Reviews

2.5 stars, DNF at 60%

I really really wanted to love this book. I gave this my best shot, but y'all I was struggling. I loved the concept of this book and I loved the message it sent, but I did not enjoy the execution.

While I do know that this book was inspired by Jamaican history, I am not Jamaican nor do I know much about Jamaican history so I'm not going to comment on that aspect of the book, however Ashley from bookishrealm does a great job explaining her experience reading this and her thoughts on it.

Overall, the plot and ideas were so interesting, but I felt like the world building was confusing, unfinished, and at times contradictory. There were times where the fantasy world felt futuristic with the drakes, but then suddenly characters were riding on horseback for transportation. Sometimes the clothing was described in ways that felt older and sometimes modern (one character was wearing what could be described as a tunic and suspenders and another with black lipstick and boots and it just didn't make sense to me, it seemed like they were in completely different time periods). I felt like the magic system and the way the astrals worked were poorly explained.

As far as the prose, I felt like the writing was decent and I was interested at first , but there were often chapters where I felt like the plot was told to me versus shown which is something that I don't tend to like in genre fiction especially. I want to feel like I'm in the experience and get to decide for myself how I perceive it. A lot of the character relationships and dynamics felt forced and weren't convincing. I didn't feel like faron was a fully fleshed out character and I only found myself ever interested in elaras story line.

I'm really sad I didn't end up enjoying this. The heart was there, but I just don't think this was as fleshed out as I expected. I don't know if I will continue with the series, but I don't think this will be the last time I read a book by this author, as I can see the potential and I could see myself liking books by her in the future. This just didn't feel ready.

rpow14's review against another edition

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adventurous emotional 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? No

3.5

janagaton's review against another edition

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2.0

so let this book burn...
it was repetitive and i didn't really care for any of the characters nor the politics, but I enjoyed learning about the drakes lol I get that it's a first book in a series but it felt like every single thing about the story was incomplete, and it was hard to pay close attention the entire time, which is unfortunate because this was my book club pick lol.

keikiqueen's review against another edition

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adventurous medium-paced

Plot- or character-driven? Plot
Strong character development? No
Loveable characters? It's complicated
Diverse cast of characters? Yes
Flaws of characters a main focus? No

3.5

Loved the idea and the diversity; won’t come back to the series; I’ve read better books with similar concepts

vitaminkait's review against another edition

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adventurous emotional funny 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

5.0

nearlynina's review against another edition

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medium-paced

Plot- or character-driven? A mix
Strong character development? No
Loveable characters? No
Diverse cast of characters? Yes
Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes

3.5

This novel struggled from too much telling and not enough showing for the character driven aspects of the story. The MC was a special magic chosen-one child soldier whose life, we're told, was engulfed in fire and blood (dramatic swoon). Apparently this was traumatic and prevented her from developing and continuing her life, but we have no context about what happened or how it affected her other than her periodic whining about how unfair it is that she has magic powers and people think of her as a hero.

The book starts post-war and no attempt is made at making the war seem real and the MC doesn't experience any negative consequences due to the war that we see. There are no nightmares or flashbacks or memories that she thinks about based on her current experiences that give any idea of what came before. We're just supposed to believe that it was awful and unfair and so she gets to lie and cheat and do whatever she wants now because she tells us every so often.

This is also the case for her vague demi-sexuality. She's been through shit so she's never thought about sex, then all of a sudden is ogling and lusting after every boy she has a contentious relationship to and comparing them to chocolate.

The plot was ridiculous as well. Something weird and magical happens and then she hears a strange voice laughing that announces that "It has begun". Clearly, she should team up with that voice against the gods who gave her her powers because they're mean and sometimes chide her for using her powers to win races and tell her that she has to do something she doesn't want to do in order to save the universe. There's no way she could have known that they caused the strange magic leading to bad things or that releasing this person from incorporeal jail would be a bad thing. Why can't she stamp her feet in a tantrum and do whatever she wants and prove she can save the world at the same time? So unlikeable.

ashleibby613's review against another edition

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adventurous reflective 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

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