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xapoptosisx's review against another edition
adventurous
dark
mysterious
tense
fast-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? A mix
- Strong character development? Yes
- Loveable characters? Yes
- Diverse cast of characters? It's complicated
- Flaws of characters a main focus? It's complicated
4.5
A very strong 4.5 stars half of this felt like a dnd campaign all fun and whimsy while the other half was a quite gut wrenching tale of religious trauma and what it means to be a woman in a patriarchal world and then overthrowing it. Cerise's speech in the final battle impeccable 10/10 no notes. The epilogue so scary and then the fairyloot edition has a bonus chapter from the pov of the dog which takes place after the epilogue which is somehow more intense and eerie than the original epilogue. Anyway I'm looking forward to read the next one.
Content Warnings
Graphic: Child death, Cursing, Death, Gore, Misogyny, Sexual content, Violence, Blood, Grief, Death of parent, Murder, Fire/Fire injury, Gaslighting, and Injury/Injury detail
Moderate: Animal death, Infidelity, Self harm, Pregnancy, and Alcohol
natashaleighton_'s review against another edition
adventurous
emotional
tense
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? Yes
4.0
An action packed, epic romantasy with a deliciously intense romance between a trainee Seer (born without the gift of foresight) and the cursed King she’s sent to serve.
I wasn’t sure what to expect going into this (especially as the romance was described as being slow burn) but I was pleasantly surprised by how fabulously pacey it was.
Delivering enough action (and high stakes danger) to keep readers on edge, whilst also weaving an intricate, lore-based magic system into the faith based political setting. Melissa Landers’ has laid a solid foundation for a truly spectacular series — that I can definitely see rivalling Gild or From Blood and Ash (especially when it comes to the danger, intrigue and unexpected twists we encounter.)
But what truly won me over was our endearing protagonist, Cerise. Raised solely to serve the goddess as a seer (despite not receiving the gift of foresight) her hope, optimism and unwavering compassion was wonderfully inspiring.
Her sheltered upbringing (and naivety when it comes to the political machinations of everyone around her) is something that usually irks me in a character, but with Cerise it felt organic and genuine—which only made me love her more.
And gave us the opportunity to watch Cerise evolve as a character, slowly piecing together past events and finally learning to see herself as someone of worth.
The romance was really good, Cerise’s chemistry with the mysterious King was delicious, but their actual time together was pretty brief. This is the first in a new series but do I anticipate they’ll have a lot more scenes in the next instalment. The scenes we are treated, however, to were sizzlingly addictive.
Overall, a great series opener that already has me eager for the sequel!
Also, a huge thank you to Anne at Random Things Tours and Bantam Books for the gorgeous proof.
Content Warnings
Graphic: Religious bigotry
Moderate: Animal cruelty, Death, and Gore
Minor: Blood
fantasy_fi's review against another edition
adventurous
medium-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? Plot
- Strong character development? Yes
- Loveable characters? Yes
- Flaws of characters a main focus? No
4.5
Content Warnings
Moderate: Gore