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sasspotatoes's review
adventurous
challenging
emotional
hopeful
reflective
tense
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? No
4.0
velvetvan's review
adventurous
emotional
tense
fast-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
5.0
“I would inscribe your name in the stars, Ekatya.”
mjsam's review
4.0
I’m prefacing this by saying that I’ll probably come back to re-review this once I’ve read part two, it’s hard to review this not knowing how some of the threads resolve themselves.
Ok, so, Book 9 in the Alsea series picks up about 5 months after the events of Uprising. This one is split between action on Alsea and aboard the Phoenix and the main focus is largely on Ekatya. The plots from other books converge here, with the Voloth once again a rising threat and Ekatya again fighting the political machinations within fleet. There’s also the welcome arrival of one of my past favourites, and her interactions with Rahel and Ekatya provided some of the lighter moments.
There’s also a secondary romance that I won’t spoil, but I did feel that a bit too much time was spent on it, there’s two whole chapters (not counting the discussions in the lead up) devoted to their ‘first time’ and I admit to skimming through some of it, but I felt the same way about the Lanaril/Vellmar subplot in Catalyst. With so many other things happening in these books, I always want more time with the main four, not the side couples.
There’s also an interesting revisit to some of Salomen’s family stuff, and I enjoyed the resolution. Rahel’s story arc is also furthered here, and once again she shines in unexpected ways.
The four MCs are what drive this series for me though and I’ve loved watching their bond(s) unfold. The bonds between the four tyrees are further developed here, sometimes with all four, sometimes in various other combinations, and finally, with the long awaited (by me anyway) addressing of Ekatya and Tal’s bond. Ekatya has seemed a bit sidelined from the bonding scenes in the last few books, and that is addressed here, and I found those scenes moving. The scenes between the tyrees in any combination were easily my favourites.
I can’t wait to see what unfolds in the final
Ok, so, Book 9 in the Alsea series picks up about 5 months after the events of Uprising. This one is split between action on Alsea and aboard the Phoenix and the main focus is largely on Ekatya. The plots from other books converge here, with the Voloth once again a rising threat and Ekatya again fighting the political machinations within fleet. There’s also the welcome arrival of one of my past favourites, and her interactions with Rahel and Ekatya provided some of the lighter moments.
There’s also a secondary romance that I won’t spoil, but I did feel that a bit too much time was spent on it, there’s two whole chapters (not counting the discussions in the lead up) devoted to their ‘first time’ and I admit to skimming through some of it, but I felt the same way about the Lanaril/Vellmar subplot in Catalyst. With so many other things happening in these books, I always want more time with the main four, not the side couples.
There’s also an interesting revisit to some of Salomen’s family stuff, and I enjoyed the resolution. Rahel’s story arc is also furthered here, and once again she shines in unexpected ways.
The four MCs are what drive this series for me though and I’ve loved watching their bond(s) unfold. The bonds between the four tyrees are further developed here, sometimes with all four, sometimes in various other combinations, and finally, with the long awaited (by me anyway) addressing of Ekatya and Tal’s bond. Ekatya has seemed a bit sidelined from the bonding scenes in the last few books, and that is addressed here, and I found those scenes moving. The scenes between the tyrees in any combination were easily my favourites.
I can’t wait to see what unfolds in the final
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