heartsfl's review
adventurous
challenging
inspiring
mysterious
tense
medium-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? A mix
- Strong character development? It's complicated
- Loveable characters? No
- Diverse cast of characters? Yes
- Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes
3.75
so i left this book for quite a while bc I got bored but.... this book isn't really that boring tbh. the author uses loads and loads of adjectives to make sure we know what everything looks like. except for the mc be I don't even know if shes white or black. anyways, she uses so many adjectives and sometimes I don't even be knowing the rods and I'm like, u could've just used the normal word?, idk. she uses terms she makes up herself but never really clearly explains them. i literally only knew the term tides meant years until I was almost done with the book. still don't know what kembric means. i feel like he ending is kind of rushed IMO bc the plot twists were plot twisting a bit but the ending left a lot unexplained. also the mc was kind of annoying I mean like was <spolier>she not seeing the red flags luca was giving off at their meeting at the paper place or wtv??????? like bro cmon it was so obvious and GODDDDDDD dont even get me started on the second-hand embarrassment that I got from her at every other term. like she couldn't sit fucking still like bro???? overall tho the book was kind of good, the other had a way with words. i didn't really love any of the characters maybe except Luca (they did him so fucking dirty) and again the ending felt really rushed even tho I assume there's another book?? idk. the premise is super cool tho love the whole thing about the court and stuff. i also feel like sylives powers could've been amped up or explored a bit more idk. like there has to be more u can do with illusions if ur gonna choose that as the power of ur mc. not saying she should be overpowered af bc sometimes that's just corny but yk I feel like more could've been done with it. another problem I had was how did sylvie beet the queen so easily like??? i just don't get it I feel like there was so much more to be done but wtv. i wasn't able to drop the book tho so this book was a good read. also dont take my review to seriously I read books for fun.
Spoiler
like is there really not another relic? is the empress ACTUALLY dead? what is even her legacy bc I could not understand what was happening. yk it would've been much much much more interesting if she actually didn't even have one. How would she have become empress in the first place like it could've made the story a million times better.dani17731's review
3.0
2.75 stars
This book came in my first OwlCrate box, and it's definitely not a book I'd have ever picked up on my own.
I somewhat enjoyed the storyline, and I'm curious for the next book, but I have beef with the writing style. The prose was a bit too...flowery? Overly descriptive? I don't know the right adjective to use, but this book certainly has more than enough.
I finished it in a couple of days because it was so fast-paced, so there's that.
This book came in my first OwlCrate box, and it's definitely not a book I'd have ever picked up on my own.
I somewhat enjoyed the storyline, and I'm curious for the next book, but I have beef with the writing style. The prose was a bit too...flowery? Overly descriptive? I don't know the right adjective to use, but this book certainly has more than enough.
I finished it in a couple of days because it was so fast-paced, so there's that.
eden_2000's review
fast-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? A mix
- Strong character development? No
- Loveable characters? No
- Diverse cast of characters? Yes
- Flaws of characters a main focus? It's complicated
1.25
louha's review against another edition
4.0
hello Goodreaders,
You can also find the review on my blog, right here.
Amber and dusk was featured in the December 2018 ‘Power Of Illusions’ OwlCrate. Once again, it’s the kind of book i would never have wanted in the first place. That’s why i love these subscription boxes, you know : it’s because i never know what i will get, and i’m always nicely surprised by the books. (well, almost always but, hey : one can’t love it all, right ? )
Let’s talk about Amber and Dusk, then. At first, i didn’t like it. All the journey part, without anything going on… I mean, it was just an annoying journey, with an annoying girl, and i’ve read it everywhere. but, well : i’ve had lots of good surprises with owlcrate’s books, so i kept reading. It was saturday, i had nothing else to do… and my cat was asleep on my belly so i couldn’t move. I read, then.
And Sylvie went to the castle.
And Sylvie started her new life.
And Sylvie became very interesting.
And, Sylvie became Mirage, the illusion mage of the Empress Court. She became a lonely girl, who had to impress the Empress, who knew nothing of that world, who knew nothing of what would happen to her if she stayed… She new nothing about Court, about manners, about that world she was crawling for. And, I started to feel for her, for her adventures, her friendships, her struggles.
And, oh. my. god, that wicked Versaille Lyra Selene is painting for us all along. I just LOVED it. I loved that there was something rotten, i loved the weirdness coming up, a bit more on each page. I would have loved it better if, sometimes, Lyra Selene would have taken a bit more time to explain us things, to describe the world instead of just showing us it was “this” and no explanations needed. Oh well.
