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bespectacled_lemur's review against another edition
dark
emotional
mysterious
sad
tense
medium-paced
4.75
Only docking points because for a bit there I was convinced it was gonna be a nice poly domestic trilogy. The twist broke me. Heart wrenching stuff but well-delivered. Not sure what to expect from the next two books but they're already on the way.
Content Warnings
Graphic: Death, Drug use, Physical abuse, Rape, Sexual assault, Sexual content, Sexual violence, Toxic relationship, Violence, Blood, and Grief
Moderate: Animal cruelty, Animal death, Child abuse, Confinement, Death, Drug abuse, Drug use, Mental illness, Physical abuse, Rape, Sexual assault, Sexual content, Sexual violence, Slavery, Torture, Toxic relationship, Violence, Kidnapping, Cannibalism, Murder, Fire/Fire injury, Alcohol, Sexual harassment, and War
nikki_b's review
adventurous
dark
emotional
fast-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? A mix
- Strong character development? It's complicated
- Loveable characters? It's complicated
- Diverse cast of characters? No
- Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes
4.0
I have an enemies-to-lovers relationship with this series. (The plot + characters make me mad and I like it!!!! š¤)
I love how messy and dumb these characters are (in a very human "making quick, emotionally-charged decisions with none of the necessary information" way, not in a "I am worried this character has a brain-eating parasite" way). Niko is angry š” all the time and that does get a bit tiring by later books but... he's got reasons so I let it slide. He's young and f'ed up.
I don't get the Witcher vibes here (aside from white hair) that other people have mentioned. Feels more like a mashup of Game of Thrones and Captive Prince with a sprinkle of orcs + magic from LOTR.
I did see some twists coming but not all of them... and that automatically grants an author some extra stars from me even if I might burn my Kindle reading about someone's "cheeks flickering/fluttering" every two pages. (facial cheeks not š cheeks, unfortunately LOL.)
DEFINITELY mind trigger/content warnings.
I love how messy and dumb these characters are (in a very human "making quick, emotionally-charged decisions with none of the necessary information" way, not in a "I am worried this character has a brain-eating parasite" way). Niko is angry š” all the time and that does get a bit tiring by later books but... he's got reasons so I let it slide. He's young and f'ed up.
I don't get the Witcher vibes here (aside from white hair) that other people have mentioned. Feels more like a mashup of Game of Thrones and Captive Prince with a sprinkle of orcs + magic from LOTR.
I did see some twists coming but not all of them... and that automatically grants an author some extra stars from me even if I might burn my Kindle reading about someone's "cheeks flickering/fluttering" every two pages. (facial cheeks not š cheeks, unfortunately LOL.)
DEFINITELY mind trigger/content warnings.
Content Warnings
Moderate: Confinement, Rape, Sexual assault, Torture, Violence, and Sexual harassment
Minor: Animal cruelty and Blood
yoda32's review against another edition
dark
tense
slow-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? Character
- Strong character development? No
- Loveable characters? No
- Diverse cast of characters? No
- Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes
2.0
Iām disappointed because this sounded like everything I love- Grimdark fantasy, lethal Prince, slow burn, enemies to lovers romance- and yet it was meh.
I think my biggest problem was that I couldnāt get attached to Niko. He was just so STUPID. For someone proclaimed to be a deadly soldier known across the land as āthe butcherā he was a bit of wimp. Now I get heās fighting the darkness and all his inner turmoil- which I guess was interesting- but he was betrayed so many times throughout this book and seen NONE OF IT coming. And youāre perhaps wondering- well yeah, isnāt that the meaning of betrayAl. Yes but Niko was a solider trained to spot shit like this! Where was his cunning? Or his distrustful nature he so promised?
Next to Niko infuriating me, donāt even get me started on the āromanceā and Iām not talking about the set up enemies to lovers( that Iām interested in). So Niko, along with making terrible decisions, thinks with his dick, and instead of scoping out the terrifying palace, and you know, being the assassin we are promised, he instead falls for Julian, the princesā personal guard. And we the poor readers- get a whole load of romantic jargon. Which went EXACTLY how I expected it to go.
The plot was meh. I think personally, Niko and Julians romance annoyed me so much that I couldnāt concentrate. Towards the end, the plot became slightly more intriguing, but for the most part.. no.
Now all that being said- there were SOME parts of the book I liked, or else I wouldnāt have finished it.
Firstly- Prince Vasili. He was awful, cruel and conniving. The exact kind of character I love. At least HE embraced his darkness. Also the actual romance is set between him and Niko and despite all my complaints, Iām curious.
Secondly- The author did something Iāve never read about before, she made the elves evil cruel creatures and damn I want to know more.
Thirdly- Itās clear that the dynamic between Niko and Vasili will change from barely tolerating each other to more and despite it all- Iām hooked. I want to know how they fall in love. Like seriously- how!
Anyways, this wasnāt the best book Iāve ever read but if youāre intrigued by dark fantasy, and are curious about the lethal Prince Vasili, I recommend you try this. You may like it more than me.
I think my biggest problem was that I couldnāt get attached to Niko. He was just so STUPID. For someone proclaimed to be a deadly soldier known across the land as āthe butcherā he was a bit of wimp. Now I get heās fighting the darkness and all his inner turmoil- which I guess was interesting- but he was betrayed so many times throughout this book and seen NONE OF IT coming. And youāre perhaps wondering- well yeah, isnāt that the meaning of betrayAl. Yes but Niko was a solider trained to spot shit like this! Where was his cunning? Or his distrustful nature he so promised?
Next to Niko infuriating me, donāt even get me started on the āromanceā and Iām not talking about the set up enemies to lovers( that Iām interested in). So Niko, along with making terrible decisions, thinks with his dick, and instead of scoping out the terrifying palace, and you know, being the assassin we are promised, he instead falls for Julian, the princesā personal guard. And we the poor readers- get a whole load of romantic jargon. Which went EXACTLY how I expected it to go.
The plot was meh. I think personally, Niko and Julians romance annoyed me so much that I couldnāt concentrate. Towards the end, the plot became slightly more intriguing, but for the most part.. no.
Now all that being said- there were SOME parts of the book I liked, or else I wouldnāt have finished it.
Firstly- Prince Vasili. He was awful, cruel and conniving. The exact kind of character I love. At least HE embraced his darkness. Also the actual romance is set between him and Niko and despite all my complaints, Iām curious.
Secondly- The author did something Iāve never read about before, she made the elves evil cruel creatures and damn I want to know more.
Thirdly- Itās clear that the dynamic between Niko and Vasili will change from barely tolerating each other to more and despite it all- Iām hooked. I want to know how they fall in love. Like seriously- how!
Anyways, this wasnāt the best book Iāve ever read but if youāre intrigued by dark fantasy, and are curious about the lethal Prince Vasili, I recommend you try this. You may like it more than me.
Content Warnings
Graphic: Animal cruelty, Animal death, Body horror, Confinement, Death, Drug use, Emotional abuse, Gore, Physical abuse, Sexual assault, Sexual content, Sexual violence, Slavery, Torture, Violence, Blood, Grief, and Murder
Moderate: Toxic relationship
Minor: Incest
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