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jasperw's review against another edition
adventurous
challenging
emotional
hopeful
tense
fast-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? A mix
- Strong character development? It's complicated
- Loveable characters? Yes
- Diverse cast of characters? No
- Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes
4.5
I was not expecting to enjoy this book as much as I did. I thought the story pacing was really good, the characters were really interesting, and the world was pretty well built. I do think the romance was a little faster than it maybe needed to be (especially if this is a 4+ book series), but it also didn't bother me too much in this situation. I thought it mostly worked for the characters, though a slightly slower burn would have been even more delicious as a reader. I was refreshed by the FMC, while she made some decisions that made me shake my head, she also made good decisions. She felt like a more real person, sometimes doing the thing I wanted her to and other times not.
Content Warnings
Graphic: Animal death and Death
j_emerson18's review against another edition
adventurous
medium-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? A mix
- Strong character development? Yes
- Loveable characters? It's complicated
- Diverse cast of characters? It's complicated
- Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes
2.75
I have a lot of thoughts about this. For me, the only positives I personally have is 1) Liam is the absolute best character, no notes except he didn't deserve that one scene, 2) the dragons talking to one another is everything, 3) Xaden's pov is honestly kinda sweet and made me hate the romance portion a little less . Now what I couldn't stand the most: this is not enemies to lovers in any way. This is 100% a forbidden romance. If you enjoy this book, good for you. Not my cup of tea but I enjoyed it more than ACOTAR. Also to note, I loathe Violet's inner thoughts. Especially in regards to Xaden, she just reminds me of a horny teenage and she really can't respect his boundaries in the beginning/middle of the book which threw me away from supporting them as a couple.
Content Warnings
Graphic: Animal death, Cursing, Death, Drug use, Sexual content, Violence, Blood, Grief, Death of parent, Fire/Fire injury, War, and Injury/Injury detail
Moderate: Classism
jamiejanae_6's review against another edition
adventurous
dark
emotional
funny
mysterious
sad
tense
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
5.0
Content Warnings
Graphic: Animal death, Bullying, Death, Blood, Grief, Death of parent, Murder, and War
infjkiki'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? Yes
- Flaws of characters a main focus? No
5.0
Content Warnings
Graphic: Bullying, Death, Gore, Physical abuse, Sexual content, Violence, Blood, Grief, Death of parent, Murder, Fire/Fire injury, War, and Injury/Injury detail
Moderate: Animal death and Vomit
hiveofbees's review against another edition
adventurous
dark
mysterious
tense
fast-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? Character
- Strong character development? It's complicated
- Diverse cast of characters? Yes
- Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes
2.75
Content Warnings
Graphic: Death, Sexual content, and Violence
Moderate: Ableism, Animal cruelty, Animal death, Bullying, Chronic illness, Cursing, Blood, and Toxic friendship
Minor: Death of parent
tottles's review against another edition
adventurous
dark
emotional
tense
medium-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? A mix
- Strong character development? It's complicated
- Loveable characters? It's complicated
- Diverse cast of characters? Yes
- Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes
4.75
loses .25 for random out of character, poorly timed yearning!!!
Content Warnings
Graphic: Animal death, Body horror, Cursing, Death, Sexual content, Violence, Blood, Grief, and Murder
startjpw23's review against another edition
adventurous
challenging
dark
emotional
sad
tense
fast-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
4.5
This book is described as a Romantasy. It stars Violet Sorrengail. In the world of the book, two kingdoms have engaged in a war of around 400 years. In Violet's kingdom, there are 4 war colleges - Riders, Scribes, Healers, and Infantry. When people hit age 20, they go into one of the war colleges. The first is by choice in most cases. People are conscripted into the others. Violet's mother is a general. Her father was a scribe who passed away before the book started. Violet trained for her whole life to be a scribe. Six months before the 20-year-olds are scheduled to go to one of the war colleges, Violet's mother tells her she has to go to the Riders college. The Riders college trains people so they might be selected by a dragon as a partner. The dragons are intelligent, and they channel a power to their riders. The Rider College is brutal. Trainees can be killed by other trainees at any time except when they are asleep. They can be killed during the training exercises. Violet has 6 months to try to catch up on the training she missed during the time she training to be a scribe. She has a condition that caused her bones to be brittle and her ligaments to be loose (her bones can easily get out of alignment because of this). Also, she is small. Five years ago, a group of members of the kingdom rebelled. They were executed in front of their children. The children were then forced to go the Riders College when they hit 20. The most lethal of these children is Xaden Riorson. He is a third year at the Riders College and the commander of a whole wing. He hates Violet's mother for executing his parents. Thus, he hates Violet. The story goes from there.
