brii_brii's review
adventurous
challenging
dark
medium-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
3.0
aelinwildfire's review
I like the overall world but for some reason I could not get into the characters or their story. It was also extremely slow paced. Definitely not for me unfortunately.:(
vivienned's review
4.0
An intense epic fantasy world in which everything is not what it seems. There are multiple POVs so it can get tricky to try and keep track of. I listened to an audiobook version of this, so it took extra attention to figure out who’s POV I was currently taking in, especially at the start of it. But you’ll get familiar with the characters soon enough. Get ready to have a long sit down if you dive into this book. It’ll take a little while and referencing the family trees a few times to fully understand what’s going on. With that said, there are quite a few trigger warnings so it’s not for the faint of heart.
The world-building was well done with lots of attention to detail. Definitely agree with the GOT vibes, so you know you’ve got to be mentally prepared. It will shock you and hurt you. Full of magic, relationships, and secrets that span generations. The entire trilogy is available, but I’m not sure if I’m ready to continue just yet. As a great high fantasy story should, this will leave you questioning things even after you’re done.
Thanks to NetGalley & OrangeSky Audio for my audiobook copy to review. This does not affect my opinion of the book or the content of my review.
The world-building was well done with lots of attention to detail. Definitely agree with the GOT vibes, so you know you’ve got to be mentally prepared. It will shock you and hurt you. Full of magic, relationships, and secrets that span generations. The entire trilogy is available, but I’m not sure if I’m ready to continue just yet. As a great high fantasy story should, this will leave you questioning things even after you’re done.
Thanks to NetGalley & OrangeSky Audio for my audiobook copy to review. This does not affect my opinion of the book or the content of my review.
storiedadventures's review
5.0
Holy moly oly y’all. This book is a rich tasting dessert! It is a chunker and full of a whole world! I LOVED it!! It has old love, new love, backstabbing, a horrible baddie, adventure (like, TONS! My adventure reading heart was thrilled!), mystery, magic, deep politics! I could not put this bad boy down! I saw it likened to Game of Thrones and I have to agree! Listen, I love Game of Thrones BUT if that was too dry for you, I highly recommend giving this a shot! There are tons of characters so I’ll stick with my favorites! Lisbet, Ravenna, and Emberley! They are clever young women making choices that will change the whole world. I literally have nothing bad or “off” to say about this book. So freaking good.
bookshelves4paperelves's review
3.0
So this book gave me very ‘Game of Thrones’ vibes, I think this is because of the amount of names/families and places involved. I have to admit that I did get a little bit confused at the start, I did end up taking notes part way through just to make sure I knew exactly what was going on, particularly with the 3rd person POV happening. I think if I had the physical copy in front of me I’d have found it easier as I’d have referred back to the family tree a lot more often.
I did enjoy this book, regardless of the complexity I feel as though it was very well written and I give all the shout outs to the author for being able to keep her mind while writing this because there were points where I was like ‘WHAT?!’
I do believe that triggers warnings are necessary, so I will list these below:
- Mentions of incest
- Fleeting implications of sexual manipulation
- Adult/minor relationship
- Child abuse
- Death
- Death of a Child
- Domestic abuse
The world building in this novel is complex, but I did thoroughly enjoy it due to the realistic feelings it gave me. I could genuinely picture being in some of the characters scenarios like I was watching a film in my head.
I did feel like I never wanted to love a character because I couldn’t decide if they were about to be killed off or not and I cannot deal with that trauma
I did enjoy this book, regardless of the complexity I feel as though it was very well written and I give all the shout outs to the author for being able to keep her mind while writing this because there were points where I was like ‘WHAT?!’
I do believe that triggers warnings are necessary, so I will list these below:
- Mentions of incest
- Fleeting implications of sexual manipulation
- Adult/minor relationship
- Child abuse
- Death
- Death of a Child
- Domestic abuse
The world building in this novel is complex, but I did thoroughly enjoy it due to the realistic feelings it gave me. I could genuinely picture being in some of the characters scenarios like I was watching a film in my head.
