Reviews

The Thousand Eyes by A.K. Larkwood

terrastrial's review

4.25

funnier than the first one, loved it. so gay, so epic. this was a dEBUT???? a.k.larkwood please give us more. not as dark as the first one but I think it had a good balance

intentions's review

adventurous challenging tense medium-paced

• Plot- or character-driven? Plot
• Strong character development? Yes
• Loveable characters? Yes
• Diverse cast of characters? Yes
• Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes

5.0

witch_dagger's review

adventurous dark 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

4.25

lini002's review

adventurous funny mysterious 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

3.5

Following immediately after the first book we follow Csorwe, Shuthmili, and Tal attempting and ultimately failing at moving on and keeping away from magic and gods.
 
This one was interesting because it did follow from the first one but it chose some weird storytelling decisions and had a lot of stuff that lacked the original drives I liked in the first book. The worldbuilding is superb again and I love this world but I feel unsure about the ending and the general structure of this book. It feels like it tried to pivot to a different main character driving the story but I'm not sure how confident I feel in that choice working and convincing me. 3.5/5

tckgrace's review

5.0

I wouldn’t call this a good book, yet I did enjoy reading it. I didn’t think the worldbuilding was very strong, and a lot of the imagery didn’t hit. But I let myself get sucked in and I ended up reading the whole thing, which is not an easy feat for me. Also, immediately after finishing it I realized that it was a SEQUEL. Now I don’t know what to do with that information.

Edit:
Reread after reading the Unspoken Name and this is now one of my favorite fantasy series. Things made a hell of a lot more sense after reading the first book. I love how original it all was, and how all the loose ends got tied up so neatly. Beautiful unsexual sapphic romance adventure. And for what it’s worth, I found that the imagery hit way better via audio than print.

landofkait's review against another edition

adventurous emotional funny tense 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’ve had this book on my shelf since I finished The Unspoken Name and now that I’ve gotten around to it, I’m mad it took me this long (a theme for the month of July). That being said, this book was good. It was really good. I could have done with a bit of a refresher heading in, because this starts right away, at a bruising pace, but once I re-familiarized myself with the world, I was hooked.

Larkwood built a deep, deep world that is so rich with lore. The history of the world, its magic, and its ancient gods, is so beautifully expanded upon. Some of it does get a bit confusing, as there’s multiple names for the same thing, but some close reading cleared that up. 

The enduring sapphic love story in this book that carried from The Unspoken Name to The Thousand Eyes was also so well done. I love the way it persisted, despite the barriers each character had to face. And the addition of a new character was amazing; it really gave the story something I didn’t know it was missing. 

I was so concerned as I got to the last 50 pages that it wouldn’t wrap up, that the good guys wouldn’t find something to be happy about, but I shouldn’t have worried. Larkwood carried this book home and tucked their readers gently into the end of the story in a satisfying way. 

meganahouse's review against another edition

adventurous emotional hopeful mysterious tense 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

5.0

oh my god. oh my god. I don’t even know what to say. this book had me experiencing such visceral emotion that it hurt to think about. I feel like I mourned and celebrated 50 times over throughout the course of reading it. the attachment Larkwood makes you feel to these characters needs to be studied in a lab. the love between them all really was the answer this whole time. this might possibly de-throne Starling House as the best book I’ve read this year, holy cow

morganlerey's review against another edition

adventurous medium-paced

• Plot- or character-driven? A mix
• Strong character development? It's complicated
• Loveable characters? Yes
• Diverse cast of characters? Yes

3.0

user01051589's review

adventurous dark emotional funny 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

5.0

offbrandcat's review

dark emotional sad slow-paced

• Plot- or character-driven? A mix
• Strong character development? No
• Loveable characters? It's complicated
• Diverse cast of characters? Yes
• Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes

4.0