alliepreston's review against another edition
adventurous
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
3.0
chartsh's review against another edition
adventurous
challenging
emotional
hopeful
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? It's complicated
4.25
nerdyforbooks_'s review against another edition
adventurous
emotional
slow-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? No
3.5
Ugh, this next entry in the series was rough. It basically highlighted all the bad parts of the first book (weird dialogue, using slang that makes no sense, making Marco the stereotype of a gay man) & made them worse.
The first almost 200 pages are a snooze fest. I found Marco annoying AF & honestly wished all his parts would just end (NOT how I felt about him in the first book even though there were issues). Plus the insta-love story he gets. While headed on that track in the first book, Breen is made more of the magical goddess who just “knows” and can “do stuff.” At least she’s still terrible with the sword, bow, & hand to hand combat. Except for points when she really should have been killed because she’s… bad at fighting.
This book, maybe even series, doesn’t know what it wants to be. Romance? Yeah, hardly. Breen & Keegan don’t come back to each other until like… page 300 almost. We get one “steamy” scene & otherwise it’s like “they spent the night together, page break.” Adventure fantasy? Nope, fight scenes are like 3 pages max with bare minimum descriptions. Since it’s trying to be a romance I could give this a pass but like… the romance aspect is also lacking?? And why does Odran keep trying to do the same damn shit? And why is Shana the only freaking interesting character?
I’ll finish the series because I need to know what happens & don’t think it’s a terrible overall concept. This book wasn’t it though. It was slow, even though it took place over like 2 weeks, boring, and couldn’t find an identity.
The first almost 200 pages are a snooze fest. I found Marco annoying AF & honestly wished all his parts would just end (NOT how I felt about him in the first book even though there were issues). Plus the insta-love story he gets. While headed on that track in the first book, Breen is made more of the magical goddess who just “knows” and can “do stuff.” At least she’s still terrible with the sword, bow, & hand to hand combat. Except for points when she really should have been killed because she’s… bad at fighting.
This book, maybe even series, doesn’t know what it wants to be. Romance? Yeah, hardly. Breen & Keegan don’t come back to each other until like… page 300 almost. We get one “steamy” scene & otherwise it’s like “they spent the night together, page break.” Adventure fantasy? Nope, fight scenes are like 3 pages max with bare minimum descriptions. Since it’s trying to be a romance I could give this a pass but like… the romance aspect is also lacking?? And why does Odran keep trying to do the same damn shit? And why is Shana the only freaking interesting character?
I’ll finish the series because I need to know what happens & don’t think it’s a terrible overall concept. This book wasn’t it though. It was slow, even though it took place over like 2 weeks, boring, and couldn’t find an identity.
Content Warnings
Graphic: Child death, Death, and Sexual assault
emiann2023's review against another edition
4.0
Didn't enjoy this one as much as the first. It felt a little too cliche and predictable on multiple points.
bibliophilekaitlyn's review against another edition
adventurous
challenging
dark
emotional
medium-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? Plot
- Strong character development? N/A
- Loveable characters? Yes
- Diverse cast of characters? N/A
- Flaws of characters a main focus? No
4.25
pharz's review against another edition
adventurous
dark
hopeful
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
4.0
chelle_benedetti's review against another edition
adventurous
emotional
funny
inspiring
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
4.0
vivienned's review against another edition
4.0
I really enjoyed the first book in this series so I was really excited that I was given the chance to review an early edition audiobook from NetGalley.
First of all, can I get my own Marco? What an amazing friend to have. Secondly, can I get a man like Brian? So romantic and straightforward in their relationship. They both make me so happy.
In this book, there’s very little activity in our modern world, which I didn’t mind. What I enjoyed most is the friendship of Breen and Marco and how they learn to adapt to their new world. The whole book revolves around Breen coming into her powers and continuing her training. She eventually makes her way to the capital and faces a bitter love rival and this is where the action really starts… about the last 3rd of the book. The overall plot moves slowly until this part and is a great set up for book # 3, which I’m predicting where ALL the action will be.
I cried a bit towards the end with what happened to one of the side characters. A love so forgiving (and still betrayed) my inner heart just didn’t know how to handle that.
First of all, can I get my own Marco? What an amazing friend to have. Secondly, can I get a man like Brian? So romantic and straightforward in their relationship. They both make me so happy.
In this book, there’s very little activity in our modern world, which I didn’t mind. What I enjoyed most is the friendship of Breen and Marco and how they learn to adapt to their new world. The whole book revolves around Breen coming into her powers and continuing her training. She eventually makes her way to the capital and faces a bitter love rival and this is where the action really starts… about the last 3rd of the book. The overall plot moves slowly until this part and is a great set up for book # 3, which I’m predicting where ALL the action will be.
I cried a bit towards the end with what happened to one of the side characters. A love so forgiving (and still betrayed) my inner heart just didn’t know how to handle that.
katysantandrea's review against another edition
5.0
Loved this book, although I do wish Nora Roberts would include a little summary of the book before it when she releases her trilogies one book/year. Looking forward to the final instalment!