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annmeyer's review against another edition
adventurous
mysterious
tense
slow-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? Yes
4.25
the canterbury tales meets thor: ragnarok meets dungeons and dragons — medieval fantasy + pirates + kingdoms of mortal and immortal peoples + portals to distant worlds with evil demons and monsters + vast, distant journeys to save the world
the pacing of this book felt fairly slow and erratic at times (especially in the first half), as the story jumps between quite a few POVs — i think at least six iirc — and plotlines, giving it a game of thrones-esque feel of juggling pieces. most of it was spent setting the stage, establishing the stakes and magic system, and introducing the characters. there was so, so much world-building that it got a little info dump-y at times and was occasionally difficult to contextualize. also, i believe that the blurb prefaces the group is corayne +6 other people, but we don't even meet everyone until about 75% of the way through the book, so you're still constantly adding new characters to the cast. once the key players are all locked into place, the plot felt like it picked up a lot more.
sometimes the writing could be a bit hard to follow (lots of doubling back to re-read paragraphs), but i liked all the characters and the setting (ibal sounds so beautiful and cool) enough that i kept trucking along. the last quarter of the book was particularly exciting and did a lot to boost my overall feelings. the fate of the universe alongside possible romantic tensions between characters have me excited to read the next one in the series. i'm glad i stuck with it though, and am excited to see where things go now that aveyard has finished setting stuff up.
the pacing of this book felt fairly slow and erratic at times (especially in the first half), as the story jumps between quite a few POVs — i think at least six iirc — and plotlines, giving it a game of thrones-esque feel of juggling pieces. most of it was spent setting the stage, establishing the stakes and magic system, and introducing the characters. there was so, so much world-building that it got a little info dump-y at times and was occasionally difficult to contextualize. also, i believe that the blurb prefaces the group is corayne +6 other people, but we don't even meet everyone until about 75% of the way through the book, so you're still constantly adding new characters to the cast. once the key players are all locked into place, the plot felt like it picked up a lot more.
sometimes the writing could be a bit hard to follow (lots of doubling back to re-read paragraphs), but i liked all the characters and the setting (ibal sounds so beautiful and cool) enough that i kept trucking along. the last quarter of the book was particularly exciting and did a lot to boost my overall feelings. the fate of the universe alongside possible romantic tensions between characters have me excited to read the next one in the series. i'm glad i stuck with it though, and am excited to see where things go now that aveyard has finished setting stuff up.
djm_chal's review against another edition
adventurous
medium-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? A mix
- Strong character development? Yes
- Loveable characters? It's complicated
- Diverse cast of characters? Yes
4.0
katsbooks__'s review against another edition
I just couldn’t find myself caring about the story or the characters. Wanted to like it after red queen but I couldn’t :(
beccalynn169's review against another edition
adventurous
slow-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? A mix
- Strong character development? No
- Loveable characters? No
- Diverse cast of characters? Yes
- Flaws of characters a main focus? No
2.0
heathernicole20's review against another edition
adventurous
mysterious
slow-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? Plot
- Strong character development? No
- Loveable characters? N/A
- Diverse cast of characters? Yes
- Flaws of characters a main focus? N/A
3.25
insipidurbanism's review against another edition
adventurous
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? Yes
4.0
gabsouth's review against another edition
4.0
Great fantasy book that has all of the proper prerequisites, heroin that doesn't know their destiny, faithful soldier, mentor and aloof killer. Good description and plot lines for a first book. My only wish is that there were more to read.
curles_and_curves's review against another edition
I really could not get into this book.
emargent's review against another edition
adventurous
funny
hopeful
mysterious
medium-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? A mix
- Strong character development? No
- Loveable characters? Yes
- Diverse cast of characters? It's complicated
- Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes
3.5
mathildur's review against another edition
4.0
You guys know that book I started reading back in February? I finally finished it!! Honestly it was not the book's fault that it took me so long, I was buddyreading it with a friend and we couldn't find the time to meet and sit down to read very often. It probably impacted my experience with the story as well, which is a shame, because this was really good! I found it engaging and exciting to read, definitely continuing with the series.