zenithharpink's review against another edition
4.0
I really enjoyed this book! I couldn't clearly recall previous books in the series, but I remembered enough, and what I couldn't remember the book did a good job of sharing enough context.
Zofia is definitely my favorite character, as much as she irritated me in earlier books. She's such a survivor and her story was by far the most interesting. I also really loved how fantasy was woven into known history and mythology, it made for a really interesting read.
I was disappointed that Olympias didn't make much of an appearance, she was such a great villain, and just seemed to drift into the background on this one. I also found Heph, and the whole love triangle/square/pentagon/whatever to be melodramatic and mostly irritating. It also left me pretty unsatisfied with the way this book wrapped on several characters-particularly around Katerina. Also, the Fate thing was really weird and confusing, somewhat like it wasn't fully thought through, so it felt like that story line was kind of just run into a wall.
I recommend this book to fans of earlier books in the series, fantasy fans, or those interesting in a historical fantasy read.
Zofia is definitely my favorite character, as much as she irritated me in earlier books. She's such a survivor and her story was by far the most interesting. I also really loved how fantasy was woven into known history and mythology, it made for a really interesting read.
I was disappointed that Olympias didn't make much of an appearance, she was such a great villain, and just seemed to drift into the background on this one. I also found Heph, and the whole love triangle/square/pentagon/whatever to be melodramatic and mostly irritating. It also left me pretty unsatisfied with the way this book wrapped on several characters-particularly around Katerina. Also, the Fate thing was really weird and confusing, somewhat like it wasn't fully thought through, so it felt like that story line was kind of just run into a wall.
I recommend this book to fans of earlier books in the series, fantasy fans, or those interesting in a historical fantasy read.
ejbenfi's review against another edition
dark
sad
fast-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? Plot
- Strong character development? No
- Loveable characters? No
- Diverse cast of characters? No
- Flaws of characters a main focus? No
3.0
leedigesu's review against another edition
3.0
I think I liked this book because I was finally finishing the series.
It was very good, wrapped things up concisely and gave some good epilogues.
However, I think book 3, Reign of Serpents, was the best in the series.
It was very good, wrapped things up concisely and gave some good epilogues.
However, I think book 3, Reign of Serpents, was the best in the series.
branpender12's review against another edition
3.0
Holy POV changes Batman! I did not care for the constant and many, many POV changes in this book. It is the one pet peeve that I cannot ignore in book series. Most of the various branches of the storyline did get tied up by the conclusion of the book. I thought that the details and world building was tiptop but did not care for some of the character development in this final instalment of the series.
Historic novel based on the teen life of Alexander te Great. The author did extensive research and was thorough in her detailing. There were a lot of characters, as I previously pointed out, but she did a good job developing them so that their time in the spotlight were necessary to rendering the facts as they formed.
I would recommend the story to readers who were interested with the subject matter. Otherwise this book series could fall flat by the end.
*****I was provided this ARC by Netgalley and the publisher in exchange for an honest review. The opinions herein are solely mine and unbiased. *****
Historic novel based on the teen life of Alexander te Great. The author did extensive research and was thorough in her detailing. There were a lot of characters, as I previously pointed out, but she did a good job developing them so that their time in the spotlight were necessary to rendering the facts as they formed.
I would recommend the story to readers who were interested with the subject matter. Otherwise this book series could fall flat by the end.
*****I was provided this ARC by Netgalley and the publisher in exchange for an honest review. The opinions herein are solely mine and unbiased. *****
ladykatiereads's review against another edition
5.0
Wow. Just WOW!
I was so excited to see how this series would end and it kind of blew me away, now that I've read it. The way Herman writes this story through like 10 different perspectives is so well done becuase that could easily end in disaster and confusion. Each book added a couple more perspectives, and somehow she figured out how to make this feel perfectly normal. The complicated story lines Herman weaves throughout this series require views from multiple perspectives to really understand what's happening, and in that way, the series reads almost like a TV show. I have never seen Outlander, but I did recently start watching Game of Thrones, so I totally see her influence there in the intense battle scenes. In my interview with Herman last year, she mentioned that GOT influenced her writing, but that she didn't get quite as graphic in this series (the blood and gore being in writing rather than visual certainly helps with that). However, heads are rolling in this series, the villains are ruthless, and Herman's characters are tested time and time again.
