frogie's review
adventurous
dark
emotional
fast-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? Plot
- Strong character development? No
- Loveable characters? It's complicated
- Diverse cast of characters? No
2.0
I kind of want to bump this to a 2.5 star read if only because I genuinely loved the premise of this story. Alas, the execution fell entirely flat for me. The plot itself felt kind of all over the place, with world-building bits thrown into the plot at points that felt more random than anything. I think I read somewhere that this is set in a world already established by another series, so perhaps it would have made more sense if I was already familiar with said world. The characters confused me for the most part; the queen especially had moments where she seemed more immature than anything (throwing her weight around as a queen, yelling at people out of the blue, etc). Not at all like a mature queen who has lost most of her children in such a short period of time. Most of the other characters felt shallow. The only one I really liked was Tallis but even his characterization wasn't the greatest.
The ending itself felt both rushed and as though as many plot twists had been shoved in as much as possible, which just made it feel confusing and messy. It was technically a happy ending - if you consider the main couple getting together and living happily to be the prerequisite for a HEA in Romantasy - but the mess that happened right before the epilogue made it unsatisfying. I think this could have been so much better as a properly fleshed-out novel where we could have followed Moira in her grief and need for revenge.
The ending itself felt both rushed and as though as many plot twists had been shoved in as much as possible, which just made it feel confusing and messy.
Spoiler
Kane suddenly appearing out of nowhere and fully grown up and stubbornly hating his mother before he even knew what was going on was a) random as hell and b) something that actually pissed me off, especially with the way that plot twist was handled.booksshehasfoundareawaytolive's review
adventurous
dark
tense
fast-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? Plot
- Strong character development? Yes
- Loveable characters? N/A
- Diverse cast of characters? No
- Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes
3.0
klozowski's review against another edition
adventurous
mysterious
fast-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? Plot
- Strong character development? No
- Loveable characters? It's complicated
- Diverse cast of characters? N/A
3.0
hhatfieldd's review against another edition
mysterious
tense
fast-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? Character
- Strong character development? Yes
- Loveable characters? It's complicated
- Diverse cast of characters? Yes
- Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes
2.5
i didn’t hate it, it was just so short and predictable
julietsdemise's review against another edition
dark
emotional
mysterious
sad
tense
fast-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? Character
- Strong character development? No
- Loveable characters? Yes
- Diverse cast of characters? Yes
- Flaws of characters a main focus? It's complicated
4.5
hazelgirl21's review
adventurous
emotional
mysterious
medium-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? A mix
- Strong character development? No
- Loveable characters? Yes
- Diverse cast of characters? No
- Flaws of characters a main focus? No
3.25
Graphic: Child death
Moderate: Violence
aislinnrowlands's review against another edition
adventurous
emotional
mysterious
fast-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? Plot
- Strong character development? Yes
- Loveable characters? Yes
- Diverse cast of characters? No
- Flaws of characters a main focus? No
3.5
roxxie's review against another edition
emotional
inspiring
sad
medium-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
3.0
letoffoletto's review
adventurous
fast-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? Plot
- Strong character development? No
- Loveable characters? No
- Diverse cast of characters? No
- Flaws of characters a main focus? No
1.0