prashiie's review against another edition
adventurous
dark
emotional
hopeful
sad
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
4.0
“But I would never call loving someone else a weakness. I think living without love at all, any kind of love, is weakness. And the worst kind of darkness.”
The war has begun and both sides get ready to fight. But the fight isn’t just between both sides, there are also many internal conflicts. One example is the relationship between Mare and Cal. It has always been complicated and now once again they find themselves on opposite sides. Mare wants to abolish the monarchy altogether and Cal still holds hope for a better world in which he gets to keep his crown. Their mental traumas don’t exactly help either, but this situation does provide interesting characters. We see how Mare is still traumatised by Maven and the silent stone whilst Maven is still haunted by his dead mother and Cal is still haunted by what he thought Maven was and what Maven really could have been if not for Elara. We really have some very interesting characters! I loved Cal and Maven. Cal is such a sweetheart and Maven is a great antagonist. Let’s not forget about Evangeline by the way. She has a great storyline! For so many years her future was fixed and now she sees that she could also make her own choices and live a different life. I didn’t like her at the start of this series, but I’ve grown to love her. She is loyal almost to a fault and is honestly a badass. She comes across as someone who is merciless but that is because of the wall she built around her. I loved that we get to see her POV in this series where we see her inner thoughts and discover a different side of her.
War Storm really is a chunky book but it’s so easy to read that you almost forget its size. Almost! Unfortunately my hand did remind me of this fact, multiple times… Anyway, I enjoyed how this story plays out and now I feel a bit sad that this is the end of this series.
Spoiler
Also, WHY AREN’T MARE AND CAL TOGETHER AT THE END OF THIS BOOK?! They need a happy ending!! This seriously is the only part where I felt betrayed. I mean it makes sense and it’s good that they take a break to recover from everything. It’s a healthy choice, but I need some closure….
Content Warnings
Graphic: Grief, War, Violence, Toxic relationship, Torture, Murder, Homophobia, Confinement, Death of parent, Classism, Death, and Lesbophobia
Moderate: Misogyny
Minor: Child abuse, Death of parent, and Emotional abuse
readwithde's review against another edition
adventurous
challenging
emotional
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? It's complicated
4.5
Content Warnings
Graphic: Blood, Gore, Grief, Injury/Injury detail, Murder, Violence, War, and Xenophobia
Moderate: Confinement, Death, Fire/Fire injury, Grief, Lesbophobia, and Toxic relationship
frenchtoast_n_books's review against another edition
adventurous
dark
tense
medium-paced
- Strong character development? It's complicated
- Loveable characters? No
- Diverse cast of characters? No
- Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes
3.5
I've got to think about my rating.
I can't say this was a whirlwind but it wasn't a snail either. The pacing was appropriate during the battles and the space between battles that were meant for character development and political intrigue.
The characters were not as whiny as the 3rd book but I can't say the character development over the last 3 books worked with where the characters ended up by the end of this book. It felt wishy-washy.
Also, the end didn't feel like a solid conclusion to a series. I can appreciate the "rome wasn't built in a day" feel to the end because you can't "fix" a country quickly after a rebellion and external war in one book. However, it does make the book series feel incomplete. If the novella bind-up helps solidify the series conclusion, maybe I'll give it a chance.
(Let me know because I seriously never read novellas that are tied to a series.)
All-in-all, this book was a solid book but it wasn't a solid conclusion to a series. It made me feel luke warm as I read the last couple of chapters.
Content Warnings
Graphic: Blood, Child death, Confinement, Death, Grief, Gore, Homophobia, and Violence
More...