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katrinaarnika's review against another edition
adventurous
emotional
inspiring
mysterious
medium-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? A mix
- Strong character development? Yes
- Loveable characters? Yes
- Diverse cast of characters? No
- Flaws of characters a main focus? It's complicated
4.0
grimreap's review against another edition
2.0
the best way to describe this book is meh. the pacing was meh, the plot was meh, the lore was meh. i was constantly looking for more.
it didnt help that i guessed the plot after like chapter 5 so the rest of the session was just finding out how the end would happen.
overall its a good but basic and easy to read romance/action that’s satisfactory but leaves a lot to be desired.
it didnt help that i guessed the plot after like chapter 5 so the rest of the session was just finding out how the end would happen.
overall its a good but basic and easy to read romance/action that’s satisfactory but leaves a lot to be desired.
kellreadsalot's review against another edition
3.0
- 3.5 stars
i really liked that this wasn't a 'human girl gets trapped by vampire/high-fae male king and she begins a journey to fulfill her destiny' book. the main characters had an dynamic that mixed politics, court relationships, and family baggage. there isn't any magic or vampires, this is strongly focused on human behaviors and struggles, which again, is a nice departure from the kind of book i thought i'd be reading (ahem...acotar rip offs).
but i wished this had more world building. it's very plot and relationship driven, less so focused on the world this story is set in. i also think this could have been 100 pages shorter, it was very long for a book that didn't cover a large amount of time or a series of complex thematic elements.
overall not bad, not memorable, but i'll probably continue the series.
i really liked that this wasn't a 'human girl gets trapped by vampire/high-fae male king and she begins a journey to fulfill her destiny' book. the main characters had an dynamic that mixed politics, court relationships, and family baggage. there isn't any magic or vampires, this is strongly focused on human behaviors and struggles, which again, is a nice departure from the kind of book i thought i'd be reading (ahem...acotar rip offs).
but i wished this had more world building. it's very plot and relationship driven, less so focused on the world this story is set in. i also think this could have been 100 pages shorter, it was very long for a book that didn't cover a large amount of time or a series of complex thematic elements.
overall not bad, not memorable, but i'll probably continue the series.
thedeena63's review against another edition
4.0
I enjoyed the book. Great retelling of Robin Hood, and I loved the characters.
Knocked off one star because I figured out the big twist within the first chapter.
Knocked off one star because I figured out the big twist within the first chapter.
sara_reads_things's review against another edition
5.0
A wonderful 5 star read for an amazingly incredible new series.
I really enjoyed this read. It was kind of hard for me to put this story in a certain genre box as it didn't have much of the fantasy element, but was also not set in the modern world. Either way, it really doesn't matter. This was a great read and I enjoyed it immensely.
The story almost parallels situations in the world today with a sickness that is plaguing the nation, killing people at a high rate and not enough medicine to go around. Politics run ramped as they always do when government is involved, but in this case, there are some people that have a heart and good prevails.
The characters blow me away. Tessa is head strong and amazing. She pushes the story forward with gusto just enough angst to keep feelings on the edge of tipping over. Corrick only wants to help his people, but his job is to execute enemies of the crown. The incredible way he goes about inserting himself into the fight as a rebel, fighting against the crown he was born under, is heroic.
The ploy is complex but easy to follow and the world building paints a wonderful picture. This will be in my top books read in 2021.
Sara | Book Confessions of an ExBallerina
I really enjoyed this read. It was kind of hard for me to put this story in a certain genre box as it didn't have much of the fantasy element, but was also not set in the modern world. Either way, it really doesn't matter. This was a great read and I enjoyed it immensely.
The story almost parallels situations in the world today with a sickness that is plaguing the nation, killing people at a high rate and not enough medicine to go around. Politics run ramped as they always do when government is involved, but in this case, there are some people that have a heart and good prevails.
The characters blow me away. Tessa is head strong and amazing. She pushes the story forward with gusto just enough angst to keep feelings on the edge of tipping over. Corrick only wants to help his people, but his job is to execute enemies of the crown. The incredible way he goes about inserting himself into the fight as a rebel, fighting against the crown he was born under, is heroic.
The ploy is complex but easy to follow and the world building paints a wonderful picture. This will be in my top books read in 2021.
Sara | Book Confessions of an ExBallerina
alicialikekeys's review against another edition
adventurous
dark
emotional
mysterious
medium-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? A mix
- Strong character development? It's complicated
- Loveable characters? N/A
- Diverse cast of characters? N/A
3.5
pretty trope heavy, nothing genre defying in this romantasy
simmirbina00's review against another edition
2.0
Rating: ✰✰
Dnf: 85%
• Tessa was a cry baby 80% of the book like she literally cried in the middle of a simple conversation.
