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shinyfox's review against another edition
adventurous
dark
emotional
mysterious
tense
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? Yes
3.5
I'm just going to spoiler tag the following because it's questions and musings and I don't want to spoil accidentally...
Why is it that riders are the ones that are considered needing to be culled out? Why is it that they are weak when they are JUST learning how to ride a dragon and they fall to their deaths. Like bro, they've never been on an -actual- dragon before. Why is it that the riders are weak and not the dragons for letting their riders die? The dragons can't protect their riders appropriately and the riders are considered weak while still in the learning stages?
Curious as to how they are going to explain Andarna's change in physicality since humans don't seem to know that feather tails are babies and they think that they are a totally different breed.
Why can't unbonded dragons fight alone or in unbonded riots?
How and when did Violet become the best knife thrower? When did she practice this while training to become a scribe and while she only had 6 months to prep for being a rider?
If marked ones aren't allowed to meet or gather in groups of 3+ how did Xaden manage to get a full squad of marked ones together for War Games?? That alone should have been a tip off/red flag that something was going wrong, that higher ups allowed that.
Plot twists were easy to spot, easy to tell which characters had 'plot armor'. Narrators were fantastic for the audiobook, though I'm confused WHY we needed two of them when the POV switch is literally in the last couple of chapters and doesn't last long...
Curious as to how they are going to explain Andarna's change in physicality since humans don't seem to know that feather tails are babies and they think that they are a totally different breed.
Why can't unbonded dragons fight alone or in unbonded riots?
How and when did Violet become the best knife thrower? When did she practice this while training to become a scribe and while she only had 6 months to prep for being a rider?
If marked ones aren't allowed to meet or gather in groups of 3+ how did Xaden manage to get a full squad of marked ones together for War Games?? That alone should have been a tip off/red flag that something was going wrong, that higher ups allowed that.
Plot twists were easy to spot, easy to tell which characters had 'plot armor'. Narrators were fantastic for the audiobook, though I'm confused WHY we needed two of them when the POV switch is literally in the last couple of chapters and doesn't last long...
Content Warnings
Graphic: Animal death, Bullying, Chronic illness, Cursing, Death, Sexual content, Violence, Blood, Medical content, Grief, Death of parent, Murder, Fire/Fire injury, Gaslighting, Toxic friendship, War, Injury/Injury detail, and Classism
Moderate: Panic attacks/disorders, Vomit, and Death of parent
Minor: Drug use
miss_cr's review against another edition
adventurous
emotional
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
5.0
10000/10 absolutely amazing. I was hooked from the very beginning. So many jaw-droppint moments. HIGHLY recommend listening to the audiobook with the full cast- like a movie but without the picture. Definitely worth the wait!
I'll be buying these books for my personal collection. Just... stunning.
I'll be buying these books for my personal collection. Just... stunning.
Content Warnings
Graphic: Bullying, Chronic illness, Sexual content, Injury/Injury detail, and Classism
Moderate: Ableism, Death, Violence, Blood, Stalking, Death of parent, Murder, and War
Minor: Animal cruelty, Animal death, and Drug use
daringreader13's review against another edition
adventurous
challenging
dark
emotional
funny
mysterious
tense
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? Yes
4.25
4.25 out of 5 stars
Really ended up loving this but DO NOT RECOMMEND the audiobook as it almost made me give up on the book completely. However, couldn’t give it 5 because Liam hurts my soul 😭
Really ended up loving this but DO NOT RECOMMEND the audiobook as it almost made me give up on the book completely. However, couldn’t give it 5 because Liam hurts my soul 😭
Content Warnings
Graphic: Animal death, Body horror, Bullying, Cursing, Death, Genocide, Gore, Sexual content, Torture, Violence, Medical content, Grief, Murder, Fire/Fire injury, Toxic friendship, War, Injury/Injury detail, and Classism
kayabaj's review against another edition
dark
emotional
funny
sad
tense
medium-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? Character
- Strong character development? Yes
- Loveable characters? Yes
- Diverse cast of characters? Yes
- Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes
4.5
Content Warnings
Graphic: Animal death, Death, Emotional abuse, Physical abuse, Sexual content, Violence, Blood, Grief, Murder, Fire/Fire injury, Toxic friendship, War, and Injury/Injury detail
Moderate: Child abuse, Chronic illness, Death of parent, and Injury/Injury detail
cryssie13's review against another edition
adventurous
emotional
funny
medium-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? Plot
- Strong character development? It's complicated
- Loveable characters? It's complicated
- Diverse cast of characters? Yes
- Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes
5.0
Content Warnings
Graphic: Animal death, Cursing, Death, Emotional abuse, Gore, and Murder
carleent's review against another edition
adventurous
challenging
emotional
mysterious
medium-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? Character
- Strong character development? Yes
- Loveable characters? It's complicated
- Diverse cast of characters? Yes
- Flaws of characters a main focus? It's complicated
5.0
Content Warnings
Graphic: Animal death, Child abuse, Chronic illness, Death, Violence, Xenophobia, Vomit, Death of parent, and War
thrabenvaliant's review against another edition
emotional
inspiring
tense
fast-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? A mix
- Strong character development? Yes
- Loveable characters? It's complicated
- Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes
4.0
I liked it, the plot was memorable, the characters were believable, the dragons are incredible.
The multiple twists were amazing, and I loved the way the characters stayed the same, but the view of them shifted.
