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wintersbookmark's review against another edition
5.0
I knew Solia was still alive! I grew up reading Percy jackson not one small detail or possibility escapes me
mariella16's review against another edition
I am so disappointed in this as I really enjoyed the first 4 books. The pacing of this book has just been boring The plot became incredibly drawn out and we were going in circles - with cassia being gifted then not gifted and over again. She’s a good person why would her sister be the reason she can’t become a Hesperian?
I was honestly disappointed that solia was “brought back to life”. It felt like a lacklustre plot device
The prospect of the rest of the books continuing this way and with the drawn out pace - and the series not having an end in sight was too much for me to handle. Sorry
I was honestly disappointed that solia was “brought back to life”. It felt like a lacklustre plot device
The prospect of the rest of the books continuing this way and with the drawn out pace - and the series not having an end in sight was too much for me to handle. Sorry
kaylawhite17's review against another edition
4.0
Finally in book 5 things actually happened. I was pleasantly surprised by this book. I was expecting a lot more talking and strategizing. Luckily, things moved in this book.
I was sad Cassia didn't get to become a hesperine. Though it does make the plot more fun. I feel her frustration so deeply. How annoying to be a fragile human when you know you could easily have been an immortal.
I appreciated Lio actually made mistakes in this book. He wasn't always the perfect lover. He hid things from Cassia (which she forgave him for far too easily). I was impressed he was so patient with her wanting to postpone her gifting. The dude is a saint.
I can't wait to finish their adventure. I hope they find Solia and I am really like this Monsoon guy. I appreciate he hates Cassia. It makes the plot more fun.
I was sad Cassia didn't get to become a hesperine. Though it does make the plot more fun. I feel her frustration so deeply. How annoying to be a fragile human when you know you could easily have been an immortal.
I appreciated Lio actually made mistakes in this book. He wasn't always the perfect lover. He hid things from Cassia (which she forgave him for far too easily). I was impressed he was so patient with her wanting to postpone her gifting. The dude is a saint.
I can't wait to finish their adventure. I hope they find Solia and I am really like this Monsoon guy. I appreciate he hates Cassia. It makes the plot more fun.
princessleopard's review against another edition
4.0
I received a free copy of this novel. This is my honest review.
Hm! This is a tough one for me to rate. Let me preface by saying that overall I enjoyed the book, and deeply love the series. However, I think this is my lowest rated to date, and the problem might be two-fold. 1) my expectations on what the novel would contain 2) the fact that this was originally drafted as a single novel and then split in half.
When I first read Sanctuary, it was before it was split into 2 books, and it was my favorite of the 3. I really enjoyed the pacing and the split between romance shenanigans and actual plot. I think if I had originally read the split version, though, I would feel the same way as I do about this novel. (Or, if I'd read an unsplit version of this one, I'd love it as much as Sanctuary.) The twist here is great, the Empire is fascinating and wonderful, the new characters are super intriguing, but the pacing felt really off, and it dampened my enjoyment of the book significantly. Again, I think part of it was expectation (and that removal of expectation is the same reason why I enjoyed Solace much better on a re-read, because I knew what not to expect). Once the twist comes in the beginning, I was on the edge of my seat, waiting to hear the truth, waiting to get to the Empire, just...waiting.
I think the issue is compounded by just how strong the opening few scenes are, too. Vela really hits us with one thing after another. Bonding with Apollon, then a surprising/wonderful arrival, and a huge revelation after that - it was quite a ride. I was definitely enjoying myself, but it made it all the more frustrating when it felt like the resolution to everything brought up in those scenes took forever to arrive.
Unfortunately, it's past the 50% mark before we actually reach the Empire. (It's pretty close, though maybe closer to 60%.) And that's the part I didn't like. I was tearing through the pages one after the other just wondering when we were going to get to know what the story was really *about* - when we were going to explore new lands, learn new customs, and meet new people.
If this was the unsplit version of the novel - where presumably this lead-up would be around 25-30% - that would be totally fine. But because it takes up half of this book, it really feels like it drags. There are other happenings sprinkled throughout, but I really couldn't focus on them because I just wanted to find out what happened to X character so badly that everything else paled in comparison. Again, I think a reread in the future will be more enjoyable because I won't be strung out on that tension waiting for the other shoe to drop.
(There's also kinda a weird thing where for the first time in the series we cut to a POV that isn't C or L's, which was strange? It felt like it was just to give us information we couldn't get any other way. It only happened 3 times, and I think all in the first half, which make it feel extra peculiar. But that's a small gripe - and tbh the scenes were fun, especially since they were about a character we haven't gotten to see much at all thus far.)
All that being said - once we actually *get* to the Empire, I'm a very happy girl. I loved every moment we spend there. All the new characters are great. The pirate queen and her lover are of course stand-outs, but my fave is a certain avian humanoid we meet pretty close to the end. Tbh he's more my usual preferred romantic hero archetype, so I'm very very interested in his story and seeing more of him (and it sounds like we're going to get a lot!! I am very excited). I loved seeing the new settings and cities. I am enjoying every glimpse we get into the culture and mythology. And, of course, I love our C & L together.
This novel actually puts a pretty interesting spin on their relationship, as we start to explore the Craving on *Cassia's* side and how she's dealing with it. It added some fun tension/longing to their scenes together and is a neat little conflict to explore. (I'm hoping it gets, ahem, resolved in the next half of the book, along with her magic, but we'll see!) I'm also intrigued by the plot behind the scenes that is being set up. I have my suspicions, but those will have to sit for now until Part 2 comes out.
