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tabea1409's review against another edition
adventurous
dark
tense
fast-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? A mix
- Strong character development? It's complicated
- Loveable characters? Yes
- Diverse cast of characters? Yes
- Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes
4.75
Content Warnings
Graphic: Addiction, Cursing, Death, Domestic abuse, Drug abuse, Drug use, Gore, Terminal illness, Violence, Blood, Vomit, Kidnapping, Grief, Death of parent, Murder, Gaslighting, and Injury/Injury detail
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
the_jesus_fandom's review against another edition
adventurous
- Plot- or character-driven? A mix
- Strong character development? It's complicated
- Loveable characters? Yes
- Diverse cast of characters? Yes
- Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes
3.0
All in all, a pretty fun book, except for the fact that it took AGES of character and relationship building for the exciting stuff to happen.
Kiva was honestly a bit dumber in this book than the first. There was one scene where she was trying to find a hiding place to listen in on a meeting. This was a time-sensitive thing, cause the people meeting were coming super soon. So what does she do? She spends a lot of valuable time sightseeing the room and only hides at the last possible moment, when she could just as easily have done that snooping after the meeting. It was super annoying.
There seemed to be some discontinuity where Jaren knew less than it was implied he did in book one.
Some random stuff:
I’m sorry, I found the meta book club to be cringe.
Caldon is my bestie and I love him.
Kiva says she never harmed anyone, even those she hated, which is untrue, since in the last book there was a guard who was too touchy and instead of fixing his itchy groin problem she gave him medicine that would make it worse.
Ahum, and now for the biggest thing that I already mentioned in my review for book one: did I get my predictions right?
Content Warnings
Moderate: Addiction and Abandonment
Minor: Death, Terminal illness, Kidnapping, and Death of parent
alielaine's review against another edition
adventurous
dark
mysterious
tense
medium-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? A mix
- Strong character development? It's complicated
- Loveable characters? Yes
- Diverse cast of characters? It's complicated
- Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes
4.25
Content Warnings
Graphic: Addiction and Drug abuse
Moderate: Death, Terminal illness, Vomit, Medical trauma, and Death of parent
gattolinos_nerdy_nook's review
adventurous
tense
fast-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? Character
- Strong character development? Yes
- Loveable characters? Yes
- Diverse cast of characters? Yes
- Flaws of characters a main focus? It's complicated
5.0
I loved how thr story showcases the struggles that people have choosing between families and friends. It doesn't back away from showing that sometimes there isn't a right answer and you can only go with what you know.
I very much enjoyed how the two families interact and the seeing both the similarities and differences between them. It is a great way to build up the drama for the final book.
I very much enjoyed how the two families interact and the seeing both the similarities and differences between them. It is a great way to build up the drama for the final book.
Content Warnings
Graphic: Domestic abuse, Drug abuse, and Violence
Moderate: Death, Drug use, and Kidnapping
Minor: Terminal illness
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.stories's review against another edition
adventurous
emotional
mysterious
tense
fast-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
5.0
Superb. I was worried it wouldn’t hold up to the first book but it absolutely does. Gripping, emotional and well woven with satisfying twists and turns, this book resists the temptation to flatten a rebellion conflict into a 2D “but what about the boy” angst fest and instead creates authentic and complex dilemmas. Great characters and characterisation, well embedded foreshadowing and far too many moments I had to pause and wriggle with glee.
Content Warnings
Minor: Addiction, Confinement, Panic attacks/disorders, Terminal illness, Vomit, Kidnapping, and Death of parent
Beware the cliffhanger endingbetweentheshelves's review against another edition
adventurous
dark
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
3.0
I feel pretty similar about this sequel as I did the first book. However, it almost feels like less happens in this book than the first book, given that most of the action is saved until the last like 25% of the book. There's a lot of politics and Kiva trying to find her place and reconcile with her family and it was...fine. Nothing necessarily to write home about.
Noni is great at writing plot twists (even I could predict most of them. I chalk that up to reading a lot of YA fantasy). The characters are also easy to love, Caldon was probably my favorite addition in this one. I loved him and I hope we get more of him in the final book. Which yes, I will be reading because I need to know how this all comes together. Especially for Tipp's sake. That boy deserves all the good in the world.
All in all, if you're looking for a YA fantasy with a strongly built world and a easy to love cast of central characters, you'll definitely enjoy this series.
Noni is great at writing plot twists (even I could predict most of them. I chalk that up to reading a lot of YA fantasy). The characters are also easy to love, Caldon was probably my favorite addition in this one. I loved him and I hope we get more of him in the final book. Which yes, I will be reading because I need to know how this all comes together. Especially for Tipp's sake. That boy deserves all the good in the world.
All in all, if you're looking for a YA fantasy with a strongly built world and a easy to love cast of central characters, you'll definitely enjoy this series.
Content Warnings
Graphic: Addiction, Drug abuse, and Drug use
Moderate: Death, Violence, and Vomit
Minor: Suicidal thoughts, Terminal illness, and Blood
kassidyreads's review against another edition
adventurous
emotional
tense
fast-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
5.0
Content Warnings
Graphic: Death, Drug abuse, and Violence
Minor: Terminal illness and Kidnapping
maregred's review against another edition
adventurous
challenging
dark
mysterious
tense
medium-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? A mix
- Strong character development? It's complicated
- Loveable characters? It's complicated
- Diverse cast of characters? It's complicated
- Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes
2.5
Content Warnings
Moderate: Addiction, Death, Emotional abuse, Toxic relationship, Kidnapping, Death of parent, Gaslighting, and Abandonment
Minor: Child abuse, Drug abuse, Rape, Sexual assault, Terminal illness, Forced institutionalization, Blood, War, and Injury/Injury detail