rbalir's review against another edition
adventurous
emotional
tense
medium-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? Plot
- Strong character development? No
- Loveable characters? Yes
- Diverse cast of characters? Yes
- Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes
3.0
graysonfan12's review
4.0
I loved this book. It took me a while to get into it but once i did i couldn't put it down. I can't wait to see what happens in the next book.
krazyminchi's review against another edition
adventurous
emotional
hopeful
informative
inspiring
mysterious
reflective
medium-paced
5.0
lyasie's review against another edition
adventurous
emotional
funny
hopeful
inspiring
medium-paced
- 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? Yes
4.75
bearkla's review against another edition
This book is not good. The main character I couldn’t care less about. She’s annoying and shallow.
yoshiluvstoread's review
3.0
Actual 3.5
I got mixed feelings about this one. At first it took a while for it to hook me up probably the first fifty pages in, then I felt it picked up and it was really good. I loved the world the story is set in but I'm still confused about the timelines I guess.
There was a particular character that I expected to become someone more important by the end of the book but it didn't happen, I felt that was a bit boring considering we spend reading about them through the story.
Overall I really liked the book, I loved the main characters though I feel I'm gonna roll my eyes at the queen at least once in the next book.
I got mixed feelings about this one. At first it took a while for it to hook me up probably the first fifty pages in, then I felt it picked up and it was really good. I loved the world the story is set in but I'm still confused about the timelines I guess.
There was a particular character that I expected to become someone more important by the end of the book but it didn't happen, I felt that was a bit boring considering we spend reading about them through the story.
Overall I really liked the book, I loved the main characters though I feel I'm gonna roll my eyes at the queen at least once in the next book.
psyencegogo's review against another edition
1.0
This unfortunately turned out to be a DNF for me, but I tried, I really truly tried. The pacing is so slow, and the main character is just a bore. No detail is too small to be mentioned, no passing thought is too irrelevant to make its mark on these pages. Is Kelsea introspective? Yes, but excruciatingly so, when even the smallest most mundane of details like her thoughts on venison for dinner is warranted a paragraph of thought. The plot is full of contrivances, the setting is mildly interesting but revealed in such a mundane and stupid way and then never extrapolated on again, the antagonist is surprisingly inactive and impassive, and the characters themselves are.... unlikeable at best. Kelsea is woefully unprepared for her position, and is the worst type of know-it-all-bookworm. She doesn't understand anything because she was so sheltered, but she still knows things like how to spot an alcoholic or what alcohol smells like because she read it in a book once. There were so many things to dislike in this, I can't be bothered to even go down the list one by one.
nadifa's review against another edition
3.0
I think this book had the potential to be a favourite of mine but the slow pace really kept me from being engaged. About halfway through I had to put it down because I was reading and reading and reading, and it seemed like nothing was actually happening. I was determined to finish it since I was hoping there was going to be a rewarding payoff.
The plot definitely picked up in the second half of the book but I don't think I got the rewarding ending that I was hoping for (I'm not even sure what I was actually hoping for tbh), but I'm still glad I finished it. I especially enjoyed reading about Kelsea Raleigh, the main character, and her internal thoughts. Sometimes I forget that she's only 19, but the author does a good job showing how her upbringing informs Kelsea's judgement and decisions which makes the story-telling much more compelling and realistic.
I'm not entirely sold on the world-building though. It's meant to be a fantasy story that takes place in the future. It's a far reach for me to believe that through some series of events, humanity drastically regressed economically, politically, and technologically and reverted back to archaic European medieval times specifically. As the history is further revealed in the succeeding books, I hope the current setting will make more sense.
Aside from the protagonist and antagonist, there are also no female side characters that are actively involved in plot progression. The ones that Kelsea does interact with are women with seemingly no agency and unfortunate things simply happen to them. I mention this because I don't want to read books about men that are women in disguise. Most of the characters are well written, but I would hate for Kelsea to be reduced to a tokenistic character.
Overall, I still enjoyed this book and I'm curious enough to read the the rest of the series.
The plot definitely picked up in the second half of the book but I don't think I got the rewarding ending that I was hoping for (I'm not even sure what I was actually hoping for tbh), but I'm still glad I finished it. I especially enjoyed reading about Kelsea Raleigh, the main character, and her internal thoughts. Sometimes I forget that she's only 19, but the author does a good job showing how her upbringing informs Kelsea's judgement and decisions which makes the story-telling much more compelling and realistic.
I'm not entirely sold on the world-building though. It's meant to be a fantasy story that takes place in the future. It's a far reach for me to believe that through some series of events, humanity drastically regressed economically, politically, and technologically and reverted back to archaic European medieval times specifically. As the history is further revealed in the succeeding books, I hope the current setting will make more sense.
Aside from the protagonist and antagonist, there are also no female side characters that are actively involved in plot progression. The ones that Kelsea does interact with are women with seemingly no agency and unfortunate things simply happen to them. I mention this because I don't want to read books about men that are women in disguise. Most of the characters are well written, but I would hate for Kelsea to be reduced to a tokenistic character.
Overall, I still enjoyed this book and I'm curious enough to read the the rest of the series.
_isabelle's review against another edition
4.0
i really liked all the characters and all their interactions. it was a bit too slow paced for me and i felt a little bored at some points, but it overall was really good
iamfrog333's review against another edition
5.0
4.5 started out with some questionable stuff but by the end i was attached to the characters. involves a lot of human trafficking and some unpleasant things but doesn’t glorify it in any way. the universe is a little confusing but i’ve learned to stop questioning it