andrewjstillman's review
adventurous
mysterious
medium-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? A mix
- Strong character development? It's complicated
- Loveable characters? It's complicated
- Diverse cast of characters? Yes
- Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes
3.5
alexandra_chv's review
4.0
I really liked this book. At first it is kind of hard to understand how all the politic aspects work, but it is not impossible in comparisson to other fantasy novels. It is a character-driven book so for the first part there isn´t much action. The magic system is very interesting and easy to understand. I highly recomend it.
The ending though!!! Hoping book 2 is released soon!!!
The ending though!!! Hoping book 2 is released soon!!!
yaredimpp's review
4.0
Antes que nada hay que reconocer lo hermosa que es la edición y agradecer que trae ilustraciones, son maravillosas, regularmente esto solo viene en ediciones de lujo, y Elliot quería en su libro las ilustraciones desde la primera edición. Hizo un gran trabajo de autopublicación con todo su equipo.
Ahora bien, entrando a lo que es la historia, me costo alrededor de 200 páginas adentrarme en la historia, no lo niego estuve a punto de abandonarlo pero me alegro de no haberlo hecho. Cuales fueron mis problemas, siento que debió de haber explicado mejor su sistema de magia al comienzo del libro, así como las criaturas y sus habilidades. Al principio se sintió mucho la carga romántica entre Gwenivere y Roland, la verdad no me interesaban mucho. Pero conforme va avanzando el libro entendí en porque de está premisa. Es lo que ayuda a que se desenvuelva todo el caos.
Cuando logré sumergirme en la historia no la pude dejar, mi personaje favorito y POV siempre fue Dietrich, me gustan los personajes que no son perfectos, que pueden ser buenos y crueles. El hecho de que Brooks no se tiente el corazón para matar a los personajes no importa quién sea, te encariñas con ellos y al final mueren. La manera en la que llevo la intriga hasta que explotó todo, hay conflictos por todas partes no sabes en quién confiar y en donde terminaras. Y las criaturas son impresionantes, ojalá las desarrolle y nos muestre mas de ellas en los siguientes libros.
Una serie que definitivamente contuinuaré.
Ahora bien, entrando a lo que es la historia, me costo alrededor de 200 páginas adentrarme en la historia, no lo niego estuve a punto de abandonarlo pero me alegro de no haberlo hecho. Cuales fueron mis problemas, siento que debió de haber explicado mejor su sistema de magia al comienzo del libro, así como las criaturas y sus habilidades. Al principio se sintió mucho la carga romántica entre Gwenivere y Roland, la verdad no me interesaban mucho. Pero conforme va avanzando el libro entendí en porque de está premisa. Es lo que ayuda a que se desenvuelva todo el caos.
Cuando logré sumergirme en la historia no la pude dejar, mi personaje favorito y POV siempre fue Dietrich, me gustan los personajes que no son perfectos, que pueden ser buenos y crueles. El hecho de que Brooks no se tiente el corazón para matar a los personajes no importa quién sea, te encariñas con ellos y al final mueren. La manera en la que llevo la intriga hasta que explotó todo, hay conflictos por todas partes no sabes en quién confiar y en donde terminaras. Y las criaturas son impresionantes, ojalá las desarrolle y nos muestre mas de ellas en los siguientes libros.
Una serie que definitivamente contuinuaré.
spellbookspines's review
mysterious
tense
slow-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? A mix
- Strong character development? It's complicated
- Loveable characters? It's complicated
- Flaws of characters a main focus? No
4.0
cypharion's review against another edition
adventurous
medium-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? A mix
- Strong character development? No
- Loveable characters? It's complicated
- Diverse cast of characters? Yes
- Flaws of characters a main focus? No
2.0
cypharion's review
2.0
I have to start by saying this book is by no means a bad debut novel, but there were a lot I had issues with, most which were based on my own personal reading preferences.
Overall it was okay. It was way too politically driven for my liking, the pacing was all over the place, had way too many pov characters/chapters and too heavily influenced by various tropes and authors to carve out its own path.
There were also too many instances of details that would overshadow the story and bogged it down at times. The writing style and prose were well done but not my style.
There's no denying Brooks got talent, but I think it could have used some editing to cut down on page count and other things.
Do I recommend people give this a shot, sure if you're into political heavy fantasy books and if you can handle the huge body count by the end. Just don't expect to get blown away by anything out of this type of fantasy.
Overall it was okay. It was way too politically driven for my liking, the pacing was all over the place, had way too many pov characters/chapters and too heavily influenced by various tropes and authors to carve out its own path.
