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schomj's review
4.0
The reviews for this made me both intrigued and hesitant about reading it. I have enjoyed other stories by this author so decided to give it a chance, and am glad I did.
I really enjoyed the heroine. She's not nice, but I did find her a very sympathetic protagonist. I liked that rather than endlessly whining about her relationship difficulties à la the heroine in the last romance I read, she tried to change her situation. Her methods may be questionable, but at least she didn't sit around wringing her hands and feeling sorry for herself. I also liked her strong sense of honor and her... I don't know how to explain it, but she has a sort of fluid centeredness that helped her maintain self-control in difficult situations and also adapt to new circumstances.
The hero is... let's say that he has murky motives throughout the story. He's also stubborn, ruthless, and afraid to let his vulnerabilities show but also fiercely protective. It was interesting to watch their relationship develop; I was never quite certain how things were going to go.
The world building was intriguing enough to get me hooked, but left enough questions in my mind that I'd love to see this as a series -- the mages, thieves, elementals, the Words, the energy storage canisters, all fascinating. As far as I know, Knox seems to stick to stand-alone titles, so I'm not expecting it, but I'd be happy about it.(And this from someone who's complained multiple times this week alone how tired I am of series.) That said, I prefer incomplete-but-consistent world building to wading through endless pages of info-dumping.
Overall, I enjoyed this quite a bit and think I need to read more by this author.
I really enjoyed the heroine. She's not nice, but I did find her a very sympathetic protagonist. I liked that rather than endlessly whining about her relationship difficulties à la the heroine in the last romance I read, she tried to change her situation. Her methods may be questionable, but at least she didn't sit around wringing her hands and feeling sorry for herself. I also liked her strong sense of honor and her... I don't know how to explain it, but she has a sort of fluid centeredness that helped her maintain self-control in difficult situations and also adapt to new circumstances.
The hero is... let's say that he has murky motives throughout the story. He's also stubborn, ruthless, and afraid to let his vulnerabilities show but also fiercely protective. It was interesting to watch their relationship develop; I was never quite certain how things were going to go.
The world building was intriguing enough to get me hooked, but left enough questions in my mind that I'd love to see this as a series -- the mages, thieves, elementals, the Words, the energy storage canisters, all fascinating. As far as I know, Knox seems to stick to stand-alone titles, so I'm not expecting it, but I'd be happy about it.(And this from someone who's complained multiple times this week alone how tired I am of series.) That said, I prefer incomplete-but-consistent world building to wading through endless pages of info-dumping.
Overall, I enjoyed this quite a bit and think I need to read more by this author.
eloiseinparis's review
3.0
I had not read anything by this author before, and I know she has written several books. While this is a stand alone book, I am not sure if she has written books that take place in this world. If she has it would explain things, if not, well… There are three key types of magicians or wizards of this world. Mages, Elementals, and Thieves. Unfortunately they were never clearly explained. Their differences are alluded to, they and their origins are never clearly explained. To me that took away from the story. There is such conflict and animosity between the three groups, but it is only partially explained. I wish this had been delved into more.
Ava was a ok heroine, Heyerdar was a complicated and often an ass of a hero, and Riest was just a pain. The sex scenes were hot, the action was high, and the mystery of “who done it” and why was very good. I like this author and would love to read another story in this world, but with a more in-depth break down of the magical hierarchy and politics.
Ava was a ok heroine, Heyerdar was a complicated and often an ass of a hero, and Riest was just a pain. The sex scenes were hot, the action was high, and the mystery of “who done it” and why was very good. I like this author and would love to read another story in this world, but with a more in-depth break down of the magical hierarchy and politics.
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