Before I give my view of the book, I need to say that the book does have some issues that may cause people to choose not to read it. Although the world building is good in many ways, there are some noticeable holes. Violet thinks about sex a lot. Sometimes when she is in danger. There are some graphic sex scenes. The writing confused me a fair amount. I found myself pausing and trying to understand what was going on sometimes. For me, only the last one was an issue.
I loved Violet. I thought she was a great heroine. I thought that the author came up with creative ways for Violet to pass challenges despite her issues and these ways seemed mostly realistic. I loved the other characters I was supposed to love. And hated the ones I was supposed to hate. I loved the dragons and their interactions with their riders. I thought the story was great. There were some amazing twists. Despite what I said about it being confusing in spots, I reached a point fairly early where I didn't want to put the book down. I wanted to read more to see what would happen next. And I wanted to pick it up again the next to see what happened next. This is one of the best books I have read this year. I will definitely continue with the series.
I recommend this book for someone who is coming at it from the romance angle. If you come at it from the fantasy angle, be aware that it might be lighter on the fantasy elements than you are used to. People should take into account the issues I listed above.
Before I give my view of the book, I need to say that the book does have some issues that may cause people to choose not to read it. Although the world building is good in many ways, there are some noticeable holes. Violet thinks about sex a lot. Sometimes when she is in danger. There are some graphic sex scenes. The writing confused me a fair amount. I found myself pausing and trying to understand what was going on sometimes. For me, only the last one was an issue.
I loved Violet. I thought she was a great heroine. I thought that the author came up with creative ways for Violet to pass challenges despite her issues and these ways seemed mostly realistic. I loved the other characters I was supposed to love. And hated the ones I was supposed to hate. I loved the dragons and their interactions with their riders. I thought the story was great. There were some amazing twists. Despite what I said about it being confusing in spots, I reached a point fairly early where I didn't want to put the book down. I wanted to read more to see what would happen next. And I wanted to pick it up again the next to see what happened next. This is one of the best books I have read this year. I will definitely continue with the series.
I recommend this book for someone who is coming at it from the romance angle. If you come at it from the fantasy angle, be aware that it might be lighter on the fantasy elements than you are used to. People should take into account the issues I listed above.
Content Warnings
Graphic: Animal death, Death, War, and Injury/Injury detail
ella_bibliophile_98's review against another edition
adventurous
dark
emotional
funny
mysterious
tense
fast-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
4.75
Loved this book - not usually my genre but saw all the hype and thought I’d give it a go - it’s not a book that will challenge you, but it’s is an exciting read from start to finish- characters are loveable and detailed and the relationship development between all the characters is colourful and rich.
Aside from the sauciness (which is great) the lore surrounding the dragons and the history of the kingdom is interesting too- overall just loved this book and can’t wait to read the next one in the series!
Aside from the sauciness (which is great) the lore surrounding the dragons and the history of the kingdom is interesting too- overall just loved this book and can’t wait to read the next one in the series!
Content Warnings
Graphic: Animal death, Death, Gore, Torture, and War
pdiaz's review against another edition
adventurous
emotional
sad
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
4.0
Content Warnings
Moderate: Sexual content and War
Minor: Animal death, Bullying, Death, Physical abuse, Forced institutionalization, Blood, Murder, Fire/Fire injury, Injury/Injury detail, and Classism
wishlissa's review against another edition
adventurous
emotional
tense
fast-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
4.5
Content Warnings
Graphic: Animal death, Death, and Violence
Moderate: Ableism, Grief, and Death of parent