jcooper221's review against another edition
3.0
The story was good. The plot was fresh and interesting throughout, I never really knew what was going to happen next.
I've seen other reviews describing the protagonist as whiny, and I'll give my own spin on this. Maia is utterly incompetent and reactive, as opposed to proactive. A protagonist like this is very difficult to pull off, and Wheeler did not deliver. Wheeler used the word "trembling" to describe her emotional state at least a hundred times. Like, I get it, she lives in a perpetual state of fear. Can we just move on with the story? I was more annoyed than sympathetic with her. She also doesn't really do anything, she's just ferried from one destination to the next.
There were also a few places where story facts didn't quite add up. For instance, Wheeler's depiction of
At the end of the book, There are a few story decisions like this that made the plot unconvincing and start to unravel.
I've seen other reviews describing the protagonist as whiny, and I'll give my own spin on this. Maia is utterly incompetent and reactive, as opposed to proactive. A protagonist like this is very difficult to pull off, and Wheeler did not deliver. Wheeler used the word "trembling" to describe her emotional state at least a hundred times. Like, I get it, she lives in a perpetual state of fear. Can we just move on with the story? I was more annoyed than sympathetic with her. She also doesn't really do anything, she's just ferried from one destination to the next.
There were also a few places where story facts didn't quite add up. For instance, Wheeler's depiction of
Spoiler
avalanches is wrong. How did Maia not suffocate? Simply googling "how do people die from avalanches" would have saved him here.At the end of the book,
Spoiler
in reference to the brand on her shoulder, Maia's grandmother tells her she will have to live with the consequences of her choices. And my immediate thought was, "What choice?" This entire book has been about the illusion of choice. Maia hasn't actually done anything of her own free will, she just tags along or does what other people tell her to. I can appreciate that we sometimes suffer for choices we made without fully knowing what we were doing. But in this story it's unsatisfying, especially when said choice was made before the beginning of the narrative. The reader can't identify with a choice they didn't actually see happen.thatlemonadelife's review against another edition
adventurous
mysterious
medium-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? A mix
- Strong character development? Yes
- Loveable characters? It's complicated
- Diverse cast of characters? No
- Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes
4.0
klherring's review against another edition
3.0
Not terribly different from the other Muirwood series, but enjoyable in the same way
jreason's review against another edition
5.0
Absolutely brilliant start to a new series. Whilst I enjoyed the original trilogy I feel that this one expanded upon and made it even better. The characters and locations all felt much more in depth and real.
habeasopus's review against another edition
3.0
A nice twisty tale. And there are still a couple of characters lurking around the edges who may turn out to be interesting as this series progresses.
wanderlustlover's review against another edition
4.0
Summer 2018; Trilogy review:
I should have written this one ages ago, in the summer when it was still fully flushed in my head and I was head over heels in that latest Jeff Wheeler series. While I still have my low-graded complaint that Wheeler continues to establish archetypes/monsters/magical objects and then drag them into each of his next non-world-connect stories without much explanation (instead, relying on the audience to know them already from earlier reads)--
-- what I remember loving most of all in this series was that it took the villain role (that of the Hetaira) and reinventing it. Our main character was suddenly in those shoes and we got to watch her navigate what good and ill comes of being labeled/touched by the darkness of the world. The sacrifices, the outcasting, the humility, all actions without knowing whether there could ever be a positive outcome after the earliest of mistakes.
I felt very intrigued by it and I was glad to see it's full circle in this trio.
I should have written this one ages ago, in the summer when it was still fully flushed in my head and I was head over heels in that latest Jeff Wheeler series. While I still have my low-graded complaint that Wheeler continues to establish archetypes/monsters/magical objects and then drag them into each of his next non-world-connect stories without much explanation (instead, relying on the audience to know them already from earlier reads)--
-- what I remember loving most of all in this series was that it took the villain role (that of the Hetaira) and reinventing it. Our main character was suddenly in those shoes and we got to watch her navigate what good and ill comes of being labeled/touched by the darkness of the world. The sacrifices, the outcasting, the humility, all actions without knowing whether there could ever be a positive outcome after the earliest of mistakes.
I felt very intrigued by it and I was glad to see it's full circle in this trio.
simply_sam's review against another edition
3.0
Gah, I am getting super behind on reviews, and the fact that I recently finished this one and already barely remember it says a lot.
alexk02's review
4.0
I received this book off of Netgalley in exchange for my honest thoughts.
This book was spectacular. I enjoyed almost every second of it and I'm super glad that this is part of a trilogy and that there is another trilogy dealing with Muirwood. I will admit, when i first started reading the book I was a bit confused about what everything was and I wished the book had more explanation. That's the only thing that is stopping me from giving it a full five star review. I really liked the character development and seeing how Maia grew up and matured into a kick butt person. It was nice seeing why things happened the way they did, and I was glad I did get more of an explanation towards the end of the book.
