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frumpkin_'s review
adventurous
dark
fast-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
5.0
I loved Ilahara so much. I fell in love with the characters and world immediately. C.M. Karys write with such grace and experience, it was effortless to become absorbed. It was so easy to wrap my head around the history of the world and different races. The backstory was placed in delicious drops throughout the story allowing information to flow. It felt like you were experiencing it rather than being told. Which brings me to the utter skill that was shown when writing action. All combat scenes were animated and exciting. They didn’t give too much or too little.
The cast of characters was perfect, too. We mainly follow Shara, which is great because she’s amazing and bad ass, but we also get to follow other characters she meets along the way. I love getting different perspectives, and it allowed for mystery to build up. It also allowed room to see inside the minds of characters you struggled to read at first. If you know you know! It just made everything so much more juicier.
I enjoyed learning their magic system - it was fresh and interesting. It is apparent that everything was incredibly well thought out. Even the pacing of the story was spot on, I literally couldn’t fault a thing. We explored a good chunk of the world, and it gave us some insight to what we could see during the next book. It makes a good introduction. Their writing is so descriptive and beautiful, I really enjoyed reading them setting scenes.
I have really struggled to articulate my feelings for this review. I don’t want to say too much, but I feel so much more needs to be said. But I’ll leave it here, for you to find out. This was literally one of my most favourite fantasy reads. I expected to enjoy it, but I’m blown away a just how much I loved it. A very easy read, in the best way. I promise you will get sucked in and will not want to leave!
The cast of characters was perfect, too. We mainly follow Shara, which is great because she’s amazing and bad ass, but we also get to follow other characters she meets along the way. I love getting different perspectives, and it allowed for mystery to build up. It also allowed room to see inside the minds of characters you struggled to read at first. If you know you know! It just made everything so much more juicier.
I enjoyed learning their magic system - it was fresh and interesting. It is apparent that everything was incredibly well thought out. Even the pacing of the story was spot on, I literally couldn’t fault a thing. We explored a good chunk of the world, and it gave us some insight to what we could see during the next book. It makes a good introduction. Their writing is so descriptive and beautiful, I really enjoyed reading them setting scenes.
I have really struggled to articulate my feelings for this review. I don’t want to say too much, but I feel so much more needs to be said. But I’ll leave it here, for you to find out. This was literally one of my most favourite fantasy reads. I expected to enjoy it, but I’m blown away a just how much I loved it. A very easy read, in the best way. I promise you will get sucked in and will not want to leave!
Content Warnings
Graphic: Violence, Blood, and Death of parent
Minor: Vomit and Grief