fede1's review against another edition
3.0
3.5 stelle
Libro molto carino e scorrevole.
Ho apprezzato molto il fatto che le relazioni omosessuali fossero trattate in modo molto leggero, allo stesso modo di quelle eterosessuali. In questo mondo si può amare liberamente, indipendentemente dal genere (purtroppo nella realtà è ancora un'utopia)
Ho apprezzato anche i capitoli che ci mostravano la "debolezza" della protagonista, che non è la solita eroina forte e solitaria. E' una persona umana, con tutti i suoi pregi e edifetti.
Mi è dispiaciuto solo il fatto che non sia stato dato molto peso alla negromanzia.
Libro molto carino e scorrevole.
Ho apprezzato molto il fatto che le relazioni omosessuali fossero trattate in modo molto leggero, allo stesso modo di quelle eterosessuali. In questo mondo si può amare liberamente, indipendentemente dal genere (purtroppo nella realtà è ancora un'utopia)
Ho apprezzato anche i capitoli che ci mostravano la "debolezza" della protagonista, che non è la solita eroina forte e solitaria. E' una persona umana, con tutti i suoi pregi e edifetti.
Mi è dispiaciuto solo il fatto che non sia stato dato molto peso alla negromanzia.
little_miss_3657's review against another edition
adventurous
mysterious
reflective
medium-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? A mix
- Strong character development? Yes
- Loveable characters? No
- Diverse cast of characters? No
- Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes
3.0
genius_koala's review against another edition
1.0
I really really wanted to love this one, or at least like it. Unfortunately, I didn't find the world building or the characters all that well done.
The main character suffered from being "amazing" and the best necromancer ever, but I don't feel like we ever really got a sense of what made her so special or better than her peers.
I've never been fond of situations where someone falls for the sibling of their dead spouse/lover, but in this case, it felt particularly forced. It can feel natural and believable, but this was not one of those cases.
Many of the characters felt more like checkboxes on a paper thin setting. I wasn't able to really invest in any of them or in the world.
The main character suffered from being "amazing" and the best necromancer ever, but I don't feel like we ever really got a sense of what made her so special or better than her peers.
I've never been fond of situations where someone falls for the sibling of their dead spouse/lover, but in this case, it felt particularly forced. It can feel natural and believable, but this was not one of those cases.
Many of the characters felt more like checkboxes on a paper thin setting. I wasn't able to really invest in any of them or in the world.
tortorreads's review against another edition
4.0
Rating: 4/5
Odessa is one of Karthia's master necromancers, catering to the kingdom's ruling Dead. Whenever a noble dies, it's Odessa's job to raise them by retrieving their souls from a dreamy and dangerous shadow world called the Deadlands. But there is a cost to being raised--the Dead must remain shrouded, or risk transforming into zombie-like monsters known as Shades. If even a hint of flesh is exposed, the grotesque transformation will begin.
A dramatic uptick in Shade attacks raises suspicions and fears among Odessa's necromancer community. Soon a crushing loss of one of their own reveals a disturbing conspiracy: someone is intentionally creating Shades by tearing shrouds from the Dead--and training them to attack. Odessa is faced with a terrifying question: What if her necromancer's magic is the weapon that brings Karthia to its knees?
This book took me by surprise, I was not thinking it would have so many twists in the plot and the outcome of the book to be so wonderful. This book is a little mix of both character driven and plot driven which I loved, Of course the character driven being the main one. The attention to details in this book really brought to life the world of fantasy and really helped when reading this book to understand what it was like to lose one or more of your 5 senses in life or for a small amount of time. The MC was very bold and determined to figure out what was going on and never gave up on what she believed was right. I really liked that she would listen to her gut and didn’t waver on it.
Odessa is one of Karthia's master necromancers, catering to the kingdom's ruling Dead. Whenever a noble dies, it's Odessa's job to raise them by retrieving their souls from a dreamy and dangerous shadow world called the Deadlands. But there is a cost to being raised--the Dead must remain shrouded, or risk transforming into zombie-like monsters known as Shades. If even a hint of flesh is exposed, the grotesque transformation will begin.
A dramatic uptick in Shade attacks raises suspicions and fears among Odessa's necromancer community. Soon a crushing loss of one of their own reveals a disturbing conspiracy: someone is intentionally creating Shades by tearing shrouds from the Dead--and training them to attack. Odessa is faced with a terrifying question: What if her necromancer's magic is the weapon that brings Karthia to its knees?
This book took me by surprise, I was not thinking it would have so many twists in the plot and the outcome of the book to be so wonderful. This book is a little mix of both character driven and plot driven which I loved, Of course the character driven being the main one. The attention to details in this book really brought to life the world of fantasy and really helped when reading this book to understand what it was like to lose one or more of your 5 senses in life or for a small amount of time. The MC was very bold and determined to figure out what was going on and never gave up on what she believed was right. I really liked that she would listen to her gut and didn’t waver on it.
andreacaro's review against another edition
3.0
This is a book about gay necromancers.
