The design and UX isn't done, Rob and Abbie, okkurrrr! š
birbpal's review against another edition
- Plot- or character-driven? A mix
- Strong character development? No
- Loveable characters? N/A
- Diverse cast of characters? No
- Flaws of characters a main focus? No
3.5
I am confused to the point that my brain feels as though it has melted through my ears. I am either incredibly stupid, or I have no idea what was happening for the majority of the book.šš¤·āāļø
For a good chunk of the story, it was endless exposition that made little to no sense along with sexy times between Lis and Thorne. I was hooked at the beginning of the book, but the middle dragged on and on; simultaneously making little sense but also info dumping??
The last 20% of the book hooked me again. Finally, there was action! And some questions were answered! But wait, those answers only made me more confused, so yeah, I don't know what to think lol.š
Someone else described this book perfectly: Fall of Ruin and Wrath read more like a prequel than an actual fully-formed book. Nevertheless, I am somewhat hooked, so I will be reading the next book. Depending on how I like it, I might change this review. For now, I will keep it at 3.5. š„š
Graphic: Murder, Sexual content, Injury/Injury detail, Violence, Blood, and Death
Moderate: Cursing, Alcohol, Drug use, Torture, and Gore
Minor: War, Child abuse, and Abandonment
purplepenning's review against another edition
- Plot- or character-driven? A mix
- Strong character development? Yes
- Loveable characters? It's complicated
- Diverse cast of characters? It's complicated
2.25
"Good and evil are real. They always have been. Yet the weight of the realm has always fallen on those in-between. Ones neither good nor bad."Ā
My experience with A Fall of Ruin and Wrath is that it's like the beginning of a Sarah J Maas story written by Katee Roberts. It leans into the theme of "morally gray" like it was the assignment and plays with the push-pull of "fated mates" and "star-crossed lovers" in a way that could get interesting if a lazy "chosen one" trope doesn't get in the way.Ā
Parts of it were kind of a mess for me ā sometimes in ways I didn't mind and sometimes in ways that I did. The world seems like standard high fantasy at first but then it's also sort of post-apocalyptic and maybe less fae and more seraphs and demons? I don't need the world building to be completely nailed down in the first book in a series so I wasn't too fussed about this. If anything makes me pick up book two it'll be wanting to figure out this fantasy world and system. I mean I did not have
Graphic: Death, Blood, Injury/Injury detail, Sexual content, and Torture
Moderate: Violence, Alcohol, Classism, Murder, Physical abuse, Addiction, Child abuse, Cursing, Drug use, Gore, Grief, and Kidnapping
Minor: Sexual assault, Rape, and Vomit
Physical compulsionanoelle896'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
5.0
Graphic: Blood, Death, Sexism, Gore, Murder, Misogyny, Injury/Injury detail, Kidnapping, Sexual content, Violence, and Cursing
Moderate: Panic attacks/disorders
Minor: Vomit, Classism, Drug use, Adult/minor relationship, Torture, Abandonment, Alcoholism, and Drug abuse
gen_wolfhailstorm's review against another edition
- Plot- or character-driven? Character
- Strong character development? It's complicated
- Loveable characters? Yes
- Diverse cast of characters? No
- Flaws of characters a main focus? It's complicated
5.0
This was my first Jennifer L. Armentrout novel and I thoroughly enjoyed it.Ā
I found the pacing to be great, with a focus on drawing our anticipation and action, never verging on being boring, whilst simultaneously not being overwhelming in content.Ā
To accompany and complement the pacing, I appreciated the chapters being concise and manageable. It added to the desire of the every famous reader phrase of 'just one more chapter'.
I found the characters to be intriguing (especially our MFC) & I quickly grew ever more curious about these highborn lords particularly wanting to know what kind of immortal being they were. Would they fall more under the fae type being or a sort of energy vampire? I feel like this could have been called My Hyhborn lord, but not sure that would have been as catching a title for me.
I thought the lure of the deminyens was pretty cool with the idea of them radiating desire and their origin story was interesting too.
I would have loved to explore deeper the relationship between Lis and Grady. I was shown how their bond was so tight in the childhood but I don't think it was carried as strongly into adulthood enough in example. I would have also have loved to see more expansion between Lis and Naomi.
