mgrace17's review against another edition
adventurous
challenging
dark
emotional
inspiring
fast-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
4.5
readreadreadbby's review against another edition
5.0
I really loved this one. I loved the pull and push between Kelsea wanting to do what's right but also feeding that dark thing inside her. I loved the flashbacks. I loved Kelsea's new found badassery. Favorite part of the series so far is when she confronts the Red Queen.
sadly95's review against another edition
challenging
dark
emotional
mysterious
fast-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
3.75
anjumstar's review against another edition
4.0
Bottom line: the book had me pretty hooked. It was easy to read, to want to keep reading. That said, a lot of this book was about Lily, and Lily's story, and this real-world dystopian future. And if that had been the book on the flap, I would not have chosen it. I found the theme with Kelsea taking on Lily's face to be quite weird, and the whole emphasis on Kelsea's therefore increasing beauty made me cringe a bit.
I love when books have unusual people paired together for tasks. So in this book, I really enjoyed the time between the Mace and Father Tyler. I enjoyed Aisa and the guards. Ewen and Javin, Ewen and the guards. The large cast of characters--particularly the Queen's Guard--was hard to handle in book one, but it's pretty settled in this one. The men don't stand out a ton from each other, but yeah, the numbers are necessary.
I'm not sure why no one pointed out that Kelsea's behavior was approaching that of the Red Queen? Near the end, they got close. Kelsea got more cruel, and Mace came close, saying that there are worse things to be than her mother, but it seemed obvious that that worse thing would be being the Red Queen. Maybe it's meant to be subtle and not said aloud? Or maybe Kelsea is supposed to remain cruel for longer? Idk. Kelsea was a bit of a tough main character for me in the first book, and I continued to have challenges, albeit different ones, in this book. The sapphires made her extremely OP, which just isn't super interesting, and it didn't give us any ideas as to the limits of the jewels. I was glad that the book ended with her losing them, because it'll be more interesting to follow Kelsea without a deus ex machina attached to her neck. All of the dizzy spells when she was entering Lily's life also felt very melodramatic. I don't think it painted her very well and I'll be curious what the actual value of Kelsea knowing Lily's life might be in the 3rd book because it seemed...not of the utmost importance in this book, ultimately.
And then I'm torn about the romance. I loved that these books haven't had a heavy emphasis on romance and that they've been more political. I love political drama, I love thoughtful plot, I like the level of combat we have and some of the inventive fantasy elements involved in that. But the romance is so light that it's hard to care at all about it. It's made it so that Pen's only real trait is his crush on Kelsea and I just don't know enough about him to care about the romance, and I'd like to care a bit more, if not about the romance as a whole, then his investment in it. Pen has the makings of a likeable guy and I'd like to know him more, even if Kelsea isn't overly invested in their coupling. Still, I'd rather too little romance than too much.
As you can probably see, I waffled between rating this a 3 or a 4. A lot of the book was spent in a story I didn't love and it took away from details in the main story that should have been more important. However, ultimately, it wasn't a bear to get through any part of this book, even Lily's segments, and I looked forward to reading it every day on my commute. This book is still better than the contemporary fiction I've been struggling with, so it got an elevated rating. I'm sure that my opinion on the set-up in this book will change based on how the last one goes, but I don't think it had a second-book slump at all. It continued straight on from the first as though it was one continuous novel and I'm a fan of that. Ultimately, I still have an open mind and am having a good time.
I love when books have unusual people paired together for tasks. So in this book, I really enjoyed the time between the Mace and Father Tyler. I enjoyed Aisa and the guards. Ewen and Javin, Ewen and the guards. The large cast of characters--particularly the Queen's Guard--was hard to handle in book one, but it's pretty settled in this one. The men don't stand out a ton from each other, but yeah, the numbers are necessary.
I'm not sure why no one pointed out that Kelsea's behavior was approaching that of the Red Queen? Near the end, they got close. Kelsea got more cruel, and Mace came close, saying that there are worse things to be than her mother, but it seemed obvious that that worse thing would be being the Red Queen. Maybe it's meant to be subtle and not said aloud? Or maybe Kelsea is supposed to remain cruel for longer? Idk. Kelsea was a bit of a tough main character for me in the first book, and I continued to have challenges, albeit different ones, in this book. The sapphires made her extremely OP, which just isn't super interesting, and it didn't give us any ideas as to the limits of the jewels. I was glad that the book ended with her losing them, because it'll be more interesting to follow Kelsea without a deus ex machina attached to her neck. All of the dizzy spells when she was entering Lily's life also felt very melodramatic. I don't think it painted her very well and I'll be curious what the actual value of Kelsea knowing Lily's life might be in the 3rd book because it seemed...not of the utmost importance in this book, ultimately.
And then I'm torn about the romance. I loved that these books haven't had a heavy emphasis on romance and that they've been more political. I love political drama, I love thoughtful plot, I like the level of combat we have and some of the inventive fantasy elements involved in that. But the romance is so light that it's hard to care at all about it. It's made it so that Pen's only real trait is his crush on Kelsea and I just don't know enough about him to care about the romance, and I'd like to care a bit more, if not about the romance as a whole, then his investment in it. Pen has the makings of a likeable guy and I'd like to know him more, even if Kelsea isn't overly invested in their coupling. Still, I'd rather too little romance than too much.
As you can probably see, I waffled between rating this a 3 or a 4. A lot of the book was spent in a story I didn't love and it took away from details in the main story that should have been more important. However, ultimately, it wasn't a bear to get through any part of this book, even Lily's segments, and I looked forward to reading it every day on my commute. This book is still better than the contemporary fiction I've been struggling with, so it got an elevated rating. I'm sure that my opinion on the set-up in this book will change based on how the last one goes, but I don't think it had a second-book slump at all. It continued straight on from the first as though it was one continuous novel and I'm a fan of that. Ultimately, I still have an open mind and am having a good time.
forsakenfates's review against another edition
4.0
There are so many times were sequels do not live up to the previous books, this was not one of the instances. This book was amazing, even better than the first in many ways. This trilogy is shaping up to be one of my favorites of all time. There are so many characters that I have fallen in love with and need to know everything about.
This book dived further into the world, plus we got expansive information on the origin story of the Tearling. It was fascinating to watch the story unfold and reveals to surprise me, but also make perfect sense. Kelsea never ceases to amaze me as she fights for her people.
That being said, the fact that I have to wait almost an entire year now for the final book is killing me. I still have so many more questions and need so much more from this world. I can honestly say, I have no idea where this series is going, but I'm stoked to find out.
Finally, I need to know who Kelsea's father is. I was convinced at two different points in this book we were going to find out, but we did not.
This book dived further into the world, plus we got expansive information on the origin story of the Tearling. It was fascinating to watch the story unfold and reveals to surprise me, but also make perfect sense. Kelsea never ceases to amaze me as she fights for her people.
That being said, the fact that I have to wait almost an entire year now for the final book is killing me. I still have so many more questions and need so much more from this world. I can honestly say, I have no idea where this series is going, but I'm stoked to find out.
Finally, I need to know who Kelsea's father is. I was convinced at two different points in this book we were going to find out, but we did not.
lederbsreads's review against another edition
dark
emotional
mysterious
reflective
sad
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? No
4.0
vsneal1's review against another edition
5.0
This book was fantastic! 11/10. I can’t wait to finish the series!