Reviews

Vows of Empire, by Emily Skrutskie

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carrawine's review

5.0

je les aime si fort, une très bonne fin de trilogie! (j’avoue que j’aurais pas dit non à quelques pages en plus car il se lit très vite)

I don't think I can properly put into words how very much I love Wen Iffan.

Listen, if you've read the first two books in the trilogy, you know what to expect from this one: space shenanigans, insouciant reclining, political machinations, completely stupid boys pining, incredibly competent ladies making the galaxy a better place, and the minivan of starships. This book delivers in every way possible on the promise of the first two, unraveling a scheme several books in the making. You know how this one's going to end--you know there's a plan; and yet, you remain on the edge of your seat, biting your nails to stubs in anticipation of how it's all going to work out.

Skrutskie is brilliant, and at this point, I trust her to always give me a wild and entertaining ride full of emotional roller-coasters and absolute satisfaction.

If you haven't read this trilogy yet--hey, it's done now! You don't have to wait in between cliffhangers to get to this ending. So what are you waiting for? Go read it.

katgriff's review

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3.0

i think i’m still going to be processing this one for awhile because it really is a mixed bag. somehow this book feels way too short and also too repetitive. honestly my biggest issue is that my enjoyment of these books was built on the relationship between gal and ettian, and we see them together truly two (2) times the whole book. like i get that there’s a galactic war to solve, but if we had just a few less war councils and a bit more flirting, i would have been happier. the solution to said galactic war is like great in theory (i’m obviously drawn to the anti-imperial sentiment throughout the trilogy), but the end just felt a little rushed. i still have some major questions about how this ending actually solves anything on a larger scale beyond an ending for our core characters.

lelevex's review against another edition

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adventurous dark emotional funny hopeful lighthearted mysterious fast-paced

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

4.75

scriptrix's review

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No one is more disappointed than me that this series isn't what I hoped it would be. :( Book 1 was great, but book 2 got too in the weeds of politics and I wasn't as into it as I had expected. This one was just too much action. Like, nonstop battles and people running around doing things. Which would have been less of a problem if I actually had any investment in the stakes! These leaders of empires battling with hardly any input from their subjects... it felt incredibly out of touch and reminded me why I have a problem with stories about monarchs and empires. Like, you can make your MC the Only Good King or whatever, but that doesn't change the fact that monarchy is still a bad power structure that is far too easy to abuse.

IDK, maybe I just didn't have patience for it. I was sure I'd be able to finish a less-than-300-page book, but after I got to halfway, I found myself skimming and just gave up and read the epilogue.

tichamm's review against another edition

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fast-paced

Plot- or character-driven? Plot
Strong character development? No
Loveable characters? It's complicated
Diverse cast of characters? Yes
Flaws of characters a main focus? No

1.5

I think I'll just be petty and not write a proper review. Thr beginning was quite promising and then it just went downhill. It ended in a way more positive note that it should, the main couple had their happy ending while everyone else had to cope with the fall out of their decisions. So much potential these series had, but in the end it did not live up to it....

jhinuuserrett's review

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adventurous emotional funny tense fast-paced

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

2.5

The characters were the high point of this book and the series at large. They were lovably complex and painfully human and made me want them to succeed despite their and the books' flaws.

It got bogged down in the plotting and exposition dumps though. Each conflict was solved by

Spoiler

ingenious and complicated plans that sometimes stretched believability.

It read like a

Spoiler

heist movie where the reader/viewer is fed incomplete bits of information about the plan leading to the characters seemingly failing only for a dramatic reveal that shows the characters were in control the whole time. When done well, once is enough for a plot device like this, but it happened like three times and the author spent what felt like pages going into detail about the plan retroactively which just got boring. And because so often things weren't as they seem, I started to not really attach to the things that were happening to the characters because I was just waiting for the rug to be pulled out from under me.

Despite all this I read all three books because the core of the plot and the themes were compelling enough. There were a lot of novel ideas and a strong sense of adventure despite the broad scope of the conflict.