I loved that we got to see the first love interest Sylvie had, and i loved that things went very wrong with him. I loved that he was as wicked as everyone else. And. for god sake. I loved the twins too. Those wicked lovely bastards were my favourites in that book. Sunder. That Sunder is so perfect. May i have one for Christmas, please ? He is the super rich wicked one, who makes people hate him on purpose, who will do anything to protect his sister… and at some point, you just realise he had done the same for Sylvie/Mirage from day one…
In the end, i couldn’t even thing i thought this was going to be “generic fantasy”, because when i finally arrived at the last page, i just turned it, once. Twice. and then i said to my sleepy cat “what an ending is that i want more”. And Chat just yawned and went back to sleep and… i felt so lonely. I will definitely buy the second book and read it, and i hope i will enjoy that one as much as the first ! And, reader, you HAVE TO GIVE THIS BOOK A GO. it totally deserve it.
You can also find the review on my blog, right here.
Amber and dusk was featured in the December 2018 ‘Power Of Illusions’ OwlCrate. Once again, it’s the kind of book i would never have wanted in the first place. That’s why i love these subscription boxes, you know : it’s because i never know what i will get, and i’m always nicely surprised by the books. (well, almost always but, hey : one can’t love it all, right ? )
Let’s talk about Amber and Dusk, then. At first, i didn’t like it. All the journey part, without anything going on… I mean, it was just an annoying journey, with an annoying girl, and i’ve read it everywhere. but, well : i’ve had lots of good surprises with owlcrate’s books, so i kept reading. It was saturday, i had nothing else to do… and my cat was asleep on my belly so i couldn’t move. I read, then.
And Sylvie went to the castle.
And Sylvie started her new life.
And Sylvie became very interesting.
And, Sylvie became Mirage, the illusion mage of the Empress Court. She became a lonely girl, who had to impress the Empress, who knew nothing of that world, who knew nothing of what would happen to her if she stayed… She new nothing about Court, about manners, about that world she was crawling for. And, I started to feel for her, for her adventures, her friendships, her struggles.
And, oh. my. god, that wicked Versaille Lyra Selene is painting for us all along. I just LOVED it. I loved that there was something rotten, i loved the weirdness coming up, a bit more on each page. I would have loved it better if, sometimes, Lyra Selene would have taken a bit more time to explain us things, to describe the world instead of just showing us it was “this” and no explanations needed. Oh well.
I loved that we got to see the first love interest Sylvie had, and i loved that things went very wrong with him. I loved that he was as wicked as everyone else. And. for god sake. I loved the twins too. Those wicked lovely bastards were my favourites in that book. Sunder. That Sunder is so perfect. May i have one for Christmas, please ? He is the super rich wicked one, who makes people hate him on purpose, who will do anything to protect his sister… and at some point, you just realise he had done the same for Sylvie/Mirage from day one…
In the end, i couldn’t even thing i thought this was going to be “generic fantasy”, because when i finally arrived at the last page, i just turned it, once. Twice. and then i said to my sleepy cat “what an ending is that i want more”. And Chat just yawned and went back to sleep and… i felt so lonely. I will definitely buy the second book and read it, and i hope i will enjoy that one as much as the first ! And, reader, you HAVE TO GIVE THIS BOOK A GO. it totally deserve it.
theagcdas's review
4.0
It was a bit difficult to get into in the beginning, but after the first few chapters, it was really well-written and captivating.
afern95's review
adventurous
mysterious
tense
fast-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? Character
- Strong character development? Yes
- Loveable characters? Yes
- Diverse cast of characters? Yes
- Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes
4.0
brenna_reads_books's review against another edition
DNF. I was so confused the entire time.
nezha's review against another edition
4.0
3.75 stars!!
I don’t have much to say bc I didn’t absolutely fall in love or have many problems with this one but it was a good read! There were some cliche tropes thrown around but overall it tied together so well to create a unique story. The ambitious mc, court intrigue, and dark love interest were my favorite parts. The ending left on a note that made me excited for book 2!
I don’t have much to say bc I didn’t absolutely fall in love or have many problems with this one but it was a good read! There were some cliche tropes thrown around but overall it tied together so well to create a unique story. The ambitious mc, court intrigue, and dark love interest were my favorite parts. The ending left on a note that made me excited for book 2!