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debchan's review
2.0
listen, if your book is gonna have a callum in it, just know i'm siding with him no matter what happens
it's just as unassuming as the first book. in that it has its moments. the characters exchanged witty dialogue, the action scenes were easy to follow, and the writing was to the point and straightforward. it just didn't wow me. maybe it's harsh and i should give it 3 stars for being completely mediocre but i read it bc it was a sequel and i wanted to know how this series ended, not because i found it to be terribly interesting.
i thought i was left with a bunch of angry characters at the end of book 1. people who had betrayed each other and were willing to do it again. i thought i would get a refreshing inverted found family trope where instead they all just want to kill each other. not so! from the first chapter, they're already forgiving betrayers and making plans to team up again. like ugh, where's the dilemma here if everyone is so enthusiastically driven towards the greater good? and what bugged me about this book that i had issue with in the 1st book is that there's no real plot twists or big reveals. bc everything is laid bare. every character gets a pov where they tell the reader the "truth" or their "betrayal" except they rationalize it so it's not even morally grey or surprising or a true betrayal. i would've liked to be kept in the dark more so i could be surprised bc as the reader i just knew everything exactly as it happened - no big wow moments.
ryia: at least she still was quite funny. her beginning chapters were quite boring bc why do i care she's stuck in a prison cell. and ok she's expanding her powers but i've read those stories hundreds of times, what makes her different? not much. i will always appreciate the thieflike character who can scale walls and sneak into castles though. i just wish as the literal BUTCHER, she had less qualms about killing. whenever she does it it's fine but when callum does it, it's somehow reprehensible.
evelyn: at least she's no longer preachy. she's willing to do the dirty work. ig i was v surprised at the complete willingness of all of these characters to just do whatever the plot required of them to do. like ok slay keep the story going ig!
tristan: bc if i were evelyn i wouldn't work with him. his identity is revealed and he's trying to do better. ok why can't we have characters who stick with their betrayal for plain evil reasons and relish in it. idc about your guilt bro. idk i felt he was so unresolved.like he betrayed ryia that last time for "good reason" ok but then he just leaves them and becomes king? there's no resolution to his friendship with the others. is he even fit to rule a whole dang country if he's firstly a conman and a sneak? but whatever.
nash: she was literally just along for the ride. i miss her fighting with ryia i wish there was more of that here. but she found something really special to her and she gave everything for the Cause.did she really have to die? as soon as siblings find each other they're immediately killed. wow. am i supposed to be sad? this just feels like shock factor.
ivan: now i was so invested in "loyal guy to other guy who's committed atrocities." and then i remembered the real reason he was doing anything and he became this boring paragon of virtue. maybe not true virtue per se since he did just stand by while callum killed a bunch of people but he also had a Cause that was noble so i wasn't interested. i wanted him to demonstrate more of his powers too but it was like all the cool stuff from book 1 was thrown out the window.
joslyn: i guess i'm down for swashbuckling pirates and she was definitely one of them. she was very determined to join the team almost immediately. idk if her true identity was supposed to be jaw-dropping bc in the chapter before her reveal, nash is talking about a jolie being taken from her. and then oh here's a girl who looks just like nash? i just wish these reveals weren't so obvious. and is ryia just going to keep finding long-lost relatives in prison cells??
callum: we got a bit more fear factor from him which i appreciate. bc his fate and reasonings were all a bit pathetic. like can't he just want power to be maniacal and insane? must he have a backstory to justify this? and i'm not a big fan of how kuhn wrote his demise. to give him a way out and for him to turn around and reject it. he's supposed to be insanely smart. ok now we're getting rid of him and it's ok bc he rejected peace! shouldn't he have accepted the offer, and recoup later bc he still is super powerful. did he have to blindly attack ryia like an idiot? my fav scene was when he got rid of that storyteller. it was so casually cruel, it was interesting.
i think that's just my issue. everything was so straightforward and simple, it wasn't interesting. characters did semi-bad things for good reasons. the plot wound down a well-lit path with no obstructions bc we were given an exact map of how it would pan out. the ending of the characters were so mechanic i didn't quite care. deaths were there to make the reader upset. such a potentially chaotic and insane and scary villain was given a marvel-movie-like fate. oh, we offered him peace but he chose death so we gave him death. it's just so clinical and dull. i didn't find it compelling or engaging, but i see plenty of people have so if a heist story with loose found family appeals, then i'm glad that so many people did enjoy it.
it's just as unassuming as the first book. in that it has its moments. the characters exchanged witty dialogue, the action scenes were easy to follow, and the writing was to the point and straightforward. it just didn't wow me. maybe it's harsh and i should give it 3 stars for being completely mediocre but i read it bc it was a sequel and i wanted to know how this series ended, not because i found it to be terribly interesting.
