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paili's review against another edition
- Plot- or character-driven? A mix
- Strong character development? Yes
- Loveable characters? It's complicated
- Diverse cast of characters? Yes
- Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes
3.25
Graphic: Death, Torture, Violence, and War
Moderate: Suicidal thoughts, Blood, and Suicide attempt
christinereads1823's review against another edition
- 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? Yes
3.5
Graphic: Animal death, Death, Emotional abuse, Physical abuse, Torture, Toxic relationship, Violence, Blood, Grief, Suicide attempt, Death of parent, War, and Injury/Injury detail
kathrynleereads's review against another edition
- 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
Across time and space, they both find themselves being manipulated and coerced by Corien, leader of the angels and the Undying Empire.
•
This was so out-of-character for her that I actually went back and reread a bit to make sure I hadn’t missed something.
Evyline - Honestly, Rielle didn’t deserve Evyline. She was loyal to Rielle without a single doubt.
Even when Rielle sided with the angels, Evyline shifted her loyalty to Audric, knowing that he was Rielle’s best chance to come back to herself and the right side.
Garver - I love this man. Right in the Furyborn prologue, he had reminded Simon to not judge Rielle too harshly because she had once been just a girl.
He seemed to understand better than most of the characters that what Rielle was going through was not her fault (at least entirely).
Tal - At no point in this series was I a fan of Tal. His whole relationship with Rielle was so weird and bordered on the line of an obsession.
Obritsa - For such a young girl, Obritsa really had herself together.
Atheria - I love Atheria with my whole heart. Her presence acted as a sort of moral compass.
I also appreciated that Atheria’s role as a moral compass extended past Rielle to Audric as well. She was by his side the whole time he fought, helping when she could, but being a constant supporting presence.
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ELIANA'S TIMELINE
Eliana - I’ve been trying for days to put down all my feelings about Eliana and the ending that she got, but I just can’t seem to fin the right words.
I’m so grateful for Zahra and the fact that, through her, a spark of the person that Eliana was still lives on.
I’m happy that she now gets to grow up properly, with Audric and Zahra and Simon there, but the hardships that she went through made her the person she was.
Simon - Simon’s story simultaneously aggrevated me and made me so deeply sad.
The idea that he underwent such incredible torture starting at the age of eight is horrible.
And for that revelation to happen only hours before he is then killed by Corien? Brutal.
He deserved so much more than that ending, and I hope that little Simon eventually gets the ending he deserves with little Eliana.
The Prophet - After a book and a half of guessing who The Prophet was, Lightbringer finally confirmed my hunch.
He followed in his sister's footsteps but stayed true to the person he was, studying and loving stories more than anything else.
"May I tell you the rest?" she asked. "May I tell you the story of your daughter?"
Tears in his eyes, completely undone, Audric nodded, and then he listened through the night as Zahra spoke of a future that would never be.
Those were the words that broke me and finally drew out all the tears I’d been holding in.
Suffice it to say, Lightbringer broke me.
Graphic: Body horror, Child abuse, Child death, Death, Emotional abuse, Physical abuse, Torture, Toxic relationship, Violence, Blood, Kidnapping, Murder, and War
Moderate: Confinement, Gore, Infidelity, Self harm, Sexual content, Slavery, Suicidal thoughts, Suicide, Grief, Suicide attempt, Death of parent, and Injury/Injury detail
Minor: Animal cruelty, Animal death, Cursing, and Pregnancy
angstifies's review against another edition
the pacing is REALLY REALLY SLOW and things aren’t going in the direction them to go and there are a few useless POVs that just feel thrown there and i don’t enjoy reading them at all.