Content Warnings
Moderate: Death, Violence, and Injury/Injury detail
Minor: Animal death, Xenophobia, Vomit, and War
spl2d's review against another edition
adventurous
emotional
hopeful
fast-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? Plot
- Strong character development? Yes
- Loveable characters? Yes
- Diverse cast of characters? Yes
- Flaws of characters a main focus? No
4.75
Content Warnings
Moderate: Animal death, Bullying, Sexual content, Violence, Blood, and War
Minor: Torture and Death of parent
dododenise's review against another edition
adventurous
fast-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? Plot
- Strong character development? Yes
- Loveable characters? It's complicated
- Diverse cast of characters? No
- Flaws of characters a main focus? It's complicated
3.5
For a book that I went into that I fully expecting to dnf I really enjoyed myself. You know, this is just a very fun story. The setting makes for a great story to tell and it definitely took advantage of that. I also really enjoy YA fantasy, more so than adult fantasy, and for the most part this book feels like YA. The story it’s telling and the writing style could easily be YA, if it were not for the very horny 20 year olds. Loved the dragons. Dragons are great and these dragons specifically are my favourite characters in the entire book.
I rushed through the first half and had a really good time. Then the second half started.
In the second half the story starts to feel too long. It becomes a bit repetitive. This story should’ve been told in 300-400 pages otherwise it looses its charm. And that gave me the opportunity to think. And thinking when reading this book is dangerous business.
The world building is lacklustre. We barely know anything about it and the things we know are so basic and really not that exciting. I definitely wouldn’t call it intricate. The book should’ve kept to its magical school vibe but no, it tried to do bigger things. And I’m not sure I like it or think it works well. It’s just not giving me enough to think “oooh interesting world building here”. And that ruined a lot for me. If it had kept to a simpler story than it would’ve been easier to stay in the moment and just enjoy it. Now I’m thinking about how it’s all not that deep.
Now something very much from my personal taste: this book is very straight. And I am not and I don’t really enjoy straight books. An added factor for me not really enjoying the second half as much was that Violet and Xaden’s relationship became a bigger focus. And well, I did not care for them at all. Their relationship didn’t work for me. And quite frankly, their horniness for each other was very exhausting. I like Violet and Xaden as a characters but their relationship I did not.
The other characters were lacking a bit. I already forgot about most of them. There’s Dain of course, an annoying walking red flag. Liam was a very cool character. I can’t tell you about anyone else to be honest so that’s a shame. I did not feel like getting to know them anyway because people kept dying so I knew if it wasn’t the main couple, well, they’re probably going to die.
Did have fun? Surprisingly yes. Would I say this book is good? I don’t know.
Content Warnings
Graphic: Animal death, Cursing, Death, Sexual content, and Violence
Moderate: Death of parent, Toxic friendship, War, and Injury/Injury detail
thatswhatshanread's review against another edition
adventurous
challenging
emotional
inspiring
mysterious
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? It's complicated
4.5
I took off half of a star just because some of the world building and descriptions were a little too confusing to me and could have been done better in keeping me engaged within this fantasy world; the imagery wasn’t quite there for me. And I’ll admit the writing in general was not my favorite, though the characters and plot made up for it for the most part.
But alas!!! This was a fun one!!
You’ve got dragons, you’ve got a war college, you’ve got enemies to lovers, you’ve got mysterious happenings outside of the border that are kept hush hush, you’ve got redacted history and rebellion, you’ve got strong friendships and literal soulmates… I loved it. Our female protagonist Violet is not unlike any other leading character in these kinds of books—she’s weak and fragile, not cut out for the life she’s forced to take on, a disappointment to her mother, the least impressive of her siblings. UNTIL! She proves everyone wrong, even herself, as she is meant to do for the story to exist of course. Which isn’t a bad plot, even if it’s been done many times before, because it clearly works. Violet goes from meek little sister who prefers books over battle, to the incredible dragon rider who packs a striking punch. And Xaden—pretends he loathes her and wants to kill her, broody and closed-off, strong and intimidating to everyone else, but in reality a very kind, caring person who would do anything for Violet. Their chemistry was sizzling, and I loved learning more about their fated connection. The YOU DIE, I DIE trope to a T.
Dain—basically Gale from The Hunger Games but even worse—however, can suck a dozen eggs.
Overall, an intriguing and heart-pounding introduction to the Empyrean series! Great mix of fantasy and romance! You’ll want your own dragon and wingleader boyfriend asap.
But alas!!! This was a fun one!!
You’ve got dragons, you’ve got a war college, you’ve got enemies to lovers, you’ve got mysterious happenings outside of the border that are kept hush hush, you’ve got redacted history and rebellion, you’ve got strong friendships and literal soulmates… I loved it. Our female protagonist Violet is not unlike any other leading character in these kinds of books—she’s weak and fragile, not cut out for the life she’s forced to take on, a disappointment to her mother, the least impressive of her siblings. UNTIL! She proves everyone wrong, even herself, as she is meant to do for the story to exist of course. Which isn’t a bad plot, even if it’s been done many times before, because it clearly works. Violet goes from meek little sister who prefers books over battle, to the incredible dragon rider who packs a striking punch. And Xaden—pretends he loathes her and wants to kill her, broody and closed-off, strong and intimidating to everyone else, but in reality a very kind, caring person who would do anything for Violet. Their chemistry was sizzling, and I loved learning more about their fated connection. The YOU DIE, I DIE trope to a T.
Dain—basically Gale from The Hunger Games but even worse—however, can suck a dozen eggs.
Overall, an intriguing and heart-pounding introduction to the Empyrean series! Great mix of fantasy and romance! You’ll want your own dragon and wingleader boyfriend asap.
Content Warnings
Graphic: Animal cruelty, Animal death, Bullying, Cursing, Death, Sexual content, Violence, Blood, Medical content, Death of parent, Murder, Fire/Fire injury, War, and Injury/Injury detail
Moderate: Emotional abuse, Gore, Panic attacks/disorders, Physical abuse, Suicidal thoughts, Torture, Vomit, Stalking, Gaslighting, Abandonment, and Alcohol
Minor: Chronic illness, Genocide, and Classism