• Book was very anticlimactic and boring and felt like the plot was dragged on.
• Felt like a chore to read I really tried to enjoy it but I felt miserable reading, especially since I predicted half the plot and ended up being right about everything I predicted which made the big “reveal” so anticlimactic for me.
• Again Tessa was a boring FMC I wish she was more interesting like come on… a apothecary fmc who is trying to conjure up a cure elixir in her lab? And goes against the royal rules of sneakily distribute to the sick civilians in the middle of the night with her bad ass side kick?
But the character fell flat in so many ways so everything she did just didn’t give me that spark to care about her
Dnf: 85%
• Tessa was a cry baby 80% of the book like she literally cried in the middle of a simple conversation.
• Book was very anticlimactic and boring and felt like the plot was dragged on.
• Felt like a chore to read I really tried to enjoy it but I felt miserable reading, especially since I predicted half the plot and ended up being right about everything I predicted which made the big “reveal” so anticlimactic for me.
• Again Tessa was a boring FMC I wish she was more interesting like come on… a apothecary fmc who is trying to conjure up a cure elixir in her lab? And goes against the royal rules of sneakily distribute to the sick civilians in the middle of the night with her bad ass side kick?
But the character fell flat in so many ways so everything she did just didn’t give me that spark to care about her
isabella_hightower's review against another edition
3.0
A really good book but filled with tropes, (A young impulsive girl falls in love with a rebel who’s secretly a dark prince and in one scene they joke that under her beautiful dress with a split down the side she may or may not have a hidden dagger) if that’s your thing, you’ll love this book.
Cons:
- The worldbuilding is a little sparse, the kingdom is plagued by “The Fever”TM and the only cure is a moonflower. Very surface level stuff.
- It’s very 2020 with all the tropes but again, some people like that.
- The mysterious plot is so painfully obvious,
- The characters are incredibly surface level like Tessa who is 100% the main character but also her entire personality is: kind, impulsive, headstrong, bad at lying. She is less of a character and more of a stand in for a reader who wants to do the right thing. I could not tell you a single thing that she likes not a favorite flower, a place to visit, or, a favorite color. I genuinely don’t know who this girl is beyond general compassion. Most characters are the same way, the villain, Allistair, is hateable, but he’s mostly hateable because he’s a one sided villain who doesn’t have much thought behind his actions.
Pros:
- The political intrigue is so interesting, the author provides a a problem that seems easy to solve at first, but as soon as you start thinking about it in a political sense all of a sudden, this becomes a web of allies and funding and free healthcare and infrastructure. Once it was explained, I genuinely had no idea how they would solve it.
- The book is ridiculously funny. Cory is extremely witty and has so many different, sarcastic remarks that left me laughing out loud in my bedroom.
- You really do want to root for the characters, past the hundred page mark I was all in, read the book in a day.
The author really cares about this story, it just comes off a little 2 dimensional at times. If you like the tropes you’ll love it and I enjoyed it myself.
Cons:
- The worldbuilding is a little sparse, the kingdom is plagued by “The Fever”TM and the only cure is a moonflower. Very surface level stuff.
- It’s very 2020 with all the tropes but again, some people like that.
- The mysterious plot is so painfully obvious,
- The characters are incredibly surface level like Tessa who is 100% the main character but also her entire personality is: kind, impulsive, headstrong, bad at lying. She is less of a character and more of a stand in for a reader who wants to do the right thing. I could not tell you a single thing that she likes not a favorite flower, a place to visit, or, a favorite color. I genuinely don’t know who this girl is beyond general compassion. Most characters are the same way, the villain, Allistair, is hateable, but he’s mostly hateable because he’s a one sided villain who doesn’t have much thought behind his actions.
Pros:
- The political intrigue is so interesting, the author provides a a problem that seems easy to solve at first, but as soon as you start thinking about it in a political sense all of a sudden, this becomes a web of allies and funding and free healthcare and infrastructure. Once it was explained, I genuinely had no idea how they would solve it.
- The book is ridiculously funny. Cory is extremely witty and has so many different, sarcastic remarks that left me laughing out loud in my bedroom.
- You really do want to root for the characters, past the hundred page mark I was all in, read the book in a day.
The author really cares about this story, it just comes off a little 2 dimensional at times. If you like the tropes you’ll love it and I enjoyed it myself.
rhealintern's review against another edition
adventurous
fast-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? A mix
- Strong character development? Yes
- Loveable characters? Yes
- Diverse cast of characters? Yes
- Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes
4.0