kbairbooks's review against another edition
- Plot- or character-driven? A mix
- Strong character development? Yes
- Loveable characters? Yes
- Diverse cast of characters? It's complicated
- Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes
5.0
Graphic: Infidelity, Torture, Toxic friendship, Classism, Confinement, Drug abuse, Grief, Murder, Sexual content, Violence, War, Drug use, Fire/Fire injury, Genocide, Gore, Trafficking, Emotional abuse, Blood, Death, Injury/Injury detail, and Kidnapping
Moderate: Death of parent, Alcohol, and Miscarriage
thelongroadtosanity's review against another edition
- Plot- or character-driven? Plot
- Strong character development? No
- Loveable characters? No
- Diverse cast of characters? No
- Flaws of characters a main focus? It's complicated
3.0
*
**
***
**
*
This book concludes the conflict between the Seelie and Unseelie courts. Abriella discovers that Bash has betrayed her, and flees the Sun Court, wandering the woods until she stumbles upon a work camp for Unseelie prisoners. Freeing those trapped there, and befriending the Wild Fae King, Bri has to overcome her emotions and discover the truth about herself and the power of the Unseelie Court.
The first book in this Duology has fan-fiction vibes, and that continues on into this story. Towards the end, I definitely felt there was some Throne of Glass overlap. I also struggled with Bri through the entirety of the plot. I felt that she was very, very whiney and annoying and continued to mope about and profess "woe is me, I've been betrayed". It's definitely like that for nearly half the book and I must admit, I would have DNF-ed this solely based on my agitation with Bri's character if I wasn't supposed to be doing a buddy read with coworkers.
The plot is fast-paced, which did keep my attention, and I enjoyed the action and bits of spice sprinkled throughout Bri's emotional breakdowns. The lore and world-building is more complicated in this, and I felt that it was almost too overwhelming at one point until it was all explained later on in the timeline. Once it all made sense, it peaked my interest.
I was not a fan of the conclusion. It felt like there was so much build-up to get to this point and then everything happened over what felt like 5 pages and then everything was suddenly fine and dandy again. The small plot twist at the end was a nice surprise, but I wanted more character development from Bash, Bri, and Finn. I suppose you could consider this a "slow-burn" type of romance with an awkward "love-triangle" troupe if you really wanted to.
Overall, I was slightly disappointed in this Duology. The hype behind the books was so great, especially for those who love SJM, ACOTAR, and TOG (aka ME) but unfortunately for me it just wasn't there. I definitely wanted more from the plot and more from the characters. (07/2023)
3 out of 5 stars
Moderate: Murder, Violence, Slavery, Injury/Injury detail, and Sexual content
kassidyreads's review against another edition
- Plot- or character-driven? A mix
- Strong character development? Yes
- Loveable characters? No
- Diverse cast of characters? No
- Flaws of characters a main focus? No
2.5
Graphic: Sexual content
Moderate: Toxic relationship, Infidelity, Death, Confinement, Violence, and Fire/Fire injury
Minor: Death of parent and Slavery
maddiementions's review against another edition
- Plot- or character-driven? Character
- Strong character development? Yes
- Loveable characters? Yes
- Diverse cast of characters? Yes
- Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes
3.0
Graphic: Sexual content and Cursing
Moderate: Gore and Violence
cady_sass's review against another edition
- Plot- or character-driven? A mix
- Strong character development? Yes
- Loveable characters? Yes
- Diverse cast of characters? No
- Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes
4.0
Graphic: Blood, Classism, Gaslighting, Toxic friendship, Child death, Injury/Injury detail, Alcohol, Death of parent, Emotional abuse, Murder, Abandonment, Death, Grief, Confinement, Infidelity, Kidnapping, Sexual content, Toxic relationship, Violence, War, and Body horror
nicole_thereader's review against another edition
- Plot- or character-driven? A mix
- Strong character development? Yes
- Loveable characters? Yes
- Diverse cast of characters? No
- Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes
4.0
Moderate: Injury/Injury detail, Kidnapping, Sexual content, Violence, and Fire/Fire injury
iamsammie27's review against another edition
- Plot- or character-driven? A mix
- Strong character development? Yes
- Loveable characters? Yes
- Diverse cast of characters? It's complicated
- Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes
4.0
Graphic: Xenophobia
Moderate: Sexual content and Violence
Minor: War and Child death
katvou's review against another edition
- Plot- or character-driven? A mix
- Strong character development? Yes
- Loveable characters? Yes
- Diverse cast of characters? Yes
- Flaws of characters a main focus? It's complicated
4.75
Graphic: Violence, Death, Death of parent, Grief, Injury/Injury detail, and Murder
Moderate: War, Blood, Drug use, Drug abuse, Kidnapping, and Sexual content
Minor: Alcohol and Fire/Fire injury
haley49's review against another edition
- Plot- or character-driven? Plot
- Strong character development? Yes
- Loveable characters? Yes
- Diverse cast of characters? No
4.5
Moderate: Confinement, Death of parent, Blood, Grief, Kidnapping, Sexual content, Torture, Violence, War, Abandonment, and Colonisation
Minor: Slavery, Injury/Injury detail, Death, Homophobia, Medical content, Fire/Fire injury, Cursing, and Genocide
ereadkie's review against another edition
- 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
4.75
Moderate: Torture, Violence, Kidnapping, and Trafficking