ellietjane's review against another edition
adventurous
tense
fast-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? Plot
- Strong character development? No
- Loveable characters? No
- Diverse cast of characters? Yes
- Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes
3.0
Do I want to know what happens? Yes. Am I going to read 4 more books to find out?? No.
theblueribbon's review against another edition
3.5
oh! okay! well that was nice i guess. at first i was like “huh why did cari can read like this?” but then it’s pretty cool naman i guess. the crown prince is kinda so mean at the start though. like why was he just so mean? i like him na now though he’s okay na. but then vhalla is kinda annoying too. like “weak, frail girl” annoying 😭 overall kinda boring at first but then got cooler naman. miss girly just makes questionable choices AND it’s halata this book was made in…2015? so it’s understandable
Spoiler
sareem kinda sucked ngl i liked him at first but then he just gave me the ick. he didn’t deserve to die though…. roan’s okay, she was just mean to vhalla in the end. i love larel and fritz!! and master mohned (?)!!violentends's review against another edition
3.0
I have once again made the mistake of moving immediately to the next book before actually sitting down to write this review. Here we go:
The World
A pretty basic “Avatar the Last Airbender” magic system with a bit of teacher-student relationship with underlying themes of enemies to lovers.
The Characters
Vhalla: I might just be so used to reading the “burn them all to the ground” heroines, which I absolutely adore, but Vhalla is refreshingly naive. She maintains the perfect balance between naive and intelligent, her curiosity childlike and respectful but still with enough fire to stand her ground. I'm expecting this to be her villain origin story.
Aldrik: Publicly quite the exact opposite of lovely Vhalla, which made their interactions so fun to read. Privately, he still has an incredibly short temper, but he’s a bit softer and unsure of himself. Kova often uses the word “awkward” to describe his actions while he’s around Vhalla, which only makes him even more appealing as it is such a contrast from the stoic and emotionless mask that he portrays when Vhalla sees him in public. I don’t trust him AT ALL, I still feel like he’s playing some sort of game with her.
There are a few other side characters including Larel and Fitz, friends of Vhalla, as well as royalty including Prince Baldair that I would like to read more about. As of right now, however, the book has mainly focused on Vhalla and Aldrik.
Final Thoughts
I’m going to keep reading, I’m interested in how Vhalla will be expected to act during wartime and I am even more interested in what Aldrik’s plans with her are.
The World
A pretty basic “Avatar the Last Airbender” magic system with a bit of teacher-student relationship with underlying themes of enemies to lovers.
The Characters
Vhalla: I might just be so used to reading the “burn them all to the ground” heroines, which I absolutely adore, but Vhalla is refreshingly naive. She maintains the perfect balance between naive and intelligent, her curiosity childlike and respectful but still with enough fire to stand her ground. I'm expecting this to be her villain origin story.
Aldrik: Publicly quite the exact opposite of lovely Vhalla, which made their interactions so fun to read. Privately, he still has an incredibly short temper, but he’s a bit softer and unsure of himself. Kova often uses the word “awkward” to describe his actions while he’s around Vhalla, which only makes him even more appealing as it is such a contrast from the stoic and emotionless mask that he portrays when Vhalla sees him in public. I don’t trust him AT ALL, I still feel like he’s playing some sort of game with her.
There are a few other side characters including Larel and Fitz, friends of Vhalla, as well as royalty including Prince Baldair that I would like to read more about. As of right now, however, the book has mainly focused on Vhalla and Aldrik.
Final Thoughts
I’m going to keep reading, I’m interested in how Vhalla will be expected to act during wartime and I am even more interested in what Aldrik’s plans with her are.
my_cherona's review against another edition
2.0
I had heard good things about this book and the cover is pretty cool, so I decided to give it a try. People spoke about the romance, the elemental magic, and the war.
Okay, so there was an attempt at romance. But I'm so tired of the young MC falling for a complete abusive arsehole. Early in the book, the prince bloody pushes Vhalla of a roof because he's sure this will awaken her powers. Throughout the book, he's described as being witty and having a silver tongue. But in reality, he's abrasive, mean, and rude.
There is an insta-love trope, but the author does try to explain it with a magical bond. But there's no tension between them. The author had a good opportunity to add a smidgen of complexity by having Vhalla show some resistance to the bond. But no, Vhalla dives head first. In Chapter 4 already, she's saying the prince is so smart (Is he really though..?), witty (What wit? Where? Was it in another book?), and she describes what they have as special (What do they have? Like really, what?)
The MC is no better. Vhalla is a young library apprentice with zero personality besides;
1. 'I love books so much it almost eclipses everything else'
2. 'I like like the prince and I think he likes likes me back'
3. 'I'm the chosen one but I really don't want to be'
4. 'I'm totally not like other girls'
5. 'I'm not as pretty as the other girls'
She's also extremely childish. Now, I understand she's young (17/18 y/o). But what kind of 18 y/o sticks out their tongue in an attempt to be cheeky or playful or whatever the hell the author was going for? She's also incredibly indecisive. She struggles to make the most basic choices. I think this was meant to be a way to add tension and characterisation. But it doesn't. It just makes the MC infuriating to read.
