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spicycronereads's review against another edition
adventurous
funny
mysterious
fast-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? Plot
- Strong character development? No
- Loveable characters? Yes
- Diverse cast of characters? Yes
- Flaws of characters a main focus? No
4.0
This book starts out really strong! Lor the FMC is imprisoned with her siblings and is known for getting into trouble. She is smart and funny and indomitable. And she loves Tristan and Willow, her two older siblings.
When she is the human tribute selected to participate in the sun queen trials, every move she makes is to protect them. Trials test physical strength but also reveal Lor’s character.
We also get POV chapters from Nadir, the prince of Aurora, which is the territory that held Lor as prisoner for half of her life.
Th pacing is quite good and the writing is often sharply funny. Some plot points are quite predictable but it is fun getting there all the same. I saw the book described as ACOTAR meets The Hunger Games and that seems pretty spot on.
The secondary characters are fairly flat, with the exception of Gabriel, around whom there is a bit of mystery.
There is a slow burn love interest and some spice. I’d give it two chili peppers. 🌶️🌶️
There is a fair amount of diverse representation with almost every character having some shade of brown skin and many secondary characters in queer relationships or flings. Lor and Nadir are both brown-skinned with dark wavy hair.
Overall it is a fast, fun read that sets up events for the next book (which is less predictable imo). ⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️ / 🌶️🌶️
When she is the human tribute selected to participate in the sun queen trials, every move she makes is to protect them. Trials test physical strength but also reveal Lor’s character.
We also get POV chapters from Nadir, the prince of Aurora, which is the territory that held Lor as prisoner for half of her life.
Th pacing is quite good and the writing is often sharply funny. Some plot points are quite predictable but it is fun getting there all the same. I saw the book described as ACOTAR meets The Hunger Games and that seems pretty spot on.
The secondary characters are fairly flat, with the exception of Gabriel, around whom there is a bit of mystery.
There is a slow burn love interest and some spice. I’d give it two chili peppers. 🌶️🌶️
There is a fair amount of diverse representation with almost every character having some shade of brown skin and many secondary characters in queer relationships or flings. Lor and Nadir are both brown-skinned with dark wavy hair.
Overall it is a fast, fun read that sets up events for the next book (which is less predictable imo). ⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️ / 🌶️🌶️
Content Warnings
Graphic: Kidnapping and Gaslighting
Moderate: Homophobia, Sexual content, and Toxic relationship
Minor: Child death, Sexual assault, Suicide attempt, and Death of parent
cecetomas's review against another edition
adventurous
challenging
tense
medium-paced
- 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
3.75
I picked this up needing an easy to read, fast paced fantasy (plus I love The Hunger Games and The Bachelor) and it was exactly what I wanted. Some of the plot felt pretty predictable and the tropes felt just a little but forced but I enjoyed the action quite a bit. I am someone that is usually to predict quite a bit when reading but something I really appreciated is that the MMC love interest is not immediately obvious in the way that there are a few ways that the relationships in this book could go and it was fun thinking about alternating story lines/endings and kind of reading along to see which way it would go. I can't say this book enthralled me enough to sell me on the entire series but it definitely hooked me into the second book.
Content Warnings
Graphic: Sexual violence, Violence, and Death of parent
thebookwhale's review against another edition
3.0
So this was okay.
Not horrible, but not excellent either.
The storyline and plot is interesting, but the writing...
Lor, the FMC, lacks A LOT. I can't really described what exactly it is, but something was amiss. Her character didn't feel complete.
Also, the world building was really shallow. Who or what is Zerra? Presumably a god or something, but I would need an explanation of that. In general, the world was missing a lot of details, and that made it hard for me to truly enjoy the book, since it left me with a lot of questions.
The spicy scenes felt out of place and random, and the affection of the Sun King from the very beginning as well.
I will read the second book though, as I still want to know how everything works out in the end.
Not horrible, but not excellent either.
The storyline and plot is interesting, but the writing...
Lor, the FMC, lacks A LOT. I can't really described what exactly it is, but something was amiss. Her character didn't feel complete.