Read my full spoiler-free review here: https://ladykatiereads.wordpress.com/2018/06/29/blog-tour-dawn-of-legends-by-eleanor-herman-review
I was so excited to see how this series would end and it kind of blew me away, now that I've read it. The way Herman writes this story through like 10 different perspectives is so well done becuase that could easily end in disaster and confusion. Each book added a couple more perspectives, and somehow she figured out how to make this feel perfectly normal. The complicated story lines Herman weaves throughout this series require views from multiple perspectives to really understand what's happening, and in that way, the series reads almost like a TV show. I have never seen Outlander, but I did recently start watching Game of Thrones, so I totally see her influence there in the intense battle scenes. In my interview with Herman last year, she mentioned that GOT influenced her writing, but that she didn't get quite as graphic in this series (the blood and gore being in writing rather than visual certainly helps with that). However, heads are rolling in this series, the villains are ruthless, and Herman's characters are tested time and time again.
Read my full spoiler-free review here: https://ladykatiereads.wordpress.com/2018/06/29/blog-tour-dawn-of-legends-by-eleanor-herman-review
jesssireads's review against another edition
5.0
Definitely enjoyed this a lot more than the previous ones and I'm kinda sad to see it end?
jesskylie's review against another edition
5.0
Definitely enjoyed this a lot more than the previous ones and I'm kinda sad to see it end?
darkrootscreations's review
3.0
I think I liked this book because I was finally finishing the series.
It was very good, wrapped things up concisely and gave some good epilogues.
However, I think book 3, Reign of Serpents, was the best in the series.
It was very good, wrapped things up concisely and gave some good epilogues.
However, I think book 3, Reign of Serpents, was the best in the series.
aubreyvaughn's review against another edition
adventurous
mysterious
tense
medium-paced
- Strong character development? Yes
- Loveable characters? Yes
- Diverse cast of characters? Yes
- Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes
4.0
theenchantedlibrary's review
3.0
Finishing this series has been a long time coming. I have been making my through it slowly but surely because I’ve wanted the hardcovers and, for whatever reason, they aren’t stocked in store so I’ve had to consciously look for and order it online. Considering I read the 4th and final book almost 2 years after it’s release, I really have enjoyed this series.
Without giving much in the way of spoilers, because this is a conclusion after all, I will say the build up throughout the series was well done. The premise of the series is following the early years of Alexander the Great with a fantastical twist. Theres magic, political intrigue, monsters, destiny and it beautifully culminates into this final book. From the start, you aren’t hit over the head with all of the underlying plot points of mysticism, Herman is able to give a slow progression of adding these details like little pieces of a much bigger puzzle coming into the picture.
This is a series full of different POVs and while I admittedly sped-read through the ones I wasn’t particularly interested in during the first couple of books, I ended up enjoying the story-lines of each character when all was said and done. I definitely have a favourite type of character in a series like this and, if you’re familiar with this particular series, it will come to no surprise that I was most invested in Alexander, Katerina and Hephaestion so they were my through-line during my reading adventure. This installment also included a few additional POVs that were good to get insight into even though I don’t think much would have been missing from the story if they weren’t included.
There were also a few details that were added into this last book weren’t really my favourite - a detail between Alex and Heph in particular comes to mind - but I still appreciated the choice because they don’t come out of nowhere. There’s always reason for Herman’s choices be it from true history or the natural flow of a characters decisions but, in my dream world, I wish something different.
Overall I really enjoyed the journey that this series brought me on and I think that if you have an interest in ancient history, far reaching fantastical adventures or Alexander the Great in particular, this could be right up your alley.
Without giving much in the way of spoilers, because this is a conclusion after all, I will say the build up throughout the series was well done. The premise of the series is following the early years of Alexander the Great with a fantastical twist. Theres magic, political intrigue, monsters, destiny and it beautifully culminates into this final book. From the start, you aren’t hit over the head with all of the underlying plot points of mysticism, Herman is able to give a slow progression of adding these details like little pieces of a much bigger puzzle coming into the picture.
This is a series full of different POVs and while I admittedly sped-read through the ones I wasn’t particularly interested in during the first couple of books, I ended up enjoying the story-lines of each character when all was said and done. I definitely have a favourite type of character in a series like this and, if you’re familiar with this particular series, it will come to no surprise that I was most invested in Alexander, Katerina and Hephaestion so they were my through-line during my reading adventure. This installment also included a few additional POVs that were good to get insight into even though I don’t think much would have been missing from the story if they weren’t included.
There were also a few details that were added into this last book weren’t really my favourite - a detail between Alex and Heph in particular comes to mind - but I still appreciated the choice because they don’t come out of nowhere. There’s always reason for Herman’s choices be it from true history or the natural flow of a characters decisions but, in my dream world, I wish something different.
Overall I really enjoyed the journey that this series brought me on and I think that if you have an interest in ancient history, far reaching fantastical adventures or Alexander the Great in particular, this could be right up your alley.