alexisreads1's review against another edition
dark
emotional
tense
medium-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? A mix
- Strong character development? It's complicated
- Loveable characters? Yes
- Diverse cast of characters? Yes
- Flaws of characters a main focus? It's complicated
5.0
A king whose reign is coming to an end.
An heir who can’t hold the power of the rulers.
An ex assassin who desires freedom.
A prophecy that threatens them all.
I don’t know how to put into words how much I loved this book. It was amazing. It’s my new favorite book. If I could give it more starts I would. It has everything that I love in it.
It has badass women. Morally grey characters. It’s a fantasy world with sci-fi elements. It’s got political plotting and enemies to lovers and slow burn romance. The magic system in this books is also so interesting. It’s also inspired by Indian Mythology with so cool, and this world is so interesting.
The characters are all amazing. There are so many sides of them that you get to see and it’s done on such an amazing way. They’re all so interesting. They have their own stories and character arcs. None them are simple either they all have different layers and parts of their characters. I love them all so much.
“If there was one thing he could claim, it was this: that even in the darkness of death, he would know her.”
The world building is fantastic. I loved that it’s kind of entwined throughout the entire story. You don’t get an overwhelming amount of information all at once.
The twist and turned and surprises are so good. It keeps you guessing the entire time.
TW’s: Violence, torture, grief, death, fire/fire injury
*Thank you so much to NetGalley and Aparna Verma for this arc in return for an honest review. All of the thoughts in this review are my own!*
An heir who can’t hold the power of the rulers.
An ex assassin who desires freedom.
A prophecy that threatens them all.
I don’t know how to put into words how much I loved this book. It was amazing. It’s my new favorite book. If I could give it more starts I would. It has everything that I love in it.
It has badass women. Morally grey characters. It’s a fantasy world with sci-fi elements. It’s got political plotting and enemies to lovers and slow burn romance. The magic system in this books is also so interesting. It’s also inspired by Indian Mythology with so cool, and this world is so interesting.
The characters are all amazing. There are so many sides of them that you get to see and it’s done on such an amazing way. They’re all so interesting. They have their own stories and character arcs. None them are simple either they all have different layers and parts of their characters. I love them all so much.
“If there was one thing he could claim, it was this: that even in the darkness of death, he would know her.”
The world building is fantastic. I loved that it’s kind of entwined throughout the entire story. You don’t get an overwhelming amount of information all at once.
The twist and turned and surprises are so good. It keeps you guessing the entire time.
TW’s: Violence, torture, grief, death, fire/fire injury
*Thank you so much to NetGalley and Aparna Verma for this arc in return for an honest review. All of the thoughts in this review are my own!*
Content Warnings
Graphic: Injury/Injury detail, Fire/Fire injury, and Violence
Moderate: War
otiliasae's review
adventurous
dark
emotional
mysterious
slow-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? Plot
- Strong character development? Yes
- Loveable characters? Yes
- Diverse cast of characters? Yes
- Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes
4.5
Content Warnings
Graphic: Blood, Child death, Chronic illness, Death of parent, Death, Fire/Fire injury, Gore, Grief, Gun violence, Injury/Injury detail, Medical content, Medical trauma, Murder, and War
lainiereads's review
adventurous
challenging
dark
emotional
medium-paced
- Strong character development? Yes
- Loveable characters? Yes
- Diverse cast of characters? Yes
- Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes
5.0
THIS BOOK!! THIS BOOK! I am in so much pain.
The worldbuilding? The politics? The characters? The quotes? SO GOOD!
This book has a slower start, there's a lot of worldbuilding and character introductions that take up a bit of time in the beginning, but it was written so well that it was still interesting the whole time. Even while the story was being set up, I was intrigued and constantly trying to guess where the plot was going (surprise surprise, I guessed everything wrong every time!).
Speaking of the plot, THE TWISTS! THE TURNS! THE DRAMA! I went into this expecting lots of plot twists, which meant I was actively paying attention to details to try and figure out where it was going, but man I still got everything wrong! I also have no idea how the next book is going to go (mainly because I've learned I can't predict anything), and I think that's part of what made this book so intriguing. You just had to keep reading to see what was going to happen next!
Another major positive is the characters. There is so much depth to every character, so even when they do the wrong thing, they're still lovable. Which, yeah a lot of wrong things are done! If you are a fan of morally gray characters, or you like characters who want to do the right thing but life just doesn't let them, then these characters are for you! Every character is so great (especially Yassen, he has my heart) and Verma does a great job of showing the struggle that each person goes through internally and how they justify their decisions/actions. I really connected with the characters (even though they had me yelling at the book to "stop!" or "please don't do that!" at times). Each character also spends a lot of time reflecting on themself and what they've done, which creates powerful quotes that I will definitely be reflecting on the next time I have a mental crisis. I mean the first line alone is great: "To be forgiven, one must be burned".
If you like reading about characters with a lot of depth, the political conflicts that come with leading a kingdom, and being kept on your toes the WHOLE time, then you will love this book. Plus some things that I didn't cover in-depth, like a wonderful slowburn romance, a strong female lead, conversations about religion and the dangers of fanaticism, and beautiful worldbuilding.
Okay, I am going back to reflect some more on that ending.
<3 Aparna Verma, u are a queen.
The worldbuilding? The politics? The characters? The quotes? SO GOOD!
This book has a slower start, there's a lot of worldbuilding and character introductions that take up a bit of time in the beginning, but it was written so well that it was still interesting the whole time. Even while the story was being set up, I was intrigued and constantly trying to guess where the plot was going (surprise surprise, I guessed everything wrong every time!).
Speaking of the plot, THE TWISTS! THE TURNS! THE DRAMA! I went into this expecting lots of plot twists, which meant I was actively paying attention to details to try and figure out where it was going, but man I still got everything wrong! I also have no idea how the next book is going to go (mainly because I've learned I can't predict anything), and I think that's part of what made this book so intriguing. You just had to keep reading to see what was going to happen next!
Another major positive is the characters. There is so much depth to every character, so even when they do the wrong thing, they're still lovable. Which, yeah a lot of wrong things are done! If you are a fan of morally gray characters, or you like characters who want to do the right thing but life just doesn't let them, then these characters are for you! Every character is so great (especially Yassen, he has my heart) and Verma does a great job of showing the struggle that each person goes through internally and how they justify their decisions/actions. I really connected with the characters (even though they had me yelling at the book to "stop!" or "please don't do that!" at times). Each character also spends a lot of time reflecting on themself and what they've done, which creates powerful quotes that I will definitely be reflecting on the next time I have a mental crisis. I mean the first line alone is great: "To be forgiven, one must be burned".
If you like reading about characters with a lot of depth, the political conflicts that come with leading a kingdom, and being kept on your toes the WHOLE time, then you will love this book. Plus some things that I didn't cover in-depth, like a wonderful slowburn romance, a strong female lead, conversations about religion and the dangers of fanaticism, and beautiful worldbuilding.
Okay, I am going back to reflect some more on that ending.
<3 Aparna Verma, u are a queen.
Content Warnings
Graphic: Ableism, Blood, Violence, Racism, Murder, Injury/Injury detail, Grief, Fire/Fire injury, Death, and Death of parent
Moderate: Xenophobia, War, and Suicide
Minor: Cursing
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