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taglharp's review against another edition
dark
emotional
mysterious
tense
fast-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? Plot
- Strong character development? Yes
- Loveable characters? It's complicated
- Diverse cast of characters? Yes
- Flaws of characters a main focus? No
2.0
UM????? !
First of all my eyes hurt from not blinking and binging this, but you can be sure to see a review later.
THE REVIEW:
Summary of things I liked:
‣ The execution of the Overall Plot (half of it, anyway) — I don't know?? I wasn't expecting some of the twists and turns in that plot, man. Even though afterward I was like wait, but that's kind of obvious- but also! It was just so freaking dramatic but in the way that I couldn't help but enjoy it.
‣ The ruthlessness — of the world, of Chupeco (this author, I swear...), of the characters' judgments of one another. There was no ✨Instant Forgiveness ✨which I usually find in a lot of YA or Overly Dramatic "GTFO"s (just understandable ones, forgiveness takes time!!). And I really liked that.
‣ Part of the romance — mostly that there was no love triangle (GOD BLESS), I also enjoyed a side pairing that was hinted towards in book 1. The main couple was alright, I guess (their situation uncomfortably reminded me of Chaol/Celaena/Dorian and I was getting high school PTSD, but other than that!). Fox's romance with Princess Inessa was a telenovela, honestly, but really suited the entire... vibe of the book if I'm honest so it was... alright...
‣ The animal companionship — sort of. I just really like dragons, okay.
Summary of things I disliked:
‣ The execution of the Overall Plot (the other half of it) — by 'the other half of it' I meant a good bulk of the twists that moved the plot along were amazingly hinted to us in conversations that had taken place before the Incident would occur and while the reader is like, "Wait what?" for some reason the protagonist always lets the key things mentioned fly over her head. So! The result is cheapened thrills and surprises (that aren't surprising because the con was so good, but because the characters were dumbed down to move the plot along). Bizarre.
‣ The worldbuildling — if you've read my review of The Bone Witch , you know I love the worldbuilding I saw of the world of the Asha there. I was so excited to see the expansion of it in this book, only to be let the hell down in the worst way possible. The main places this book focuses on is a China!Inspired country called Daanoris. There's also a bit of a spotlight on a Middle-East!Inspired country called Drycht. The representation we get of both is strictly a hodgepodge of bigotry, sexism and a backwards way of thinking. No one ever shuts up about it. And while that would've been alright - on some level - if that wasn't the only thing they talked about in reference to those two countries... But it was! And the protagonist of the novel - Tea does not fail to remind us about how hateful they are. Also the execution of worldbuilding was kind of? Bizarre?? It was almost disorienting how facts came in later than usual - of basic things you thought you should already know, almost as if to make up for how lazy the overall worldbuilding ended up becoming... I was so disappointed.
‣ Most of the characters — In my review of the first book, I said that the exploration of each character left something to be desired (or rather, further exploration of them was the thing I desired). I was so hoping that we would get more in this book, especially since its title - The Heart Forger - seemed to hint that we would get exactly that for at least one of them. Well. We did not. For example!! Though the aforementioned Heart Forger, Khalad, was very present in this book, we barely get to know him besides rather surface level things that seemed to be mentioned for the sake of driving home the book's rather 'woke' themes. The result? He felt kind of cheapened. It's almost as if the characters get no other personality than say, Being Queer. Very surface level rep, IMO. Could've done better.
‣ Most of the romance — I'm not a big fan of romance in fantasy, unless I know I'm signing up for it. I had no idea this book would turn into a dramatic shitshow. Which I admittedly did enjoy - on some level. And two scenes did make me swoon. But. The amount of romantic drama in this book was just... off the charts!! 100% Did Not See Coming. Not really my thing.
‣ Some things made no sense — besides the typos, which might just be in my copy not sure, there were a few descriptions that made no sense and were therefore disorienting. The first book had this too, but to a lesser degree IMO. I'm not sure if those were typos as well.
‣ My nemesis, the Italicized Interlude — HELLO?? HOW DID YOU GUYS GET WORSE?? I feel like these interludes hurt the pacing and overall flow of this book so bad, I started skipping them and reading them again afterward. And like I felt in the first book, I just really couldn't give a rat's ass about Future (Present Day?) Tea or what the hell was going to happen to her. And Bard. Poor Bard, tbh. But also, I don't care about Bard. I still have no idea why. (Also the main romantic pairing being so blatant in those flashbacks - or rather, perhaps just the identity of the dude - was a wasted opportunity in adding suspense and thrill to that sub-part of the narrative. Instead of just, you know. Focusing all your tricks on the Main Plot and surprise!Queer couples - which I enjoyed but that's besides the point. It could have been a story less one-dimensional.)
Summary of things that were "eh, okay, I guess":
‣ Nothing — this book was a study in extremeties.
Spicy things I have to say:
‣ Kance was Dorian but less annoying and not flirty, just the Nice Idiot. Kalen was an modified Chaol. Not so boomer, so better. But still the same amount of Bland. (I mean I liked him well enough, but damn.)
