maryncross18's review against another edition
adventurous
challenging
dark
emotional
funny
hopeful
inspiring
mysterious
reflective
sad
tense
medium-paced
5.0
AMAZING CHARACTER BUILDING! Adore
geekmom's review
challenging
dark
emotional
hopeful
reflective
sad
slow-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? A mix
- Strong character development? Yes
- Loveable characters? Yes
- Diverse cast of characters? Yes
4.25
I had many moments where I wondered if this very ambitious pair of books would be successful. I’m glad to say that in large part, I felt that Parry succeeded in telling this grand and important tale. The writing was a tiny bit uneven in places - both books suffered from the need to quickly describe the events that were unfolding, to the point that the characters I cared about felt remote and I became a bit disengaged. But Parry really pulls things together beautifully in the last half of this book. I’m very glad I stuck with her and with this story.
storiedadventures's review against another edition
5.0
Full review on my blog, Storied Adventures!
Y'all, Napoleon Bonaparte controls a kraken and dragon. Okay? I feel like I don't need to say anything else. If that doesn't hook you in...
I love how this is real history but with added magic. Things ended the same as in real life, but with an added twist. Vampire, magic, revolutions, creatures, battles. So. Freaking. Fun. Love this duology!
Y'all, Napoleon Bonaparte controls a kraken and dragon. Okay? I feel like I don't need to say anything else. If that doesn't hook you in...
I love how this is real history but with added magic. Things ended the same as in real life, but with an added twist. Vampire, magic, revolutions, creatures, battles. So. Freaking. Fun. Love this duology!
zenalth's review against another edition
5.0
I don't want to die. I love this country with every breath in my body; I don't want to leave it yet, and I don't want to leave it like this.
What Parry set out to accomplish with this duology was Ambitious with a capital A. But she did it, and she did it beautifully.
All of the POV characters return in this book with, of course, the notable exception of Robespierre. He's been replaced by the notorious Napoleon - a mesmer able to influence animals both mythical and terrifying. With Robespierre's army of the dead at its back and a kraken from the depths, France puts the pressure on England. Across the world, Fina and Toussaint continue their struggle for Haitian independence.
What I loved about this book was much the same as what I loved about its prequel. I'm a sucker for political intrigue and historical fantasy, and Parry's lyrical prose captured the essence of the two flawlessly. All the historical figures - so easily romanticised and demonised in our minds - felt like real people. Their struggles and their ideals, their virtues and their faults, everything felt so painfully human that it was impossible to not empathise even when I disagreed with their decisions.
Although Fina's POV felt out of place in the first book, it really shines in this one. She takes centre-stage and holds it tight, and it definitely does the novel a favour. Her deeply personal story regarding slavery contrasted well with the grander, slightly more removed stance of Pitt and Wilberforce. Her words gave the plotline a weight that the protagonists in England could not have achieved.
Speaking of England, I have to admit that the highlight of this duology is the friendship between both Williams. Pitt and Wilberforce have a bond, the kind of soul connection that comes once and lasts a lifetime. The strength of it never faltered, even when they hurt and opposed one another, even when their realities of compromise led them apart. Ultimately, they were always stronger together and their deep love for each other was so powerful and transcendent that it brought me to tears at the end. It speaks to the quality of Parry's writing that despite knowing the shape of the real Pitt and Wilberforce's lives, despite knowing how the dice would fall, I was still shaken by the final moments in their story.
In terms of the pacing, the first half was slow while the second half was explosive. Or about as explosive as these novels go. The book did feel a little condensed, but I think that can be attributed to the story which hovers in that awkward space between too long for two novels, but too short for three. The climax did feel a little anticlimactic and rushed, but was deeply enjoyable nonetheless.
This is a book that tackles world politics and the human rights crises that plagued the time, but is rooted in intense personal struggles that humanise the characters. It's a story of loyalty to country, to ideals, and ultimately, to self. Despite the dark subject matter, the characters never shy away from the problems or from themselves, and Parry never tries to neatly tie the dark reality of slavery with a singular villain. By the end of the book, I'm left with a feeling that a grand battle has been won, but that it's only the beginning of a much grander story.
Forester nodded, just once. "I hope you're ready for the new world."
"I don't think it matters if I'm ready for it or not," he said. "It wasn't meant for me."
kateng's review against another edition
3.0
MASSIVE SPOILER!
This book was just a rollercoaster of emotions, historical nerding, and possibly too many breakdowns. For one, I truly enjoyed the world building of the author. The way the characters perceived the world, the way the magical and non-magical were defined politically, the way it paralleled so well with the real life consequences of slavery and dehumanisation--all of them were profoundly well written. I especially loved the second half of the book where the cumulation of everything really picked up and I finally, finally broke down into tears when Pitt finally died and I just felt my entire life break into two. Nothing hits harder than a tragedy well-designed. But of course, I still thought the book could have been done better: it got incredibly draggy in the middle and there was a lack of character exploration overall which I felt could have made the whole story hit harder, especially with Fina and Pitt with all the time-skips happening. I also think there were a lot of scenes which felt as though they were absolved too easily, like the Kraken and the Dragon being hyped up as the most dangerous weapons of them all only to... lose to Fina's undefined, all-seeing power which somehow almost has no limits? Napoleon Bonaparte also became quickly irrelevant by the end of the whole story, and the whole hype of the stranger was reduced into this sad desperate individual who was cunning but somehow got backstabbed by the few people he somehow could not outsmart (and mind you he's the same dude who manage to cunningly plan for 300 years only to get dunked because of the reasoning that he just could not keep up with the world). I just really wished these parts of the story had better ways to wrap themselves up in terms of these conflicts because it really just looked like it wrapped up pretty lazy, but otherwise I truly loved the whole emotional and historical appeal of the tale. It really was ambitious to cram literally so many themes into one book, and to some degree, the author really did serve it. I'm giving it a solid 3 at the very least because I definitely found it enjoyable!
This book was just a rollercoaster of emotions, historical nerding, and possibly too many breakdowns. For one, I truly enjoyed the world building of the author. The way the characters perceived the world, the way the magical and non-magical were defined politically, the way it paralleled so well with the real life consequences of slavery and dehumanisation--all of them were profoundly well written. I especially loved the second half of the book where the cumulation of everything really picked up and I finally, finally broke down into tears when Pitt finally died and I just felt my entire life break into two. Nothing hits harder than a tragedy well-designed. But of course, I still thought the book could have been done better: it got incredibly draggy in the middle and there was a lack of character exploration overall which I felt could have made the whole story hit harder, especially with Fina and Pitt with all the time-skips happening. I also think there were a lot of scenes which felt as though they were absolved too easily, like the Kraken and the Dragon being hyped up as the most dangerous weapons of them all only to... lose to Fina's undefined, all-seeing power which somehow almost has no limits? Napoleon Bonaparte also became quickly irrelevant by the end of the whole story, and the whole hype of the stranger was reduced into this sad desperate individual who was cunning but somehow got backstabbed by the few people he somehow could not outsmart (and mind you he's the same dude who manage to cunningly plan for 300 years only to get dunked because of the reasoning that he just could not keep up with the world). I just really wished these parts of the story had better ways to wrap themselves up in terms of these conflicts because it really just looked like it wrapped up pretty lazy, but otherwise I truly loved the whole emotional and historical appeal of the tale. It really was ambitious to cram literally so many themes into one book, and to some degree, the author really did serve it. I'm giving it a solid 3 at the very least because I definitely found it enjoyable!