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slpowers's review
slow-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? Character
- Strong character development? Yes
- Loveable characters? No
- Diverse cast of characters? No
- Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes
3.75
zaybaaa's review
- Plot- or character-driven? Character
- Strong character development? No
- Loveable characters? No
2.0
elfduchess's review
1.0
I'd thought the price I paid for my new life at the castle was that I could never touch anyone, because the poison I took willingly stayed in my skin and would kill anyone who came into contact with it, save for those also blessed by divine right: the queen, the king, the prince.
I don't think I every truly understood what 'hot mess' meant before reading this book.
I can't write a review for this book. I've tried three times and every single time it quickly turns into three pages of grumbling, ranting and gripes. (Yes, there are more issues I had with the book than just these, but by about 2/3 the way through, I quit making note of my problems.)
Some Issues I Had With The Book:
Doormat of a main character. Twylla never makes a decision on her own and merely follows the path of least resistance.
Twylla's ability to kill with a touch is because she drinks a poison she's immune to but that pours out through her pores and kills on contact.
Twylla's weak willed and has no personality beyond 'I want to sing.'
Twylla has no excuse for being such a doormat, besides the 'bury my head in the sand' mentality.
The writing style aggravates me. (First person, present tense.)
The world building doesn't make sense. (Twylla can kill with a touch but no one ever thought of gloves?)
She can supposedly touch the royal family because they are blessed with divine right - yet the royal family never takes advantage of this to advance their 'godlyness' with the people.
The attack dogs ate one of the previous queens after her death but they still kept the dogs around.
Twylla being 'the Sin Eater's Daughter' has no bearing on anything that happens in this story.
She has killed thirteen people and yet she is emotionally and mentally unscarred.
A guy wants to prove that Twylla's touch won't kill him, so he kisses her. Instead of, you know, touching her hand.
"Marry me instead. We can run away." Is this supposed to be romantic?
It's a romance story marketed as a fantasy.
I'm not going to go into my religious beliefs, but I do want to say that I found the religion in this book offensive.
There was several sexist moments in this story, including willing to execute a woman for getting pregnant but not the father of the child. (Because I am so sure she got pregnant on her own.)
The only thing that can sever Twylla's role as Daunen Embodied is marriage to the prince. Because then she will no longer be pure enough.
*Looks around*
Sorry, there for a moment I thought women no longer had to worry about losing their virginity and losing their special magic karma at the same time. (What are we doing, going through another sexual repression?) (My dear, you're only special if you're a virgin.)
And on that note, goodnight folks.
"All we can do is stay quiet and do our best. We must be ghosts. That's how you stay alive in this castle. You become a ghost. You keep your head down and you stay out of her way as much as you can."
Find more of my reviews here: http://pagesofstarlight.blogspot.com/
I don't think I every truly understood what 'hot mess' meant before reading this book.
I can't write a review for this book. I've tried three times and every single time it quickly turns into three pages of grumbling, ranting and gripes. (Yes, there are more issues I had with the book than just these, but by about 2/3 the way through, I quit making note of my problems.)
Some Issues I Had With The Book:
Doormat of a main character. Twylla never makes a decision on her own and merely follows the path of least resistance.
Twylla's ability to kill with a touch is because she drinks a poison she's immune to but that pours out through her pores and kills on contact.
Spoiler
Supposedly.Twylla's weak willed and has no personality beyond 'I want to sing.'
Twylla has no excuse for being such a doormat, besides the 'bury my head in the sand' mentality.
The writing style aggravates me. (First person, present tense.)
The world building doesn't make sense. (Twylla can kill with a touch but no one ever thought of gloves?)
She can supposedly touch the royal family because they are blessed with divine right - yet the royal family never takes advantage of this to advance their 'godlyness' with the people.
The attack dogs ate one of the previous queens after her death but they still kept the dogs around.
Twylla being 'the Sin Eater's Daughter' has no bearing on anything that happens in this story.
She has killed thirteen people and yet she is emotionally and mentally unscarred.
A guy wants to prove that Twylla's touch won't kill him, so he kisses her. Instead of, you know, touching her hand.
"Marry me instead. We can run away." Is this supposed to be romantic?
It's a romance story marketed as a fantasy.
I'm not going to go into my religious beliefs, but I do want to say that I found the religion in this book offensive.
There was several sexist moments in this story, including willing to execute a woman for getting pregnant but not the father of the child. (Because I am so sure she got pregnant on her own.)
The only thing that can sever Twylla's role as Daunen Embodied is marriage to the prince. Because then she will no longer be pure enough.
*Looks around*
Sorry, there for a moment I thought women no longer had to worry about losing their virginity and losing their special magic karma at the same time. (What are we doing, going through another sexual repression?) (My dear, you're only special if you're a virgin.)
And on that note, goodnight folks.
"All we can do is stay quiet and do our best. We must be ghosts. That's how you stay alive in this castle. You become a ghost. You keep your head down and you stay out of her way as much as you can."
Find more of my reviews here: http://pagesofstarlight.blogspot.com/
bookbuyer's review against another edition
3.0
Beginning: Good
Middle: Excellent
End: WTF. I was not at all happy with the ending of this book. I'm even more dissapointed since I was really enjoying it towards the middle, but when they start mentioning the "sleeping prince". Grrrr.
Middle: Excellent
End: WTF. I was not at all happy with the ending of this book. I'm even more dissapointed since I was really enjoying it towards the middle, but when they start mentioning the "sleeping prince". Grrrr.
velvetpoison's review against another edition
4.0
Find more reviews at Lost In Wonderland
Twylla is the embodiment of the goddess Daunen, whose role is to bring hope to the city of Lormere but to also pass punishment on those who have been sentenced, with her poisonous touch. But mysteries and schemes unfold to reveal the real reason why Twylla was chosen to fill the role of Daunen, and her part in the Queens plan for Lormere.