The romance was super spicy and I was blushing, let me tell you. I think that was one of my favourite parts about the book. It was definitely more romance than fantasy, but there was definitely more than enough magic and fantasy themed political intrigue to not fall too far behind the steamy scenes.
I cannot wait to see where book 2 takes Lis.
Graphic: Injury/Injury detail, Stalking, Violence, War, Blood, Body horror, Kidnapping, Sexual content, Genocide, Confinement, Cursing, Addiction, Gore, Child abuse, Death, Domestic abuse, Drug abuse, Gaslighting, Grief, Panic attacks/disorders, Torture, Alcohol, Alcoholism, Fire/Fire injury, Classism, Drug use, Emotional abuse, Murder, and Physical abuse
Minor: Death of parent
kayanoelle's review against another edition
- Plot- or character-driven? A mix
- Strong character development? No
- Loveable characters? Yes
- Diverse cast of characters? Yes
- Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes
4.5
Calista is a great protagonist! She asks the right amount of questions (*cough* Poppy) and I feel like her character is very realistic. Sheās brave and sometimes even bold when her intuition tells her to be but she has a sense of self-preservation, too (which I loved).
Thorne as a love interest isā¦ something. I LOVE him. At the beginning, I was a little put off by his bluntness and how he just decided things but after finding out how other Hyhborn behave, he seemed mellow in comparison lol. Anyway, I enjoyed how he actually listened to Calista and tried to respect her wishes after she explained why itās so important to her. And I genuinely just love men who simp for their love interestsš
The story was perfectly balanced in my opinion, it was heavy on the romance especially in the middle (which I liked though) whereas the beginning explored the characters & world and the last third focused on the plot. Also, we didnāt get a lot of info dumping concerning the world building which is something that bothers me in FBAA, especially the Crown of Gilded Bones and the War of Two Queens. Instead, it was incorporated into the story in a way that made it seem natural but we still get all of the information we need in order to understand the world.
I also feel like the world building isnāt too complex and thereās things that are revealed throughout the book or still unclear at the end (in a good way).
I liked the writing style, it was very easy to read and had a flow to it that made it hard to stop. I also noticed that there werenāt any typos as opposed to some of her other novels, so thatās an improvement.
Every scene that JLA included felt necessary and that also added to the flow of the story. None of the conversations or scenes were too long or seemed forced which made this really fun and I was never bored while reading. We got the perfect amount of information about the characters, their relationships and the world while simultaneously leaving enough room to elaborate in the sequel.
One minor thing that bothered me was that I found two inconsistencies within the storytelling.
1) At the beginning of one chapter, Lis said that several weeks had passed since she saw Thorne in the garden but then when she went to see Claude, she referred back to his āearlier outburstā which to me sounded like the outburst happened on the same day (because why would she still be referencing it as āearlierā if it had been several weeks ago?)
2) When Thorne asked Lis to sleep in his bed, she said that sheād only ever shared a bed with Grady but later in the story (when she was looking for Claude in his chambers before the attack) she talked about a memory of hers in that chamber where she woke up with Claude and they had breakfast in bed??
Apart from that, I loved this book and I canāt wait for the second one! I wouldnāt say the ending was a terrible cliffhanger but I wouldnāt mind having the next book in my hands right now:)
Graphic: Gore, Murder, Sexual content, Blood, and Death
Moderate: Vomit
Minor: Violence
maxinesf's review against another edition
- Plot- or character-driven? A mix
- Loveable characters? Yes
- Flaws of characters a main focus? No
4.25
Graphic: Death, Sexual content, Body horror, Injury/Injury detail, Murder, Addiction, Child abuse, Blood, Torture, Gore, and Physical abuse
Moderate: Drug abuse and Drug use
Minor: Sexual assault, Vomit, and Sexual violence
headinthepages's review against another edition
- Plot- or character-driven? Plot
- Strong character development? It's complicated
- Loveable characters? It's complicated
- Diverse cast of characters? Yes
- Flaws of characters a main focus? No
4.0
Moderate: Physical abuse, Misogyny, Alcohol, Blood, Body horror, Child abuse, Torture, Confinement, Emotional abuse, Fire/Fire injury, Gore, Murder, Vomit, Abandonment, Toxic relationship, Violence, War, Injury/Injury detail, Cursing, Death, Drug use, Grief, Kidnapping, Sexual content, and Sexual violence