brans84's review against another edition
adventurous
challenging
reflective
slow-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? Character
- Strong character development? It's complicated
- Loveable characters? It's complicated
- Diverse cast of characters? Yes
- Flaws of characters a main focus? No
3.5
Because of the constant character switches it can be hard to follow
bookwife's review against another edition
1.0
I hated how this ended. I hated how the stupid romance came together.. if you can even call it that. I finished this early this morning and I have had time to calm down but still hate it. Im just not upset enough to rant out a review.
lpcoolgirl's review
5.0
Loved reading this book, it was a great end to this duology, I had such a great time reading it!
storiesandsours's review against another edition
adventurous
challenging
medium-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? A mix
- Strong character development? It's complicated
- Loveable characters? It's complicated
- Diverse cast of characters? Yes
- Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes
3.25
whimsicallymeghan's review against another edition
2.5
After Khosa was saved by Vincent she has now become Queen of Stille. With this, she has become untouchable, but she still finds the touch of her Stille husband repulsive and longs for his Indiri step-brother Donil. Meanwhile, since Dara can’t be with Vincent, she’s fled on a quest for revenge to take down the Pietra who slaughtered her Indiri people. This novel was better than the first, but not by too much. The plots were still hard to follow, but there was something about them that felt less harsh to read. This one followed the events of what happened in the first and the consequences for all of their actions. It took a while to actually figure out where this story was going. If you tried really hard and kept really focused the reader found they would understand what was happening. We got six points of view, which is two more than the previous book and it honestly didn’t feel like it added a lot to the story. McGinnis kept throwing new things at the reader with different twists or turns that instead of feeling creative or clever, felt more confusing and the reader didn’t understand why they were being added, aside for shock value. The characters were still really flat, but in this, we finally saw that they had personalities and they didn’t all sound the same. That doesn’t mean that the reader liked them, but it was nice to be able to distinguish one from the other. It also didn’t help that the chapters were short and with that came a new point of view so it didn’t feel like we were in one point of view for very long before bouncing off to another. Just when the reader felt they were understanding something the view would switch and they would have to readjust again. The world building was still lacking and we didn’t get much from the world aside from things thrown at us and things we were again supposed to know somehow. The good thing was this was fast-paced and plots happened quick, they didn’t feel like they dragged. Overall, this duology as a whole had a lot of potential, but lack of explanations, world building and dynamic characters had this falling flat.
nerfherder86's review against another edition
5.0
Wow! Excellent sequel to the amazing [b: Given to the Sea|25314447|Given to the Sea (Given Duet, #1)|Mindy McGinnis|https://images.gr-assets.com/books/1469464442s/25314447.jpg|45046034]. McGinnis writes books that you have to slow down and savor; these are the most literary fantasy books I've ever read, very different and memorable. The stories of Khosa, the Given who is now The Redeemed, King Vincent, the Lithos Witt, and Dara and Donil the Indiri, continue in this volume to be as intertwined and interdependent on each other as the land and sea of the kingdoms of Stille and Pietra where they live. There are loves found and lost, family secrets revealed, pride at stake, and looming over everything the urgent rush of the sea that may doom them all--oh, and there are giant killer cats, did I mention the giant cats?! So. Cool.
My only quibble is with the changing POV, that two characters' chapters are in first person and the other two are third person and so you're always switching back and forth; that just bugs me for some reason. But it's soooo minor, and I suppose I just don't have sophisticated enough tastes, I do tend to read fast and so it's easier to go through a book that's all written the same way. I can appreciate just how much work it must be to write this way, my goodness.
I read an advance copy of this book.
My only quibble is with the changing POV, that two characters' chapters are in first person and the other two are third person and so you're always switching back and forth; that just bugs me for some reason. But it's soooo minor, and I suppose I just don't have sophisticated enough tastes, I do tend to read fast and so it's easier to go through a book that's all written the same way. I can appreciate just how much work it must be to write this way, my goodness.
I read an advance copy of this book.
julieabe89's review against another edition
adventurous
challenging
dark
emotional
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
This was an awesome follow up for book 1. I was incredibly devastated by the events, but I feel like the wrap up was wonderful. If you're looking for heartbreaking high fantasy this is a good one!
maddiedb's review against another edition
adventurous
dark
tense
slow-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? A mix
- Strong character development? It's complicated
- Loveable characters? It's complicated
- Diverse cast of characters? Yes
- Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes
3.25
hylian_narwhal's review against another edition
1.0
True rating; an incalculable amount of negative stars, whose collapse would cause enough supermassive black holes that the universe would cease to exist
At some points this book is actually offensive - there are a colony of rejects who are completely stigmatized and ostracized, but surprising are more accepted than the indigenous population. Go figure.
At other points it is ridiculously stupid - I could not tell you why some character perspectives are in third person perspective and other are in first person, or begin to speculate if it's meant to serve a purpose to make us like the first person characters more (if so it doesn't work).
The rest of the book is inexcusably dull and I'm surprised I survived it to be honest.
At some points this book is actually offensive - there are a colony of rejects who are completely stigmatized and ostracized, but surprising are more accepted than the indigenous population. Go figure.
At other points it is ridiculously stupid - I could not tell you why some character perspectives are in third person perspective and other are in first person, or begin to speculate if it's meant to serve a purpose to make us like the first person characters more (if so it doesn't work).
The rest of the book is inexcusably dull and I'm surprised I survived it to be honest.