Reviews

Master of One by Dani Bennett, Jaida Jones

sanne6je's review against another edition

3.0

The story is okay I guess. Just wouldn’t recommend reading it mainly due to the length and the pay off for reading such a lengthy book. I feel like it would have been better had it not been rushed at many parts. The world building was seriously lacking and I started understanding where the book was going when I was at about page 160. Normally I would have given up way before than but I found the audiobook which pulled me through. And thank god because half of the names I wouldn’t have been able to pronounce.

abeck42's review

slow-paced

• Strong character development? Yes
• Loveable characters? Yes
• Diverse cast of characters? Yes

3.5

radiergummi15's review against another edition

3.0

I'm one of those people wo constantly considered dnf'ing this book in the first 100 pages. The pacing just felt weird to me and I think it wasn't the best decision to have them be filled with so much internal monologue from a character who I personally didn't care about at this point in the story.
After the first 100 pages though, the story got a lot more interesting for me. I really liked the worldbuilding and the task the main group had to fulfill. I also enjoyed the dynamic between Rags and

Spoiler

Shining Talon

and the romance plotline was exactly what I needed at the time - a sweet slowburn with just the right amount of angst. However, I still found it very hard to enjoy the other perspectives, namely because a lot of the supporting cast felt pretty flat to me and they didn't have the chance to have any interesting interactions with one another. That being said, I still think a lot of the supporting cast have potential and I especially liked the perspective of

Spoiler

Somhairle

. I do want to address that the pacing in this story generally felt a bit weird, especially because a lot of the chapters were so short and, as other reviewers have already pointed out, the story does leave a lot of open questions at the end. This is not a big problem for me however, since it kind of added to the atmosphere of the book and prevented the ending from feeling rushed.
So in general, I do think this book has its weaknesses and no matter what you are into, you will probably dislike at least some parts of the story. I still recommend it though if the premise sounds interesting to you and I'd definitely be down for a sequel.

theeuphoriczat's review against another edition

3.0

Filled with magic, betrayal, heists, and near death experiences, I basically binged this book on a friday night.
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We follow Rags, a notoriius thief who was caught by the Queensguard and, more specifically, a powerful magician. He is forced to seek out and steal a powerful and ancient fae relic for the magician. The magician (whose name I currently can't remember) spells a mirror in Rags to monitor him.
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In trying to find this relic, many have died, and Rags will not be one of them. He is quite smart, I have to give him that. When he finds the relic, he happens to awaken a fae prince (Shining Talon). A prince that recalls how the magician decimated the royal family and his plans to control the kingdom.
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They both go on a journey to not just save themselves but the kingdom. We are introduced to a number of amazing characters who happen to each have one of the six fae relics.
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Overall, I really enjoyed this book. You will love this book if you
- love queer romance
-love fae fantasy packed with action and intrigue
- want a book with heists and friendships
- want a book filled with fantastic multiple POV
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Thanks to @pridebooktours for making a copy of this book available to me.

vaporization's review

4.0

It's a little bit too long but it's just a whole lot of fun

ecstaticrhubarb's review

2.0

DNF at 26%. May revisist when I'm out of things to try.
It lost me once we jumped to some of the other character stories.

starrysea98's review

mm. DNF. didn’t like the writing style

gperna01's review

3.0

I’d give this 3.5 stars. I am sad because this book has so much potential. I would read the next book if there was one because by the end I loved the characters. The story got better by 65% but I felt that this could’ve been a shorter book because half of it was a waste of time. I did appreciate the representation of people within the LGBTQ+ community.

arielwip's review

adventurous emotional funny tense medium-paced

• Plot- or character-driven? A mix
• Strong character development? It's complicated
• Loveable characters? Yes
• Diverse cast of characters? Yes
• Flaws of characters a main focus? It's complicated

4.75

A lightly veiled and scathing critique on society and a call to arms for those of us who are marginalized by the ever-costly mainstream. I cannot put into words how much is means to see myself represented in media, and it's so rare, but I saw myself in more than one character in this book. And, yes, there is romance too, but it's in spite of the adventure, and not because of it. While it's a fantasy story set in a fantasy world, it's painfully real. I loved every second.

dorisxu's review

4.0

i respect that they wrapped up the romantic plot lines fully in the book but not the overall goal