In Chapter 14, Vhalla makes this stunning observation; "For a brief moment amidst the cheers Vhalla wondered, if the Mother Sun was truly a loving Goddess, the why did she send her people to kill and die?" So far she hasn't really been shown to be particularly religious, besides the one or two times she said "oh my Goddess" or something silly like that. Where in bloody hell did this milk toast observation come form...? It's not the only milk toast observation she makes. At one point she says that flower die the moment they are cut. I mean...no shit Vhalla.
She's such a simple-minded character.
The elemental magic is mostly referenced and not shown as often as it should be. Yes, it's a rip-off of the Last Airbender but it could have been done in a really cool, interesting way. The magic doesn't feel part of the world. It's just tacked on. There's a war going on somewhere distant in the country. The book should've been set on the war front, or at least had POV chapters there. Then we could've seen just how important the magic is to the world.
Now for the writing. The writing wasn't completely unreadable. But there was a lot of telling and really pointless adverbs. I thought the book was written in third person limited, from Vhalla's POV. But there were two scenes where we randomly got the Prince's POV. It was a little unsettling and took me out of the story.
The language choice is just bizarre for a fantasy novel. Characters say modern words like 'anyways.'
At one point a character uses 'bangs' when talking about hair. A nearly 100 y/o character says, "I figured as much." What...? Why is a nearly 100 y/o man talking like a teenage girl?
In Chapter 7, there's this statement "Vhalla didn't know how social she felt." How social she felt? Why do people in this history fantasy world use this kind of language? What kind of world is this? It's like the were copy-pasted from the modern world and put into a historic fantasy one. But the author uses words like 'looking glass.' If you're going to use modern words, you might as well go all out and not have a foot in both lanes.
And I swear to god the author thinks that the only way someone can show surprise is by 'dropping their jaw.' Characters jaws drop way too many times. It just becomes silly and childish.
Near the end of the book, there's a trial. Now, this is meant to be serious but it's very hard to take it seriously when two of the guards are named Craig and Daniel. Does she live under a rock and not know who Daniel Craig is? Why? Why would the author do this? It's just so stupid.
Overall, the book sucked but it was still readable. I understand it's meant to a YA book, but we should still expect better for YAs.
Okay, so there was an attempt at romance. But I'm so tired of the young MC falling for a complete abusive arsehole. Early in the book, the prince bloody pushes Vhalla of a roof because he's sure this will awaken her powers. Throughout the book, he's described as being witty and having a silver tongue. But in reality, he's abrasive, mean, and rude.
There is an insta-love trope, but the author does try to explain it with a magical bond. But there's no tension between them. The author had a good opportunity to add a smidgen of complexity by having Vhalla show some resistance to the bond. But no, Vhalla dives head first. In Chapter 4 already, she's saying the prince is so smart (Is he really though..?), witty (What wit? Where? Was it in another book?), and she describes what they have as special (What do they have? Like really, what?)
The MC is no better. Vhalla is a young library apprentice with zero personality besides;
1. 'I love books so much it almost eclipses everything else'
2. 'I like like the prince and I think he likes likes me back'
3. 'I'm the chosen one but I really don't want to be'
4. 'I'm totally not like other girls'
5. 'I'm not as pretty as the other girls'
She's also extremely childish. Now, I understand she's young (17/18 y/o). But what kind of 18 y/o sticks out their tongue in an attempt to be cheeky or playful or whatever the hell the author was going for? She's also incredibly indecisive. She struggles to make the most basic choices. I think this was meant to be a way to add tension and characterisation. But it doesn't. It just makes the MC infuriating to read.
In Chapter 14, Vhalla makes this stunning observation; "For a brief moment amidst the cheers Vhalla wondered, if the Mother Sun was truly a loving Goddess, the why did she send her people to kill and die?" So far she hasn't really been shown to be particularly religious, besides the one or two times she said "oh my Goddess" or something silly like that. Where in bloody hell did this milk toast observation come form...? It's not the only milk toast observation she makes. At one point she says that flower die the moment they are cut. I mean...no shit Vhalla.
She's such a simple-minded character.
The elemental magic is mostly referenced and not shown as often as it should be. Yes, it's a rip-off of the Last Airbender but it could have been done in a really cool, interesting way. The magic doesn't feel part of the world. It's just tacked on. There's a war going on somewhere distant in the country. The book should've been set on the war front, or at least had POV chapters there. Then we could've seen just how important the magic is to the world.
Now for the writing. The writing wasn't completely unreadable. But there was a lot of telling and really pointless adverbs. I thought the book was written in third person limited, from Vhalla's POV. But there were two scenes where we randomly got the Prince's POV. It was a little unsettling and took me out of the story.
The language choice is just bizarre for a fantasy novel. Characters say modern words like 'anyways.'
