br33na's review against another edition
3.0
Well Written, But Just Too Dry For Me
I can't believe how much of a DNF streak I am on right now, but thankfully this in no way reflects on the author or anything problematic in the book. I picked this up after enjoying Between Worlds, Wells' short story collection that tie to this and another series, and feeling the need to check the novels out. I will absolutely still be checking out the other series for sure.
Unfortunately, despite being well-written and being set in an interesting world, I just found the narrative too dry and the characters too hard to latch on to for me personally. I haven't read a lot of political intrigue and needing to be emotionally hooked and/ or invested in characters or events are all subjective factors in my not getting along with this. Not to mention my severe ADHD and diminished capacity due to the state of my mental and chronic health at the moment.
While I can't necessarily recommend it, I also wouldn't put anyone off trying it out, especially with it being in the Audible Included library with a bunch of Wells' other books. As I said before, I thoroughly enjoyed Between Worlds and I has a lot of fun with my cyborg sinking in autism, Murder bot. This just wasn't my cup of tea.
I can't believe how much of a DNF streak I am on right now, but thankfully this in no way reflects on the author or anything problematic in the book. I picked this up after enjoying Between Worlds, Wells' short story collection that tie to this and another series, and feeling the need to check the novels out. I will absolutely still be checking out the other series for sure.
Unfortunately, despite being well-written and being set in an interesting world, I just found the narrative too dry and the characters too hard to latch on to for me personally. I haven't read a lot of political intrigue and needing to be emotionally hooked and/ or invested in characters or events are all subjective factors in my not getting along with this. Not to mention my severe ADHD and diminished capacity due to the state of my mental and chronic health at the moment.
While I can't necessarily recommend it, I also wouldn't put anyone off trying it out, especially with it being in the Audible Included library with a bunch of Wells' other books. As I said before, I thoroughly enjoyed Between Worlds and I has a lot of fun with my cyborg sinking in autism, Murder bot. This just wasn't my cup of tea.
booksthatburn's review against another edition
adventurous
mysterious
medium-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? Character
- Strong character development? Yes
- Loveable characters? It's complicated
- Diverse cast of characters? It's complicated
- Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes
4.0
Content Warnings
Graphic: War
Moderate: Injury/Injury detail, Fire/Fire injury, Blood, Torture, Murder, Death, Sexism, Misogyny, Confinement, Kidnapping, Alcohol, Cursing, Violence, Medical content, and Medical trauma
Minor: Suicide attempt, Child abuse, Child death, Sexual harassment, Infidelity, and Drug use
akemichan's review against another edition
adventurous
emotional
fast-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? Plot
- Strong character development? No
- Loveable characters? No
- Diverse cast of characters? No
- Flaws of characters a main focus? No
3.0
holtopia's review against another edition
adventurous
dark
mysterious
tense
medium-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? A mix
- Strong character development? Yes
- Loveable characters? Yes
- Diverse cast of characters? No
- Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes
4.0
nekoshka's review
adventurous
medium-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? A mix
- Strong character development? Yes
- Diverse cast of characters? No
2.5
Content Warnings
Graphic: Violence and Death
Moderate: Child abuse
bluebirdsongs's review against another edition
adventurous
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? Yes
4.0
daniel_radclit's review against another edition
3.0
I loved the Books of the Raksura and have enjoyed the Murderbot Diaries so I thought I would check out the Ile-Rein books.
This is Wells' first published book and I could tell from the start the quality was worse than the Books of the Raksura and the Murderbot Diaries. That's not to say this is a bad book at all, just that Wells has improved a ton.
The prose is a bit rough (compared to her later works), villains a bit disappointing, and the plot didn't grab me as much as I thought it would.
The two main characters are extremely fun and likeable, the magic was quite cool, and the romance was great!
Oh that boy king Roland, he's such a clown!
This is Wells' first published book and I could tell from the start the quality was worse than the Books of the Raksura and the Murderbot Diaries. That's not to say this is a bad book at all, just that Wells has improved a ton.
The prose is a bit rough (compared to her later works), villains a bit disappointing, and the plot didn't grab me as much as I thought it would.
The two main characters are extremely fun and likeable, the magic was quite cool, and the romance was great!
Oh that boy king Roland, he's such a clown!
acardattack's review against another edition
adventurous
inspiring
mysterious
tense
fast-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? Plot
- Strong character development? No
- Loveable characters? Yes
- Diverse cast of characters? Yes
- Flaws of characters a main focus? It's complicated
3.5
I enjoyed this, it is a little raw, characters were fun, but not overly developed. I enjoyed the intrigue and it's a quick read which is refreshing in the fantasy genre
fatimawright's review against another edition
adventurous
dark
medium-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? A mix
- Strong character development? Yes
- Loveable characters? Yes
- Diverse cast of characters? No
- Flaws of characters a main focus? No
4.0