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rinku's review against another edition
adventurous
emotional
mysterious
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? Yes
4.0
Content Warnings
Graphic: Addiction, Death, Drug abuse, Violence, Medical content, and Kidnapping
Moderate: Child abuse, Confinement, Panic attacks/disorders, Sexual content, Forced institutionalization, and Blood
Minor: Terminal illness, Death of parent, and Fire/Fire injury
christygsp's review against another edition
4.25
I loved seeing Kiva outside of the Zalendov context in this story. Her battle between loyalties was interesting and played out quite well.
I was punched in the gut several times in this book - especially at the end.
I was punched in the gut several times in this book - especially at the end.
Content Warnings
Graphic: Violence
Moderate: Drug abuse, Gore, and Kidnapping
Minor: Sexual content
delandjessica's review against another edition
dark
emotional
mysterious
tense
slow-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? A mix
- Strong character development? It's complicated
- Loveable characters? It's complicated
- Diverse cast of characters? Yes
- Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes
3.0
This was a mixed bag. I felt like I was reading a cheesy Hallmark romance screenplay for half the book. There was soooo much talk about feelings and Kiva's physiological reactions to Jaron and them lusting after each other in a not even remotely romantic way (there is a scene that builds up to them having a sexual interaction, but then they don't end up going that far, though there's a lot of aggressive kissing and other such things that happen). I also still have a problem with Jaren's character, who feels too good to be true. He has no flaws, no weaknesses, and is just perfect in every way, which is impossible and makes him come across as really fake and unrealistic. I personally really loved Cardan way better and would much rather see him as the romantic male lead since he feels like a real person and he and Kiva develope a real relationship that isn't just focused on physical attraction and surface qualities and cheesy pick up lines. But anyway.
At least another third of the book is spent on pointless descriptions and everyday activities and other such things that were terribly boring to read and nearly had me DNF the book multiple times. Also, everyone is always whispering or croaking or talking softly in like every dialogue tag and it got really old. Not to mention all the copious amounts of repetition end overexplaining and reiterating and Kiva standing around as a useless vessel as a writer crutch to convey information to the reader without her actually contributing anything. She really did/accomplishes very little on her own and was constantly being saved by others or having (often obvious) things explained to her. She also basically lost her identity as the gritty but effective healer from the first book, all of which was really frustrating since it made her character weak, indecisive, soooo naive/gullible (I have no idea why she's surprised when the people she expects to betray her do exactly that when she hands them everything they need), and occasionally straight up clueless, the opposite of the strong, independent, and intelligent person she was in book one. I also really missed the parts from book one where she was doing actual healing/medical treatments, and it felt like the author didn't even try to be realistic about injuries. Kiva gets a concussion at one point but then is left alone to sleep through the night unsupervised with a vague warning to wake herself up occasionally (how was she supposed to manage that?) and then is somehow fine enough the next morning to do an intense exercise regime...That would absolutely not be physically possible, and she would know better anyway as a healer. My point is that she just goes from relying on her wit and skills to resolve her problems to always turning to her magic and her self-admitedly nonexistent fighting skills, which was really disappointing. Plus, she has no lingering trauma or other effects from being abandoned in a death prison since she was seven, so during her formative years, which she very much would, and so it felt like the author was dodging those difficult issues by not addressing them.
But the parts that focused on the actual plot with her and her rebel siblings and them trying to take over the kingdom, that was interesting and hooked me back into the story about 2/3 in when I was about to give up on it. But then the ending got really jumbled with at least 12 different twists/big reveals/unearthings of convenient and overly complicated worldbuilding devices happening all at once, all of which were either super obvious from the very beginning of the book or so unpredictable that they came completely out of left field since there had been zero foreshadowing to allow the reader to figure them out themselves. I loved the single big twist revelation at the end of the first book and felt it was well handled, but there was just way too much going on at the end of this book with convoluted laws and politics and relationships to the point that I'm not even completely clear on what happened and why. Also, all of this is explained to Kiva by various people rather than her learning/figuring out any of it herself, which really took a lot of the punch out of it.
All that being said, the story was left in a tense spot that has me interested in reading more, so I'm planning to finish out the series. I'm just really hoping that Kiva does something in the next book other than listen to others talk at/around her and fret about all her various problems without actually doing anything about them.
At least another third of the book is spent on pointless descriptions and everyday activities and other such things that were terribly boring to read and nearly had me DNF the book multiple times. Also, everyone is always whispering or croaking or talking softly in like every dialogue tag and it got really old. Not to mention all the copious amounts of repetition end overexplaining and reiterating and Kiva standing around as a useless vessel as a writer crutch to convey information to the reader without her actually contributing anything. She really did/accomplishes very little on her own and was constantly being saved by others or having (often obvious) things explained to her. She also basically lost her identity as the gritty but effective healer from the first book, all of which was really frustrating since it made her character weak, indecisive, soooo naive/gullible (I have no idea why she's surprised when the people she expects to betray her do exactly that when she hands them everything they need), and occasionally straight up clueless, the opposite of the strong, independent, and intelligent person she was in book one. I also really missed the parts from book one where she was doing actual healing/medical treatments, and it felt like the author didn't even try to be realistic about injuries. Kiva gets a concussion at one point but then is left alone to sleep through the night unsupervised with a vague warning to wake herself up occasionally (how was she supposed to manage that?) and then is somehow fine enough the next morning to do an intense exercise regime...That would absolutely not be physically possible, and she would know better anyway as a healer. My point is that she just goes from relying on her wit and skills to resolve her problems to always turning to her magic and her self-admitedly nonexistent fighting skills, which was really disappointing. Plus, she has no lingering trauma or other effects from being abandoned in a death prison since she was seven, so during her formative years, which she very much would, and so it felt like the author was dodging those difficult issues by not addressing them.
But the parts that focused on the actual plot with her and her rebel siblings and them trying to take over the kingdom, that was interesting and hooked me back into the story about 2/3 in when I was about to give up on it. But then the ending got really jumbled with at least 12 different twists/big reveals/unearthings of convenient and overly complicated worldbuilding devices happening all at once, all of which were either super obvious from the very beginning of the book or so unpredictable that they came completely out of left field since there had been zero foreshadowing to allow the reader to figure them out themselves. I loved the single big twist revelation at the end of the first book and felt it was well handled, but there was just way too much going on at the end of this book with convoluted laws and politics and relationships to the point that I'm not even completely clear on what happened and why. Also, all of this is explained to Kiva by various people rather than her learning/figuring out any of it herself, which really took a lot of the punch out of it.
All that being said, the story was left in a tense spot that has me interested in reading more, so I'm planning to finish out the series. I'm just really hoping that Kiva does something in the next book other than listen to others talk at/around her and fret about all her various problems without actually doing anything about them.
Content Warnings
Graphic: Confinement, Death, Gore, Violence, Blood, Kidnapping, and Injury/Injury detail
Moderate: Addiction, Drug use, and Sexual content
Minor: Cursing, Terminal illness, and Vomit
There is a scene that builds up to characters having a sexual interaction, but then they don't end up going that far, though there's a lot of aggressive kissing and other such things that happen. Also, mild swearing throughout.