At one point a character uses 'bangs' when talking about hair. A nearly 100 y/o character says, "I figured as much." What...? Why is a nearly 100 y/o man talking like a teenage girl?
In Chapter 7, there's this statement "Vhalla didn't know how social she felt." How social she felt? Why do people in this history fantasy world use this kind of language? What kind of world is this? It's like the were copy-pasted from the modern world and put into a historic fantasy one. But the author uses words like 'looking glass.' If you're going to use modern words, you might as well go all out and not have a foot in both lanes.
And I swear to god the author thinks that the only way someone can show surprise is by 'dropping their jaw.' Characters jaws drop way too many times. It just becomes silly and childish.
Near the end of the book, there's a trial. Now, this is meant to be serious but it's very hard to take it seriously when two of the guards are named Craig and Daniel. Does she live under a rock and not know who Daniel Craig is? Why? Why would the author do this? It's just so stupid.
Overall, the book sucked but it was still readable. I understand it's meant to a YA book, but we should still expect better for YAs.
jusera's review against another edition
adventurous
challenging
dark
emotional
mysterious
sad
tense
medium-paced
4.25
heathernicole20's review against another edition
adventurous
dark
emotional
mysterious
medium-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? A mix
- Strong character development? Yes
- Loveable characters? Yes
- Diverse cast of characters? N/A
- Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes
4.5
inbookishworld's review against another edition
2.0
Okropnie irytująca bohaterka, przez pół książki nic się nie dzieje, dopiero końcówka przyspiesza z akcją. Ale dam szansę drugiemu tomowi.
blok_sera_szwajcarskiego's review against another edition
4.0
4 bądź 4,5⭐, ponieważ nie mogę się zdecydować
Tak naprawdę przez długi czas chciałam nawet wystawić jej pięć gwiazdek, jako że spełnia wszystkie moje 'wymogi' jeśli chodzi o bycie moją ulubioną historią.
Interesujący świat, zarówno magiczny jak i przedstawiony, ciekawych bohaterów, którzy posiadają swego rodzaju głębię i złożony charakter, emocjonujące wydarzenia i zwroty akcji. Wątek romantyczny, który nie zajmuje połowy fabuły, którego podstawą nie jest przesłodzone 'kochałem Cię od pierwszego wejrzenia'!!!
Świetny styl pisania, konsekwentnie zachowany sposób wypowiedzi postaci o konkretnym statusie i przyjemne opisy.
Jednocześnie jest to naprawdę świetny pierwszy tom, ponieważ stopniowo wprowadza nas w szerszy obraz, który będzie przedstawiony w serii; jednocześnie nie jest nachalny, nie wrzuca wszystkich potrzebnych informacji na raz, dzięki czemu nie ma się wrażenia przygniecenia - dodatkowo ten wolny, stopniowy sposób prowadzenia akcji sprawia, że kolejne części mogą skupić się czysto na akcji, bez obawy że nie dorównają swemu pierwowzorowi (a przynajmniej taką mam nadzieję).
Mimo to nie wystawiłam maksymalnej oceny, ponieważ mój zachwyt nie polegał na odkryciu czegoś nowego, a bardziej na cholernie przyjemniej lekturze i wciągającej serii. Choć zdecydowanie będę obstawać przy tym, by sięgnąć po 'Air awakens', ponieważ jest to kawał świetnej książki.
Tak naprawdę przez długi czas chciałam nawet wystawić jej pięć gwiazdek, jako że spełnia wszystkie moje 'wymogi' jeśli chodzi o bycie moją ulubioną historią.
Interesujący świat, zarówno magiczny jak i przedstawiony, ciekawych bohaterów, którzy posiadają swego rodzaju głębię i złożony charakter, emocjonujące wydarzenia i zwroty akcji. Wątek romantyczny, który nie zajmuje połowy fabuły, którego podstawą nie jest przesłodzone 'kochałem Cię od pierwszego wejrzenia'!!!
Świetny styl pisania, konsekwentnie zachowany sposób wypowiedzi postaci o konkretnym statusie i przyjemne opisy.
Jednocześnie jest to naprawdę świetny pierwszy tom, ponieważ stopniowo wprowadza nas w szerszy obraz, który będzie przedstawiony w serii; jednocześnie nie jest nachalny, nie wrzuca wszystkich potrzebnych informacji na raz, dzięki czemu nie ma się wrażenia przygniecenia - dodatkowo ten wolny, stopniowy sposób prowadzenia akcji sprawia, że kolejne części mogą skupić się czysto na akcji, bez obawy że nie dorównają swemu pierwowzorowi (a przynajmniej taką mam nadzieję).
Mimo to nie wystawiłam maksymalnej oceny, ponieważ mój zachwyt nie polegał na odkryciu czegoś nowego, a bardziej na cholernie przyjemniej lekturze i wciągającej serii. Choć zdecydowanie będę obstawać przy tym, by sięgnąć po 'Air awakens', ponieważ jest to kawał świetnej książki.
111enkh111's review against another edition
adventurous
challenging
mysterious
sad
tense
slow-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
3.0