One thing I didn't really like about the book besides it being a bit confusing is that I feel it needed more world development. I felt like a lot of the places were pretty much the same and everything was the same. It seemed to me that the places all were only a little bit different, which was a tad bit upsetting.
I enjoyed how each character had so much depth to them, even Argus, who is a dog had his own things about him. Some of the characters made me love them and others made me hate them. I'm still trying to figure out if I like Feint Collier or not. I feel like I do, and I really feel like I want him and Maia to actually be together, but I don't know if they can be because of her whole situation, but I really want them to be together.
This book is a higher fantasy book and I definitely recommend it to those who are fans of fantasy and stuff like that.
This book was spectacular. I enjoyed almost every second of it and I'm super glad that this is part of a trilogy and that there is another trilogy dealing with Muirwood. I will admit, when i first started reading the book I was a bit confused about what everything was and I wished the book had more explanation. That's the only thing that is stopping me from giving it a full five star review. I really liked the character development and seeing how Maia grew up and matured into a kick butt person. It was nice seeing why things happened the way they did, and I was glad I did get more of an explanation towards the end of the book.
One thing I didn't really like about the book besides it being a bit confusing is that I feel it needed more world development. I felt like a lot of the places were pretty much the same and everything was the same. It seemed to me that the places all were only a little bit different, which was a tad bit upsetting.
I enjoyed how each character had so much depth to them, even Argus, who is a dog had his own things about him. Some of the characters made me love them and others made me hate them. I'm still trying to figure out if I like Feint Collier or not. I feel like I do, and I really feel like I want him and Maia to actually be together, but I don't know if they can be because of her whole situation, but I really want them to be together.
This book is a higher fantasy book and I definitely recommend it to those who are fans of fantasy and stuff like that.
anovelstart's review against another edition
4.0
I received this book for free from the Publisher at NetGalley in exchange for an honest review. This does not affect my opinion of the book or the content of my review.
I've seen this book about quite a bit, so I leapt at the chance when I saw it on NetGalley. This is an absolutely fantastic fantasy novel, I'd love to read the next one.
I'll start with the description, it's beautiful. It doesn't lack in any area. You're never wondering what something looks like, you know exactly what you need to know and there's no useless information put in there to confuse you.
The main character, Maia, is fierce and always strives to do the right thing, even if she hurts herself in the process. I love this about her, I love that she's so selfless. This is obviously also a huge flaw, you CAN be too nice, and with her position as a princess, it might just cost her what she holds dear. I love that she's got a big heart because it makes her all the more relatable.
The actual storyline was brilliant, it got me wondering what'll happen in the coming books. The ending in particular leaves it open to LOTS of possibilities so there's no way you can predict what'll happen next! This is quite unusual because you normally get a hint of some kind or the story starts to get predictable - not here. It's fantastic, there are so many opportunities and directions the story can take, it's really exciting.
The world building was amazing. I loved the historical aspect of the story (traditional fantasy setting, no modern-day nonsense). I also really liked how well-developed the magic was in the books, the author thought it through really well. To put it simply, there's "good" and "bad" magic. I'm actually interested to see if it really is as blunt as that in the future books, or if this is a misunderstanding brought on by lack of knowledge. The use of magic in the book has been really inventive so far and I really can't wait to see how the author develops it in the future books.
I'd definitely recommend this book to anybody who loves epic fantasy novels. It's an amazing read and I can't wait to read the next book. Four and a half stars all the way :)
If you like my review, please visit my blog: http://www.anovelstart.com
I've seen this book about quite a bit, so I leapt at the chance when I saw it on NetGalley. This is an absolutely fantastic fantasy novel, I'd love to read the next one.
I'll start with the description, it's beautiful. It doesn't lack in any area. You're never wondering what something looks like, you know exactly what you need to know and there's no useless information put in there to confuse you.
The main character, Maia, is fierce and always strives to do the right thing, even if she hurts herself in the process. I love this about her, I love that she's so selfless. This is obviously also a huge flaw, you CAN be too nice, and with her position as a princess, it might just cost her what she holds dear. I love that she's got a big heart because it makes her all the more relatable.
The actual storyline was brilliant, it got me wondering what'll happen in the coming books. The ending in particular leaves it open to LOTS of possibilities so there's no way you can predict what'll happen next! This is quite unusual because you normally get a hint of some kind or the story starts to get predictable - not here. It's fantastic, there are so many opportunities and directions the story can take, it's really exciting.
The world building was amazing. I loved the historical aspect of the story (traditional fantasy setting, no modern-day nonsense). I also really liked how well-developed the magic was in the books, the author thought it through really well. To put it simply, there's "good" and "bad" magic. I'm actually interested to see if it really is as blunt as that in the future books, or if this is a misunderstanding brought on by lack of knowledge. The use of magic in the book has been really inventive so far and I really can't wait to see how the author develops it in the future books.
I'd definitely recommend this book to anybody who loves epic fantasy novels. It's an amazing read and I can't wait to read the next book. Four and a half stars all the way :)
If you like my review, please visit my blog: http://www.anovelstart.com