First of all my eyes hurt from not blinking and binging this, but you can be sure to see a review later.
THE REVIEW:
Summary of things I liked:
‣ The execution of the Overall Plot (half of it, anyway) — I don't know?? I wasn't expecting some of the twists and turns in that plot, man. Even though afterward I was like wait, but that's kind of obvious- but also! It was just so freaking dramatic but in the way that I couldn't help but enjoy it.
‣ The ruthlessness — of the world, of Chupeco (this author, I swear...), of the characters' judgments of one another. There was no ✨Instant Forgiveness ✨which I usually find in a lot of YA or Overly Dramatic "GTFO"s (just understandable ones, forgiveness takes time!!). And I really liked that.
‣ Part of the romance — mostly that there was no love triangle (GOD BLESS), I also enjoyed a side pairing that was hinted towards in book 1. The main couple was alright, I guess (their situation uncomfortably reminded me of Chaol/Celaena/Dorian and I was getting high school PTSD, but other than that!). Fox's romance with Princess Inessa was a telenovela, honestly, but really suited the entire... vibe of the book if I'm honest so it was... alright...
‣ The animal companionship — sort of. I just really like dragons, okay.
Summary of things I disliked:
‣ The execution of the Overall Plot (the other half of it) — by 'the other half of it' I meant a good bulk of the twists that moved the plot along were amazingly hinted to us in conversations that had taken place before the Incident would occur and while the reader is like, "Wait what?" for some reason the protagonist always lets the key things mentioned fly over her head. So! The result is cheapened thrills and surprises (that aren't surprising because the con was so good, but because the characters were dumbed down to move the plot along). Bizarre.
‣ The worldbuildling — if you've read my review of The Bone Witch , you know I love the worldbuilding I saw of the world of the Asha there. I was so excited to see the expansion of it in this book, only to be let the hell down in the worst way possible. The main places this book focuses on is a China!Inspired country called Daanoris. There's also a bit of a spotlight on a Middle-East!Inspired country called Drycht. The representation we get of both is strictly a hodgepodge of bigotry, sexism and a backwards way of thinking. No one ever shuts up about it. And while that would've been alright - on some level - if that wasn't the only thing they talked about in reference to those two countries... But it was! And the protagonist of the novel - Tea does not fail to remind us about how hateful they are. Also the execution of worldbuilding was kind of? Bizarre?? It was almost disorienting how facts came in later than usual - of basic things you thought you should already know, almost as if to make up for how lazy the overall worldbuilding ended up becoming... I was so disappointed.
‣ Most of the characters — In my review of the first book, I said that the exploration of each character left something to be desired (or rather, further exploration of them was the thing I desired). I was so hoping that we would get more in this book, especially since its title - The Heart Forger - seemed to hint that we would get exactly that for at least one of them. Well. We did not. For example!! Though the aforementioned Heart Forger, Khalad, was very present in this book, we barely get to know him besides rather surface level things that seemed to be mentioned for the sake of driving home the book's rather 'woke' themes. The result? He felt kind of cheapened. It's almost as if the characters get no other personality than say, Being Queer. Very surface level rep, IMO. Could've done better.
‣ Most of the romance — I'm not a big fan of romance in fantasy, unless I know I'm signing up for it. I had no idea this book would turn into a dramatic shitshow. Which I admittedly did enjoy - on some level. And two scenes did make me swoon. But. The amount of romantic drama in this book was just... off the charts!! 100% Did Not See Coming. Not really my thing.
‣ Some things made no sense — besides the typos, which might just be in my copy not sure, there were a few descriptions that made no sense and were therefore disorienting. The first book had this too, but to a lesser degree IMO. I'm not sure if those were typos as well.
‣ My nemesis, the Italicized Interlude — HELLO?? HOW DID YOU GUYS GET WORSE?? I feel like these interludes hurt the pacing and overall flow of this book so bad, I started skipping them and reading them again afterward. And like I felt in the first book, I just really couldn't give a rat's ass about Future (Present Day?) Tea or what the hell was going to happen to her. And Bard. Poor Bard, tbh. But also, I don't care about Bard. I still have no idea why. (Also the main romantic pairing being so blatant in those flashbacks - or rather, perhaps just the identity of the dude - was a wasted opportunity in adding suspense and thrill to that sub-part of the narrative. Instead of just, you know. Focusing all your tricks on the Main Plot and surprise!Queer couples - which I enjoyed but that's besides the point. It could have been a story less one-dimensional.)
Summary of things that were "eh, okay, I guess":
‣ Nothing — this book was a study in extremeties.
Spicy things I have to say:
‣ Kance was Dorian but less annoying and not flirty, just the Nice Idiot. Kalen was an modified Chaol. Not so boomer, so better. But still the same amount of Bland. (I mean I liked him well enough, but damn.)
Content Warnings
Graphic: Animal cruelty, Animal death, Confinement, Death, and Misogyny
Moderate: Gore, Sexual content, Torture, and Murder