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octobersfallen's review against another edition
adventurous
emotional
inspiring
tense
fast-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
4.0
Content Warnings
Minor: Rape and Sexual assault
melchncookies's review against another edition
adventurous
dark
mysterious
tense
fast-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
5.0
Content Warnings
Graphic: Animal death, Child death, Death, Genocide, Rape, Sexism, Sexual assault, Sexual content, Grief, Colonisation, and Injury/Injury detail
Moderate: Infidelity, Misogyny, Slavery, Murder, Alcohol, and War
kat_rowlen's review
adventurous
dark
emotional
mysterious
sad
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? No
4.25
Very gripping story line the series is just slow paced. The author over describes things, but I like that in a story. I love the world building in this series
Content Warnings
Graphic: Genocide, Hate crime, Misogyny, Sexism, Torture, Vomit, Religious bigotry, Death of parent, Murder, Gaslighting, War, and Classism
Moderate: Sexual assault
maddie_rae_reads's review against another edition
adventurous
challenging
dark
emotional
tense
medium-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? A mix
- Strong character development? Yes
- Loveable characters? Yes
5.0
Um, WHAT?! Knowing how book 2 ends, there was a lot of ground to cover, and there are still plenty of questions needing to be answered in book 4!
Elloren has been dealt blow after life-changing blow as the world quickly shifts around her. What is her power? What does it mean? Who is on her side? Can she win?
I love seeing how Elloren has grown through this series. She’s capable yet questions her abilities. Something I think we can all relate to in some level. She may not be politically minded, but she has a huge heart that yearns for peace and freedom for all.
Elloren has been dealt blow after life-changing blow as the world quickly shifts around her. What is her power? What does it mean? Who is on her side? Can she win?
I love seeing how Elloren has grown through this series. She’s capable yet questions her abilities. Something I think we can all relate to in some level. She may not be politically minded, but she has a huge heart that yearns for peace and freedom for all.
Content Warnings
Moderate: Sexual content
Minor: Cursing, Sexual assault, and Murder
braiths_book_thoughts's review
adventurous
dark
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
"The future belongs to those who can move past their preconceived, rigid lines."
This book took me a little longer than the ones before it. I struggled after the first chapter due to the murder of a group of Dryads which included a baby. Right before their death they were in pain and I really dislike that kind of thing in my books. The death of children automatically loses a star for me. It is one of my biggest turn-offs (the same applies for animal torture!)
Once I was able to move past that, I very much enjoyed reading this!
The stakes were high and the characters were in danger.
Unfortunately, due to the plot line we didn't get to see a lot of the regular group of characters which was sad. I did miss them!
There were a few chapters at the start and end of the book from povs that weren't Elloren, but the main focus of the book was Elloren.
The downside to this book was that it did feel like a filler book. Not a lot realistically happened and we seemed stuck for a lot of it.
Elloren this book was very irritating as well. Constantly moaning about how weak she was and how uncontrolled her magic was. It became repetitive and I was getting very frustrated with her.
This is a romance heavy book and I felt the romance took over the plot, so if that is your thing, this book will be great for you.
I am excited to start the next one as, even though I feel like this was the filler book (think a montage of character development), it ended in a place where you can tell the plot will really pick up again .
This book took me a little longer than the ones before it. I struggled after the first chapter due to the murder of a group of Dryads which included a baby. Right before their death they were in pain and I really dislike that kind of thing in my books. The death of children automatically loses a star for me. It is one of my biggest turn-offs (the same applies for animal torture!)
Once I was able to move past that, I very much enjoyed reading this!
The stakes were high and the characters were in danger.
Unfortunately, due to the plot line we didn't get to see a lot of the regular group of characters which was sad. I did miss them!
There were a few chapters at the start and end of the book from povs that weren't Elloren, but the main focus of the book was Elloren.
The downside to this book was that it did feel like a filler book. Not a lot realistically happened and we seemed stuck for a lot of it.
