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joyc's review against another edition
dark
mysterious
reflective
medium-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? Character
- Strong character development? No
- Loveable characters? It's complicated
3.0
sashapasha's review
3.0
3.5 stars.
The reading experience felt like a tug of war over my final rating -- with each event that occurred, I updated the tally:
+1 for killing Ruven at the start. Nothing like murder to make a relationship interesting.
-1 for all of Lia’s blind religious fanaticism. --> Why on earth is she worshipping indifferent/cruel gods? Just because they're powerful? Is that a good reason reason to worship someone? (The answer imo is no.)
+1 for slow burn romance.
-1 for plot holes.
-1 for Lia’s pettiness and jealousy. But I suppose it did make her more realistic.
+1
+1 for Lia's honesty and introspection regarding her motives and actions. Her acknowledgement of being a puppet. Her unflinching self examination.
-1
-1 for Lia’s epiphany near the end which seemed deeply obvious to me from the start.
+1 for an interesting twist on prayer—teaching morals and ethics to a god.
-1
-1
-1
Anyway the total netted out to somewhere around 3-3.5 stars. It was enjoyable and better written than a lot of the YA romantasy flooding the market, but not really my thing.
The reading experience felt like a tug of war over my final rating -- with each event that occurred, I updated the tally:
+1 for killing Ruven at the start. Nothing like murder to make a relationship interesting.
-1 for all of Lia’s blind religious fanaticism. --> Why on earth is she worshipping indifferent/cruel gods? Just because they're powerful? Is that a good reason reason to worship someone? (The answer imo is no.)
+1 for slow burn romance.
-1 for plot holes.
Spoiler
(e.g. if Ruven had to renew his spell every day for 500 years, wouldn’t he have had to travel to the divine realm countless times with a relic to source his power? Where was the shrine where he did that? How did he never get caught, when Lia got caught every time?)-1 for Lia’s pettiness and jealousy. But I suppose it did make her more realistic.
+1
Spoiler
for killing Ruven a second time.+1 for Lia's honesty and introspection regarding her motives and actions. Her acknowledgement of being a puppet. Her unflinching self examination.
-1
Spoiler
for Ruven being mysteriously un-silenced without explanation.-1 for Lia’s epiphany near the end which seemed deeply obvious to me from the start.
+1 for an interesting twist on prayer—teaching morals and ethics to a god.
-1
Spoiler
for the Queen sending Lia to the prime minister to get information and then immediately knowing all of her transgressions once she got back. Surely the Queen's spies would’ve kept her informed all along, rather than tell her everything all at once. Also what convenient timing for the plot.-1
Spoiler
for Ruven apparently losing the ability to hear her thoughts halfway through the book, but then randomly regaining the ability at the last minute when it was needed.-1
Spoiler
because I don’t understand how healing people of sainthood can be considered heresy if it was done with a god's power and blessing? It's still the work of a god.Anyway the total netted out to somewhere around 3-3.5 stars. It was enjoyable and better written than a lot of the YA romantasy flooding the market, but not really my thing.
chanelchapters's review
3.0
The plot was convoluted and the romance Insta-lovey. Interesting premise with gods and heretics that seem to be based on fallen angels and Jesus Christ but it just didn’t come together well.
jengipson's review against another edition
I’m just not into the theological approach. I’m forgetting the book as I’m actively reading it.
daniellereeads's review against another edition
4.25
I really liked the premise. It was refreshing for a different story line. A true enemies to lovers romantasy.
iissaa's review
adventurous
tense
medium-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? Character
- Strong character development? No
- Loveable characters? It's complicated
- Diverse cast of characters? No
- Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes
3.0
betweentheshelves's review
adventurous
dark
mysterious
medium-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? A mix
- Strong character development? Yes
- Loveable characters? It's complicated
- Diverse cast of characters? No
- Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes
3.0
Honestly, this book was a bit all over the place, both world building and plot wise. There was so much to remember about this world, and yet there wasn't space for it to be fully explored. I do appreciate that this appears to be a standalone YA fantasy (which is rare these days), but giving the world room to breathe would have helped with some of the confusion.
The characters are pretty well developed, at least the main cast. The side characters all tend to blend into the background. The magic system and god-pact system could have used a bit more explanation as well, because there were times where I thought a pact was being made and that didn't seem to be the case.
There are also heavy religious tones throughout, so just something to be aware of if you pick this one up! It wasn't really for me, but I could definitely see how others could connect to it.
The characters are pretty well developed, at least the main cast. The side characters all tend to blend into the background. The magic system and god-pact system could have used a bit more explanation as well, because there were times where I thought a pact was being made and that didn't seem to be the case.
There are also heavy religious tones throughout, so just something to be aware of if you pick this one up! It wasn't really for me, but I could definitely see how others could connect to it.
Content Warnings
Graphic: Blood, Death, and Death of parent
Moderate: Body horror, Pandemic/Epidemic, and Torture
Minor: Religious bigotry
a_little_book_nook's review
challenging
dark
informative
inspiring
tense
medium-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? Character
- Strong character development? Yes
- Loveable characters? Yes
- Diverse cast of characters? No
- Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes
4.0
bethanyyoung86's review against another edition
I don't know what to rate this but none of it worked for me sadly. The premise sounded interesting but the plot , romance, quest and characters fell flat and the entire book mocked multiple world religions which I found disrespectful . I have read books before with catholicism/christianity/muslim/buddhist religions woven into them and explored and challenged them in a way that felt appropriate but I didn't find that in this story. It left me feeling icky and I should have DNF'd.