Graphic: Suicidal thoughts, Torture, Toxic relationship, and Violence
Moderate: Body horror, Death, Emotional abuse, Physical abuse, Blood, Kidnapping, Grief, Suicide attempt, Murder, Pregnancy, Gaslighting, Toxic friendship, War, and Injury/Injury detail
Minor: Child abuse, Confinement, Sexual content, Vomit, Religious bigotry, and Death of parent
polyanna_nas's review against another edition
- Plot- or character-driven? N/A
- Strong character development? It's complicated
- Loveable characters? It's complicated
- Diverse cast of characters? Yes
- Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes
2.0
Inhaltlich fand ich ungefähr das dritte Viertel des Buches gut und spannend. Die Frage nach der Identität des Propheten hat mich interessiert und die Auflösung war ganz gut umgesetzt - auch wenn ich mit der Wahl nicht so zufrieden bin. Die erste Hälfte war relativ repetitiv, da die Protagonistinnen immer mit demselben Problem zu kämpfen haben. Insbesondere das Hin und Her der einen fand ich anstrengend, nicht gut nachzuvollziehen und daher unnötig.
Das Ende hat mir einfach nicht so gut gefallen, was am einem bestimmten Trope liegt, der grundlegend für die Handlung war, den ich aber grundsätzlich nicht mag. Mich hätte der Ausgang der Geschichte in einer anderen Form wesentlich mehr interessiert.
Auch hier fand ich die Textausschnitte und Perspektivwechsel wieder interessant und hilfreich, um die Welt von Avitas bzw die Handlungshintergründe zu verstehen. Enttäuscht war ich dann speziell von Audric. Ich hatte mich gefreut, dass wir mehr von ihm mitkriegen und er gewissermaßen eine eigene Mission hat. Aber wie schon zuvor besteht seine Rolle hier zu 90% darin, Rielle bedingungslos zu lieben und auch das hat mich irgendwann genervt.
Pluspunkte: man wurde nicht so mit Sexszenen zugeklatscht wie im zweiten Teil.
Insgesamt bin ich froh, dass ich jetzt weiß, wie es ausgeht (zumindest soweit beschrieben). Ich mochte leider einige Entwicklungen nicht und hätte mir ein anderes Ende gewünscht. Besonders ab der zweiten Hälfte hatte ich Hoffnung, insofern schade, die Story hatte ja Potential.
Nachtrag: habe einen kleinen Rant gefunden, den ich noch im Nachgang zu meiner Rezension geschrieben hab. Der ist voller Spoiler über alle Teile hinweg, wollte ihn aber nicht unerwähnt lassen :D
Moderate: Animal cruelty, Child abuse, Emotional abuse, Violence, and Suicide attempt
saltycaroline's review against another edition
- Plot- or character-driven? A mix
- Strong character development? Yes
- Loveable characters? Yes
- Diverse cast of characters? Yes
4.0
It ended up being quite good though, and once I pushed through the stress of “omg everything is a nightmare and I would never survive as a fantasy protag bc we’re I Eliana I would have simply ✨died✨”, I actually got really into it. I loved that we got so many different characters’ POVs and how their stories were woven together across time and space. And while the ending was still somewhat upsetting in some ways, it was far better than I had emotionally prepped myself for, and I appreciate that. Not too happy, but just happy enough to be satisfying. Which, I think, makes sense for a series that got progressively darker and didn’t really pull punches.
Also, brief spoiler warning for this last point, but re: Simon? I KNEW it.
Graphic: Suicidal thoughts and Torture
Moderate: Suicide attempt
stormywolf's review against another edition
- 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
Read my full review at The Wolf's Den
Overall, Lightbringer had some dark turns, but as a certain Prophet once said, "To rise, first one must burn," and this definitely turned up the heat. I didn't talk too much about the nitty gritty of the plot or the twists of this book, but honestly I didn't want to spoil more than I did. Just know that I was gripped at every step of the way, and had this not been a 12-hour read, I would have tried to devour it all in one go. I don't know that I'll be returning to dark fantasy soon, but for anyone who is a fan or is looking to dip their toes into the dark waters, I'd definitely recommend this trilogy. If you were as disheartened as I was after the second book, I can't promise it'll get easier to deal with the loss, but just as the title suggests, light is on the horizon if you can hang in there through the dark. And if nothing else, you can always let your hunger to see Corien suffer drive you forward.
Graphic: Death, Emotional abuse, Suicidal thoughts, Torture, Toxic relationship, Violence, Kidnapping, Suicide attempt, and Murder
Moderate: Addiction, Gun violence, Infidelity, and Death of parent