For all my griping, I really did enjoy this - I think it's just easier to outline the specifics of something I don't like vs naming off every single aspect I enjoyed (we'd be here all day with this series if I did that!). It's definitely a worthy follow-up to the stunning first arc, but I think it'll take until Part 2 comes out to really shine. And, of course, I'm eager to see how/if my feelings change on a reread, when I know what I'll be getting into from the get-go.
Hm! This is a tough one for me to rate. Let me preface by saying that overall I enjoyed the book, and deeply love the series. However, I think this is my lowest rated to date, and the problem might be two-fold. 1) my expectations on what the novel would contain 2) the fact that this was originally drafted as a single novel and then split in half.
When I first read Sanctuary, it was before it was split into 2 books, and it was my favorite of the 3. I really enjoyed the pacing and the split between romance shenanigans and actual plot. I think if I had originally read the split version, though, I would feel the same way as I do about this novel. (Or, if I'd read an unsplit version of this one, I'd love it as much as Sanctuary.) The twist here is great, the Empire is fascinating and wonderful, the new characters are super intriguing, but the pacing felt really off, and it dampened my enjoyment of the book significantly. Again, I think part of it was expectation (and that removal of expectation is the same reason why I enjoyed Solace much better on a re-read, because I knew what not to expect). Once the twist comes in the beginning, I was on the edge of my seat, waiting to hear the truth, waiting to get to the Empire, just...waiting.
I think the issue is compounded by just how strong the opening few scenes are, too. Vela really hits us with one thing after another. Bonding with Apollon, then a surprising/wonderful arrival, and a huge revelation after that - it was quite a ride. I was definitely enjoying myself, but it made it all the more frustrating when it felt like the resolution to everything brought up in those scenes took forever to arrive.
Unfortunately, it's past the 50% mark before we actually reach the Empire. (It's pretty close, though maybe closer to 60%.) And that's the part I didn't like. I was tearing through the pages one after the other just wondering when we were going to get to know what the story was really *about* - when we were going to explore new lands, learn new customs, and meet new people.
If this was the unsplit version of the novel - where presumably this lead-up would be around 25-30% - that would be totally fine. But because it takes up half of this book, it really feels like it drags. There are other happenings sprinkled throughout, but I really couldn't focus on them because I just wanted to find out what happened to X character so badly that everything else paled in comparison. Again, I think a reread in the future will be more enjoyable because I won't be strung out on that tension waiting for the other shoe to drop.
(There's also kinda a weird thing where for the first time in the series we cut to a POV that isn't C or L's, which was strange? It felt like it was just to give us information we couldn't get any other way. It only happened 3 times, and I think all in the first half, which make it feel extra peculiar. But that's a small gripe - and tbh the scenes were fun, especially since they were about a character we haven't gotten to see much at all thus far.)
All that being said - once we actually *get* to the Empire, I'm a very happy girl. I loved every moment we spend there. All the new characters are great. The pirate queen and her lover are of course stand-outs, but my fave is a certain avian humanoid we meet pretty close to the end. Tbh he's more my usual preferred romantic hero archetype, so I'm very very interested in his story and seeing more of him (and it sounds like we're going to get a lot!! I am very excited). I loved seeing the new settings and cities. I am enjoying every glimpse we get into the culture and mythology. And, of course, I love our C & L together.
This novel actually puts a pretty interesting spin on their relationship, as we start to explore the Craving on *Cassia's* side and how she's dealing with it. It added some fun tension/longing to their scenes together and is a neat little conflict to explore. (I'm hoping it gets, ahem, resolved in the next half of the book, along with her magic, but we'll see!) I'm also intrigued by the plot behind the scenes that is being set up. I have my suspicions, but those will have to sit for now until Part 2 comes out.
For all my griping, I really did enjoy this - I think it's just easier to outline the specifics of something I don't like vs naming off every single aspect I enjoyed (we'd be here all day with this series if I did that!). It's definitely a worthy follow-up to the stunning first arc, but I think it'll take until Part 2 comes out to really shine. And, of course, I'm eager to see how/if my feelings change on a reread, when I know what I'll be getting into from the get-go.
cozy_midwest_reader's review against another edition
4.0
I loved this book. There were a couple chapters in the middle that were a little slower but as with most of this series, what happened during those chapters will be important later.
Cassia is mere hours from her gifting when Nike returns with news that changes everything and causes Lio snd Cassia to embark into the empire in search of the truth about what happened to Solia but for Cassia, the empire isn't as welcoming as she hoped.
Cassia is mere hours from her gifting when Nike returns with news that changes everything and causes Lio snd Cassia to embark into the empire in search of the truth about what happened to Solia but for Cassia, the empire isn't as welcoming as she hoped.
verafogel's review
adventurous
emotional
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 hate that the spice decreased considerably but the plot involving a manhunt was really fun. her new friend is probably the spy after her and it seem silly that neither of them considered him, since he was literally the one Cassia had told her hole journey to. I thought this was a carácter flaw since she’s usually suspicious of everyone.
racheb's review against another edition
I think the series just got too long for me. Lovely story though! I may re-read later on.
kimberlyallen011's review
adventurous
challenging
emotional
inspiring
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? It's complicated
4.0
jukieb's review
dark
emotional
slow-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? Plot
- Strong character development? Yes
- Loveable characters? Yes
- Diverse cast of characters? No
- Flaws of characters a main focus? No
3.75
Thought it was pretty slow but great spice?