mallorypen's review against another edition
adventurous
challenging
dark
emotional
hopeful
inspiring
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
What. A. RIDE! This series was so much fun, and this last book of the trilogy was a fast-paced, edge-of-your-seat conclusion to a fantastic work of storytelling.
The balance between the romantic and political plot lines was incredible; the Yearning™️ between Gal and Ettian was exquisite; the platonic soulmate relationship between Ettian and Wen was as devastating as it was sweet.
My favorite part of this book in particular was how the author wrote the action for the battles. Battle scenes have the tendency to drag if not done impeccably well, and these were IMPECCABLE. I was fully immersed in the danger and fast decision making, and I probably did a little speeding in response to the dramatic space battles playing on the speakers of my car.
I also appreciated how no character went underutilized. From the general, the commodore, the Wraiths, the empress, etc, everyone was given time to develop throughout the series and were given their right moment to shine.
In terms of story arc, I was overall incredibly impressed by the twists and schemes of the characters. I was able to follow along, but I wasn’t able to guess every plot point before it happened. The characters making the plots were fallible and human, and that was reflected well without making the plot sluggish or confusing.
That said, the last few chapters were missing some of the brilliance of the rest of the schemes. Hanji and Wen walking through the plans in the last two chapters felt too heavy on exposition and too light on trusting the reader to take everything they’ve already learned and apply those expectations to the current situation. Wen stuffing Gal’s supposedly dead body into a spacesuit and saying “go get him, babe” while shoving him out of an airlock is a pretty straightforward tip off. All the setup of how bloodright rule was fundamentally broken and irreparable under the current structure and leadership had already filled in the gaps for me as to why Gal and Ettian couldn’t remain in positions of leadership.
Overall, what a freaking treat of a space opera. I definitely bought the hard copies before I even finished this last book.
The balance between the romantic and political plot lines was incredible; the Yearning™️ between Gal and Ettian was exquisite; the platonic soulmate relationship between Ettian and Wen was as devastating as it was sweet.
My favorite part of this book in particular was how the author wrote the action for the battles. Battle scenes have the tendency to drag if not done impeccably well, and these were IMPECCABLE. I was fully immersed in the danger and fast decision making, and I probably did a little speeding in response to the dramatic space battles playing on the speakers of my car.
I also appreciated how no character went underutilized. From the general, the commodore, the Wraiths, the empress, etc, everyone was given time to develop throughout the series and were given their right moment to shine.
In terms of story arc, I was overall incredibly impressed by the twists and schemes of the characters. I was able to follow along, but I wasn’t able to guess every plot point before it happened. The characters making the plots were fallible and human, and that was reflected well without making the plot sluggish or confusing.
That said, the last few chapters were missing some of the brilliance of the rest of the schemes. Hanji and Wen walking through the plans in the last two chapters felt too heavy on exposition and too light on trusting the reader to take everything they’ve already learned and apply those expectations to the current situation. Wen stuffing Gal’s supposedly dead body into a spacesuit and saying “go get him, babe” while shoving him out of an airlock is a pretty straightforward tip off. All the setup of how bloodright rule was fundamentally broken and irreparable under the current structure and leadership had already filled in the gaps for me as to why Gal and Ettian couldn’t remain in positions of leadership.
Overall, what a freaking treat of a space opera. I definitely bought the hard copies before I even finished this last book.
Content Warnings
Moderate: War, Blood, and Murder
Minor: Torture
smasson13's review
adventurous
lighthearted
medium-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? A mix
- Strong character development? No
- Loveable characters? It's complicated
- Diverse cast of characters? Yes
- Flaws of characters a main focus? It's complicated
3.5
I devoured this book because it wrapped a story I had fallen in love with so easily.
That being said, there were many things that made this book a very quick and underwhelming story to read.
1) The story read very much like a YA novel in take the plot was overtly explained to you at the end...Hanji's chapter literally described how the whole plan fell into place even though I had guessed it very early into the story.
2) There was no tension... I'm not sure if this was due to there being absolutely no risk of danger at all (everyone lives and everything is all good), a lack of any meaningful moments between Gal & Ettian, or a lack of emotions from any of the other characters (I picked up on some interest between Hanji and Wen but nothing happened, no emotional return between Esperza and her wife...)
3) The best battle (of fake battle) happened on Behra and then nothing exciting happened after. Like the massive war between two empires was 5 lines and we got no details??
4) Everything was a "surprise this didn't happen it was a trick". The first few time cool, then it became so obvious it would keep happening, that you felt no build up or excitement at any event because you knew it would be reversed.
Am I glad I read it? Absolutely
Will I read it again? Unlikely
That being said, there were many things that made this book a very quick and underwhelming story to read.
Spoiler
1) The story read very much like a YA novel in take the plot was overtly explained to you at the end...Hanji's chapter literally described how the whole plan fell into place even though I had guessed it very early into the story.
2) There was no tension... I'm not sure if this was due to there being absolutely no risk of danger at all (everyone lives and everything is all good), a lack of any meaningful moments between Gal & Ettian, or a lack of emotions from any of the other characters (I picked up on some interest between Hanji and Wen but nothing happened, no emotional return between Esperza and her wife...)
3) The best battle (of fake battle) happened on Behra and then nothing exciting happened after. Like the massive war between two empires was 5 lines and we got no details??
4) Everything was a "surprise this didn't happen it was a trick". The first few time cool, then it became so obvious it would keep happening, that you felt no build up or excitement at any event because you knew it would be reversed.
Spoiler
Am I glad I read it? Absolutely
Will I read it again? Unlikely
Content Warnings
Graphic: Blood and Classism
Minor: War, Death, Physical abuse, Death of parent, Fire/Fire injury, Injury/Injury detail, Kidnapping, Torture, Violence, and Murder
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