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xgracyx's review against another edition
emotional
hopeful
inspiring
mysterious
reflective
slow-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? Character
- Strong character development? Yes
- Loveable characters? Yes
- Diverse cast of characters? No
- Flaws of characters a main focus? No
4.25
lani_reads's review against another edition
5.0
5 freaking stars!?
No spoilers
~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~
I've read over 120 books so far this year, but this is only my 3rd 5 star rating, and for good reason. This book was a fully encapsulating experience that I want to relive and I just finished the book.
Let me start by playing devil's advocate, though. I know exactly why some people did not like this book and I can understand it. This book is not an easy read or a fast romance to sate your desires. This book requires commitment and your full attention because Vela Roth has created an entire world with diverse cultures, politics, and religious systems in place. Just as you could not jump straight into a vacation to North Korea, you cannot expect to easily understand her characters or the reasons they do what they do. In addition to her extremely well planned universe, Vela Roth writes like someone who has studied literature all her life. She writes like a poet, in that her dialect is descriptive and beautiful, but also sometimes hard to understand without a thorough investigation of the context.
However, anyone with a true passion for good books or romantasy in general will find very few faults with this book. If you're on the search for an escape into a new world that has been built as thoroughly as the one we live in, with characters that are real, raw, and inspiring, then this is definitely the book for you.
Vela Roth's characters are fully developed with layers to their personalities and motivations. Every single action made by any of her character's is something she has fully thought through based on their backgrounds, nature, beliefs, and opinions. Her descriptions of how they interact with each other and with the world around them is so detailed that I honestly struggled to bring myself back to reality.
My only hope is that the rest of this series lives up to this first book, because I can see this being an all-time favorite.
No spoilers
~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~
I've read over 120 books so far this year, but this is only my 3rd 5 star rating, and for good reason. This book was a fully encapsulating experience that I want to relive and I just finished the book.
Let me start by playing devil's advocate, though. I know exactly why some people did not like this book and I can understand it. This book is not an easy read or a fast romance to sate your desires. This book requires commitment and your full attention because Vela Roth has created an entire world with diverse cultures, politics, and religious systems in place. Just as you could not jump straight into a vacation to North Korea, you cannot expect to easily understand her characters or the reasons they do what they do. In addition to her extremely well planned universe, Vela Roth writes like someone who has studied literature all her life. She writes like a poet, in that her dialect is descriptive and beautiful, but also sometimes hard to understand without a thorough investigation of the context.
However, anyone with a true passion for good books or romantasy in general will find very few faults with this book. If you're on the search for an escape into a new world that has been built as thoroughly as the one we live in, with characters that are real, raw, and inspiring, then this is definitely the book for you.
Vela Roth's characters are fully developed with layers to their personalities and motivations. Every single action made by any of her character's is something she has fully thought through based on their backgrounds, nature, beliefs, and opinions. Her descriptions of how they interact with each other and with the world around them is so detailed that I honestly struggled to bring myself back to reality.
My only hope is that the rest of this series lives up to this first book, because I can see this being an all-time favorite.
julieshuff's review against another edition
adventurous
dark
emotional
hopeful
mysterious
relaxing
medium-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? It's complicated
4.5
Excellent world building and writing- super invested and the glossary is helpful. I find the spice scenes kinda cringe with the Divine Language replacement but the yearning is top tier.
rhyspuffs's review against another edition
adventurous
mysterious
slow-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? Yes
3.5
prested's review against another edition
This book needs to be heavily edited. I knew this book was a longer book (it's like 24 hour long audiobook) but I thought surely all of the pages had purpose.
It didn't.
Each chapter constantly repeated itself and a lot of the scenes add nothing to the story. I'm literally 12 hours in and nothing has happened?
The plot hasn't progressed, the romance hasn't progressed not even character growth! The only thing that kept getting repeated by the two leads is that there's more to the other then meets the eye.
I think the reason why this book is so ridiculously long is because it's on Kindle Unlimited and authors get paid per page on there.
This book is literally a waste of time and I checked the synopsizes of the next books of the the series and the same plot gets carried over and I just don't want to waste my time.
It didn't.
Each chapter constantly repeated itself and a lot of the scenes add nothing to the story. I'm literally 12 hours in and nothing has happened?
The plot hasn't progressed, the romance hasn't progressed not even character growth! The only thing that kept getting repeated by the two leads is that there's more to the other then meets the eye.
I think the reason why this book is so ridiculously long is because it's on Kindle Unlimited and authors get paid per page on there.
This book is literally a waste of time and I checked the synopsizes of the next books of the the series and the same plot gets carried over and I just don't want to waste my time.
thisbysvalentine's review against another edition
4.0
It started so strong, and it was actually the romance that dragged for me. I was very interested in Cassia and her careful movements and calculations within the court, so the other moments felt like an interruption to the true action. Interesting overall, definitely a Kindle Unlimited gem!!!
camillekeepsreading's review against another edition
adventurous
dark
mysterious
tense
slow-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? Character
- Strong character development? Yes
- Loveable characters? Yes
- Diverse cast of characters? No
- Flaws of characters a main focus? No
3.0
andreatraconis's review against another edition
5.0
You don’t know how much I loved this book, it’s one of those gems you find and can’t let go