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marissahop's review against another edition
adventurous
dark
medium-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? A mix
- Strong character development? Yes
- Loveable characters? It's complicated
2.5
clairehelena's review against another edition
2.0
I was really excited for this book, genuinely. And in the beginning of the book, I thought it would live up to its potential. With a heavy heart, I have to say it was not one of my favorites of this genre.
Some good and some disappointing things about the book:
Good: Aydra was the badass Queen I wanted.
Disappointing: I don’t think the Aydra/Rhaif plot line was handled as well as it could’ve been.
Good: Draven. I loved him very much.
Disappointing: I didn’t love the way Aydra and Draven’s relationship progressed. It was a little bit boring.
Good: Whitney surprised me with killing off her two main characters.
Disappointing: Now that these main characters are dead, I’m not that interested in continuing the series. I assume it’ll be about Nyssa and Dorian, but I didn’t get attached in this first book, so I don’t completely care about their journeys.
Good: A+ on worldbuilding. The Noctuans? The Architects? Haerland herself? So interesting.
Disappointing: The lack of one, central plot really bothered me.
This is a hard review to write because I was super hyped for this book.
Will I definitively not read the next book? Not necessarily. Am I bitter about the death of two characters who I really wanted to see win something? Yeah. Did I shed a single tear? Yeah, I did.
Anyways.
Some good and some disappointing things about the book:
Good: Aydra was the badass Queen I wanted.
Disappointing: I don’t think the Aydra/Rhaif plot line was handled as well as it could’ve been.
Good: Draven. I loved him very much.
Disappointing: I didn’t love the way Aydra and Draven’s relationship progressed. It was a little bit boring.
Good: Whitney surprised me with killing off her two main characters.
Disappointing: Now that these main characters are dead, I’m not that interested in continuing the series. I assume it’ll be about Nyssa and Dorian, but I didn’t get attached in this first book, so I don’t completely care about their journeys.
Good: A+ on worldbuilding. The Noctuans? The Architects? Haerland herself? So interesting.
Disappointing: The lack of one, central plot really bothered me.
This is a hard review to write because I was super hyped for this book.
Will I definitively not read the next book? Not necessarily. Am I bitter about the death of two characters who I really wanted to see win something? Yeah. Did I shed a single tear? Yeah, I did.
Anyways.
chloeleah96's review against another edition
1.0
It started SOOOOO well but I fucking hate the unnecessary incest, it brings nothing to the story, needs more TW as it’s a bit more than ‘mention’ of rape and torture. DNF.
SPOILER BELOW…
And I HATE Romeo and Juliette endings they’re fucking awful.
SPOILER BELOW…
And I HATE Romeo and Juliette endings they’re fucking awful.
summzies's review against another edition
1.0
I really wanted to like this one but the writing was just Bad with a capital B. Sooo many adjectives piled on top of each other, the dialogue descriptors were so cringey, the story also felt super disjointed-the flow was not good at all unfortunately. I found myself constantly rewriting phrases in my head as I read, it was *that* distracting. Will not be continuing the series.
(If you came for the spice per a tiktok recommendation you are going to be disappointed...there’s sex but the way it’s written makes it boring and essentially a speed bump throughout the book)
(If you came for the spice per a tiktok recommendation you are going to be disappointed...there’s sex but the way it’s written makes it boring and essentially a speed bump throughout the book)
ktmcd26's review against another edition
adventurous
dark
mysterious
fast-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? Plot
- Strong character development? No
- Loveable characters? No
- Diverse cast of characters? No
- Flaws of characters a main focus? No
1.75
Extremely compelling premise for the book, but I found the overall execution lacking.
The relationship between the main characters felt extremely rushed and incomplete. Their kingdoms were supposedly archenemies, but they served on a shared council that other races in the kingdom refuse to take part in. There was dramatic backstory mentioned a couple times, but never explained or shown. I feel like this one story could have been compelling and emotionally interesting if it happened over the course of multiple books.
I found the main female character extremely frustrating. She was continually described in one manner, but there was never any depiction of it in her actions. She is also extremely impulsive, but her recklessness is never reflected on. There is actually no reflection (by herself or others); she can just do no wrong. Some of her decisions are however justified from repeated and horrific abuse.
