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magikspells's review against another edition
3.0
This book fell into a trap. The trap of predictability! I thought a non YA book would save me. I thought wrong. Foiled.
Don't get me wrong, I did enjoy it. What can I say, I've grown attached to some of the characters. But everytime some earth shattering event was about to take place, I knew what it was and was left feeling disappointed that I could so easily tell. Plus I'm starting to get confused as to why so many men want to throw themselves at Eugenie (outside of the prophecy I mean). Kiyo and Dorian are both suckers. Man up!
I don't want to spoil anything, but lets be honest. As tawdry as this book gets at times, some of these "shocking" events shouldn't be that shocking.
Oh well, onward toward the next book!
Don't get me wrong, I did enjoy it. What can I say, I've grown attached to some of the characters. But everytime some earth shattering event was about to take place, I knew what it was and was left feeling disappointed that I could so easily tell. Plus I'm starting to get confused as to why so many men want to throw themselves at Eugenie (outside of the prophecy I mean). Kiyo and Dorian are both suckers. Man up!
I don't want to spoil anything, but lets be honest. As tawdry as this book gets at times, some of these "shocking" events shouldn't be that shocking.
Oh well, onward toward the next book!
stephxsu's review against another edition
2.0
A dash of Indiana Jones mixed in amongst way too much unattractive love triangle angst. I think Eugenie would be better off dropping both Kiyo and Dorian and telling them she's done with their Alpha Male nonsense and striking off on her own--and so would us readers benefit from it too.
kk7's review against another edition
2.0
What.the.hell......... I enjoyed books one and two mostly because I believed the author actually had a purpose and it was all going to make sense in the last book. That hope was incorrect. Eugenie is a fickle slut. Who does she love, well it depends which one is right in front of her and wiling to give her the business. This is no heroine. She is strong and brave..as long as she can get other people to do most of the work for her and never complain. As long as people think the sun shines out of her a**, she finds them useful. Disappointed is an understatement.
bewitched_bibliophile's review against another edition
adventurous
challenging
dark
mysterious
tense
fast-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? Character
- Strong character development? It's complicated
- Loveable characters? It's complicated
- Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes
3.0
jessicaalexander95's review against another edition
4.0
Great middle book to the series and you get to see a lot more of Dorians character and then working together.
charms1976's review against another edition
2.0
I haven't had a chance to really read much by this author. I admit to owning her books, but something has always come up and I haven't had a chance to read much by her. I received this book for review and after reading the back cover it seemed like a book that I would enjoy. Even if I haven't read the other books in the series, I though I might still have a chance at understanding the book and gain an interest in a new series.
While I tried over and over again to enjoy this book, I found myself struggling to finish it. I didn't care for the character of Eugenie. She fell flat and in a word I hate to use, well, shallow. She hindered the story from being so much more, even though she was suppose to be the main character. Her personality was immature and she was predictable after a few chapters into the book.
I was so frustrated with how the author had written this character that it might have hindered my feelings of enjoying the story. I just couldn't get past all the idiotic actions and reactions that Eugenie had. While the book was not a complete loss, but it also wasn't a success in my opinion. I think I am going to stick to her young adult themed books in the future.
While I tried over and over again to enjoy this book, I found myself struggling to finish it. I didn't care for the character of Eugenie. She fell flat and in a word I hate to use, well, shallow. She hindered the story from being so much more, even though she was suppose to be the main character. Her personality was immature and she was predictable after a few chapters into the book.
I was so frustrated with how the author had written this character that it might have hindered my feelings of enjoying the story. I just couldn't get past all the idiotic actions and reactions that Eugenie had. While the book was not a complete loss, but it also wasn't a success in my opinion. I think I am going to stick to her young adult themed books in the future.
masquerader888's review against another edition
3.0
Iron Crowned—Book three in the Dark Swan series by Richelle Mead
This book kind of pissed me off. I will admit that I only got to page 317 of the full 375 before just skimming the rest to decide if it was worth trusting the story. From what I could summarize, it was not. Much cursing ensued, but in the end I just had to concede that as much as I enjoy this author’s writing style, and love worlds she creates and the characters she peoples them with; in this case the plot direction she chose to take was a hurdle I couldn’t get past.
Eugenie Markham, the main character in this book, was a powerhouse, until she let her relationship issues take over her head and senses. She betrayed her own honor in this and then put it forth as emotionally justified.
