teri_b's review against another edition
adventurous
dark
emotional
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
5.0
It really does get dark in this second book.
The characters get more scope but also have got to live with the decisions they make.
The characters get more scope but also have got to live with the decisions they make.
Content Warnings
Graphic: Death and Murder
Moderate: Sexual harassment
annekepaige's review
adventurous
challenging
dark
mysterious
slow-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? A mix
- Strong character development? No
- Loveable characters? It's complicated
- Diverse cast of characters? No
- Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes
3.75
felinity's review against another edition
4.0
It really is well named. This is the darkest of the Deverry books, and it's taken me a few years to realize this is why it's also my least favorite. That said, every time I reread the series (about every 2 years) I still feel the compulsion to include this one, because without darkness how do you recognize light? It's Darkspell that leads to Dawnspell, the dawning of hope and the resurrection, and it's Darkspell that shows how bad choices - or the lack of choices - can pull an entire civilization down.
pamela22'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? Yes
- Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes
4.0
This is my third read of this novel, spread over a few decades. My favourite fantasy series ever.
two_rivers_reads's review against another edition
adventurous
dark
mysterious
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
4.0
strawberrypinch's review
1.0
This book was so disappointing! I really enjoyed that in the first one, while the characters certainly rode into battle against opposing armies, their true enemies were their own human flaws & their past mistakes. In this book, we are introduced to a group of mustache-twirling villains whose characterizations are completely awful. Just about everything charming about book one was left out of this installation.
dreamreader's review against another edition
adventurous
dark
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
5.0
There were certainly parts of this second installment in the series that I didn't like, but overall there was more that I did like, and giving this book anything less than five stars feels like doing it and Katharine Kerr's writing a disservice. I've never read anyone do a reincarnation plot as well as Kerr does it. I'm sucked into the past lives of Jill, Rhodry, and Cullyn just as much as I am their present lives. I love Nevyn. The world opened up in such a fantastic way in this book. Yes, we're introduced a bit more to the dark side of this world. And yes, the bad guys are seriously bad. But I found I was so much more interested in everything happening in this book than the first, and I really enjoyed the first. No second-book syndrome here. This book was amazingly well done.
mirtlifthewise's review against another edition
adventurous
challenging
dark
emotional
mysterious
reflective
sad
tense
medium-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? Plot
- Strong character development? No
- Loveable characters? Yes
- Diverse cast of characters? Yes
- Flaws of characters a main focus? No
3.75