alxisrae's review
adventurous
challenging
dark
emotional
funny
mysterious
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? No
5.0
Content Warnings
Graphic: Physical abuse, Violence, Sexual content, Injury/Injury detail, and Body horror
Moderate: Grief, Blood, Gore, Torture, Physical abuse, Murder, and Alcohol
Minor: Kidnapping, Death of parent, Death, and Confinement
thimblewhim's review
adventurous
fast-paced
- Loveable characters? It's complicated
3.5
I enjoyed the book. I am enjoying the series. But there's a few things that irritate the hell out of me.
1. Iliseeum - why? Why?! WHY?! It's Elysium. We all know it's supposed to be Elysium. It isn't cute or creative or innovative to spell it the same way that a third grader would sound it out. Every time I see "Iliseeum" in the book, it makes me feel like my brain is on fire. Did the author or publishing house think this was cool? Or do they think their readers can't handle big words with y in it? It's already an anglicized Greek word. We don't need to mangle their beautiful culture, history, or language any more than we already have. I am going to struggle with this for the rest of the series I'm sure.
2. My personal pet peeve is when fantasy books take time out of our day to explain modern amenities. Wayyyy too much time was spent describing the magic of plumbing, electricity, and social mobility.... and multiple times!! Completely unnecessary. It's like when you're complaining about the airport and your uncle starts ranting about the magic that is air transit. No we shouldn't take our technology for granted. But for fucks sake I can only manage to read 10 pages a night before passing out from exhaustion. I need my escape. I don't need the concept of PLUMBING explained to me in a fantasy smut novel.
3. Really poor grammar throughout. Dear Editorial staff, how did you let this draft get through? When do you see couples "walking hand and hand"? That was just one. There were many other moments when I had to pause and rewrite some sentences in my head before moving on. I'm used to one or two typos but... big oof.
4. "I realized that each of his steps was in tune with the steady beat of the drum." ... you can step in TIME with a steady beat, but not in tune with them. Footsteps would be considered nonpitched percussion, especially since the ground is not usually a membranophone. To be in tune with a drum would suggest a melodic or pitch component. Perhaps if said drum was a timpani? Or other pitched drumhead? IDK
5. God/Goddess and deity are literally synonyms. I don't understand the logic behind making them mean different things in this world. Just come up with a new word instead? Or, since we're mangling mythology (see #1), how about you just use the word 'demigod'??? It is murky and confusing.
I'm sure I seem quite crazy aggressive and negative now, but I did very much enjoy the book. The story is compelling and yes I'm gonna march my whiny pedantic butt on over to downloading book 4. Don't get me wrong, it was a good time, problems not withstanding. The spicy scenes are spicy. And the story kept me interested and wanting to see what will come next.
Content Warnings
Graphic: Blood, Sexual content, and Violence
cnohero's review against another edition
adventurous
dark
sad
tense
fast-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? A mix
- Strong character development? It's complicated
- Loveable characters? It's complicated
- Diverse cast of characters? Yes
- Flaws of characters a main focus? It's complicated
3.75
1/3 of the book could be edited out due to repeated redundant scenes emphasizing how amazing
Poppy is and how much Cass loves her. It just got to be too much
I persevered and now I’ve got to the intense ending I HAVE to move in to the next book to find out what happens 🤷♀️
Poppy is and how much Cass loves her. It just got to be too much
I persevered and now I’ve got to the intense ending I HAVE to move in to the next book to find out what happens 🤷♀️
Content Warnings
Graphic: Blood, Death, Sexual content, Gore, Injury/Injury detail, and Violence
Moderate: Cursing
Minor: Child death, Sexism, War, Vomit, and Torture
vr_alyssa's review against another edition
adventurous
challenging
dark
emotional
funny
sad
tense
fast-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? Plot
- Strong character development? It's complicated
- Loveable characters? Yes
- Diverse cast of characters? It's complicated
- Flaws of characters a main focus? No
2.0
Thus far, this was the least enjoyable instalment in the series.
I really, really want a threesome to happen with Poppy, Cas and Kieran.
I really, really want a threesome to happen with Poppy, Cas and Kieran.
