The design and UX isn't done, Rob and Abbie, okkurrrr! 😌
itsnotalakeitsanocean's review against another edition
- Plot- or character-driven? Plot
- Strong character development? No
- Loveable characters? It's complicated
- Diverse cast of characters? It's complicated
- Flaws of characters a main focus? No
2.5
This book... was a mess quite frankly. It felt more like a mishmash of ideas strung together than a coherently though out plot, causing some truly atrocious pacing. Sometimes it felt like the plot was geared to go in one direction but then it would gently shy away and go in another. As a result certain parts lingered on for much longer than they should have - causing me to skim a lot - and action scenes felt too fast paced.
And the title? The title only applies to about 10% of the actual book. A better title would be The Forgotten Realms, seeing how it was more about the spaces different inhabitants resided in outside of Kiata. As someone who picked it up expecting dragons to be a huge focus I am sorely disappointed. I'm sure Seiryu featured a lot more in the previous book so I'm willing to give some benefit of the doubt, but he feels like a wasted character in this book.
As does Gen. Gen feels like his role was almost cut entirely from the plot save for him and Shiori escaping the dragon palace, and that cutting him out completely meant Shiori wouldn't be able to escape.
Speaking of Shiori, I have mixed feelings on her. On a subjective note, I'm not a fan of her personality. Subjectively, I think her personality could have worked IF there were more consequences to her actions. So many times she gets off with the narrative equivalent of a slap on the wrist and things go her way far too easily. Not entirely - especially towards the end - but there's no tension when you just know everything is going to go her way and the only other consequences happen to other characters. Who are just kind of there. Even her fiancé doesn't give a damn that she
Graphic: Blood, Death, and Violence
Moderate: Fire/Fire injury, Injury/Injury detail, War, and Confinement
Minor: Pregnancy and Death of parent
broccoli_j's review against another edition
- Plot- or character-driven? Plot
- Strong character development? Yes
- Loveable characters? Yes
- Diverse cast of characters? No
- Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes
4.75
The character development was intentional and well paced, the worldbuilding was consistent and the relationships emotional and well planed.Â
I absolutely loved this book!
Graphic: Blood, Violence, Death, and Fire/Fire injury
Moderate: War
Minor: Pregnancy
eetishmeh's review against another edition
- Plot- or character-driven? A mix
- Loveable characters? Yes
4.0
I spent a little longer than I'd've liked to finish this book due to school and life stuff in general... but also because some parts of the book were a little bit slow. That might just be a personal preference, though.Â
As always, I'd like to appreciate the worldbuilding, especially since I rarely see Asian takes on typical fantasy tropes (made-up names inspired by real-life things, mythological beings inspired by legends etc) that are usually used in Western settings. (I'm sure that non-English books must do this too, based on their own culture, but this is one of the first times I've seen this in an English book.)
I liked the conclusion to Shiori's journey. It was bittersweet, yet felt more sweet than bitter because of the character reactions and the nice little bows tied onto each character arc.Â
Overall, I preferred book 1 more due to its pacing and the plot structure, but I enjoyed this book as well. Goodbye, Lor'yan. I enjoyed traversing your land alongside Shiori <3
Graphic: Death and Death of parent
Moderate: Fire/Fire injury, Injury/Injury detail, and Murder
Minor: Pregnancy and War
Please look up content warnings if you are concerned! It's possible that I missed a few. Stay safe!kayceeisbookish's review against another edition
- Plot- or character-driven? Plot
- Strong character development? No
- Loveable characters? Yes
- Diverse cast of characters? Yes
- Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes
4.25
Minor: Grief, Pregnancy, War, Death, Death of parent, and Fire/Fire injury
pixellatxd's review against another edition
- Plot- or character-driven? A mix
- Strong character development? Yes
- Loveable characters? Yes
- Diverse cast of characters? N/A
- Flaws of characters a main focus? It's complicated
4.5
Graphic: War, Blood, Confinement, Death of parent, Death, Torture, and Violence
pastelmeganes's review against another edition
- 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? It's complicated
3.5
The first third of the book was a little odd for me personally. We spent so much time in the dragon realm and i just didn’t feel connected with anybody but Seryu (whom is by far my favorite character).Â
The book definitely picked up my interest again in the middle when were back in the human realm. Learning about Raikama’s past was my favorite part of the story by far.
My least favorite character of the main cast was Takkan. He just didn’t add anything in for me and was pretty boring, in a way he made Shiori a lot more boring in my opinion. I found myself rolling my eyes a few times at their interactions. I mean it’s cute but lacked elements that made me want to ve interested in their relationship.
If i were to do anything to make the book better for me personally, id change out the Dragon realm arc for something different, make Raikama’s home a bigger portion of the book, have shiori learn more magic and abilities, keep Gen more in the story, and have Seryu end up with Shiori instead of Takkan.
I will say Shiori choosing to free the demons was an interesting choice which i appreciated. It was some nice growth.
Graphic: Blood, Grief, Violence, and War
Moderate: Torture and Body horror
Minor: Physical abuse
kirstenf's review against another edition
- Plot- or character-driven? A mix
- Strong character development? Yes
- Loveable characters? It's complicated
- Diverse cast of characters? It's complicated
- Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes
3.75
Graphic: Blood and Death of parent
Moderate: Death, Fire/Fire injury, Religious bigotry, Injury/Injury detail, Violence, and Grief
Minor: War
madyou's review against another edition
- Plot- or character-driven? Plot
- Loveable characters? Yes
4.0
Graphic: Death, Grief, Violence, and Blood
Moderate: Kidnapping and War
lizgriffinwords's review against another edition
- Plot- or character-driven? A mix
- Strong character development? It's complicated
- Loveable characters? Yes
- Diverse cast of characters? It's complicated
- Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes
4.0
Those familiar with the Wild Swans inspiration will recognize a few additional details.
Overall, lovely sequel but didn’t quite live up to the first one, for me.
Moderate: Violence and Death of parent
Minor: War, Grief, and Injury/Injury detail
maidmarianlib's review against another edition
- 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
4.0
Moderate: Kidnapping, Violence, and War