addiemae09's review against another edition
adventurous
emotional
hopeful
mysterious
reflective
sad
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? No
4.5
leaps's review against another edition
2.0
She has such an imaginative fantasy, her world building is so complex. But I still think that this book with it's 613 pages (!!!) were too much. She could have cut down maybe 200? I had to force myself to read through it and honestly did not care to understand some parts. It was so boring.
The first book was great and epic, I loved it. The next two books of the series was a build up and kept building up to something but instead did not really end in a fight but ended in one chapter with an conversation(?). And then she kept adding stuff that made me think that she pulled an Tahereh Mafi and we were going to get more books, but no.
The first book was great and epic, I loved it. The next two books of the series was a build up and kept building up to something but instead did not really end in a fight but ended in one chapter with an conversation(?). And then she kept adding stuff that made me think that she pulled an Tahereh Mafi and we were going to get more books, but no.
alexabookish's review against another edition
3.0
3/3.5 stars. so... obviously this is laini taylor, so it’s wonderfully written i think this was my least favorite in the series. i felt it was really long, and i kinda had to force myself to read it. if i didn’t have the audiobook, this would’ve taken me way longer to finish. i think it’s because i just really didn’t care about the love/relationship between karou and akiva. like i really don’t like it, so i didn’t really care about their ending, which was like kinda the point of this book. idk. i did absolutely love all the connections to Strange the Dreamer. It was so fun to read about those. i also loved zuzana and mik, like how could you not, and i really love karou’s character, i just did not like the romance
rosaceae's review against another edition
adventurous
dark
hopeful
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? No
3.0
sleepysapph_'s review against another edition
adventurous
emotional
hopeful
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
4.0
I have… very mixed feelings!!! On one hand, it’s sorta my own fault because I read the first two books back in FEBRUARY (oops) 🫣 but on the other hand (based on some reviews) I don’t seem to be the only one feeling a bit conflicted!
I absolutely fell in love with this series thanks to the first book, like I genuinely ended it in tears because it was so beautiful to me - so perhaps I had unreasonably high expectations, but for how BIG this book was I was hoping it would’ve felt more… cohesive?
There were soooo many storylines happening, including more time with new characters. I don’t usually mind that sort of addition but for the final book it just seemed like biting off more than one could chew. I genuinely could’ve gone without Eliza’s entire storyline (sorry not sorry) and the final act seemed so rushed and random. The concept was great but I think if it was mentioned earlier/brought up with more urgency early on it would’ve been more impactful for me.
The main conflict we were building up to with the first two books seemed to end rather easily as well? And quickly? I assume it was to make room for that final piece involving Akiva but I really didn’t enjoy that change in pace. Speaking of pace, the pacing was a bit whack at times which made this a bit harder for me to get through - but here we are!
All in all, it was still a beautiful story. The writing was gorgeous (no surprise there) and my love for the original group of characters remained intact (apologies to all the newer ones, but I demand time and deep backstory to get attached).
I’m happy I finally finished this trilogy, and I’ll definitely be reading more from the author in the future because her writing is just soooo dreamy and creative.
I absolutely fell in love with this series thanks to the first book, like I genuinely ended it in tears because it was so beautiful to me - so perhaps I had unreasonably high expectations, but for how BIG this book was I was hoping it would’ve felt more… cohesive?
There were soooo many storylines happening, including more time with new characters. I don’t usually mind that sort of addition but for the final book it just seemed like biting off more than one could chew. I genuinely could’ve gone without Eliza’s entire storyline (sorry not sorry) and the final act seemed so rushed and random. The concept was great but I think if it was mentioned earlier/brought up with more urgency early on it would’ve been more impactful for me.
The main conflict we were building up to with the first two books seemed to end rather easily as well? And quickly? I assume it was to make room for that final piece involving Akiva but I really didn’t enjoy that change in pace. Speaking of pace, the pacing was a bit whack at times which made this a bit harder for me to get through - but here we are!
All in all, it was still a beautiful story. The writing was gorgeous (no surprise there) and my love for the original group of characters remained intact (apologies to all the newer ones, but I demand time and deep backstory to get attached).
I’m happy I finally finished this trilogy, and I’ll definitely be reading more from the author in the future because her writing is just soooo dreamy and creative.
Content Warnings
Moderate: Death
sam_presents's review against another edition
adventurous
dark
emotional
hopeful
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
4.0
mgmcghee's review against another edition
adventurous
dark
emotional
hopeful
sad
slow-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
4.0