akjd77's review
5.0
*** I received an ARC of this book for a fair and honest review***
This book.. man it was an emotional roller coaster. At times I wanted to smack Sevon and other times I just wanted to give him a hug. Seeing the relationship with Dominic and then with Jack was interesting to watch. To see how Dominic has poisoned a young boy through the years with lies and manipulations and the absolute control he feels he's entitled to and his internal thoughts were horrifying to read (horrifying in that someone would actually think those kind of things.) And then there's Jack.. sweet, kind adorable shifter Jack. Sevon and Jack were friends as toddlers but circumstances tore them apart but fate brings them back together.
The world building was really well done and I loved the mix between fantasy and the "real" world. And can I say those Armigers were some badass chicks, I enjoyed the parts they were in immensely. All of the side characters were just there enough for me to advance the story and no one seemed out of place or uneeded.
I really enjoyed this book.. even though some parts were hard to read I held out the belief that everything would work out in the end..
This book.. man it was an emotional roller coaster. At times I wanted to smack Sevon and other times I just wanted to give him a hug. Seeing the relationship with Dominic and then with Jack was interesting to watch. To see how Dominic has poisoned a young boy through the years with lies and manipulations and the absolute control he feels he's entitled to and his internal thoughts were horrifying to read (horrifying in that someone would actually think those kind of things.) And then there's Jack.. sweet, kind adorable shifter Jack. Sevon and Jack were friends as toddlers but circumstances tore them apart but fate brings them back together.
The world building was really well done and I loved the mix between fantasy and the "real" world. And can I say those Armigers were some badass chicks, I enjoyed the parts they were in immensely. All of the side characters were just there enough for me to advance the story and no one seemed out of place or uneeded.
I really enjoyed this book.. even though some parts were hard to read I held out the belief that everything would work out in the end..
the_novel_approach's review
4.0
3.5 Stars ~ I’m not going to lie; this was a hard book to read at times. Our main protagonist, the young king Sevon, has been controlled and mislead since he was a child by his lover and sole advisor, Dominic, who ultimately betrayed and killed his father. But Sevon doesn’t know this. He doesn’t know Dominic doesn’t actually love him and is only using him for his own political gains and power, and it takes Sevon a painfully long time to figure it out. He’s finally only able to do so when his boyhood friend, Jack, comes back into his life after having escaped the coup when the old king was killed many years ago.
Sevon’s character was difficult in many ways to accept, but probably the hardest part was the possibility of Sevon being used for fetishism. Sevon is often referred to as being feminine. He’s the only character in the story who wears women’s panties—none of the female characters seem to wear women’s finery or undergarments—and he’s paraded around in ball gowns, impossible shoes, and is submissive in almost every sense of the word. There are heavy sexual undertones to his manner and dress, and with the juxtaposition of those traits to his lack of power, his being brainwashed, and then being physically and mentally abused… it was hard to swallow. The violence around his uniqueness and circumstances very much bothered me. I have read other books of this ilk, and perhaps the theme was intentional. If so, I’ll confess my own bias and admit it was a bit too much Nietzsche for me.
The world was interesting. There are other realms: the shifter realm, the vampire realm, the human realm, and countless more. They all have their own dimensions, hidden from each other by magic, and among the races who inhabit these realms there is fantastic variation. In the vampire world—Sevon’s world—humans are used as cattle. From his point of view they are little more than livestock, but when we, as the reader, are able to see what they are saying, and through dialog and action eventually understand their motivations, we come to the conclusion that humans being a lesser species may be another one of the lies Sevon was told so that he could be controlled and, possibly, so that all the vampires in this realm could feed without remorse. For those who feel remorse, that is.
Jack hails from the shifter realm. When he comes into the story, he provides Sevon with another point of view, and that perspective allows Sevon to overcome his destructive training and his abuse. This is book one of a series, and with what Sevon has gone through, part of me wonders if it’s all a little too late. Will he become a monster from his victimhood, or use his inherited power to save the world? Time will tell.
Reviewed by Ben for The Novel Approach Reviews
Sevon’s character was difficult in many ways to accept, but probably the hardest part was the possibility of Sevon being used for fetishism. Sevon is often referred to as being feminine. He’s the only character in the story who wears women’s panties—none of the female characters seem to wear women’s finery or undergarments—and he’s paraded around in ball gowns, impossible shoes, and is submissive in almost every sense of the word. There are heavy sexual undertones to his manner and dress, and with the juxtaposition of those traits to his lack of power, his being brainwashed, and then being physically and mentally abused… it was hard to swallow. The violence around his uniqueness and circumstances very much bothered me. I have read other books of this ilk, and perhaps the theme was intentional. If so, I’ll confess my own bias and admit it was a bit too much Nietzsche for me.
The world was interesting. There are other realms: the shifter realm, the vampire realm, the human realm, and countless more. They all have their own dimensions, hidden from each other by magic, and among the races who inhabit these realms there is fantastic variation. In the vampire world—Sevon’s world—humans are used as cattle. From his point of view they are little more than livestock, but when we, as the reader, are able to see what they are saying, and through dialog and action eventually understand their motivations, we come to the conclusion that humans being a lesser species may be another one of the lies Sevon was told so that he could be controlled and, possibly, so that all the vampires in this realm could feed without remorse. For those who feel remorse, that is.
Jack hails from the shifter realm. When he comes into the story, he provides Sevon with another point of view, and that perspective allows Sevon to overcome his destructive training and his abuse. This is book one of a series, and with what Sevon has gone through, part of me wonders if it’s all a little too late. Will he become a monster from his victimhood, or use his inherited power to save the world? Time will tell.
Reviewed by Ben for The Novel Approach Reviews
ifihadatail7's review
3.0
Chasing Sunrise deals with surviving an abusive relationship in a fantasy setting. The story is set in a magical world that lies next to the human one, and is full of shape shifters and vampire/ghouls. Sounds like a great premise, but sadly the book didn't work for me.
Reasons:
a) I don't enjoy "high fantasy", and this world is definitely part of that genre.
b) the plot tends to jump around, and i had trouble keeping track of who's pov the story was told through
c) there was little backstory building up the years of abuse the main character suffered through, which made it difficult for me to engage with him
i'm a big fan of Lex Chase's other books, this one just didn't work for me
Reasons:
a) I don't enjoy "high fantasy", and this world is definitely part of that genre.
b) the plot tends to jump around, and i had trouble keeping track of who's pov the story was told through
c) there was little backstory building up the years of abuse the main character suffered through, which made it difficult for me to engage with him
i'm a big fan of Lex Chase's other books, this one just didn't work for me
More...