Reviews

A Fool's Hope by Mike Shackle

hiking_reader's review

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5.0

This turned into a bit of a mini-buddy read this month. Our group read book one together last year. It was mentioned we'd go ahead and read book two for anyone who was willing and able to this month. This is still an edge of my seat adventure as we progress through the second book!

The first thing I'd like to mention is book two literally picked up right where book one left off. At times this can be difficult for me without some sort of recap from the previous book. Luckily the first book made enough of an impression on me to fall right back into the story.

The world building I believe actually got a bit better in book two. Maybe not building so much as expanding on the world the author has already laid out for us in book one. Book two just seemed a bit grander to me than the first book as we have some more action in various regions of the world.

The character development was still wonderful in this continuation. Some of our characters that are carried over continue to evolve into who they truly are. One thing I mention frequently when discussing this book and even the first is just how hopeless so many of the characters feel. I found myself asking a couple of times can any of them just catch even the slightest break!? It really didn't detract from the story in my opinion so I'm ok with it, others may struggle a bit more with this. The one thing I wish we had more of were scenes with Jax. He certain has some but I look forward to see what comes of him in the third book. We also have some great new characters such as Anama and Ralasis.

The pacing really worked for me. I enjoyed the flow of book two just as much as I did for the first. I will say there is a fairly big moment in the middle of the book that does kind of turn the story on its head. This is a rather jarring turn of events that may or may not work for readers. I personally had a idea this may happen. It was between this and another option. Both would have been big deals I'm sure. But the path the author chose just might surprise some readers.

All in all this is another great installment to this series and I hope to get to the third book still sometime this year.

I'd recommend this to someone looking for a good fantasy read a bit on the darker side. There are some great storylines in this series and the author does a great job in detailing key moments.

catethereader's review

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adventurous challenging dark emotional 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? No

4.75

jugglemisterer's review

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adventurous dark mysterious tense medium-paced
  • Plot- or character-driven? A mix
  • Strong character development? Yes
  • Loveable characters? Yes
  • Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes

5.0

kieranbradd's review

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adventurous dark sad tense medium-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

4.5

mcilwainereads's review

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adventurous dark tense fast-paced
  • Plot- or character-driven? Plot
  • Strong character development? Yes
  • Loveable characters? It's complicated
  • Diverse cast of characters? Yes
  • Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes

4.0


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oepsje's review

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adventurous dark mysterious sad fast-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? No

4.75

manglitter's review

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5.0

4.5 Stars.

bibliophilebookclub's review against another edition

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5.0

Couldn’t have loved this harder. Excellent follow up to We Are The Dead. Brutal, emotional and utterly engaging, an absolute belter!

thescottishguythatreads's review

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adventurous dark inspiring mysterious sad tense 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? No

4.5

trinforeman's review against another edition

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4.0

Wow! This book just one upped the first book!

I am having trouble coming up with what to say that wouldn't be spoilery so let me just hit the big notes. Character development in this book is outstanding. The battles are mind blowing. The ending is phenomenal.

My only issue with the book is that there are a few places where the book drags a bit. It took me a while to get through those parts. However, this shouldn't stop anyone from reading it as this is definitely one of the best fantasy series I've read.

We are the dead!