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bkwrm1317's review against another edition
adventurous
dark
emotional
inspiring
mysterious
tense
medium-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? A mix
- Strong character development? It's complicated
- Loveable characters? Yes
- Diverse cast of characters? Yes
- Flaws of characters a main focus? It's complicated
4.5
A story of friendship, hope, courage, and adventure, Crimson Reign wraps up the Blood Heir trilogy súper solidly and cleanly.
We catch up with our main cast of characters over time at the beginning of the novel, and eventually get updated and adventures for the whole gang, converging on finding a particular artifact that can reverse the tide of Ana’s conflict with her aunt Morganya, who hopes to wield great power for herself only.
Character dev is stronger for some characters than others in this final book of the trilogy, and some of their flaws are examined (stubbornness, the desire to not let the people we love possibly be hurt, and much more).
I love that Ana realized the people are who should make decisions about their lives and futures.
Elements of romance, but no smut, and not a main focus of the novel. Some violence and gore (it is war, after all). Magic system doesn’t feel entirely unique but there are elements that are different/unique to the world built by Wen Zhao.
We catch up with our main cast of characters over time at the beginning of the novel, and eventually get updated and adventures for the whole gang, converging on finding a particular artifact that can reverse the tide of Ana’s conflict with her aunt Morganya, who hopes to wield great power for herself only.
Character dev is stronger for some characters than others in this final book of the trilogy, and some of their flaws are examined (stubbornness, the desire to not let the people we love possibly be hurt, and much more).
I love that Ana realized the people are who should make decisions about their lives and futures.
Elements of romance, but no smut, and not a main focus of the novel. Some violence and gore (it is war, after all). Magic system doesn’t feel entirely unique but there are elements that are different/unique to the world built by Wen Zhao.
Content Warnings
Moderate: Violence and War
Minor: Xenophobia
caidyn's review against another edition
adventurous
emotional
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
4.0
A solid ending to the series. To be honest, I was expecting a different ending but I did like this one. I finally felt that the history this is inspired by came through in this book, so that was a lot of fun!
Content Warnings
Graphic: Death, Violence, and War
afi_whatafireads's review against another edition
adventurous
dark
emotional
hopeful
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
"To create a future, one first had to destroy the past."
The end of the monarchy and the end of a series!
It always saddens me when I finished a series, as we have fought along with the characters, experiencing their character growth and their fight finally coming to an end.
I would say Crimson Reign was great in a sense that it concluded and wrapped up everything swiftly. From the issues, to the political play and also the romance. Unfortunately, for me, there were a few things that just made me a tad disappointed in how the book turned out, as it is the last book to the series. Its not bad but its not entirely good, so I would say that the final book to this series was just an OKAY read for me.
Personal Ratings : 3.65🌟
The end of the series means the end of our MC journey. As per the first and second book, told in multiple POV's, we follow Ana, Ramson and Linn into their last adventure into taking over the crown. A story of relationships of nature and magic, the fight for power and the fight for equality.
Personal Thoughts
Don't get me wrong, I actually enjoyed 75% portion of the book. It was thick, in a way that I like. It tied every loose ends properly and it was concluded well. With Zhao, I loved how she writes the Politics in her books. I liked that the dedication and the motivation of the characters are not because of love but because of the greater good. The author was very consistent in this part of her writing, in which the power play, the fight for equality and the topic of injustice and slavery is one that came to light, in which made the story so intriguing. The Plot for me was done well and the flow of the story , in which the transitions from each character's POV was quite well done as well. Unfortunately, despite loving the characters, especially Ana and Ramson in the first book and loving their chemistry, their romance, just, felt..... off.
Character wise , I would say Linn had the biggest character progression and her love interest was the best one to read (despite it being very minuscule and the side love story), then Ramson's and Ana's. I kinda felt that Ramson was somehow... out of character? I don't know if it was the pacing of the author wanted to somehow made the connection happened, but when it did...... I didn't feel as happy as I thought it would. In fact, it felt, just very.... cringey and awkward in a sense. I kind of understand why Ramson is acting the way he is , in a sense that he had never fell in love and the only love that he knew was of loving Ana, but Ana's reaction; felt , very, childish to me. It threw me off towards the second half of the book.
Another thing that I felt was a bit of a missed opportunity was in how the author killed of her characters. I personally don't mind characters being killed off, as it adds depth and emotions to the plot of the story, but it just felt rushed and unrefined. It made me mad that the scenes were somehow cut off just like that WITH EVERY PERSON THAT DIED. It was okay with some characters, but there was one very important character, and his death, felt, unfair and just swept off really fast. Its understandable but maybe it was how it was written that made it portrayed as such.
But, even with all of that, I had still enjoyed the book and the series overall. It does have it flaws and it may not be the best fantasy series out there, I would say, its not a bad one either. I think I enjoyed the second book the most out of the three books in the series, but would also recommend this book for beginners. The magic system is unique and it will be a good start if you're looking into reading a fantasy book.
Thank you to Times Reads for generously providing me this gorgeous copy of the book.
Disclaimers: All my reviews are my thoughts of the book and according to my personal preferences. Even though I had received a review copy, it does not affect my review and honest thoughts for the book.
Content Warnings
Graphic: Death, Genocide, and War