ladyofbooks's review against another edition
4.0
Read this awhile back, but lost the review for it. I do remember really enjoying it, and so will try to re-read it during the year 2019 and re-write the review.
yvris's review against another edition
adventurous
mysterious
medium-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? Plot
- Strong character development? No
- Loveable characters? Yes
- Diverse cast of characters? No
- Flaws of characters a main focus? No
3.75
nessa_arandur's review against another edition
4.0
An enjoyable adventure where nothing turned out as predictably as I thought it would, which was a refreshing change.
bookfairy99's review against another edition
2.0
The writing was superb, and the characters were well differentiated and well developed, but despite all that I didn't grow to care about any of them. The storyline didn't grab me, the characters didn't interest me, and I was forced to admit defeat 100 pages in.
wynwicket's review against another edition
3.0
A very okay beginning to what may turn out to be an interesting series. In spite of Livak, a fierce, independent thief heroine and a cast of quirky wizard-types, something didn't click with me.
The fantasy world has a well-developed history, but the author's writing is so bogged down by her insistence on telling us all about it in DETAIL when what we really need is character development. As it is, the relationships between the characters seem to come out of nowhere.
I like the premise a LOT, and the author manages to balance grit with humor, but the overall effect is a bit lukewarm.
The fantasy world has a well-developed history, but the author's writing is so bogged down by her insistence on telling us all about it in DETAIL when what we really need is character development. As it is, the relationships between the characters seem to come out of nowhere.
I like the premise a LOT, and the author manages to balance grit with humor, but the overall effect is a bit lukewarm.
anxiousarachnid's review against another edition
It felt like too much lore-dumping, and we were introduced to too many fantasy-styled named characters too quickly with no real way to differentiate between them.
When a book makes me so reluctant to continue that I don't read for a few days in a row, it's time to put it down.
When a book makes me so reluctant to continue that I don't read for a few days in a row, it's time to put it down.
ecooper99's review against another edition
2.0
The writing was superb, and the characters were well differentiated and well developed, but despite all that I didn't grow to care about any of them. The storyline didn't grab me, the characters didn't interest me, and I was forced to admit defeat 100 pages in.
sashaknits's review against another edition
1.0
It's only because I have a weird thing about not giving up on a book before the end that I actually finished this. Where to even start?
There was far too much 'tell' and far too little 'show' through the whole book, which left me completely cold on the characters. I wasn't convinced when the main character apparently fell in love because it was just dropped on the reader out of nowhere. I didn't care if any of them lived or died, which is saying a lot for someone who cries at the drop of a hat and can't read certain of her favourite books in public because she knows they will make her bawl her eyes out! All the male characters were indistinguishable and blended together so when anyone was referred to by name I had no clue which one they were.
I felt like I didn't understand the magic system well enough. If you're inventing a world then you have to lay the ground rules solidly so the reader understands it almost as well as they know that gravity makes things fall and that fire makes things burn. I didn't know who held what power or how much, or what the limits were, so it just wasn't believable. Yet on the other hand it felt like the author tried too hard all the time to prove that you were reading about a fantasy world - all the characters swore by the name of some every other paragraph, or used overly detailed fantasy world metaphors or similes constantly. It felt far too much live I was having the world forced down my throat all the time.
Basically I found it dull and annoying. Part of me wants to forgive it for being a debut novel, but if [a:Scott Lynch|73149|Scott Lynch|http://photo.goodreads.com/authors/1260905174p2/73149.jpg] and [a:Patrick Rothfuss|108424|Patrick Rothfuss|http://photo.goodreads.com/authors/1226875325p2/108424.jpg] can knock me dead with their debuts then it seems like a weak excuse.
There was far too much 'tell' and far too little 'show' through the whole book, which left me completely cold on the characters. I wasn't convinced when the main character apparently fell in love because it was just dropped on the reader out of nowhere. I didn't care if any of them lived or died, which is saying a lot for someone who cries at the drop of a hat and can't read certain of her favourite books in public because she knows they will make her bawl her eyes out! All the male characters were indistinguishable and blended together so when anyone was referred to by name I had no clue which one they were.
I felt like I didn't understand the magic system well enough. If you're inventing a world then you have to lay the ground rules solidly so the reader understands it almost as well as they know that gravity makes things fall and that fire makes things burn. I didn't know who held what power or how much, or what the limits were, so it just wasn't believable. Yet on the other hand it felt like the author tried too hard all the time to prove that you were reading about a fantasy world - all the characters swore by the name of some every other paragraph, or used overly detailed fantasy world metaphors or similes constantly. It felt far too much live I was having the world forced down my throat all the time.
Basically I found it dull and annoying. Part of me wants to forgive it for being a debut novel, but if [a:Scott Lynch|73149|Scott Lynch|http://photo.goodreads.com/authors/1260905174p2/73149.jpg] and [a:Patrick Rothfuss|108424|Patrick Rothfuss|http://photo.goodreads.com/authors/1226875325p2/108424.jpg] can knock me dead with their debuts then it seems like a weak excuse.