Blood, Medical content, Death of parent, Murder, Fire/Fire injury, War, and Injury/Injury detail
Moderate: Emotional abuse, Gore, Panic attacks/disorders, Physical abuse, Suicidal thoughts, Torture, Vomit, Stalking, Gaslighting, Abandonment, and Alcohol
Minor: Chronic illness, Genocide, and Classism
garbage_mcsmutly's review against another edition
- Plot- or character-driven? A mix
- Strong character development? Yes
- Loveable characters? Yes
- Diverse cast of characters? Yes
- Flaws of characters a main focus? It's complicated
5.0
Graphic: Ableism, Bullying, Chronic illness, Cursing, Death, Gore, Physical abuse, Sexual content, Violence, Blood, Grief, Murder, Toxic friendship, War, and Injury/Injury detail
Moderate: Emotional abuse, Medical content, Death of parent, and Fire/Fire injury
Minor: Animal cruelty, Drug use, Toxic relationship, Vomit, and Stalking
devincold's review against another edition
- Plot- or character-driven? Plot
- Strong character development? No
- Loveable characters? No
- Diverse cast of characters? No
- Flaws of characters a main focus? It's complicated
2.25
Graphic: Ableism, Animal cruelty, Animal death, Body horror, Body shaming, Bullying, Child death, Chronic illness, Death, Emotional abuse, Gore, Physical abuse, Sexual violence, Torture, Toxic relationship, Violence, Blood, Grief, Stalking, Murder, Fire/Fire injury, Gaslighting, Toxic friendship, and War
andmingmingtoo's review against another edition
- Plot- or character-driven? Plot
- Strong character development? No
- Loveable characters? It's complicated
- Diverse cast of characters? No
- Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes
3.25
Pros:
-The general premise is really fun. I was excited to learn more about the dragon, magic, and government systems of the world
-The action sequences actually felt tense, and they definitely felt like they would be cinematic if in a visual format
-The side characters were really fun (and often eclipsed the main character in likeability)
-Xaden is an interesting and actually respectful male lead
Cons:
-A lot of Violet's inner monologue feels jarring and sometimes detracts from a tense vibe in a scene
-A lot of scenes that would be interesting and would add to the characters' growth are left offscreen, like they were cut for time, despite this being an original work where the author could decide what did and didn't exist. For instance,
-A lot of visual descriptions of settings were left out, like
-For the most part, we have to take Violet's word for it that characters, including herself, have experienced growth. The growth seems to happen offscreen and is not substantiated by their onscreen actions
Additionally, this book is screaming to be part of a series (I am aware that the sequel is out and a series is in the works, as is a movie). In my opinion, there is no finite conclusion of the book's overall plot quest at the end, mostly because there is not one unifying plot quest. The extent of the book is defined temporally, not from a plot perspective, which can give the book the feel of a series of episodes, rather than a unifying experience.
Obviously, this book is popular! I did enjoy it, and I can see how others may enjoy it more than me. That being said, it is not a polished experience, but if you know to expect that, it may help you brace yourself and enjoy it more.
Graphic: Body horror, Bullying, Chronic illness, Cursing, Death, Emotional abuse, Gore, Physical abuse, Sexual content, Torture, Violence, Blood, Vomit, Medical content, Grief, Stalking, Death of parent, Murder, Fire/Fire injury, War, Injury/Injury detail, and Classism
Moderate: Ableism, Child abuse, Child death, Sexism, Toxic relationship, and Toxic friendship
Minor: Drug use and Alcohol
prairieraven's review against another edition
- Plot- or character-driven? Plot
- Strong character development? Yes
- Loveable characters? No
- Diverse cast of characters? Yes
- Flaws of characters a main focus? No
3.25
Moderate: Ableism, Animal cruelty, Animal death, Bullying, Child death, Confinement, Cursing, Death, Genocide, Misogyny, Sexism, Sexual content, Torture, Violence, Forced institutionalization, Police brutality, Medical content, Stalking, Death of parent, Murder, Fire/Fire injury, Abandonment, and Classism
wickedgrumpy's review against another edition
- Plot- or character-driven? Character
- Loveable characters? No
- Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes
1.25
I could not read the word badass without cringing. The world building was positively wild. It's in a more historical fantasy setting where they write with quills, use weapons, crossbows were a big deal, people who wield magic have access to smaller abilities like locking/unlocking doors, making mage light, etc. There lots of wooden shit, but that also translated to having wooden exercise equipment to essential get swole in a modern fashion, rather than bodyweight exercises. There's a brief mention right at the beginning about shoe sizes which means they have standardized them? And the whole riders quadrant can get married before everyone else when the graduate.... At age 23? That's early for this society? And the focus of sexual relations was just pervasive. The talk of raging hormones... The convenience of fertility suppressants getting a brief mention before boning down. Oh and gods are worshipped, but not by dragons.
There was some disability rep that I think was decent considering that it was a fantastical setting with healers, and the character didn't want to "look weak" and would refuse treatment to speed the healing process. There was some LGBT+ rep as well, but mostly on a surface level for side characters.
Honestly, it was fine but the romance had me putting the book down regularly and made finishing this book difficult.
Minor: Ableism, Animal cruelty, Body horror, Body shaming, Bullying, Child abuse, Chronic illness, Cursing, Death, Drug use, Emotional abuse, Genocide, Gore, Misogyny, Panic attacks/disorders, Physical abuse, Sexism, Sexual content, Torture, Toxic relationship, Violence, Xenophobia, Blood, Vomit, Medical content, Grief, Medical trauma, Stalking, Death of parent, Murder, Fire/Fire injury, Gaslighting, Toxic friendship, Abandonment, Sexual harassment, War, Injury/Injury detail, and Classism
cait's review against another edition
- Plot- or character-driven? A mix
- Strong character development? Yes
- Loveable characters? Yes
- Diverse cast of characters? Yes
- Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes
4.0
Minor: Ableism, Animal death, Body shaming, Bullying, Confinement, Cursing, Death, Genocide, Gore, Physical abuse, Sexual content, Violence, Blood, Vomit, Medical content, Kidnapping, Grief, Stalking, Death of parent, Murder, Fire/Fire injury, Gaslighting, Toxic friendship, War, Injury/Injury detail, and Classism
wildflower_magic's review against another edition
- Plot- or character-driven? Character
- Strong character development? Yes
- Loveable characters? Yes
5.0
Graphic: Ableism, Body shaming, Bullying, Chronic illness, Cursing, Death, Gore, Sexual content, Violence, Blood, Grief, Death of parent, Murder, Fire/Fire injury, Toxic friendship, Abandonment, War, Injury/Injury detail, and Classism
Moderate: Stalking, Fire/Fire injury, and Gaslighting
Minor: Torture