Also, the world building was really shallow. Who or what is Zerra? Presumably a god or something, but I would need an explanation of that. In general, the world was missing a lot of details, and that made it hard for me to truly enjoy the book, since it left me with a lot of questions.
The spicy scenes felt out of place and random, and the affection of the Sun King from the very beginning as well.
I will read the second book though, as I still want to know how everything works out in the end.
Content Warnings
Graphic: Child abuse, Cursing, Death, and Blood
Moderate: Sexual content, Violence, Kidnapping, Gaslighting, and Abandonment
Minor: Adult/minor relationship, Death of parent, and Alcohol
literarymary95's review against another edition
adventurous
dark
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
3.75
This has a Hunger Games meets magic, Fae, and royalty feel to it. It was hard to get into at first but it got interesting after about halfway through.
Content Warnings
Graphic: Death, Sexual content, and Violence
Moderate: Sexual assault and Death of parent
Minor: Rape
daniellechristy's review against another edition
adventurous
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? It's complicated
4.0
Content Warnings
Graphic: Sexual violence
Minor: Death and Death of parent
goldenleafbooks's review against another edition
adventurous
emotional
mysterious
tense
medium-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? Character
- Strong character development? Yes
- Loveable characters? Yes
- Diverse cast of characters? It's complicated
- Flaws of characters a main focus? No
4.5
This is the first book I've read by Nisha J Tuli, and I'm absolutely delighted to have found this author. Her characters are very well done, and I especially enjoy the way that she mixes in lore and history of the world throughout the novel. I never felt like they're was an exposition dump.
The book is part of an unfinished series, scheduled to be completed this year. HEA is not at the end of the books, it seems like it will be the end of the series.
The book is part of an unfinished series, scheduled to be completed this year. HEA is not at the end of the books, it seems like it will be the end of the series.
Content Warnings
Graphic: Confinement, Cursing, Death, Emotional abuse, Physical abuse, Sexual violence, Violence, Police brutality, Injury/Injury detail, and Classism
Moderate: Kidnapping and Death of parent
Nothing in this book is gratuitous. All content warnings involve things that are genuinely necessary to the plot of the story.bailey0414's review against another edition
adventurous
challenging
dark
funny
inspiring
mysterious
sad
fast-paced
- 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? It's complicated
4.25
I tore through this book so fast. It's like if Hunger Games, Divergent, and ACOTAR all had a baby and put it into one book. Though this book is a simple read and I did see quite a few things coming, I couldn't put it down because I just wanted to know I was right every step of the way. Lor is a great main character with her temper, her lack of self control after growing up in a prison, and even her conflicting feelings we see first hand. I loved also reading the small moments of Nadir and knew he would have a much bigger role coming up for future books.
Content Warnings
Graphic: Child abuse, Emotional abuse, Physical abuse, Sexual assault, Sexual violence, Toxic relationship, Violence, Death of parent, and Murder
karapillar's review against another edition
adventurous
dark
hopeful
mysterious
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
4.5
Content Warnings
Graphic: Body shaming, Bullying, Confinement, Cursing, Death, Physical abuse, Sexual content, Violence, Blood, Kidnapping, Death of parent, Murder, Abandonment, Alcohol, Injury/Injury detail, and Classism
Moderate: Misogyny and Vomit
misswillacolyns's review against another edition
adventurous
dark
mysterious
tense
medium-paced
- 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? It's complicated
3.75
I love the diversity (race, LGBTQIA+) of the characters. There is mystery to what has been happening throughout Ouranos since Lor and her siblings were imprisoned. I like Nadirs “fuck you” attitude towards his father. I’m lookin forward to where this series takes us.
Content Warnings
Moderate: Bullying and Violence
Minor: Sexual assault and Death of parent
rachelglazer's review against another edition
adventurous
dark
mysterious
tense
fast-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? Plot
- Strong character development? Yes
- Loveable characters? It's complicated
- Diverse cast of characters? Yes
- Flaws of characters a main focus? No
3.5
There are a few familiar beats, and some of the chatacters were underdeveloped, but overall it was entertaining and had enough intrigue to keep me going
Content Warnings
Graphic: Death, Gore, Sexual assault, Sexual content, Violence, and Kidnapping
Minor: Death of parent
LGBTQIA friendly