fencewalker's review against another edition
adventurous
funny
tense
medium-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? A mix
- Strong character development? Yes
- Loveable characters? Yes
- Diverse cast of characters? No
- Flaws of characters a main focus? It's complicated
3.0
queenerdloser's review against another edition
3.0
Okay, so in terms of world-building and writing, this book matches all of the standards of the first one. The world is every bit as interesting and complex - the trellwolves especially are great and I love the idea of pack-sense.
My problem with this book is more that the first book built up Isolfr, the protagonist, and then in this book we barely see him for five minutes at a time. I guess it's more of a personal thing - Isolfr was my favorite character in the first book and the most interesting character for me, and having him be relegated to the sidelines in this book was disorienting and, for me, took away quite a bit of my enjoyment.
Probably the weakest part of the book was the plot, which meanders and doesn't really go anywhere - we get a lot of clean-up from the last book, but not much going on in itself. If this were to be a second book in a trilogy, that might make it a bit better, since then it would be transitional, but as it is, it just kind of drops the ball, plot-wise. Which isn't necessarily a bad thing - the characters themselves are full and complex and I like watching them do things. I just wish they had been given a bit more to do - and that we didn't get the whiplash to having Isolfr's POV to him being a background character.
My problem with this book is more that the first book built up Isolfr, the protagonist, and then in this book we barely see him for five minutes at a time. I guess it's more of a personal thing - Isolfr was my favorite character in the first book and the most interesting character for me, and having him be relegated to the sidelines in this book was disorienting and, for me, took away quite a bit of my enjoyment.
Probably the weakest part of the book was the plot, which meanders and doesn't really go anywhere - we get a lot of clean-up from the last book, but not much going on in itself. If this were to be a second book in a trilogy, that might make it a bit better, since then it would be transitional, but as it is, it just kind of drops the ball, plot-wise. Which isn't necessarily a bad thing - the characters themselves are full and complex and I like watching them do things. I just wish they had been given a bit more to do - and that we didn't get the whiplash to having Isolfr's POV to him being a background character.
misssusan's review against another edition
3.0
Definitely suffering from middle book syndrome. I liked it though. A lot of it was build up for what I presume will be the battle against the Rheans in the next book but it was competent build up that kept my interest. It's a bit strange in that I believe one of the threads was supposed to be Vethulf and Skjaldwulf coming to an understanding and stabilizing the new co-jarl relationship they have after the events of the last book? Except it plays out as about thirty pages of relationship dramaz, separation, and happy reunion at the end. Absence makes the heart grow fonder? -shrugs- I don't really mind because that was the least interesting aspect of this book to me and I feel it's better for writers to play to their strengths instead of spending too much time on things they handle badly. Those early pages were the weakest of the book, I only really started getting into it once Skjaldwulf had left and we started meeting the new characters and building the story lines. Skip ahead to chapter three if you find the beginning off putting, it'll give you a better sense of what the book does well. 3 stars
thistlechaser's review against another edition
3.0
I really, really wanted to like this book. I love the idea of being bonded to giant telepathic wolves. I love the word the books are set in. I love how natural and accepted gay sex was in this book. But I just couldn't like this book. I stopped reading it later than perhaps any other book I've read: I reached 92% (one more night of reading and I would have finished it). I was just so beyond caring at that point though, I wanted to spend my very limited reading time on something I might like better.
Tempering of Men felt more like an in-between step between books instead of a book itself. There was no big plotline through the book, just a couple smaller things happening (most of which I didn't like/didn't work for me). There were three POV storylines. In order of how much I liked them:
1) The "love" (like?) story. Usually these wolf groups have one alpha male and alpha "female" (really a man), but in this case there were two alpha males and both of them loved the alpha female... but he was straight and didn't love either of them back. So, through time, the two alpha males realized they loved each other. In a book series where I still, after two books, had no idea who most of the characters were, it was unsurprising that the subplot with the characterization was the one I liked best.
2) Some new character who wasn't in book 1, met the world's elf race. As I never liked the elf race, this really was not at all interesting to me.
3) Half of the wolf group traveled south and met... the Roman Empire. It had a slightly different name, as everything in this book did from the real world version, but it was still the Roman Empire. While there had been nothing in the previous book that said there weren't other parts of the world other than the cold north where the wolf men lived, this felt like it came completely out of left field, and I really did not enjoy it at all.
Usually I rail against books that include a list of who characters are and a glossary of made-up words, but this book needed those. However, instead of including them, I wish the authors had instead written in ways that hadn't made them necessary. Character names were 10-20 letter long, appeared mostly random order to English-only me, and more often than not, started with V. At the 90% point of the second book, I encountered a name and had no idea if it was even a wolf or a man, and that was the final straw.
I wanted to like this book. Apparently I enjoy the "companion animal" genre (which makes sense, really). Sadly this one just didn't work for me. I never hated it (thus my "okay" rating for it), but I ever liked it either. I haven't deleted the third book from my Kindle yet, but I don't expect that I'll be reading it anytime soon.
Tempering of Men felt more like an in-between step between books instead of a book itself. There was no big plotline through the book, just a couple smaller things happening (most of which I didn't like/didn't work for me). There were three POV storylines. In order of how much I liked them:
1) The "love" (like?) story. Usually these wolf groups have one alpha male and alpha "female" (really a man), but in this case there were two alpha males and both of them loved the alpha female... but he was straight and didn't love either of them back. So, through time, the two alpha males realized they loved each other. In a book series where I still, after two books, had no idea who most of the characters were, it was unsurprising that the subplot with the characterization was the one I liked best.