Elloren this book was very irritating as well. Constantly moaning about how weak she was and how uncontrolled her magic was. It became repetitive and I was getting very frustrated with her.
This is a romance heavy book and I felt the romance took over the plot, so if that is your thing, this book will be great for you.
I am excited to start the next one as, even though I feel like this was the filler book (think a montage of character development), it ended in a place where you can tell the plot will really pick up again .
Content Warnings
Moderate: Child death and Sexual assault
mypatronusisajedi's review
adventurous
dark
emotional
funny
tense
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
Content Warnings
Moderate: Animal death, Bullying, Child abuse, Child death, Cursing, Death, Domestic abuse, Emotional abuse, Hate crime, Misogyny, Physical abuse, Racial slurs, Racism, Self harm, Sexual assault, Sexual content, Sexual violence, Slavery, Torture, Violence, Blood, Grief, Religious bigotry, Suicide attempt, Death of parent, Murder, Sexual harassment, War, and Classism
sshelbyreadss's review
adventurous
mysterious
slow-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? Character
- Strong character development? It's complicated
- Loveable characters? No
- Diverse cast of characters? Yes
- Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes
3.0
Updated review 03/2022
Oh my god if I have to hear a phrase about “lines” one more time I SWEAR.
“Caressing my lines,” sending heat through my lines, my knotted lines. My lines this, my lines that. Ahhhh!
I feel like the idea of “lines” is a cop out to actually describing the feeling of the elemental magic and its flow through the body.
I started reading this again (started at 70%) at the same time I was reading The Iron Widow which has a similar idea of elemental magic. And I felt that TIW did a better job of explaining the flow of magic/power (via meridians), and the connection of partners via/with magic.
Glad I stuck with it because
I KNEW HE WASN’T DEAD!
ps. Here is me again saying how much I hate love triangles.
Previous review 2021
*SPOILER ALERT*
Proceed at your own risk.
I LOVED book 1&2! Book 2 is probably my favorite. I made it 3/4 of the way through this one when I decided that I had had enough.
To preface, the love triangle is my least favorite trope. It makes my heart feel horrible. But if it’s for you, you might love this book. I felt strung along during books 1&2 almost to the point of it being too much with Elloren and Yvan. It’s sweet relief at the end of book two when Elloren and Yvan finally get together. And then we get to book 3…and there’s a short snippet of Yvan’s story and then he just dies*and Elloran goes all in (despite her heavily mentioned guilt) with Lukas because she must depend on him for her “safety,” (but she can’t grieve Yvan because apparently there is time for sex and cultic ceremonies celebrating the deflowering of virgins but not grief during wartime 🤷♀️…). It just felt so so lame to me (especially as a member of Team Yvan).
I think one of the things that I dislike about the love plot as well as the evolution of Elloren’s power is the pattern of the idea being too drawn out for far too long. We all saw it coming that Elloran is the black witch. I get it, I get it!… Elloran has no control over her power (as has been mentioned for the kajallionth time…), I get it, Elloren and Yvan CANNOT be together because it’s dangerous (book 2). If the author’s intent was to leave the reader feeling supremely frustrated, then mission absolutely accomplished for this reader. Like, Elloren, get it together! You can light a forest on fire with a toothpick, stop being so helpless! Maybe I’m being hard on her but it seems a departure from her go-getter attitude in the previous books where she empowers herself through knowledge and cleverness by taking her education into her own hands and concocting plans.
From a little spoiler research I did, it seems that Yvan, to my great relief, isn’t dead, so I’ll probably read the next book when it’s released. And it seems that Elloren also gets her girl power going by the end of this book. But life’s too short and I have too many books on my TBR to continue listening to the next 5 hours and feeling the way that I do.
Lastly, the books started with perspectives from others but then transitioned to a great portion dedicated to Elloren’s perspective. I wish they would have been tied together more (Six of Crows did this really well) or that the author had kept the same format as the first books or completely switched perspectives (like SJM did with Nesta in A Court of Silver Flames).
