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thatgirlinblack's review against another edition
adventurous
challenging
dark
emotional
hopeful
mysterious
tense
medium-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
5.0
In contrast to the previous story which saw all four siblings united in an adventurous quest to find enough magical resources to save Ashoka, this time they are further divided by suspicion and betrayal, navigating their own personal goals as well as the salvation of their kingdom. The blood flows and the forced proximity abounds 🫢
Vira is dethroned and on the run with the assassin who killed her mother, Ronek is being blackmailed by the sultry Ecta, Riya is struggling to control her new magical powers, and Kaleb is in the rival Lyrian kingdom playing double agent. Love blooms, even if in secret, and I appreciate that some of it is LGBTQ+!
Cosmic forces make a return, secrets are revealed, and history is laid bare (if at times a little melodramatically) and each sibling must make irreversible choices. They reunite for one last trip into the bowels of the legendary Crimson Fortress in a last ditch effort to save everything they hold dear.
Enjoy the still copious food descriptions and listen to the audiobook because each sibling’s chapter is narrated by a different person and the voices are so perfect!
emiann2023's review against another edition
5.0
I really liked the ending and how it brought everyone back together.
mgmaliska's review against another edition
5.0
The siblings are back on the mystery and being such siblings still.
Love the adventure and mystery but disappointed by the LGBTQ romance (or lack there of): our only gay character, Kaleb, doesn’t get so much as a kiss from his prince while the straight siblings are kissing away u der starlight.
This is not a romance book, thankfully, so it’s really not that big of a deal but it is frustrating when it is tagged LGBT.
But this book is satisfying and you get the mystery solved, the siblings finding their own ways, and learning to love themselves as they come to understand each other.
Love the adventure and mystery but disappointed by the LGBTQ romance (or lack there of): our only gay character, Kaleb, doesn’t get so much as a kiss from his prince while the straight siblings are kissing away u der starlight.
This is not a romance book, thankfully, so it’s really not that big of a deal but it is frustrating when it is tagged LGBT.
But this book is satisfying and you get the mystery solved, the siblings finding their own ways, and learning to love themselves as they come to understand each other.
nkp94's review against another edition
adventurous
emotional
mysterious
tense
medium-paced
- 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? Yes
3.5
magic_kitten's review
adventurous
emotional
funny
mysterious
medium-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? A mix
- Strong character development? Yes
- Loveable characters? Yes
- Diverse cast of characters? Yes
- Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes
4.0
mjk1221's review against another edition
3.0
As I felt with the first one, while I like all the siblings and their POVs, I think there are TOO many POVs for this short of a book/story. Normally I'm all for a duology (MORE DUOLOGIES, PLEASE), but I think this series would have benefited from a trilogy to spread out some of the POVs and the explanation of the world. There are a lot of personal relationships and machinations with each of the 4 siblings and then with them as a unit and then the actual story plot. I did enjoy how we saw the siblings more "cohesive" this book than the first and how they learned to be a family even with all their differences.
illiumbluebell's review
adventurous
medium-paced
- 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? Yes
3.0
This book was a bit more action packed than the first one, which I enjoyed. Probably because the world was already established and there was less worldbuilding to do.
Unfortunatly the characters were kind of prediction to me and the fact that everyone kept lying, promising they really weren't and then apologizing for lying, got pretty annoying at the end.
The plot was ok, I didn't dislike reading this but it wasn't great either. At least I finished a series.
Unfortunatly the characters were kind of prediction to me and the fact that everyone kept lying, promising they really weren't and then apologizing for lying, got pretty annoying at the end.
The plot was ok, I didn't dislike reading this but it wasn't great either. At least I finished a series.
taranginiofficial's review against another edition
adventurous
challenging
medium-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? Plot
- Strong character development? It's complicated
- Loveable characters? Yes
- Diverse cast of characters? Yes
- Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes
3.5
alizeasy's review
adventurous
medium-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? A mix
- Strong character development? Yes
- Loveable characters? Yes
- Diverse cast of characters? Yes
- Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes
2.75