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mysimas's review against another edition
adventurous
dark
slow-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? Plot
- Strong character development? Yes
- Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes
2.5
If the lines ‘Luke, I am your father.’ and ‘You’re a wizard, Harry.’ ever banged and had a child, it would be this book. 90% of the plot and twists are revelations of this kind except with little to no build up, it’s honestly so over the top it could be satire.
Another thing that irked me was the total absence of mystery. Everything was revealed straight away. Oh, so this person actually isn’t this guy’s mom? Huh, who could the real mom be — oh, the author tells us on the next page, okay. Ohh, and this person might actually be someone completely different? I wonder who — oh okay, I see. And so on and so forth.
Awarding stars for some good scenes (loved the kraken fight) and also the strange and addictive readability. I never like flashbacks… But here, literally 80% of the book was flashbacks (more if you count the asterisk notes), and for some reason it was ok.
Another thing that irked me was the total absence of mystery. Everything was revealed straight away. Oh, so this person actually isn’t this guy’s mom? Huh, who could the real mom be — oh, the author tells us on the next page, okay. Ohh, and this person might actually be someone completely different? I wonder who — oh okay, I see. And so on and so forth.
Awarding stars for some good scenes (loved the kraken fight) and also the strange and addictive readability. I never like flashbacks… But here, literally 80% of the book was flashbacks (more if you count the asterisk notes), and for some reason it was ok.
Content Warnings
Graphic: Child abuse, Confinement, Domestic abuse, Misogyny, Rape, Sexism, Slavery, Violence, Trafficking, and Death of parent
adragoninspace's review against another edition
adventurous
dark
mysterious
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
4.25
Content Warnings
Moderate: Body horror, Death, Gore, Homophobia, Incest, Rape, Sexual assault, Sexual content, Sexual violence, Slavery, Torture, Blood, Vomit, Trafficking, Kidnapping, Grief, Death of parent, Murder, Alcohol, and Injury/Injury detail
marleens's review against another edition
adventurous
challenging
fast-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? Plot
- Strong character development? It's complicated
- Loveable characters? Yes
- Diverse cast of characters? Yes
- Flaws of characters a main focus? No
3.5
First of all: this book had some really great writing, there were so many sentences I highlighted as impactful quotes. The tension was high, there was much adventure and action, and I enjoyed the humour and snarkiness, both in the main story and in the footnotes. Also loved many of the side characters, and the worldbuilding was definitely impressive. Why I can’t rate it higher at this moment is mostly the confusion. The way the story was told was definitely inventive, Kihrin’s past being told in two timelines alternating chapters. But the more recent timeline, told by Kihrin himself was often so confusing to me because it would mention people or events that we hadn’t met/experienced yet in the older timeline. Despite being intrigued I found it often hard to keep track of who was who, what was happening, and what Kihrin knew or didn’t know about in each of the timelines. it was a slow and confusing, but nevertheless enjoyable read for me. I can see this getting a higher rating on reread when things are less muddled.
Content Warnings
Graphic: Body horror, Slavery, and Violence
Moderate: Incest and Rape
gladiolus17's review against another edition
Soft DNF for now. I think this is too complex for me to listen on audiobook. When my library gets a physical copy I would like to read it with my eyes.
Content Warnings
Graphic: Slavery
ruthlessreads's review against another edition
adventurous
dark
mysterious
tense
medium-paced
- 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? It's complicated
2.0
Lots of things I loved about this book, including the world building and the interesting magic system. However, I’m always filled with distaste when systems of slavery are present, regardless of whether or not the text condemns it (this one does condemn it). The plot of this book is largely dependent on these systems of slavery and it was hard to enjoy the book for that reason. I gave 2 stars purely for the talent of the writer, which shines through at every turn, and the quality of the actual syntax. That said, the content just didn’t do it for me and idk that I’d read another book by this author. Also, not nearly enough dragons for a book with a giant dragon on the front.
Content Warnings
Graphic: Child abuse, Confinement, Death, Sexual assault, Sexual content, Slavery, Torture, Violence, Kidnapping, Murder, and Classism
Moderate: Adult/minor relationship, Cursing, Grief, and Death of parent
Minor: Incest, Toxic relationship, and Injury/Injury detail
jakegray's review against another edition
adventurous
dark
medium-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? Yes
4.0
Content Warnings
Graphic: Physical abuse, Rape, Slavery, and Death of parent
anni_swanilda's review against another edition
adventurous
challenging
dark
funny
mysterious
tense
slow-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
4.25
Content Warnings
Graphic: Bullying, Child abuse, Confinement, Death, Domestic abuse, Emotional abuse, Gore, Physical abuse, Slavery, Torture, Toxic relationship, Violence, Vomit, Grief, Death of parent, Murder, Injury/Injury detail, and Classism
Moderate: Body horror, Incest, Blood, Kidnapping, and Alcohol
Minor: Rape
flowerpaladin's review against another edition
I really wanted to finish this book, as I've been DNFing a lot lately. But I checked it out as an ebook from the library, and it's due tomorrow, and I just... don't have that burning urge to check it out again. That's a sign that it's time to move on and try something else. Sigh.