The world itself is also not well built. There are many moving parts and none are fully explained. The history of the different races and their mutual perceptions are barely touched, but required context for the political aspects of the book. There is an appendix at the back which somehow answered none of the questions that I had.
I also feel this book needed another round of editing from a grammar standpoint. I often found myself re-reading sentences multiple times because the sentence structure was weird, but below are a few examples that I think were just wrong.
“… she said as he pulled back to see his face” (should be her face) p 420 Kindle page white addition
“… angered flowed from her into the phoenix‘s” (should her be possessive or should phoenix’s not be) p 435 Kindle page white addition
All that being said, the ending is interesting and is making me consider reading the next book in the series. It is the only reason it isn’t a one star.
The relationship between the main characters felt extremely rushed and incomplete. Their kingdoms were supposedly archenemies, but they served on a shared council that other races in the kingdom refuse to take part in. There was dramatic backstory mentioned a couple times, but never explained or shown. I feel like this one story could have been compelling and emotionally interesting if it happened over the course of multiple books.
I found the main female character extremely frustrating. She was continually described in one manner, but there was never any depiction of it in her actions. She is also extremely impulsive, but her recklessness is never reflected on. There is actually no reflection (by herself or others); she can just do no wrong. Some of her decisions are however justified from repeated and horrific abuse.
The world itself is also not well built. There are many moving parts and none are fully explained. The history of the different races and their mutual perceptions are barely touched, but required context for the political aspects of the book. There is an appendix at the back which somehow answered none of the questions that I had.
I also feel this book needed another round of editing from a grammar standpoint. I often found myself re-reading sentences multiple times because the sentence structure was weird, but below are a few examples that I think were just wrong.
“… she said as he pulled back to see his face” (should be her face) p 420 Kindle page white addition
“… angered flowed from her into the phoenix‘s” (should her be possessive or should phoenix’s not be) p 435 Kindle page white addition
All that being said, the ending is interesting and is making me consider reading the next book in the series. It is the only reason it isn’t a one star.
Content Warnings
Graphic: Domestic abuse, Physical abuse, Sexual violence, Violence, and War
Moderate: Incest and Rape
mothmanuwu's review against another edition
adventurous
dark
sad
medium-paced
- 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
3.5
I enjoyed it but the ending is horrible. I am not inspired to read the next novel after this ending. I'll probably give it a try but I'm not excited.
Content Warnings
Graphic: Rape, Violence, and War
Moderate: Bullying, Death, Incest, Sexual assault, Sexual content, Sexual violence, Torture, Fire/Fire injury, and Sexual harassment
Minor: Animal death, Confinement, Slavery, Suicide, Stalking, and War
baskinkrobbins's review against another edition
2.0
I really thought this was going to be a 4 star read minimum from how easily I devoured this book but the ending really did itself in. The genesis story of these beings was extremely confusing at first and to be honest I still feel like I don't quite understand it.
During the first half I couldn't really understand what people meant about this book needing a better editor. By the end I got what they meant. There were a lot of repititions in the dialogue that a good editor would have advised the author cut. In general, if better editors and beta readers got their hands on this book before publication, I'm confident this book would have had a much better, more satisfying ending to lead into a series.
Ultimately, a series starter should make me excited to continue with the series and make me want more from this world. Personally, not only will the ending will keep me from rereading this, but it also leaves me with no desire to continue on with the characters and plot.
However, I do have to hand it to the author for creating a compelling and believable romance between Aydra and Draven. That's the one thing she had going for her.
During the first half I couldn't really understand what people meant about this book needing a better editor. By the end I got what they meant. There were a lot of repititions in the dialogue that a good editor would have advised the author cut. In general, if better editors and beta readers got their hands on this book before publication, I'm confident this book would have had a much better, more satisfying ending to lead into a series.
Ultimately, a series starter should make me excited to continue with the series and make me want more from this world. Personally, not only will the ending will keep me from rereading this, but it also leaves me with no desire to continue on with the characters and plot.
However, I do have to hand it to the author for creating a compelling and believable romance between Aydra and Draven. That's the one thing she had going for her.