lyerskeepers_'s review against another edition
5.0
Instant 5 stars, the characters are likeable, I love everything about this book. The adventure, the mystery on what's gonna happen next just maked me on edge the whole time. I really had fun reading it.
caylieratzlaff's review against another edition
3.0
I sincerely like the concept and how the fae are portrayed in this, but there are SO many POVs and whatnot where I just could not give it the attention it deserves. I do like the idea of the relics and technology, but I was expecting more for this being a Bookish Box book and one I saw on TikTok.
angharadmair's review against another edition
3.0
i didn’t mesh well with the writing style and so it took me a lot longer to finish this than i would have expected. but the plot is easy enough to follow and the characters are okay.
royalgreen's review against another edition
5.0
A top favorite read of this year, for certain. This was such a delight to read! I really need to stop reading GoodReads reviews before I check out a book, and only stick to actual friends who's opinions I trust. I was hesitant to read this one for such a long time, but its great! I loved the wild cast of characters, I like that the romance was NOT instant but much slower going, I'm fascinated by the world building. I like that there wasn't a lot of "okay and this is exactly how things work" but some threads of mystery left for the reader to spin together themselves. I generally dislike books that lay out things clearly, because that can be boring. I love slightly open endings and the ability to use my own imagination! Honestly a GREAT book, and I think I'll buy myself a copy to reread after I turn this one back into my library :)
kynabyrd's review against another edition
2.0
I wanted to like this, but it did nothing for me. Felt like a waste of time. No decent world building, I never felt connected to the characters, and I didn't understand what was going on most the time; the storyline was confusing and convoluted.
haynoelle96's review against another edition
4.0
So... I'm almost embarrassed by how long it took me to read this book. Ever since starting my job at the beginning of the year, I hadn't been able to read as much as I used to. It was expected, but not to the extent that I could only maybe read on the weekend if the feelings hits. I just didn't feel like reading. But!!! I finally sat down and finished the book and I'm so glad I did!! In terms of rating, this book was more of a 3.5, but I rounded up to a 4 star considering that the last 2oo pages I couldn't put the book down and I literally HAD to finish.
This book is a novel set in a fantastical setting with a "ragtag group" on a quest to find certain people in their world. It starts with a thief who gets himself in a bit of a situation with the kingdom's infamous sorcerer. As soon as he hears what the sorcerer want's him to do, he couldn't be more shocked or unwilling, but as a set of events set the story in action, one thief's discovery will change the course of the world forever. Now it's up to him and the people he's met to try and free the kingdom from its evil ruler and deal with the horrifying discoveries they make along the way. Discovering the last fae alive wasn't exactly on Rag's to-do list, but hey. What are you gonna do?
I have a few criticisms with this book, but not many. The first thing is that this felt like a debut novel. With room to grow, obviously, but it started out pretty rough. For the first 50-70 pages, there was a simile on every page and it drove me CRAZY. It ended soon after that, so that was a relief. Another thing that I felt really drew away from the novel was how many perspectives there were. There ended up being 4 main storylines going on, and I found one or two of the different narrators to be boring. Or I would find myself not looking forward to their chapters. I enjoyed Cab's and Rag's chapters, but the other two were a little boring at times. I think that's going to change in later chapters, but especially in the beginning, it was an odd structure to the novel.
One thing that I will totally give the author's credit for, however, is the level of world-building that's present in Master of One. Almost immediately you get a feel for what this world is like and what the authors want you to know. The atmosphere is perfectly described and I appreciated how they can take a character like Rags, who is a smart-ass and doesn't take things seriously, and put him in a setting where it's extremely morbid and he can still make jokes but not sound stupid. How Jones and Bennett described the world was truly something to read and I can't wait to find more things out.
Jones and Bennett had a way of keeping you on the edge of your seat the entire time. You know some things going into the story, but there were still times that I was completely surprised and taken aback at what had happened. You think you have it all figured out, but then 100 pages later everything has changed when you figure something else out. It was so fun to read and discover, along with the characters, how the plot progressed.
I mean, I've read some villains in my time, but I haven't even met the main villain in this book and I'm terrified at what's going to happen when we do. We already have somebody who we can't stand, but I can almost imagine them being a secondary boss compared to what we haven't seen yet.
Master of One created a cast of characters that was a bit confusing at times but ultimately made you want them to succeed. A lot of the names are in Welsh, so that makes things a bit difficult pronunciation-wise, but they were unique and gave the book personality!! You got to see how the characters grew and got to know each other along the way of their journey. The tension and relationships that were built between the different characters were a joy to witness as well. You can tell that the authors took care in making sure that there's diversity in this book by making it casual and honest. We didn't get too much into people's past or that much time with one character because of the various perspectives, but I have a feeling that that's going to change in the later novels.