I have no problem with relationship issues in my books, in many cases that is how a character grows, and I feel that many of her motivations behind the altercations were just. Being betrayed, lied to, and played off herself are good reasons for ending relationships. However, anger and apathy to change are not. In the end, she took the easy path, which I felt was not in line with her character. I felt cheated. It seemed like the author took the story in the way she wanted it to go, not one necessarily true to the characters. And I'm a character driven reader.
I will say she is a master of craft. I cared enough about her characters to be indignant on their behalf. But the end-note monkey-wench was just one too many disbeliefs. It sent me from being immersed to majorly pissed off.
I give this book three stars. ★★★ The writing was wonderful, I just didn’t like where the author chose to take this story.
http://masquerader.harshmage.com/category/book-reviews/
This book kind of pissed me off. I will admit that I only got to page 317 of the full 375 before just skimming the rest to decide if it was worth trusting the story. From what I could summarize, it was not. Much cursing ensued, but in the end I just had to concede that as much as I enjoy this author’s writing style, and love worlds she creates and the characters she peoples them with; in this case the plot direction she chose to take was a hurdle I couldn’t get past.
Eugenie Markham, the main character in this book, was a powerhouse, until she let her relationship issues take over her head and senses. She betrayed her own honor in this and then put it forth as emotionally justified.
I have no problem with relationship issues in my books, in many cases that is how a character grows, and I feel that many of her motivations behind the altercations were just. Being betrayed, lied to, and played off herself are good reasons for ending relationships. However, anger and apathy to change are not. In the end, she took the easy path, which I felt was not in line with her character. I felt cheated. It seemed like the author took the story in the way she wanted it to go, not one necessarily true to the characters. And I'm a character driven reader.
I will say she is a master of craft. I cared enough about her characters to be indignant on their behalf. But the end-note monkey-wench was just one too many disbeliefs. It sent me from being immersed to majorly pissed off.
I give this book three stars. ★★★ The writing was wonderful, I just didn’t like where the author chose to take this story.
http://masquerader.harshmage.com/category/book-reviews/
jesslynh's review against another edition
2.0
I wanted to like Iron Crowned more than I did, but it left me with mixed feelings overall. The storyline from the previous books progressed a respectable amount, but there wasn't as much in character development.
It was nice to see a little more from Eugenie interacting with Jasmine, but other than that, we didn't see much more character/relationship development. There was one relationship that I won't go into so I don't spoil it-it has no great bearing on anything else in the book.
The other relationships in the book are what left me with mixed feelings. Somebody tell me, does Eugenie have all the maturity of a 12 year old, or what? Snap reverse decisions, no coherent thought processes, selfish and petulant foot stomping revenge impulses. Ugh. That was in relationships, but her actions elsewhere in the book seem as shallow. Forgetting to get healed before a major AND dangerous mission?
I'm not one to really care about the sex in a book, but every sex scene seemed to be a list to me. "he did this, so I did that and then I came" list. Since I'm not one to care, I'll leave further comment to others.
Ultimately, Eugenie's actions and demeanor in this book made the whole thing fall flat for me. I wanted to give it a three because it's not a bad book. It's well written and the story advances. Unfortunately, the main character is flatter than the other characters, which ruined it for me.
It was nice to see a little more from Eugenie interacting with Jasmine, but other than that, we didn't see much more character/relationship development. There was one relationship that I won't go into so I don't spoil it-it has no great bearing on anything else in the book.
The other relationships in the book are what left me with mixed feelings. Somebody tell me, does Eugenie have all the maturity of a 12 year old, or what? Snap reverse decisions, no coherent thought processes, selfish and petulant foot stomping revenge impulses. Ugh. That was in relationships, but her actions elsewhere in the book seem as shallow. Forgetting to get healed before a major AND dangerous mission?
I'm not one to really care about the sex in a book, but every sex scene seemed to be a list to me. "he did this, so I did that and then I came" list. Since I'm not one to care, I'll leave further comment to others.
Ultimately, Eugenie's actions and demeanor in this book made the whole thing fall flat for me. I wanted to give it a three because it's not a bad book. It's well written and the story advances. Unfortunately, the main character is flatter than the other characters, which ruined it for me.
witchylevy's review against another edition
4.0
I'm still not a fan of Dorian or Kiyo. She needs to learn how to stand on her own feet without leaning on men. She got so upset/ annoyed/ offended at the detective's attitude toward women but she's not helping her image any. I think she did the right thing at the end of the book. But that's just the mom in me speaking.