Or that's how it was billed to me. What I got was a poorly fleshed out fantasy world that felt like it focused on romance too much for my own liking. I think the book was supposed to be about grief, addiction, and love, but for me this book fell flat because I a.) wanted more necromancy and didn't feel as though this book fleshed out the world as best as it could have and b.) wanted it to be more gay. I did get gayness when I was over halfway through the book, but the MC was And her and this girl? Zero chemistry. There was a factor about them that was pretty ick, not to mention they were sniping at each other a lot. Honestly, this wasn't a bad book and I saw potential there but it fell really flat for me. I'll probably check out other books this author writes because surely this also had a case of first book syndrome, but I doubt I'll continue in the series.
Cover's gnarly, though.
Or that's how it was billed to me. What I got was a poorly fleshed out fantasy world that felt like it focused on romance too much for my own liking. I think the book was supposed to be about grief, addiction, and love, but for me this book fell flat because I a.) wanted more necromancy and didn't feel as though this book fleshed out the world as best as it could have and b.) wanted it to be more gay. I did get gayness when I was over halfway through the book, but the MC was
Spoiler
still mourning the loss of her boyfriend who happened to be the brother of this new girl she likes.Cover's gnarly, though.
piperclover's review
adventurous
dark
emotional
mysterious
reflective
fast-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? A mix
- Strong character development? It's complicated
- Loveable characters? It's complicated
- Diverse cast of characters? Yes
- Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes
3.75
I have no idea how I feel. I went into this expecting something light hearted and fast paced and I got a kick in the stomach instead. This was absolutely not what I expected and it was so unbearably heavy at certain points that I thought about DNFing it multiple times but I enjoyed it a lot too.
From 28% to about 45% or maybe even 50% of the book my heart was in my throat. I really like the discussion about progress and change, addiction and healing after grief, living but also letting go. I saw the big plot twist at the end coming but I'm not mad at it because the reasoning was different than what I expected and I like how it tied together a bunch of themes throughout the book. I am going to listen to the second book because there's quite a few world building pieces that haven't been answered yet and I feel like they need to be in order to round out the story. I like the pacing of this and I never felt bored. I think all the characters in this book are a wonderful example of the "right idea, wrong execution" mostly done in a way where you don't feel exasperated by the characters and instead empathize with where they're coming from.
I am really mad about the ending though which I think is dragging my star rating really far down. I despise that Odessa started having character growth through the last 1/3rd of the book and then it was just forgotten by the end of the book. Her last decision at the end of the book wipes away any character growth she's had and makes me so frustrated.
I also really really dislike.
From 28% to about 45% or maybe even 50% of the book my heart was in my throat. I really like the discussion about progress and change, addiction and healing after grief, living but also letting go. I saw the big plot twist at the end coming but I'm not mad at it because the reasoning was different than what I expected and I like how it tied together a bunch of themes throughout the book. I am going to listen to the second book because there's quite a few world building pieces that haven't been answered yet and I feel like they need to be in order to round out the story. I like the pacing of this and I never felt bored. I think all the characters in this book are a wonderful example of the "right idea, wrong execution" mostly done in a way where you don't feel exasperated by the characters and instead empathize with where they're coming from.
I am really mad about the ending though which I think is dragging my star rating really far down. I despise that Odessa started having character growth through the last 1/3rd of the book and then it was just forgotten by the end of the book. Her last decision at the end of the book wipes away any character growth she's had and makes me so frustrated.
I also really really dislike
Spoiler
that Odessa and Meredy started something. I just find it gross and uncomfortable and if the author wanted her to find solace in another person it should have been anybody other than Evander's sister. But I actually wish the author hadn't made her like anyone else or want a relationship with anyone else because it feels like the author decided Odessa has to have a lover in order to be a good mc or for this book to be worth it. It feels cheap to me. It feels like we went through all of that grief and sorrow and at the end we're just supposed to champion this new relationship with someone we don't really know and is just a replacement for Evander
Content Warnings
Graphic: Fire/Fire injury, Violence, War, Blood, and Injury/injury detail
Moderate: Suicidal thoughts, Torture, and Suicide attempt
Minor: Alcoholism and Confinement
There's these creatures that were once people but once they turned into these evil creatures they now eat people. I don't know if that counts as cannibalism so I won't tag for it but it's there and it's pretty gruesome.kay_slayerofbooks's review
4.0
So, I liked this book. Huge fan of Valoria, Jax and Meredy. Odessa, unfortunately, irritated me for 75% of the book.
yellow_ylugbug's review against another edition
adventurous
emotional
mysterious
medium-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? A mix
- Strong character development? Yes
- Loveable characters? It's complicated
- Diverse cast of characters? Yes
- Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes
3.0
Content Warnings
Graphic: Addiction, Drug abuse, Grief, Death, and Death of parent
karissa_'s review against another edition
3.0
I don't really think I can write a full review on this book because I just wasn't in to it, like at all really. I just pushed myself to finish this book, which is definitely not worth the hype in my opinion, because it was an interesting concept. I don't like that this will be a series because I feel like it'll just drag on instead of further progressing the story and the characters fell flat so I'm not even remotely interested to see what's going on in their lives.
This book was just meh.
bisreading's review against another edition
emotional
slow-paced
- Loveable characters? No
- Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes
1.0