hollowbound's review against another edition
adventurous
dark
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? Yes
5.0
My only real "complaint" is I felt the pacing was off—a little too slow in the first half, a little too quick in the second. I enjoyed it nonetheless. The text is dense, but it's full of beautiful detail and intricate world-building. Also, Phèdre has got to be one of my favorite protagonists of all time. She's cunning, compassionate, and has balls of absolute steel. I'm very excited to continue the series!
Content Warnings
Graphic: Sexual violence, Sexual content, Violence, War, Torture, and Slavery
Moderate: Injury/Injury detail and Kidnapping
meetmeinmalkovich's review against another edition
3.0
This definitely took me by surprise. I received it as a blind date book from a friend and, while it took me a while to finish (NaNoWriMo ate all my time last month) I finally finished it and I loved it! While it definitely has some sexy bits, I wouldn’t consider it “erotica” per say as its much more about the politics of this universe and the trials Phèdre, and later on Joscelin, endure. They are unbelievably strong characters and their will to survive and save their lands from invasion is honorable and astounding.
Definitely recommend.
Definitely recommend.
emclarke's review against another edition
adventurous
challenging
dark
mysterious
tense
slow-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? It's complicated
3.75
nakedsushi's review against another edition
2.0
I don't think I can finish this book. The writing style is too florid and wordy for the sake of being wordy. And the foreshadowing. It's too much. Had I known I was not to finish this book, perhaps I wouldn't have started. Had I known.
tafeeeeee's review against another edition
adventurous
challenging
dark
mysterious
tense
medium-paced
- Strong character development? Yes
- Loveable characters? Yes
- Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes
4.75
Content Warnings
Graphic: Death, Injury/Injury detail, Rape, Blood, Slavery, War, Sexual content, Body horror, and Violence
charlibirb's review against another edition
3.0
I had to really push to get through the last section of the book - Loved the beginning, the life in the night court and training with Dulaney, and all the palace intrigues, but once the scope of the world got too large, I really lost interest - none of the characters outside the 4-5 main characters really felt developed - they were just cardboard figures needed to advance the political plot, which held little to no interest for me, and I had trouble remembering who all the people I didn't care about were, and what they had done. All the battles and wars were boring, and really took away from the cool world-building that had happened earlier in the book. I won't be reading the rest of the series.
readsandchill's review
adventurous
slow-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? A mix
- Strong character development? Yes
- Loveable characters? Yes
- Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes
4.25
bookishwendy's review against another edition
3.0
...and it was a shame that a book with so much potential should leave me exhausted from laboring through the last 300 pages instead of rushing out to buy Kushiel #2.
The story is built around the intriguing concept of an alternate renaissance world (with a religion that coincidentally dovetails with themes from Dan Brown's Da Vinci Code)--and is the only fantasy novel I've read with a map of Europe in the front. Although the names of countries and cities have been changed, they all still had historical roots (in OUR world!) and can be deciphered by any reader with a slight classical background. Kudos to Carey for the obviously extensive research she conducted to give her setting authenticity.
The main character Phedre of Terre D'Ange (Land of Angels...aka France) is bought and raised by an erudite nobleman with a hidden agenda of espionage. He has Phedre trained as a courtesan, but in this alternate world the "arts of the bedroom" are related to religious zeal--and the detailed cultural picture of Terre d'Ange painted by the author had me believing it, too. In her acceptable role in society as courtesan, Phedre aids her master by collecting information from her various high-brow clients. Treason and political intrigue gradually sift to the surface...and suddenly Phedre's world is turned upside-down.
This is where the book gets very good. I loved watching Phedre and her uptight body-guard named Josslin come to terms with Barbaric Skaldi tribes. And with each other. Here the characters were at their fullest and held my concert. But what goes up must come down, as the saying goes. Once this major plot point is resolved, the rest of the story drags on, a 300 page anticlimax. The emotion I had felt as the story unfolded suddenly faded.
One aspect of the book that jarred me was that for the most part, the story is rooted in the realism of alternate history. For more than 600 pages, the laws of physics etc. are obeyed. Then towards the end several undeniably *magical* occurrences were so out of place that I could no longer suspend my belief, and my faith in this beautiful alternate world sprung a leak.
It also got annoying the way the author repeated herself, describing the same thing over and over (300+ pages could have been omitted!) Yes, I know that kneeling "abeyante" was the first thing Phedre learned at the Night Court...I don't need to be told every single time she kneels (and she sure kneels a lot)!
To sum it up, Kushiels Dart had all the political intrigue, spies and plots I had hoped for, but for all the plot complexities and researched background, didn't have the depth and believability I'd hoped for.
The story is built around the intriguing concept of an alternate renaissance world (with a religion that coincidentally dovetails with themes from Dan Brown's Da Vinci Code)--and is the only fantasy novel I've read with a map of Europe in the front. Although the names of countries and cities have been changed, they all still had historical roots (in OUR world!) and can be deciphered by any reader with a slight classical background. Kudos to Carey for the obviously extensive research she conducted to give her setting authenticity.
The main character Phedre of Terre D'Ange (Land of Angels...aka France) is bought and raised by an erudite nobleman with a hidden agenda of espionage. He has Phedre trained as a courtesan, but in this alternate world the "arts of the bedroom" are related to religious zeal--and the detailed cultural picture of Terre d'Ange painted by the author had me believing it, too. In her acceptable role in society as courtesan, Phedre aids her master by collecting information from her various high-brow clients. Treason and political intrigue gradually sift to the surface...and suddenly Phedre's world is turned upside-down.
