brindlecat's review
3.0
I generally love Elliott's books, but this one (her first) falls pretty firmly in the "meh" category for me. There are pieces that are interesting, but overall it feels like a run of the mill people-transported-to-high-fantasy-world-and-have-adventures story.
virginiaduan's review
4.0
Mysterious, intriguing, and so good. All the elements of classic Elliot are present. Wonderful story.
literatimedium's review
3.0
So this is the first Kate Elliot book I've read and it was...okay. I can give it some leeway because it was her first novel. It has a major telling vs. showing problem. There were lots of conversations where the characters would talk about something that happened and I couldn't help but feel that the story would have been better served if that scene were actually in the book.
Also, the two "main" characters fell pretty flat for me. I will say that I found the cast of characters enjoyable and likeable overall, but the majority of the character archs were plot driven, not character driven. It's no wonder that the two characters that had the best character driven archs (enemies to lovers) were my favorite.
The world building was really fun and the action scenes were great.
In all, a fun story even if it has problems. I'll definitely be reading more by Kate.
Also, the two "main" characters fell pretty flat for me. I will say that I found the cast of characters enjoyable and likeable overall, but the majority of the character archs were plot driven, not character driven. It's no wonder that the two characters that had the best character driven archs (enemies to lovers) were my favorite.
The world building was really fun and the action scenes were great.
In all, a fun story even if it has problems. I'll definitely be reading more by Kate.
firesoulbird's review
2.0
Honestly, this book was all over the place for me, particularly with characterization. Chryse, in particular. She's kind of a nothing person for most of the book,then she gets really catty out of nowhere to someone she has no reason to dislike. Then she becomes nothing again. What's with that? But I can definitely see the seeds of Elliott's Crown of Stars series in here, which is much better.
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