I did feel like I never wanted to love a character because I couldn’t decide if they were about to be killed off or not and I cannot deal with that trauma
kayemcie's review against another edition
4.0
**Listened to the Audiobook**
I am going to start with that I LOVE Sarah's books and her universe. I first read The Sylvan and the Sand, a stand alone novel set in the same world as The Kingless Crown, and now I just want more of it all.
Sarah has woven together a beautiful world, rich in history and dramatics. While listening to The Kingless Crown I wanted to piece together all the information I was getting and the existing knowledge I had from the other books. It is absolutely amazing how much Sarah crams into an already large book. The world of the Kingdom of the White Sea will not disappoint readers who love world building, high stakes, adventure, family secrets, cast out magic, and the list goes on and on. I am so excited to venture further into this world both in this trilogy and the plethora of other reading materials from Sarah!
I am going to start with that I LOVE Sarah's books and her universe. I first read The Sylvan and the Sand, a stand alone novel set in the same world as The Kingless Crown, and now I just want more of it all.
Sarah has woven together a beautiful world, rich in history and dramatics. While listening to The Kingless Crown I wanted to piece together all the information I was getting and the existing knowledge I had from the other books. It is absolutely amazing how much Sarah crams into an already large book. The world of the Kingdom of the White Sea will not disappoint readers who love world building, high stakes, adventure, family secrets, cast out magic, and the list goes on and on. I am so excited to venture further into this world both in this trilogy and the plethora of other reading materials from Sarah!
ashleyost91's review against another edition
Too confusing. So many characters all having their own plots at the same time, and no Segway into the next one. It was hard to keel track of who and where we where in the story.
leslie_penka's review
2.0
I was given an ARC copy of this book in exchange for my honest review!
I had a very hard time understanding what was going on in this book because there was so much happening! There were so many characters that it made it so hard to keep up! It felt like I was struggling to finish this and then I learned there were 2 more! I felt like this book has a lot of potential but it takes severe concentration to understand it! I was given the audiobook to read and it may have been easier with a physical book!
I had a very hard time understanding what was going on in this book because there was so much happening! There were so many characters that it made it so hard to keep up! It felt like I was struggling to finish this and then I learned there were 2 more! I felt like this book has a lot of potential but it takes severe concentration to understand it! I was given the audiobook to read and it may have been easier with a physical book!
crisprtheghost's review against another edition
There are A Lot Of Characters in this book so it probably wasn't wise to make it my first foray into audiobooks.
avas_book_nook's review
4.0
This book had been on my tbr for months. A few days ago I stopped in my local Half Price Books and found a copy in PERFECT condition so I snatched it up so fast, and I’m so glad that I did!!
I have been on an urban fantasy kick for awhile but wanted to venture further into high fantasy, and this was the perfect book for it.
At first it was hard to get into since there’s so much world building and characters rattled off but I’ve noticed that’s a common complaint in high fantasy’s, so no mark against the author or story on that front.
HOWEVER, Cradit did put in a map and multiple family trees at the beginning of the book! I freaking LOVED that she did this, so instead of flipping back through the book to figure out who is who —*BAM*There’s a freaking info sheet!!
I fell in love with the characters and their story. There was a point where I’d forgotten I was even reading because I’d become so immersed in it!! I’m looking forward to reading the next two in the series asap!!
Tropes:
♥️ Evil King
I have been on an urban fantasy kick for awhile but wanted to venture further into high fantasy, and this was the perfect book for it.
At first it was hard to get into since there’s so much world building and characters rattled off but I’ve noticed that’s a common complaint in high fantasy’s, so no mark against the author or story on that front.
HOWEVER, Cradit did put in a map and multiple family trees at the beginning of the book! I freaking LOVED that she did this, so instead of flipping back through the book to figure out who is who —*BAM*There’s a freaking info sheet!!
I fell in love with the characters and their story. There was a point where I’d forgotten I was even reading because I’d become so immersed in it!! I’m looking forward to reading the next two in the series asap!!
Tropes:
♥️ Evil King