This is where the book gets very good. I loved watching Phedre and her uptight body-guard named Josslin come to terms with Barbaric Skaldi tribes. And with each other. Here the characters were at their fullest and held my concert. But what goes up must come down, as the saying goes. Once this major plot point is resolved, the rest of the story drags on, a 300 page anticlimax. The emotion I had felt as the story unfolded suddenly faded.
One aspect of the book that jarred me was that for the most part, the story is rooted in the realism of alternate history. For more than 600 pages, the laws of physics etc. are obeyed. Then towards the end several undeniably *magical* occurrences were so out of place that I could no longer suspend my belief, and my faith in this beautiful alternate world sprung a leak.
It also got annoying the way the author repeated herself, describing the same thing over and over (300+ pages could have been omitted!) Yes, I know that kneeling "abeyante" was the first thing Phedre learned at the Night Court...I don't need to be told every single time she kneels (and she sure kneels a lot)!
To sum it up, Kushiels Dart had all the political intrigue, spies and plots I had hoped for, but for all the plot complexities and researched background, didn't have the depth and believability I'd hoped for.
just_one_more_paige's review against another edition
adventurous
emotional
mysterious
tense
slow-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? It's complicated
4.0
This has long been on my TBR, and I have almost picked it up so many times, but it's a chonky one, and that's always a bit intimidating. But a recent overseas trip, with lots of travel time, felt like the perfect opportunity to start a book like this. I'd have lots of time and, since it's such a tome, I wouldn't have to pack as many other books. Plus, I was able to get the audiobook from my library, so I'd have flexibility in reading style vibes. Perfect.
In the land of Terre d'Ange, nothing is more important than beauty, and the people that live there follow one rule above all others" love as thou wilt. Into this land is born Phèdre nó Delaunay, unique even in this land of beautiful things for the scarlet mote in her left eye, marking her as one blessed by Kushiel, chosen to always experience pain and please together as one. Phèdre's benefactor chooses to train her not just in the arts of, essentially, sex work (the way it could be, if it were properly monitored and protected as a legitmate job by policy and public opinion, but I digress), but also in the intimacies of courtly intrigue, political machination, interpesonal relationships and psychology, and general public policy/global studies/langauges. This dual role of courtesan and spy thrusts Phèdre into a complex and dangerous world of power-grabbing and violence, in which she is betrayed gravely and experiences much beyond her original duties. But honor of her benefactor and love of her country goad her ever further into drama and danger, while her connection grows ever stronger with one (a *celibate* priest-warrior named Joscelin) oath-sworn to protect her.
Whoa. This was some real old school classic fantasy writing vibes, with the high formal language and unnecessarily high-handed ways of saying basic things. I mean, it's absolutely as long as it is because of that writing style. Although, to be fair, the complexity of the political machinations and personal motivations for power/influence and interpersonal relationship drama (which, if I'm honest, I definitely did not follow all of) were *chef's kiss.* And while a simpler writing style could have conveyed just as much complexity, the slightly overblown style added a lot to the vibes of the novel. It is for sure a style not everyone will be into, nor be able to tolerate for the length of the book, so do be cognizant of that. Another writing note, the foreshadowing was...heavy...as in: not subtle and a lot of it. That probably grated on me more than the style of the writing, if I'm honest. Mostly just, I want readers to know what kind of book they're picking up, as this is a situation where incorrect expectations can ruin the experience.
And speaking more to that experience. As I said, the complexity of the world-building and characters was spectacular, deep and detailed. There is a very clearly recognizable parallel to many of the nations and histories of our own (Western) world, and those inspirations and shades did help a bit, as the many elements of the story grew in scope and intricacy. There are many classic, for a reason, epic fantasy tropes included in this novel and I was really here for them. It took me until about forty percent of the way in to really feel caught up in things (pretty standard for world-building of this extent), but it happened. And then all the alliances and betrayals, slow burn opposites relationship, journeys/quests, loyalties formed and fought for, the magical entraption of best friends (and let me take a moment here to say I did really like this side plot of Hyacinthe's) the final major battle, and the surprise inheritances from dead benefactors - all the cornerstone fantasy tropes were there as they should be.
And there were some bonus things as well that I really loved. The way pleasure, in all its forms and variations, with consent on all levels because of the widespread social acceptance and its connection to worship and godliness, is fascinating. And wonderful. And I loved it. It feels akin to what Le Guin’s Left Hand of Darkness does with gender, as far as the casual reality of how it’s incorporated into the world-building and storytelling. On that note, specific to Phèdre's specific experience with the conflation of pain and pleasure, content warning for pain and injury, both wanted (due to Kushiel's Dart) and unwanted (because it's fantasy and that's a trope too...). Andddddd at the two thirds mark, when we finally got the long-awaited encounter between Phèdre and Joscelin, which everyone see coming from a mile away because that's how these things work - I was here for it. Though it would have been easier (and wanted!) for more sexual interaction on the part of our MC and her emotional love after that, I’m happy with how it played out true to their characters. It's that love it-hate it kind of tension that makes reading such a visceral experience.
Well. I wasn't sure for a while if this was going to be"for me" or not. But, y’all, the hardcore epic fantasy nerd still lives within me. I don't regret a single minute of my thirty hours with the audiobook. And though I think it'll be a hot minute before I read further (if I ever do, because I may have convinced myself that the ending of this first book is just...the end), if you're feeling some classic, bombastic, high political intrigue, sex-positive (at least within the central cultural belief system of the book) female-hero/MC epic fantasy, this one will hit the spot.
Content Warnings
Graphic: Kidnapping, Racism, Physical abuse, Blood, Grief, Torture, Sexual assault, War, Slavery, Sexual harassment, Religious bigotry, Sexual content, Violence, Murder, Injury/Injury detail, and Death