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fuguefire's review against another edition
adventurous
funny
reflective
medium-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? Character
- Loveable characters? Yes
4.75
I avoided this book for the first few years because of bad reviews, and I shouldn’t have! It’s a little out of the way of the storyline from the previous two books, but it does a lot more towards building the world and characters that we love. Plus, we get better insights into the magic as our characters do, and the political intrigue going on behind the scenes. Great book, definitely should have read sooner!
mfuller2086's review
adventurous
funny
lighthearted
mysterious
fast-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? Plot
- Strong character development? No
- Loveable characters? Yes
- Diverse cast of characters? Yes
- Flaws of characters a main focus? No
3.75
nitarra's review
adventurous
challenging
slow-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? A mix
- Strong character development? No
- Loveable characters? Yes
- Diverse cast of characters? Yes
- Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes
3.0
akazen's review
5.0
Man this book was good, very very enjoyable. Not much I can say without spoiling but there were some parts that slightly peeved me as it was just such a teaser/basic information giving that would develop in the future and I know it won't come up in the next book but in future installations...such is the pain of books in an ongoing series. Aside from that, many hype/exciting moments that have made reading this whole overarching universe great.
4.5*
4.5*
threetrees's review
1.0
Waste of time reading this. This is probably the last book I'm reading from this series.
chawlios's review
adventurous
fast-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? Plot
- Strong character development? No
- Loveable characters? Yes
- Diverse cast of characters? Yes
- Flaws of characters a main focus? No
3.0
ace0in0space's review
adventurous
medium-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? A mix
- Strong character development? No
- Loveable characters? Yes
- Diverse cast of characters? Yes
- Flaws of characters a main focus? No
4.5
kaffeinatedkoala's review
adventurous
lighthearted
medium-paced
2.5
An underwhelming follow-up in a fun series. The Torch That Ignites The Stars (which is an awesome name) lacks direction, which results in a slow, largely senseless plot during the summer after the Corin’s first year at Lorain Heights that lacks both stakes and meaningful follow-up to the plot threads of the last book. Rowe clearly has an incredible vision of his magic system, but at times, technical explanations of enchanting and mana usage felt indulgent and better suited for an appendix (which is provided) than pages of a novel. Rowe also makes the mistake of sidelining both his most interesting characters and plot threads, which leaves Sera and Corin to become overworked and increasingly unlikeable, lacking the charming dynamic of previous books. Also, Corin’s aversion to physical touch increasingly feels stilted, awkwardly described, and disproportionate-not an issue in concept, but in execution. It mostly worked for the first book, but two books later, sentences in the vein of “I flinched at the inadvertent physical contact” eventually become almost laughable, which is a shame because it is a real trauma response few books explore. Now, there’s still plenty of fun to be had: Once the action and puzzles start, Rowe does best, always contriving new and interesting concepts to use his magic and build action scenes (and some philosophical questions). Likewise there are a handful of fun and meaningful moments between the main cast. However, Arcane Ascension #3 pales in comparison to Rowe’s other works, and was better suited for a novella than the next entry to a series. 5/10