vivajayne's review
adventurous
fast-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? Plot
- Strong character development? Yes
- Loveable characters? Yes
- Diverse cast of characters? Yes
- Flaws of characters a main focus? N/A
3.5
shivvyslibrary's review against another edition
4.0
I loved this book! It is a Snow White retelling with so many twists and turns that I have never read before! The main protagonist is Lorelai, the rightful queen to the kingdom of Ravenspire who has magic powers, but her aunt and wicked stepmother, Irina, has hold of the throne and has magic powers herself and wants to make sure that Lorelai will never gain the throne. We then meet Kol, a playboy prankster prince who in unfortunate circumstances becomes King after the devastating death of his family. He needs the help of another kingdom to help stop the war in his kingdom, but must go through his own ordeals and against his will to help his kingdom.
•
The plot kept me engaged throughout the book. The characters were written well, you even felt sorry for Irina, the villain. I loved Lorelai and Kol, they were both great main characters, who were relatable and you could feel their pain for what they had to endure.
•
The plot kept me engaged throughout the book. The characters were written well, you even felt sorry for Irina, the villain. I loved Lorelai and Kol, they were both great main characters, who were relatable and you could feel their pain for what they had to endure.
catholicamanda's review
4.0
This is a retelling of Snow White with magic and a whole nation of people who can turn into dragons. Yep, this sounds pretty great.
Irina is the evil Queen of Ravenspire who doesn’t care what she has to do to stay in power (or get there, for that matter). She is rather manipulative and doesn’t care who knows it.
Lorelai and her brother Leo were smuggled out of the castle and away from Irina by a loyal guardsman, Gabril. Gabril has been the father figure in their lives since then. He taught them skills to spy and fight, skills they would need to survive. He has also taught them royal etiquette and has even found a way to help Lorelai gain more control of her magic. I think it is safe to say that, without Gabril, Lorelai and Leo would never have survived so long.
Lorelai, as her father’s eldest child, should be the Queen of Ravenspire. This is what she has been trained for her whole life and she isn’t going to let Irina win. She has a brilliant mind capable of coming up with elaborate plans and the magic to back it all up.
Leo is more of a goofball. He likes to have fun but he has the courtly manners down pat. He is absolutely devoted to his older sister and can’t wait until she takes the country back from Irina.
Kol is the new King of Eldr. He was never meant to become the king. That was always supposed to be his older brother, but some situations can’t be changed no matter how badly we want them to. Now he has to save his country and his people, even if that means making a deal with Irina herself.
I really liked this retelling. It was interesting, especially with the people of Eldr able to become dragons at will. It was well done and a beautiful novel.
This review first appeared at Orandi et Legendi.
Irina is the evil Queen of Ravenspire who doesn’t care what she has to do to stay in power (or get there, for that matter). She is rather manipulative and doesn’t care who knows it.
Lorelai and her brother Leo were smuggled out of the castle and away from Irina by a loyal guardsman, Gabril. Gabril has been the father figure in their lives since then. He taught them skills to spy and fight, skills they would need to survive. He has also taught them royal etiquette and has even found a way to help Lorelai gain more control of her magic. I think it is safe to say that, without Gabril, Lorelai and Leo would never have survived so long.
Lorelai, as her father’s eldest child, should be the Queen of Ravenspire. This is what she has been trained for her whole life and she isn’t going to let Irina win. She has a brilliant mind capable of coming up with elaborate plans and the magic to back it all up.
Leo is more of a goofball. He likes to have fun but he has the courtly manners down pat. He is absolutely devoted to his older sister and can’t wait until she takes the country back from Irina.
Kol is the new King of Eldr. He was never meant to become the king. That was always supposed to be his older brother, but some situations can’t be changed no matter how badly we want them to. Now he has to save his country and his people, even if that means making a deal with Irina herself.
I really liked this retelling. It was interesting, especially with the people of Eldr able to become dragons at will. It was well done and a beautiful novel.
This review first appeared at Orandi et Legendi.
lilbitmad's review against another edition
adventurous
emotional
hopeful
reflective
medium-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? A mix
- Strong character development? Yes
- Loveable characters? Yes
- Diverse cast of characters? No
- Flaws of characters a main focus? It's complicated
4.0
annmariets's review
5.0
This was beautiful! A real fairy-tale, were magic is just magic, the images are beautiful and the plot gripping!
novelheartbeat's review
3.0
She was iron and fire, a warrior's spirit with a lion's heart.
While I didn't enjoy this one quite as much as I'd hoped (I loved the Defiance trilogy), it was still an enjoyable read! I love retellings, and even though I never really got super into the Snow White fairy tale, I thought this was a great retelling of it. Wicked stepmother and all. (Except, where are the dwarves?!)
The thing I loved the most about this book? DRAGONS. Oh my goodness, I loved the Draconi! That was definitely the best part about this whole book. I love dragons, and I especially love them when they shift into people form. They were awesome!
The magic aspect was very cool, too. I liked how Lorelai drew from the elements and the land to perform magic!
He was fire, blood, and death. And the girl was going to die.
It totally sucked that Kol and Lorelai were forced to be enemies by Irina, but while Kol was supposed to be dead set on killing Lorelai, I never felt any danger from him. It was obvious they were going to have a romance, and that they would overcome the queen's curse. They were pretty cute together, though! She helped him find himself when he was lost, and they both made each other stronger. It was also interesting that they could hear each others' thoughts. I mean, on one hand, you'd be really close. You can't beat a bond like that. On the other hand, how much would that suck? You'd never be able to have any secrets of your own. NOTHING would be private. Awkward...
It kinda felt like nothing really happened. I didn't get bored, but looking back, it seemed like the majority of the book was Kol and Lorelai fighting to be together. This book is a romance. Not an action. My main issue with this book, however, is that I felt absolutely nothing. While it held my interest, I couldn't connect to the characters or story at all.
Spoiler
I didn't even bat an eyelash when Leo died.This review was originally posted on Novel Heartbeat. To see a breakdown of my assessment, please visit the full review here.
amarylissw's review
1.0
Boring. Unimaginative. Ideas weren’t well explained, and weren’t original enough to catch attention. Not sure why I actually continued it.