There were also too many instances of details that would overshadow the story and bogged it down at times. The writing style and prose were well done but not my style.
There's no denying Brooks got talent, but I think it could have used some editing to cut down on page count and other things.
Do I recommend people give this a shot, sure if you're into political heavy fantasy books and if you can handle the huge body count by the end. Just don't expect to get blown away by anything out of this type of fantasy.
hannahdavis13's review
5.0
This book was incredible. I knew the respect Elliot he for Brandon Sanderson, so I had high expectations. And man, did she deliver. This book is FILLED with politicking, betrayal, character development and heartache. I found myself rooting for so many characters at the end. You think you know what is going to happen, and then there were massive twists and turns. I wasn’t expecting a fantasy novel to have so much suspense. It did take a while to get started, but I expected this as there are to be many more novels. So if you choose to pick it up, read ALL of it. The last 100 pages were action packed and full of turmoil.
sarahs_bookshelf's review
adventurous
challenging
emotional
funny
mysterious
sad
tense
slow-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? Character
- Strong character development? N/A
- Loveable characters? It's complicated
- Diverse cast of characters? Yes
5.0
bookbelle5_17's review against another edition
adventurous
dark
emotional
funny
hopeful
mysterious
sad
tense
medium-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? Plot
- Strong character development? Yes
- Loveable characters? Yes
- Diverse cast of characters? Yes
- Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes
4.0
Review of Peace and Turmoil
By: Elliot Brookes
This is Elliot Brookes’ debut and in opinion is a good book for the beginning of a series. The start of the story is slow as she introduces the characters and builds the world. It picks up half way through in part 2 as a big event takes place that has dire consequences for many of the characters. It is a multi-perspective story with each character being from different parts of the world and, as I always say, this is an easy way to world build and show us how different people feel about the situation. I do wish she had included more perspectives from citizens of these kingdoms, especially since they suffer the most and are innocents. They would provide a different point of view that is sympathetic, relatable, and understandable. I appreciated the shorter chapters that made it feel like I was reading a lot during the slower parts. She shows the good and bad parts of each character. One character who I hate, because he is a sexist pig and takes pleasure in unnecessary violence towards humans, happens to be loving towards animals. She explores how limited experiences and how not looking beyond your bubble can make you biased and prejudice to those outside of your kingdom. The characters I most enjoyed were Dravian, Dietrich, Gwenviere, and X’odia. Each of these characters try to make the best decisions, but struggle with those decisions, because they get them in trouble since not everyone agrees with them. When you make a choice there are still consequences. The magic system involves elements and a form of conjuring, but known as “calling” in this story. The characters can summon weapons or the elements to them. The fiends were a creative form of monster looking a mutated version of animal. That would be terrifying to face and defend yourself. The characters already understand their own world, but Elliot finds a way to explain things through excerpts from the books of this world and letters and conversations exchanged between various characters. I like how she included her own artwork to show what the fiends and what some characters looked like.
By: Elliot Brookes
This is Elliot Brookes’ debut and in opinion is a good book for the beginning of a series. The start of the story is slow as she introduces the characters and builds the world. It picks up half way through in part 2 as a big event takes place that has dire consequences for many of the characters. It is a multi-perspective story with each character being from different parts of the world and, as I always say, this is an easy way to world build and show us how different people feel about the situation. I do wish she had included more perspectives from citizens of these kingdoms, especially since they suffer the most and are innocents. They would provide a different point of view that is sympathetic, relatable, and understandable. I appreciated the shorter chapters that made it feel like I was reading a lot during the slower parts. She shows the good and bad parts of each character. One character who I hate, because he is a sexist pig and takes pleasure in unnecessary violence towards humans, happens to be loving towards animals. She explores how limited experiences and how not looking beyond your bubble can make you biased and prejudice to those outside of your kingdom. The characters I most enjoyed were Dravian, Dietrich, Gwenviere, and X’odia. Each of these characters try to make the best decisions, but struggle with those decisions, because they get them in trouble since not everyone agrees with them. When you make a choice there are still consequences. The magic system involves elements and a form of conjuring, but known as “calling” in this story. The characters can summon weapons or the elements to them. The fiends were a creative form of monster looking a mutated version of animal. That would be terrifying to face and defend yourself. The characters already understand their own world, but Elliot finds a way to explain things through excerpts from the books of this world and letters and conversations exchanged between various characters. I like how she included her own artwork to show what the fiends and what some characters looked like.