thebookaddict'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? Yes
5.0
🇬🇧: What an emotional rollercoaster. I felt all the emotions in this book! First of all, the land building is really great! I immediately got a picture of everything and then the characters... each one is a good addition to the book. All the personalities are so different and yet fit so well into the story. This makes everything fall into place immediately, you really get those "ohwww that's why he did this" moments. Real chef's kisses. I totally get the hype... I can't wait to read iron flame! I need to know where this story continues.
Graphic: Grief, Sexual content, Cursing, Physical abuse, Death, Injury/Injury detail, Panic attacks/disorders, Bullying, Blood, Death of parent, Fire/Fire injury, Murder, Medical content, and Violence
Moderate: Child death
tootoo96'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? It's complicated
4.5
Graphic: Murder, Toxic friendship, Death, Injury/Injury detail, Fire/Fire injury, War, Violence, and Sexual content
Moderate: Death of parent, Child death, Bullying, Blood, Medical content, and Medical trauma
thebankofbooks's review against another edition
- Plot- or character-driven? Plot
- Strong character development? Yes
- Loveable characters? Yes
- Diverse cast of characters? Yes
- Flaws of characters a main focus? It's complicated
5.0
Graphic: Fire/Fire injury, Ableism, Body shaming, War, Death, Medical content, Sexual content, Toxic friendship, Violence, Murder, Death of parent, Grief, Bullying, and Genocide
annareadstoo'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? Yes
5.0
🌶🌶🌶
I am not surprised that I love this book. It gave me similar vibes to my personal Blueprint Books - very much Hunger Games with dragons, and some slight HP vibes as well. And of course, Twilight vibes because of the intense love triangle.
The booked moved at a steady pace from the beginning, with only a slight hiccup for me in the first chapter with the world building, but that always happens. This is my first single POV book in a while, and I was happy that I was still able to get to know both main characters with just the FMC's POV.
Violet's character is lovable and likable and relatable, although I am confused about what kind of condition she has that makes her so fragile. It is never mentioned explicitly in the book, but it seems like she was born with it. Xaden, of course, is a dreamboat and I am a sucker for a good enemies to lover story - and this one is great! Sometimes with this trope I feel that things move too fast for me to believe that they could ever logically become lovers within that timeline, but this book spans basically a whole year. I found myself wishing that we had a more in depth look at the days and weeks we missed because I was so invested in both characters, even from the beginning.
I thought that the combat and battle scenes were written really well. I am often wary of books with a lot of action because I get lost in the descriptions of the battles themselves, which requires me to reread certain scenes 2-3 times before I can internalize them and move onto the next part of the plot. Here, the scenes were descriptive enough that I got enough of the gist before they gave me the next plot point without too much unnecessary fluff, and it really helped keep the flow.
Yarros wrote in a diverse cast of characters, and I appreciated that they weren't pointed out as special or in need of an explanation - the scribe girl communicated using sign language, but Yarros kept the dialogue written the same as typical speech; one of the characters uses they/them pronouns and nobody batted an eye or had to explain it; cadets were hooking up with guys and girls and both and it was totally commonplace.
The ending absolutely broke my heart in so many ways.
Spoiler
LIAM. I LOVED HIM AND WE WERE ROBBED OF HIS OWN STORY THAT HE SO OBVIOUSLY DESERVED TO BE TOLD I AM SO UPSET!!! And honestly i should've anticipated the "betrayal" from Xaden and the marked ones. Looking back on it, it was pretty obvious, especially considering I already guessed that Dain was secretly seeing her memories. I am happy that Violet is holding her ground with Xaden in terms of the betrayal, although I'm interested to see how long she lasts. And I can barely even get into it with Brennan being alive in the last 4 sentences of the book. What an incredible ending!!! Can't wait to see how they get Mira on board. I want to know her more. The surprise Xaden POV was a welcome one, and I hope that that means we'll get a dual POV in book 2 because I love him so much and I'd love to know what his inner monologue sounds like.I already have Book 2 ready to read, and I can't wait to dive in.
Moderate: Death and Death of parent
Minor: Injury/Injury detail
livbreading'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
5.0
Moderate: Death of parent
erynlasbelin's review against another edition
- Plot- or character-driven? A mix
- Strong character development? It's complicated
- Loveable characters? No
- Diverse cast of characters? Yes
- Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes
2.0
The writing was clunky and repetitive, the author used words whose meanings she clearly didn't understand, and the logistics of what was supposed to be physically happening (especially during battle scenes) were often difficult to follow. The smut wasn't bad, but was outweighed by the endless stream of horny thoughts every single time the two main characters interacted with each other, even when they're supposed to be in dire circumstances or experiencing emotional devastation. The worldbuilding was weak as fuck and seemed to be made up on the spot throughout the book. The way the "war college" works doesn't stand up to even the slightest amount of scrutiny - why would they want to relentlessly kill off all their able-bodied young soldiers when they're at war? Luckily, given the death toll, other than maybe 3 of the main characters, no one has a personality at all; best friends, squad mates, teachers, and family members are basically cardboard cutouts with little to no identity. And while Violet herself is the best-developed of the bunch, it has to be said that her motivations simply aren't there. Other than ~proving people wrong~ once she's there, there is no explanation for why she would commit herself to fighting herself into a violent and early death, when she's given multiple opportunities to go back to the life she always wanted and planned for. She never thinks about the future at all.
All that being said, it was a quick read, and I do wonder where the story is going next. Future books could be good pulp romantasy fun if given the kind of editing they need. My one bit of praise is that I appreciate the hEDS representation, and that she receives accommodations for it. I have literally never seen this aspect of myself reflected in a book before (although I know of another one coming out soon!) and that element was genuinely well done.
Graphic: Cursing, Injury/Injury detail, Ableism, Medical content, Murder, Chronic illness, and Violence
Moderate: Bullying, War, Animal death, Gaslighting, Grief, Mental illness, Blood, Death of parent, Death, Fire/Fire injury, and Physical abuse
Minor: Alcohol, Toxic friendship, Toxic relationship, Drug use, and Terminal illness
lizsurber'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? Yes
5.0
Graphic: Abandonment, Bullying, Child abuse, Child death, Chronic illness, Cursing, Death, Death of parent, Murder, Sexual content, Toxic friendship, War, Confinement, Fire/Fire injury, Genocide, Violence, Animal death, Blood, Toxic relationship, Vomit, Ableism, Dysphoria, Misogyny, Body horror, Body shaming, Emotional abuse, Gaslighting, Grief, Torture, Gore, and Injury/Injury detail
midnight_rose_reads's review against another edition
- Plot- or character-driven? A mix
- Strong character development? Yes
- Loveable characters? Yes
- Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes
4.0
Graphic: Sexual content, Death, Violence, and War
Moderate: Bullying and Death of parent
Minor: Blood and Injury/Injury detail
kylieqrada'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? Yes
4.0
Graphic: Death, Sexual content, and Bullying
Moderate: War and Death of parent
colorcrystals'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? Yes
4.0
Graphic: Sexual content and Death
Moderate: Death of parent and War