silentmoon's review against another edition
adventurous
dark
emotional
mysterious
reflective
sad
tense
slow-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
vaelin007's review against another edition
5.0
Perhaps its just my bias speaking, but one does not usually open a book featuring a submissive masochist with proficient training in the arts of a courtesan, and espionage, as the narrator with high hopes encountering a quality story. But damn, was I ever wrong.
Like many fantasy books, it starts off very, very slowly. However, that early part is actually very crucial to the understanding the full depth of this world(Terre d'Ange), the characters and, most importantly, their religious beliefs. "Lou as thy wilt" is literally a religious tag line in the book. With that in mind it's easy to imagine why the people of Terre d'Ange posses a rather lax and a very open-minded view on sex. FWIW, those scenes are not even that explicit in detail when compared to ones you'd come across in other popular books like Takeshi Kovacs & Hyperion among others. Anyhow, sex just one part of the plot(albeit an important one) and it kinda just becomes background in the later half of the novel. Stick with it long enough and you will definitely come across all the usual things one would expect from a quality fantasy novel. Such as political intrigue, alliances, betrayals and vengeance leading to a battle with high stakes. The books do a very good job of incorporating these things into a rather deep & complicated but sensible plot.
It isn't the typical sword & magic fantasy book I usually go for, but I still enjoyed it very much and am looking forward to reading the sequel.
Like many fantasy books, it starts off very, very slowly. However, that early part is actually very crucial to the understanding the full depth of this world(Terre d'Ange), the characters and, most importantly, their religious beliefs. "Lou as thy wilt" is literally a religious tag line in the book. With that in mind it's easy to imagine why the people of Terre d'Ange posses a rather lax and a very open-minded view on sex. FWIW, those scenes are not even that explicit in detail when compared to ones you'd come across in other popular books like Takeshi Kovacs & Hyperion among others. Anyhow, sex just one part of the plot(albeit an important one) and it kinda just becomes background in the later half of the novel. Stick with it long enough and you will definitely come across all the usual things one would expect from a quality fantasy novel. Such as political intrigue, alliances, betrayals and vengeance leading to a battle with high stakes. The books do a very good job of incorporating these things into a rather deep & complicated but sensible plot.
It isn't the typical sword & magic fantasy book I usually go for, but I still enjoyed it very much and am looking forward to reading the sequel.
spaceunicorn369's review against another edition
adventurous
challenging
dark
emotional
slow-paced
4.75
kys831's review against another edition
adventurous
medium-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? Character
- Strong character development? It's complicated
- Loveable characters? It's complicated
- Diverse cast of characters? It's complicated
- Flaws of characters a main focus? No
4.5
xoa's review against another edition
2.0
Sometimes I read a book and don't especially like it and think "it's just not for me" - this one doesn't seem to have much appeal for anybody. Which isn't to say that it's terrible; it isn't. It just also isn't good, and when something is about a thousand pages long it really needs to justify that length.
The characters are reasonably likeable, but they're familiar stock characters without any particular depth or creativity. The pacing is bad - nothing happens for the first 200 pages. The world building is delivered poorly (literally the protagonist goes to geography class and then lists facts she has learned in geography class, which renders the information dull and difficult to remember) and doesn't really hang together (in a country built on the principle of free love, there's not even one polyamorous person and gay love still has to be kept secret??). The fantasy elements are rare, poorly explained, and jarring - there's almost no magic at all, and then about 80% of the way through the book a cursed ocean wizard appears.
While it is very funny that the protagonist is cursed by god to be overwhelmingly horny when a scary person makes eye contact with her (this is not an exaggeration), it's also pretty fuckin stupid!
The constant hamhanded foreshadowing is a bit much, although honestly didn't bother me as much as the bigger narrative issues and inconsistencies.
A mediocre book with nothing to particularly recommend it. I enjoyed it okay and read it quickly, but I really don't like the protagonist so I don't think I'll read the sequels. Sorry, Phedre!
The characters are reasonably likeable, but they're familiar stock characters without any particular depth or creativity. The pacing is bad - nothing happens for the first 200 pages. The world building is delivered poorly (literally the protagonist goes to geography class and then lists facts she has learned in geography class, which renders the information dull and difficult to remember) and doesn't really hang together (in a country built on the principle of free love, there's not even one polyamorous person and gay love still has to be kept secret??). The fantasy elements are rare, poorly explained, and jarring - there's almost no magic at all, and then about 80% of the way through the book a cursed ocean wizard appears.
While it is very funny that the protagonist is cursed by god to be overwhelmingly horny when a scary person makes eye contact with her (this is not an exaggeration), it's also pretty fuckin stupid!
The constant hamhanded foreshadowing is a bit much, although honestly didn't bother me as much as the bigger narrative issues and inconsistencies.
A mediocre book with nothing to particularly recommend it. I enjoyed it okay and read it quickly, but I really don't like the protagonist so I don't think I'll read the sequels. Sorry, Phedre!
desireeames's review against another edition
5.0
Game of Thrones like intrigue with a lot of extra "spice". Not for the faint of heart. Well-written and keeps your attention.
lexandall's review against another edition
adventurous
emotional
tense
slow-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? A mix
- Strong character development? Yes
- Loveable characters? It's complicated
- Diverse cast of characters? No
- Flaws of characters a main focus? It's complicated
4.25
angelicarose's review against another edition
adventurous
dark
emotional
mysterious
sad
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
4.75
jacalata's review against another edition
3.0
I thought it was a great story right up until the ending, which felt like 'oh and now...we're all set for a sequel!'. I still haven't been able to start the second one because that made me so annoyed.