Anyways!! If you're looking for a new and different fantasy, then I recommend this one for sure!! It was really good and I'm for sure looking forward to the sequel to see what's going to happen to our characters after that explosive ending! Happy Reading!!
This book is a novel set in a fantastical setting with a "ragtag group" on a quest to find certain people in their world. It starts with a thief who gets himself in a bit of a situation with the kingdom's infamous sorcerer. As soon as he hears what the sorcerer want's him to do, he couldn't be more shocked or unwilling, but as a set of events set the story in action, one thief's discovery will change the course of the world forever. Now it's up to him and the people he's met to try and free the kingdom from its evil ruler and deal with the horrifying discoveries they make along the way. Discovering the last fae alive wasn't exactly on Rag's to-do list, but hey. What are you gonna do?
I have a few criticisms with this book, but not many. The first thing is that this felt like a debut novel. With room to grow, obviously, but it started out pretty rough. For the first 50-70 pages, there was a simile on every page and it drove me CRAZY. It ended soon after that, so that was a relief. Another thing that I felt really drew away from the novel was how many perspectives there were. There ended up being 4 main storylines going on, and I found one or two of the different narrators to be boring. Or I would find myself not looking forward to their chapters. I enjoyed Cab's and Rag's chapters, but the other two were a little boring at times. I think that's going to change in later chapters, but especially in the beginning, it was an odd structure to the novel.
One thing that I will totally give the author's credit for, however, is the level of world-building that's present in Master of One. Almost immediately you get a feel for what this world is like and what the authors want you to know. The atmosphere is perfectly described and I appreciated how they can take a character like Rags, who is a smart-ass and doesn't take things seriously, and put him in a setting where it's extremely morbid and he can still make jokes but not sound stupid. How Jones and Bennett described the world was truly something to read and I can't wait to find more things out.
Jones and Bennett had a way of keeping you on the edge of your seat the entire time. You know some things going into the story, but there were still times that I was completely surprised and taken aback at what had happened. You think you have it all figured out, but then 100 pages later everything has changed when you figure something else out. It was so fun to read and discover, along with the characters, how the plot progressed.
I mean, I've read some villains in my time, but I haven't even met the main villain in this book and I'm terrified at what's going to happen when we do. We already have somebody who we can't stand, but I can almost imagine them being a secondary boss compared to what we haven't seen yet.
Master of One created a cast of characters that was a bit confusing at times but ultimately made you want them to succeed. A lot of the names are in Welsh, so that makes things a bit difficult pronunciation-wise, but they were unique and gave the book personality!! You got to see how the characters grew and got to know each other along the way of their journey. The tension and relationships that were built between the different characters were a joy to witness as well. You can tell that the authors took care in making sure that there's diversity in this book by making it casual and honest. We didn't get too much into people's past or that much time with one character because of the various perspectives, but I have a feeling that that's going to change in the later novels.
Anyways!! If you're looking for a new and different fantasy, then I recommend this one for sure!! It was really good and I'm for sure looking forward to the sequel to see what's going to happen to our characters after that explosive ending! Happy Reading!!
stephnicole7's review against another edition
1.0
An interesting premise completely ruined by poor and predictable writing. Every paragraph felt like a shudder, like the authors couldn’t write together let only produce a flow to lead the reader on. The main character is a sickeningly 2D copy and paste archetype, and the only captivating piece of writing doesn’t start until chapter 80 (out of 90).
I unforgettably wouldn’t recommend this book at all.
I unforgettably wouldn’t recommend this book at all.
sarahweyand's review against another edition
Yeah so….I DNF’ed this book. It’s the first book I’ve had to call it quits on in over a year and a half (the last one being NOS4A2 by Joe Hill for those wondering). I really gave this novel the old college try and made it about 56% of the way through; eight days in and I just couldn’t anymore. This novel isn’t unreadable by any means, it just wasn’t for me the in the worst type of way.
alexandra_0410's review against another edition
3.0
La primera parte del libro estuvo increíble, la curiosidad y la construcción del mundo fue lo que me hizo querer seguir leyendo.
El tiempo entre que encontraron a Shinnig y al maestro de Uno estuvo bien, con el maestro de Dos y Tres, también. Pero la espera para encontrar al maestro de Cuatro fue muy estirada y aburrida.
No entiendo tampoco porque al Maestro de 4 se le dio 0 importancia y ese final súper abierto para un libro que se supone que es un standalone?
Empezó ⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️ y fue decayendo lentamente como el ritmo de la historia
El tiempo entre que encontraron a Shinnig y al maestro de Uno estuvo bien, con el maestro de Dos y Tres, también. Pero la espera para encontrar al maestro de Cuatro fue muy estirada y aburrida.
No entiendo tampoco porque al Maestro de 4 se le dio 0 importancia y ese final súper abierto para un libro que se supone que es un standalone?
Empezó ⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️ y fue decayendo lentamente como el ritmo de la historia