Reviews tagging 'Alcoholism'

A Shadow Crown by Melissa Blair

7 reviews

mossbelle's review against another edition

Go to review page

slow-paced

4.0

🌶

Expand filter menu Content Warnings

imatlick's review against another edition

Go to review page

adventurous emotional mysterious medium-paced
  • Plot- or character-driven? Character
  • Strong character development? It's complicated
  • Loveable characters? Yes
  • Diverse cast of characters? Yes
  • Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes

3.25

Ultimately this book was about two things: 1) increased world building and 2) Keera, her personal growth, and learning more about her heritage. Though Keera grew as a character, it was at the expense of a) other characters’ and their growth, and b) the plot. For example, Riven seemed SO two dimensional in this book compared to the prior one. I will read future books to see what happens to Keera, Gerarda, and Gwyn, but this book was unfortunately forgettable. 

Expand filter menu Content Warnings

beckyyreadss's review against another edition

Go to review page

adventurous challenging dark emotional 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

4.0

I loved the first book in this series and I was so excited to read carry on with the series. I really hope I don’t have to wait long for some announcement of the third or even fourth book in this series because these cliff hangers are getting meaner and meaner. 
 
This book still follows Keera, who we met in the last book. To the kingdom, she is still chasing the Shadow and she is the King’s blade, his most feared and trusted spy and assassin. But in the shadows, she works with Prince Killian and his Shadow – the dark and brooding Fae, Riven – who sets her blood on fire. Together, they are plotting to topple the crown that sits upon the king’s head. A secret can only survive as long as its conspirators, and when nothing is as it seems, all are in danger. Keera swore she would never open her heart again after a loss she barely survived. But she will soon find she has more to lose than she ever imagined. 

This book is as thrilling as the first book with the details and action keeping you on the edge of your seat. I loved Keera and I'm scared of her, I want to be her, and she can hit me and I would say thank you - I loved that we got to know more about her and I love her bisexual rep and was nearly crying when she was talking about Brenna and how she is determined not to lose anyone else. I still adore the found family aspect in this book and how it was strengthened during this book and how everyone started to defend Keera and they were all fighting for each other. The storyline was strong and I loved all of these characters (minus Damian – he's a dick and I hope he has a slow and painful death) 

I just wanted more during this book, I felt like at times there was an information overload and then some information was just glossed over. I felt it was a little repetitive with the information we knew about and I get why it was done for the people who read the first book when it first came out but I was just skimming those bits because I already knew the background information. Some of the big twists were a bit predictable – like I guessed who the mole was, and what happened to the light fae and who was going to be the big bad guy.  

I enjoyed this book and was hoping for it to be five stars, but I was just wanting more. I will still be refreshing social media and keeping an eye on the book community world to see if there will be a third book and when it will be released. 

Expand filter menu Content Warnings

aliciawhatsthestory's review against another edition

Go to review page

adventurous emotional 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? It's complicated

5.0


Expand filter menu Content Warnings

kowhaiii's review against another edition

Go to review page

adventurous challenging dark emotional mysterious tense medium-paced
  • Plot- or character-driven? Character
  • Strong character development? Yes
  • Loveable characters? Yes
  • Diverse cast of characters? Yes
  • Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes

4.0

Fantastic. Much more character focused than the last book, which is great because these characters are wonderful! I can't wait for book three. The worldbuilding is so enthralling and it feels so tangible on the pages. The characters really drive it home for me and we get some backstory for them all in this book. Yay!

I do have a few bones to pick with this installent of the series, unfortunately. There are quite a few typos and simple mistakes in this book, which was surprising considering how polished the previous one was. I was sometimes confused by the sentences and had to reread them a few times, and in places the writing was simply incorrect. This took away from the reading experience for me. I'm a stickler for spelling errors and grammar mistakes, alas.

I have mixed feelings on the ending of this book. No spoilers, but there is a big reveal that I didn't think was foreshadowed in a satisfying way. To me the ending was a bit rushed and felt disjointed from the remainder of the narrative. The ending made sense in theory, but is just didn't feel "right", for lack of a better word. Definitely the weakest point in the story for me. I understand fast pacing, but as a reader I needed more time to digest the newly revealed information before the big finale kicked off. Overall this book was great and tore at my heartstrings in all the best ways. I think the ending was a bit of a let down and thus this book pales in comparison compared to A Broken Blade. Great series, great author, and I cannot wait for the next one! 

Expand filter menu Content Warnings

kat1105's review against another edition

Go to review page

adventurous dark emotional mysterious sad 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

5.0


Expand filter menu Content Warnings

readingwithkaitlyn's review against another edition

Go to review page

adventurous medium-paced
  • Plot- or character-driven? Character
  • Strong character development? It's complicated
  • Loveable characters? Yes
  • Diverse cast of characters? Yes
  • Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes

4.25


Expand filter menu Content Warnings
More...