Reviews

This book is such a fucking slog. I've been "reading" it since the end of last year. I took it up to the mountains with me as a last ditch effort to finish it. It didn't work. It's just so uninteresting, which sucks. The last two books were pretty good. I'm just not a fan of weird gross age gap relationships, which this book focuses on! The whole soulmates thing is annoying on its own but when one of the people dies and then is "back" as a new person and the relationship continues I start wanting to make a pulp with the pages so something better can be written on them. This book singlehandedly turned me off reading any more Mercedes Lackey, it's just that bad.

jvilches's review against another edition

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adventurous dark emotional medium-paced

3.75

chirson's review against another edition

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2.0

Things turn much darker in the conclusion (including sexual violence that really didn't contribute much of anything to the story). It's really weirdly paced - a combination of fan service, angst and a final confrontation that happens off page. In fact, a lot of this book could be used to illustrate a lesson on how not to write one's fantasy epic. And yet - there is some charm to this book and to this series, regardless of harmful tropes (less obvious at the time of writing than now), regardless of exaggerations, regardless of some saccharine moments. It's a book for an angsty teen more than for anyone else, and there's better books like that now, certainly, but I don't think there were always many like it, in the mainstream areas of fantasy at least.

(I did like the introduction of new intelligent beings and everything connected to the cursed/blessed border of Valdemar, and bits of dynastic politicking.)

mint_the_muffin's review against another edition

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adventurous dark sad medium-paced

Plot- or character-driven? A mix
Strong character development? It's complicated
Loveable characters? It's complicated
Diverse cast of characters? No
Flaws of characters a main focus? It's complicated

2.0

trash_reader_'s review against another edition

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adventurous emotional

Plot- or character-driven? Plot
Strong character development? Yes
Loveable characters? Yes

5.0

This book was beautifully written. I wasn't expecting a happy ending, and I guess it wasn't really "happy," was it? More like bittersweet. I might come back later and rewrite this review once I process my emotions, because I'm feeling so many of them right now, but I will be thinking of this series for a long time. Easily one of my favorites.

tometower's review against another edition

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emotional sad medium-paced

Plot- or character-driven? Character
Diverse cast of characters? Yes

4.5

Content Warnings

novella42's review against another edition

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adventurous challenging dark emotional sad medium-paced

Plot- or character-driven? A mix
Strong character development? Yes
Loveable characters? Yes
Diverse cast of characters? It's complicated
Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes

3.75

Content Warnings

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