2) Some new character who wasn't in book 1, met the world's elf race. As I never liked the elf race, this really was not at all interesting to me.
3) Half of the wolf group traveled south and met... the Roman Empire. It had a slightly different name, as everything in this book did from the real world version, but it was still the Roman Empire. While there had been nothing in the previous book that said there weren't other parts of the world other than the cold north where the wolf men lived, this felt like it came completely out of left field, and I really did not enjoy it at all.
Usually I rail against books that include a list of who characters are and a glossary of made-up words, but this book needed those. However, instead of including them, I wish the authors had instead written in ways that hadn't made them necessary. Character names were 10-20 letter long, appeared mostly random order to English-only me, and more often than not, started with V. At the 90% point of the second book, I encountered a name and had no idea if it was even a wolf or a man, and that was the final straw.
I wanted to like this book. Apparently I enjoy the "companion animal" genre (which makes sense, really). Sadly this one just didn't work for me. I never hated it (thus my "okay" rating for it), but I ever liked it either. I haven't deleted the third book from my Kindle yet, but I don't expect that I'll be reading it anytime soon.
ohmidmid's review against another edition
4.0
If you are the sort of reader who enjoys slice-of-life stories and don't need "save the world" quests in your fantasy, do not be afraid by the low stars and angry reviews of others who decry this book as a middle book that middles. This second book is quieter, and I understand why some people may dislike it because of that.
However, there are those of us who like -- and wish to find more of -- stories that are more about the day-to-day lives and adventures of characters we have grown fond of. This story is like the wolfish, gay fantasy equivalent of Becky Chambers' science fiction book [b:The Long Way to a Small, Angry Planet|22733729|The Long Way to a Small, Angry Planet (Wayfarers, #1)|Becky Chambers|https://i.gr-assets.com/images/S/compressed.photo.goodreads.com/books/1405532474l/22733729._SY75_.jpg|42270825] -- a simple telling of all the happenings that befall the people we've read about in the first book (yes, the first book is more fantastical/heroic once it got going into wars and such). I'm not saying the second book doesn't have exciting moments -- it does -- but you shouldn't go into it expecting the same world-changing adventures as the first.
Isolfr isn't a viewpoint character this time, and you may miss him (as I did at the start), but I find that the more nuanced views of other characters to more than make up for it. I enjoyed reading things from others' perspectives and feelings, and reading about their days, their trips, their 'quieter' adventures (and misadventures).
So, fellow fans of slice-of-life stories, don't be afraid to pick this one up, especially if you enjoyed the secondary characters in the first book.
However, there are those of us who like -- and wish to find more of -- stories that are more about the day-to-day lives and adventures of characters we have grown fond of. This story is like the wolfish, gay fantasy equivalent of Becky Chambers' science fiction book [b:The Long Way to a Small, Angry Planet|22733729|The Long Way to a Small, Angry Planet (Wayfarers, #1)|Becky Chambers|https://i.gr-assets.com/images/S/compressed.photo.goodreads.com/books/1405532474l/22733729._SY75_.jpg|42270825] -- a simple telling of all the happenings that befall the people we've read about in the first book (yes, the first book is more fantastical/heroic once it got going into wars and such). I'm not saying the second book doesn't have exciting moments -- it does -- but you shouldn't go into it expecting the same world-changing adventures as the first.
Isolfr isn't a viewpoint character this time, and you may miss him (as I did at the start), but I find that the more nuanced views of other characters to more than make up for it. I enjoyed reading things from others' perspectives and feelings, and reading about their days, their trips, their 'quieter' adventures (and misadventures).
So, fellow fans of slice-of-life stories, don't be afraid to pick this one up, especially if you enjoyed the secondary characters in the first book.
sumayyah_t's review against another edition
The first book was better, in my opinion. This one dragged, and I could not convince myself to care.
kentcryptid's review against another edition
3.0
Mixed feelings on this one - I loved getting Skjaldwulf's and Vethulf's POVs (Skjaldwulf is kind of my favourite) but the book as a whole felt meandering, with a lot of set up for not much pay off.
Skjaldwulf and Vethulf being geographically separated for the majority of the book was frustrating and I wanted a lot more emotional resolution for them.
On the plus side, I still love this world, I love Otter, and I read the whole thing in two days.
Spoiler
They fight wyverns! They fight bears! They fight Romans! They... meet some more svartalfs? I do kind of want the story of not!Vikings going to war against not!Romans, but as there seems to be a time jump between this book and the next book I'm not sure if we're going to get it.Skjaldwulf and Vethulf being geographically separated for the majority of the book was frustrating and I wanted a lot more emotional resolution for them.
On the plus side, I still love this world, I love Otter, and I read the whole thing in two days.
wormmoon's review against another edition
2.0
Sophomore book problems, transphobia, and dark skinned attackers from the south, this book is kind of a mess
jlaney's review against another edition
3.0
I'm not really sure why there's a troll on the cover of this book seeing as how they were all eradicated in the previous book. I was really hoping the trolls would somehow make another appearance, though. I found the Rhean army to be boring. That may be on me, though, because Roman themed fantasy stuff gets old quickly in my eyes. I was hoping for more Kari and Brokkolfr, too. Still, I greatly enjoyed the books because I just love their writing style.