- Melinda Salisbury (The Sin Eater's Daughter)
The first half of this book was disappointing. Part of me feels like the first 150 pages were almost wasted. There was some background that got explored and some character ground work was laid but ultimately nothing really happened….The last half however was a brilliant and masterful story of treason, love, greed, conspiracy and revelation, which pretty much made up for the slow starting pace. When I look back though, the slow pace actually hid what would later become important, things that seemed completely normal or unobtrusive at the time which played a major part in the final revelation. I think that in itself is masterful writing, because it didn't give clues away easily and they just seemed to blend into the story unnoticed until you later thought back on them.
As for the characters, the Queens character was by far the most developed. She could give Cercei Lannister a run for her money. Evil, twisted and greedy. She is determined to keep her followers in line and charges anyone who commits an offence against her, no matter how little it is. Twylla was hard to like at times, she seemed far too naïve, and never fought back against the Queen (although I can see why, cause the Queen Is cray cray.) I felt she was a little to damsel in distress most of the time, but by the end she had come into her own.
- Melinda Salisbury (The Sin Eater's Daughter)
There are hints of a love triangle, but not in the typical sense. The love triangle actually reminded me a little of Throne of Glass, as one was the prince and the other Twylla’s guard. Twylla is torn between the two not because she loves them both, but one because of feelings and the other as a sense of duty to her role as Daunen and also her city.
There were definitely some interesting aspects incorporated into the book, the folklore surrounding the downfall of another city and the prince who was cursed there. The sin eating was cited a few times although didn’t play a major role in the overall story, which considering the title I thought it would. The role of Daunen and the religion/Gods surrounding Lormere were also interesting an added to the world building.
I actually really like the ending, I’ve seen some people say it’s confusing, and I guess it’s kind of left up to interpretation. I feel like everything was wrapped up nicely though with only a few trivial questions left unanswered. It could easily be a standalone, although there is the potential for it to become a trilogy (which I think it is?).
Twylla is the embodiment of the goddess Daunen, whose role is to bring hope to the city of Lormere but to also pass punishment on those who have been sentenced, with her poisonous touch. But mysteries and schemes unfold to reveal the real reason why Twylla was chosen to fill the role of Daunen, and her part in the Queens plan for Lormere.
"...I take my place behind the condemned, standing between them. I reach out, resting the palm of each hand on the back of each men's necks... Moments after I've touched them they are slumped against the top of the table blood streaming from their noses and pooling on the already-stained wood. "
- Melinda Salisbury (The Sin Eater's Daughter)
The first half of this book was disappointing. Part of me feels like the first 150 pages were almost wasted. There was some background that got explored and some character ground work was laid but ultimately nothing really happened….The last half however was a brilliant and masterful story of treason, love, greed, conspiracy and revelation, which pretty much made up for the slow starting pace. When I look back though, the slow pace actually hid what would later become important, things that seemed completely normal or unobtrusive at the time which played a major part in the final revelation. I think that in itself is masterful writing, because it didn't give clues away easily and they just seemed to blend into the story unnoticed until you later thought back on them.
As for the characters, the Queens character was by far the most developed. She could give Cercei Lannister a run for her money. Evil, twisted and greedy. She is determined to keep her followers in line and charges anyone who commits an offence against her, no matter how little it is. Twylla was hard to like at times, she seemed far too naïve, and never fought back against the Queen (although I can see why, cause the Queen Is cray cray.) I felt she was a little to damsel in distress most of the time, but by the end she had come into her own.
"...The whole realm knew the queen's punishments were unusually cruel, but to see them, smell them, hear them as they ripped the man apart was too much. "
- Melinda Salisbury (The Sin Eater's Daughter)
There are hints of a love triangle, but not in the typical sense. The love triangle actually reminded me a little of Throne of Glass, as one was the prince and the other Twylla’s guard. Twylla is torn between the two not because she loves them both, but one because of feelings and the other as a sense of duty to her role as Daunen and also her city.
There were definitely some interesting aspects incorporated into the book, the folklore surrounding the downfall of another city and the prince who was cursed there. The sin eating was cited a few times although didn’t play a major role in the overall story, which considering the title I thought it would. The role of Daunen and the religion/Gods surrounding Lormere were also interesting an added to the world building.
I actually really like the ending, I’ve seen some people say it’s confusing, and I guess it’s kind of left up to interpretation. I feel like everything was wrapped up nicely though with only a few trivial questions left unanswered. It could easily be a standalone, although there is the potential for it to become a trilogy (which I think it is?).
lauxlau's review
4.0
First of all: how beautiful is this cover?!
I loved this book. I'm not the biggest fan of 'love-triangles' and surprisingly I didn't like Lief nor Merek. The Protagonist Twylla sometimes does things that make you roll your eyes but that really just shows that she's not perfect and makes mistakes.
So you may wonder what I actually loved about this book? I loved the plot twists and I loved that it was a fast paced read. The fantasy aspects were also very interesting and cool.
I loved this book. I'm not the biggest fan of 'love-triangles' and surprisingly I didn't like Lief nor Merek. The Protagonist Twylla sometimes does things that make you roll your eyes but that really just shows that she's not perfect and makes mistakes.
So you may wonder what I actually loved about this book? I loved the plot twists and I loved that it was a fast paced read. The fantasy aspects were also very interesting and cool.
edie6258's review
adventurous
medium-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? A mix
- Strong character development? No
- Loveable characters? No
- Diverse cast of characters? No
- Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes
2.5