Oh my god if I have to hear a phrase about “lines” one more time I SWEAR.
“Caressing my lines,” sending heat through my lines, my knotted lines. My lines this, my lines that. Ahhhh!
I feel like the idea of “lines” is a cop out to actually describing the feeling of the elemental magic and its flow through the body.
I started reading this again (started at 70%) at the same time I was reading The Iron Widow which has a similar idea of elemental magic. And I felt that TIW did a better job of explaining the flow of magic/power (via meridians), and the connection of partners via/with magic.
Glad I stuck with it because
I KNEW HE WASN’T DEAD!
ps. Here is me again saying how much I hate love triangles.
Previous review 2021
*SPOILER ALERT*
Proceed at your own risk.
I LOVED book 1&2! Book 2 is probably my favorite. I made it 3/4 of the way through this one when I decided that I had had enough.
To preface, the love triangle is my least favorite trope. It makes my heart feel horrible. But if it’s for you, you might love this book. I felt strung along during books 1&2 almost to the point of it being too much with Elloren and Yvan. It’s sweet relief at the end of book two when Elloren and Yvan finally get together. And then we get to book 3…and there’s a short snippet of Yvan’s story and then he just dies*and Elloran goes all in (despite her heavily mentioned guilt) with Lukas because she must depend on him for her “safety,” (but she can’t grieve Yvan because apparently there is time for sex and cultic ceremonies celebrating the deflowering of virgins but not grief during wartime 🤷♀️…). It just felt so so lame to me (especially as a member of Team Yvan).
I think one of the things that I dislike about the love plot as well as the evolution of Elloren’s power is the pattern of the idea being too drawn out for far too long. We all saw it coming that Elloran is the black witch. I get it, I get it!… Elloran has no control over her power (as has been mentioned for the kajallionth time…), I get it, Elloren and Yvan CANNOT be together because it’s dangerous (book 2). If the author’s intent was to leave the reader feeling supremely frustrated, then mission absolutely accomplished for this reader. Like, Elloren, get it together! You can light a forest on fire with a toothpick, stop being so helpless! Maybe I’m being hard on her but it seems a departure from her go-getter attitude in the previous books where she empowers herself through knowledge and cleverness by taking her education into her own hands and concocting plans.
From a little spoiler research I did, it seems that Yvan, to my great relief, isn’t dead, so I’ll probably read the next book when it’s released. And it seems that Elloren also gets her girl power going by the end of this book. But life’s too short and I have too many books on my TBR to continue listening to the next 5 hours and feeling the way that I do.
Lastly, the books started with perspectives from others but then transitioned to a great portion dedicated to Elloren’s perspective. I wish they would have been tied together more (Six of Crows did this really well) or that the author had kept the same format as the first books or completely switched perspectives (like SJM did with Nesta in A Court of Silver Flames).
Content Warnings
Graphic: Sexual content
Moderate: Sexual assault and Sexual violence
willowmae's review against another edition
dark
emotional
tense
medium-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? Plot
- Strong character development? Yes
- Loveable characters? It's complicated
4.0
It felt like it was written by a completely different author way worse than the previous books :(
Second review:
I have boosted in from 3 stars to 4, it was much better on the reread, it still not as good as the other books in the series.
Second review:
I have boosted in from 3 stars to 4, it was much better on the reread, it still not as good as the other books in the series.
Content Warnings
Graphic: Sexual assault, Sexual content, Slavery, and War
rini's review against another edition
adventurous
dark
reflective
tense
slow-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? A mix
- Strong character development? Yes
- Loveable characters? It's complicated
- Diverse cast of characters? It's complicated
- Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes
4.5
Content Warnings
Graphic: Bullying, Sexism, Sexual assault, Violence, Xenophobia, and Religious bigotry
Moderate: Animal death, Body horror, Domestic abuse, Misogyny, Sexual content, Sexual violence, Slavery, Fire/Fire injury, Alcohol, and War
Minor: Rape