This book's biggest problems (for me) were 1. the story structure and 2. the gruesome content. The story is told from multiple points-of-view from different time periods, but all about the same character. On top of that, the world-building is extremely confusing. I had to pause and re-read entire pages sometimes, which isn't something I ever really have to do. And so far as I can tell, this POV-shifting is completely unnecessary. I would've enjoyed the story a lot more if it had just stuck with Khirin's POV.
As for the second issue, slavery is a topic that is a personal squick for me, and I usually try to avoid it. It was pretty prominent right at the beginning of this book, but since the book is queer, I tried to persevere, thinking maybe it wouldn't be a major plot point. But it is. It doesn't seem like it ever really moves away from this concept of characters being owned, abused, raped, and murdered by other characters. That is just too dark and too horrific for me to stomach.
It's my hope that we'll start to see more and more queer high fantasy stories that center hope and love instead of wading through dark topics like rape and murder and slavery. I'm not condemning books like that. I just really wish I could find the ones that were more like what I'm looking for... what I really need in my life right now.
This book's biggest problems (for me) were 1. the story structure and 2. the gruesome content. The story is told from multiple points-of-view from different time periods, but all about the same character. On top of that, the world-building is extremely confusing. I had to pause and re-read entire pages sometimes, which isn't something I ever really have to do. And so far as I can tell, this POV-shifting is completely unnecessary. I would've enjoyed the story a lot more if it had just stuck with Khirin's POV.
As for the second issue, slavery is a topic that is a personal squick for me, and I usually try to avoid it. It was pretty prominent right at the beginning of this book, but since the book is queer, I tried to persevere, thinking maybe it wouldn't be a major plot point. But it is. It doesn't seem like it ever really moves away from this concept of characters being owned, abused, raped, and murdered by other characters. That is just too dark and too horrific for me to stomach.
It's my hope that we'll start to see more and more queer high fantasy stories that center hope and love instead of wading through dark topics like rape and murder and slavery. I'm not condemning books like that. I just really wish I could find the ones that were more like what I'm looking for... what I really need in my life right now.
Content Warnings
Graphic: Body horror, Death, Gore, Rape, Slavery, Torture, and Violence
bookbelle5_17's review against another edition
adventurous
dark
emotional
funny
mysterious
sad
tense
medium-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? Plot
- Strong character development? Yes
- Loveable characters? Yes
- Diverse cast of characters? Yes
- Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes
4.75
Review of Ruin of Kings
By: Jenn Lyons
There is a prophecy about Kihrin, but instead being a savior of this world, he might be the destroyer. The long-lost son of the noble house D’Mon, Kihrin is fighting his family legacy and his destiny.
The narrative framework of this unique with three characters narrating the story for the reading. It is recording of an event that happens in this world and the person recording providing footnotes that are funny and informative at the same time. He gives us facts that Kihrin or the other characters might not know. The book starts with Kihrin in prison claiming he’s bored, and his captor Talon shape-shifter type creature suggests he tell her the story of his life. He begins, but she stops him, not liking where he starts, and because she can see inside his head, she tells his story from the point she thinks he should have start. The story goes back and forth between the two different parts of Kihrin. It did take me some time to get into, but this framework provides a fun way to tell story once I got into the story. I adored these complex characters, but there was one that I absolutely hate, Darzin. The dragons were awesome and “the old man” was fun and scary at the same time. He was so abusive and controlling and he made a terrifying villain as he was also unpredictable. The world building was great, and the magic system has a bit mystery to it. Though, the reincarnation aspect made the family tree confusing and there is some incest. This is a great first book
Content Warnings
Graphic: Child abuse, Domestic abuse, Misogyny, Physical abuse, Sexual content, Slavery, Violence, and Murder
Moderate: Incest and Panic attacks/disorders
marleywrites's review against another edition
I just can’t get into it no matter how hard I try :(
Content Warnings
Graphic: Death, Slavery, Violence, and Murder
Moderate: Death of parent