lachrymose_misanthrope's review against another edition
4.0
I was a little hesitant to read this book but I'm really glad I did. The world building was complex and rich and I enjoyed the main character a lot.
That said, there was a lot happening. The events of this book span over 15 years and the was so much going on and such large time skips that it felt like you couldn't take a breath at times. This could have easily been split into two books, allowing the plot to feel less rushed. I would have liked to see more of the academy as well as the cadet training, for one. There were so many characters too, and due to the large multi-year skips we just never got to see some get fully fleshed out. The MCs friendship with the minotaur I think would have been a really fun aspect to learn more about. There's a lot thrown at you in 400 pages, several kingdoms, rulers, court intrigue, familial relationships, 8 siblings, multiple different species... My brain felt like it was working overtime for much of this book!
The writing itself was excellent. The main character was intelligent and three dimensional with realistic character flaws and capable of making and learning from her mistakes. Her final love interest was great and I enjoyed seeing them dance around each other. I appreciate the author's ability to portray the less pleasant sides of violence which leant a nice realism to the story. There is a fine line to tread when writing character deaths and I think it was walked quite nicely here. Overall, a wonderful debut!
That said, there was a lot happening. The events of this book span over 15 years and the was so much going on and such large time skips that it felt like you couldn't take a breath at times. This could have easily been split into two books, allowing the plot to feel less rushed. I would have liked to see more of the academy as well as the cadet training, for one. There were so many characters too, and due to the large multi-year skips we just never got to see some get fully fleshed out. The MCs friendship with the minotaur I think would have been a really fun aspect to learn more about. There's a lot thrown at you in 400 pages, several kingdoms, rulers, court intrigue, familial relationships, 8 siblings, multiple different species... My brain felt like it was working overtime for much of this book!
The writing itself was excellent. The main character was intelligent and three dimensional with realistic character flaws and capable of making and learning from her mistakes. Her final love interest was great and I enjoyed seeing them dance around each other. I appreciate the author's ability to portray the less pleasant sides of violence which leant a nice realism to the story. There is a fine line to tread when writing character deaths and I think it was walked quite nicely here. Overall, a wonderful debut!
the_aries_dragon_reader's review against another edition
3.0
A mediocre book with a hard to follow the plot and very, very, very many characters.
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