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adventurous
dark
emotional
sad
fast-paced
Plot or Character Driven:
Plot
Strong character development:
Yes
Loveable characters:
Complicated
Diverse cast of characters:
Complicated
Flaws of characters a main focus:
Yes
Read the author's note at the end of the book because it will make the entire story make a lot more sense.
I found the story to be intriguing, entertaining, and honestly awe striking at times. But it suffered from too fast a pace and too underdeveloped communication. As the reader, you are jolted constantly, vascilating between Lada and Radu. Radu experiences strong character development over the roughly 20 year span of the novel. Lada, on the other hand, comes across less like a slowly disintegrating psychopath and more as a poorly written "angsty female character" whose whole personality is defiance, contrarianism, and internalized misogyny.
I can somewhat understand the development of her violence and hatred, but it feels less like a development and more like a drawn out acceptance of how awful of a human being she is when she was essentially born with a savor for the suffering of other people and hardly a noble bone in her body. Her entire personality is a violation of the Geneva Convention and weirdly enough, she can't pass the Bechtel test.
All in all, I enjoyed MUCH of this novel and its intense action as well as its slippery political intrigues! I cannot rate it any higher, unfortunately, on account of the massive disappointment that is Lada's character "arc".
Thinly veiled spoiler: Vlad Dracul is a red herring...
I found the story to be intriguing, entertaining, and honestly awe striking at times. But it suffered from too fast a pace and too underdeveloped communication. As the reader, you are jolted constantly, vascilating between Lada and Radu. Radu experiences strong character development over the roughly 20 year span of the novel. Lada, on the other hand, comes across less like a slowly disintegrating psychopath and more as a poorly written "angsty female character" whose whole personality is defiance, contrarianism, and internalized misogyny.
I can somewhat understand the development of her violence and hatred, but it feels less like a development and more like a drawn out acceptance of how awful of a human being she is when she was essentially born with a savor for the suffering of other people and hardly a noble bone in her body. Her entire personality is a violation of the Geneva Convention and weirdly enough, she can't pass the Bechtel test.
All in all, I enjoyed MUCH of this novel and its intense action as well as its slippery political intrigues! I cannot rate it any higher, unfortunately, on account of the massive disappointment that is Lada's character "arc".
Thinly veiled spoiler: Vlad Dracul is a red herring...
Content Warnings
Graphic: Death, Physical abuse, Violence, Blood, Murder, Abandonment, War
Moderate: Child abuse, Emotional abuse, Gore, Misogyny, Sexual harassment
Minor: Child death, Sexual content, Sexual violence, Slavery
medium-paced
Plot or Character Driven:
Plot
Strong character development:
Yes
Loveable characters:
Complicated
Diverse cast of characters:
N/A
Flaws of characters a main focus:
Complicated
Content Warnings
Graphic: Homophobia, Misogyny, Violence, Blood, Islamophobia, Grief, Religious bigotry, Abandonment, War
Minor: Bullying, Child abuse, Domestic abuse, Infidelity, Physical abuse, Racism, Slavery, Death of parent, Murder, Fire/Fire injury
dark
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
The story was compelling and interesting. The development of relationships was complex and fitting for each character. The political intrigue was engaging. The reversal of the roles of prince and princess seen wish Lada and Radu was refreshing. But there was something missing in this story that left me unsatisfied in a way I can't identify.
Content Warnings
Graphic: Child abuse, Confinement, Physical abuse, Sexism, Sexual assault, Sexual violence, Slavery, Abandonment, Colonisation, War, Classism
challenging
dark
tense
slow-paced
Plot or Character Driven:
A mix
Strong character development:
Complicated
Loveable characters:
Yes
Diverse cast of characters:
Yes
Flaws of characters a main focus:
Yes
I first read this book several years ago. I loved it, even though it was one of the hardest for me to read. It was denser, slower-paced, and had a darker tone than what I was used to. It has this pervasive sense of dread, one disaster happening after another. And there is sparse comfort to be found, even in the characters' dearest relationships. Nothing is ever safe or secure or completely happy. There are scenes of (historically accurate and normalized) abuse and injustice that turns my stomach. At that time I also started reading the second book but didn't get very far in before abandoning it. Since then, I have regularly looked at this series sitting on my bookshelf and wanted to read it but was too intimidated to.
Now I have reread the first book and plan to finally finish reading the series. I'm older now and have more experience reading complex and dark books. It made me aware of my growth as a reader.
I consider this one of my favorite books. It is captivating, even when it is challenging or devastating or frustrating. I have thought about and loved this book even after reading it just once, years ago, and even without reading the rest of the series. I feel so deeply for both Lada and Radu, despite how deeply flawed they are, how different they are, and how often their interests are in opposition to each other. That's what continues to make it a challenging read - I want a happy ending for everyone, but I can't imagine a way that could happen in their circumstances.
Now I have reread the first book and plan to finally finish reading the series. I'm older now and have more experience reading complex and dark books. It made me aware of my growth as a reader.
I consider this one of my favorite books. It is captivating, even when it is challenging or devastating or frustrating. I have thought about and loved this book even after reading it just once, years ago, and even without reading the rest of the series. I feel so deeply for both Lada and Radu, despite how deeply flawed they are, how different they are, and how often their interests are in opposition to each other. That's what continues to make it a challenging read - I want a happy ending for everyone, but I can't imagine a way that could happen in their circumstances.
Content Warnings
Graphic: Child abuse, Death, Sexism, Sexual assault, Torture, Islamophobia, Abandonment, War
Minor: Colonisation, Classism
adventurous
emotional
informative
medium-paced
Plot or Character Driven:
A mix
Strong character development:
Complicated
Loveable characters:
Complicated
Diverse cast of characters:
Yes
Flaws of characters a main focus:
Yes
Content Warnings
Moderate: Child abuse, Death, Misogyny, Physical abuse, Sexism, Violence, Abandonment, Colonisation, War
Minor: Child death, Emotional abuse, Homophobia, Infidelity, Sexual content, Slavery, Blood, Death of parent, Pregnancy, Injury/Injury detail
adventurous
dark
emotional
reflective
tense
slow-paced
Plot or Character Driven:
Character
Strong character development:
Yes
Loveable characters:
Complicated
Diverse cast of characters:
Yes
Flaws of characters a main focus:
Yes
Content Warnings
Graphic: Violence
Moderate: Bullying, Child abuse, Domestic abuse, Rape, Sexism, Sexual assault, Sexual content, Slavery, Abandonment, Sexual harassment