Content Warnings
Graphic: Sexual content
Moderate: Sexism and Violence
katharina90's review against another edition
adventurous
dark
mysterious
medium-paced
- Strong character development? Yes
- Loveable characters? Yes
- Diverse cast of characters? No
2.5
This was harder to get through than the first two. Maybe I was starting to lose interest in the story or the pacing was a bit off, but it was boring and repetitive.
Content Warnings
Graphic: Sexual content and Violence
Moderate: Kidnapping
elisalasater's review against another edition
adventurous
mysterious
medium-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? Plot
- Strong character development? Yes
- Loveable characters? Yes
- Diverse cast of characters? No
- Flaws of characters a main focus? It's complicated
4.0
Content Warnings
Graphic: Murder, Violence, and Sexual content
poppybos109's review against another edition
adventurous
dark
emotional
mysterious
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
3.5
Content Warnings
Graphic: Murder, Death, Animal death, Blood, Child death, Hate crime, Kidnapping, Cursing, Torture, Violence, Gore, Grief, Injury/Injury detail, Sexual content, Slavery, and War
liliana_b's review
adventurous
challenging
dark
emotional
mysterious
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? It's complicated
4.25
Great book. Good writing, nothing too complicated. Just really slow in the middle and heaps going on right at the start and end. Good twists and turns.
Content Warnings
Graphic: Murder, Sexual content, Genocide, Injury/Injury detail, and Violence
nataliebootlah's review
adventurous
challenging
dark
emotional
mysterious
reflective
medium-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? A mix
- Strong character development? It's complicated
- Loveable characters? Yes
- Diverse cast of characters? Yes
- Flaws of characters a main focus? It's complicated
3.5
Reading the first three of the #fbaa series back to back has definitely made them run together, but what can you do?
It feels like Poppy went from the sheltered, hidden-away Maiden to a fierce, warrior princess real quick. 🤔 I continued to enjoy the banter between characters, introductions of new folks, and the deeper relationships continuing to be built up. But something in this one felt a bit off. I found myself taking longer and longer breaks between reading sessions. Maybe it has something to do with the truth bombs and shocking revelations Poppy was constantly going through. Who knows. What I do know is the ending definitely left me gearing up for the next book.
Content Warnings
Graphic: Violence, Gore, Blood, Death of parent, and Sexual content
Moderate: Kidnapping
cryosphinx's review against another edition
adventurous
dark
mysterious
medium-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? A mix
- Strong character development? Yes
- Loveable characters? Yes
- Diverse cast of characters? It's complicated
- Flaws of characters a main focus? It's complicated
4.0
An enjoyable read but it really was a slog at some points that I had to take a break and read something else for a day or two. The beginning and end are both fast paced and exciting and a lot happens (the last 60-70 pages, holy cow!) but the middle is just a lot of conversation that doesn't really build up to anything at times. There's a few times that there seems to be something exciting happening but then it gets resolved or we move on in a chapter or two.
My biggest complaint is the same as others in that some of the joking around and dialogue is soooo repetative. We get it, Poppy asks a lot of questions, Poppy is stabby, Cas stans his wife, let's move on. One improvement is while Poppy still has a lot of inner dialogue that can be trimmed, I found that to be better than TKOFOF.
Overall, I enjoyed it more than I thought I would after reading the dislike that it gets. I don't feel like this is where the series starts breaking down, a lot does happen and the adventures are great once you get to them. Poppy's growth is probably the best part and I love where she ends up by the end. A lot of the conversation in the.middle, while a slog at points, was necessary info dumps. I'll keep reading and am happy that I enjoyed this thoroughly.
My biggest complaint is the same as others in that some of the joking around and dialogue is soooo repetative. We get it, Poppy asks a lot of questions, Poppy is stabby, Cas stans his wife, let's move on. One improvement is while Poppy still has a lot of inner dialogue that can be trimmed, I found that to be better than TKOFOF.
Overall, I enjoyed it more than I thought I would after reading the dislike that it gets. I don't feel like this is where the series starts breaking down, a lot does happen and the adventures are great once you get to them. Poppy's growth is probably the best part and I love where she ends up by the end. A lot of the conversation in the.middle, while a slog at points, was necessary info dumps. I'll keep reading and am happy that I enjoyed this thoroughly.
Content Warnings
Graphic: Violence, Injury/Injury detail, and Sexual content
Moderate: Gore, Blood, War, Death, and Murder
Minor: Child death