i thought i was left with a bunch of angry characters at the end of book 1. people who had betrayed each other and were willing to do it again. i thought i would get a refreshing inverted found family trope where instead they all just want to kill each other. not so! from the first chapter, they're already forgiving betrayers and making plans to team up again. like ugh, where's the dilemma here if everyone is so enthusiastically driven towards the greater good? and what bugged me about this book that i had issue with in the 1st book is that there's no real plot twists or big reveals. bc everything is laid bare. every character gets a pov where they tell the reader the "truth" or their "betrayal" except they rationalize it so it's not even morally grey or surprising or a true betrayal. i would've liked to be kept in the dark more so i could be surprised bc as the reader i just knew everything exactly as it happened - no big wow moments.
ryia: at least she still was quite funny. her beginning chapters were quite boring bc why do i care she's stuck in a prison cell. and ok she's expanding her powers but i've read those stories hundreds of times, what makes her different? not much. i will always appreciate the thieflike character who can scale walls and sneak into castles though. i just wish as the literal BUTCHER, she had less qualms about killing. whenever she does it it's fine but when callum does it, it's somehow reprehensible.
evelyn: at least she's no longer preachy. she's willing to do the dirty work. ig i was v surprised at the complete willingness of all of these characters to just do whatever the plot required of them to do. like ok slay keep the story going ig!
tristan: bc if i were evelyn i wouldn't work with him. his identity is revealed and he's trying to do better. ok why can't we have characters who stick with their betrayal for plain evil reasons and relish in it. idc about your guilt bro. idk i felt he was so unresolved.
nash: she was literally just along for the ride. i miss her fighting with ryia i wish there was more of that here. but she found something really special to her and she gave everything for the Cause.
ivan: now i was so invested in "loyal guy to other guy who's committed atrocities." and then i remembered the real reason he was doing anything and he became this boring paragon of virtue. maybe not true virtue per se since he did just stand by while callum killed a bunch of people but he also had a Cause that was noble so i wasn't interested. i wanted him to demonstrate more of his powers too but it was like all the cool stuff from book 1 was thrown out the window.
joslyn: i guess i'm down for swashbuckling pirates and she was definitely one of them. she was very determined to join the team almost immediately. idk if her true identity was supposed to be jaw-dropping bc in the chapter before her reveal, nash is talking about a jolie being taken from her. and then oh here's a girl who looks just like nash? i just wish these reveals weren't so obvious. and is ryia just going to keep finding long-lost relatives in prison cells??
callum: we got a bit more fear factor from him which i appreciate. bc his fate and reasonings were all a bit pathetic. like can't he just want power to be maniacal and insane? must he have a backstory to justify this? and i'm not a big fan of how kuhn wrote his demise. to give him a way out and for him to turn around and reject it. he's supposed to be insanely smart. ok now we're getting rid of him and it's ok bc he rejected peace! shouldn't he have accepted the offer, and recoup later bc he still is super powerful. did he have to blindly attack ryia like an idiot? my fav scene was when he got rid of that storyteller. it was so casually cruel, it was interesting.
i think that's just my issue. everything was so straightforward and simple, it wasn't interesting. characters did semi-bad things for good reasons. the plot wound down a well-lit path with no obstructions bc we were given an exact map of how it would pan out. the ending of the characters were so mechanic i didn't quite care. deaths were there to make the reader upset. such a potentially chaotic and insane and scary villain was given a marvel-movie-like fate. oh, we offered him peace but he chose death so we gave him death. it's just so clinical and dull. i didn't find it compelling or engaging, but i see plenty of people have so if a heist story with loose found family appeals, then i'm glad that so many people did enjoy it.
mcoenraad's review
adventurous
dark
hopeful
sad
tense
medium-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? Plot
- Strong character development? Yes
- Loveable characters? Yes
- Diverse cast of characters? Yes
5.0
jadedfrrog's review against another edition
adventurous
challenging
emotional
hopeful
inspiring
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? Yes
5.0
seairra's review
adventurous
dark
tense
fast-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? A mix
- Strong character development? Yes
- Loveable characters? It's complicated
- Diverse cast of characters? Yes
- Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes
4.5
kesg2021's review
adventurous
dark
mysterious
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
4.0
suzi4213's review
adventurous
dark
emotional
inspiring
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? Yes
4.5
grimdark_dad's review against another edition
adventurous
dark
emotional
funny
mysterious
sad
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? Yes
4.0
sappthic's review
adventurous
challenging
dark
funny
medium-paced
- Loveable characters? Yes
- Diverse cast of characters? Yes
- Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes
4.5
kjm21's review
adventurous
dark
funny
hopeful
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? N/A
4.0
Just like the first one, it was amazing! I loved the characters’ emotional development and the new character was great as well.
The only negative for me was that the pace was a little too slow for me. They tell you what they are going to do next (and frankly, you can figure it out yourself long before the characters do) and then it takes quite a good number of chapters to get there, which again, seemed too slow for me.
It’s still multiple points of view, but after some time, it didn’t bother me that much anymore.
However, it was brilliant! I absolutely loved it again!
The only negative for me was that the pace was a little too slow for me. They tell you what they are going to do next (and frankly, you can figure it out yourself long before the characters do) and then it takes quite a good number of chapters to get there, which again, seemed too slow for me.
It’s still multiple points of view, but after some time, it didn’t bother me that much anymore.
However, it was brilliant! I absolutely loved it again!