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elisabethwheatley's review against another edition
3.0
3.5 out of 5 stars
Honest review, right? Okay. This is going to hurt me a lot more than you, but okay.
I love this author, truly, and her debut novel was knock-your-socks-off awesomesauce, but I just felt like this piece didn't have that level of nuance. I've come to expect a great deal more because I know she's capable of incredible pieces and with another round of revision I think this could have been a fantastic book, but I've got to evaluate it as-is. (It's like 4-H horse judging all over again.)
The plot:
There was an intriguing premise here, but a few things that seemed a little contrived. At the very beginning, it seemed odd that Kaia just so happens to be the one sent to meet Anders who just so happens to pick the (very public) square as a meeting place as Morlet just so happens to be at an execution. All of that could have been smoothed out with just a few tweaks, but...oh, well. It was mostly little things like that building up that demoted this book from 5 stars.
Actually, most of the dings against this story came from the plot. In certain places, some characters seemed to behave out of character and coincidences occurred. There were times it almost seemed the story was bending over backwards in order to make sense.
The characters:
It's hard to get a bead on Kaia's character, but she's having trouble understanding herself. She's basically lived in a box her whole life, she doesn't really know who or what she is. I did like that she's gutsy and smart despite being a bit sheltered. I most loved the balance of her character and the conflict of who to trust—and how it made sense that she doubted the "good" guys. In many cases, the heroine/hero will mistrust the people who are trying to help them and you know they're messing up, but in her case, I wasn't quite sure. The thing I most hated about her was that she didn't knee Vidar in his particulars, but I have my hopes up for the next book.
The subplot with aforementioned Vidar rankled me alot little. It wasn't just that I ship her with Anders (and shut up, I know everyone who read this book is on my side), but the way the Vidar subplot was handled made me uncomfortable. There were some kind of rape-y comments in there with the "that is what I will do" and "must" and he was really a jerk with regard to the whole thing. Then he and that made me SO MAD ALL AROUND.
*Envision a deep breath here*
Anyway, I didn't count off for that, just for the perceived inconsistency with regard to her father's character.
And yes, I loved Anders because he's spooky and mysterious and an assassin and I'm into those right now. Still, I think my favorite character was Morlet.
Morlet seems pretty cut-and-paste fantasy villain from the blurb up there, but we don't really have any idea what the hell is going on with him by the end. I feel like there's almost two personas meshed together in that head of his, fighting over what's going to happen. He was complicated and unpredictable, but never came across as irrational. He is a puzzle and I admit I'm incredibly intrigued.
One thing I truly appreciated was the little quirks that gave the story originality. There was the French-based world building (as opposed to the traditional medieval English fantasy world), the variety of weaponry, and the terminology were wonderfully fresh. It was little hints like this that reminded me of the author's creative capability and made it all the most frustrating that this piece wasn't as well composed as some of her other works.
In short, it could have been much better, but I still plan to read the sequels and this has not in any way dissuaded me from my obsession with the author's work.
Honest review, right? Okay. This is going to hurt me a lot more than you, but okay.
I love this author, truly, and her debut novel was knock-your-socks-off awesomesauce, but I just felt like this piece didn't have that level of nuance. I've come to expect a great deal more because I know she's capable of incredible pieces and with another round of revision I think this could have been a fantastic book, but I've got to evaluate it as-is. (It's like 4-H horse judging all over again.)
The plot:
There was an intriguing premise here, but a few things that seemed a little contrived. At the very beginning, it seemed odd that Kaia just so happens to be the one sent to meet Anders who just so happens to pick the (very public) square as a meeting place as Morlet just so happens to be at an execution. All of that could have been smoothed out with just a few tweaks, but...oh, well. It was mostly little things like that building up that demoted this book from 5 stars.
Actually, most of the dings against this story came from the plot. In certain places, some characters seemed to behave out of character and coincidences occurred. There were times it almost seemed the story was bending over backwards in order to make sense.
The characters:
It's hard to get a bead on Kaia's character, but she's having trouble understanding herself. She's basically lived in a box her whole life, she doesn't really know who or what she is. I did like that she's gutsy and smart despite being a bit sheltered. I most loved the balance of her character and the conflict of who to trust—and how it made sense that she doubted the "good" guys. In many cases, the heroine/hero will mistrust the people who are trying to help them and you know they're messing up, but in her case, I wasn't quite sure. The thing I most hated about her was that she didn't knee Vidar in his particulars, but I have my hopes up for the next book.
The subplot with aforementioned Vidar rankled me a
Spoiler
brings her father in on it in an effort to force her into marrying him (rat bastard) and Kaia's father agrees because apparently the girl needs someone to take care of her even though he's raised her to be strong and independent and every woman requires man to survive*Envision a deep breath here*
Anyway, I didn't count off for that, just for the perceived inconsistency with regard to her father's character.
And yes, I loved Anders because he's spooky and mysterious and an assassin and I'm into those right now. Still, I think my favorite character was Morlet.
Morlet seems pretty cut-and-paste fantasy villain from the blurb up there, but we don't really have any idea what the hell is going on with him by the end. I feel like there's almost two personas meshed together in that head of his, fighting over what's going to happen. He was complicated and unpredictable, but never came across as irrational. He is a puzzle and I admit I'm incredibly intrigued.
One thing I truly appreciated was the little quirks that gave the story originality. There was the French-based world building (as opposed to the traditional medieval English fantasy world), the variety of weaponry, and the terminology were wonderfully fresh. It was little hints like this that reminded me of the author's creative capability and made it all the most frustrating that this piece wasn't as well composed as some of her other works.
In short, it could have been much better, but I still plan to read the sequels and this has not in any way dissuaded me from my obsession with the author's work.
girlwhoreadssapphic's review
3.0
!!THREE STARS!!
Okay so in spanish class, we watched Pans Labyrinth. Now when i tell you guys that this film was sickengly beautiful and heartbreaking. the acting was wonderful, the cinematography was so unique, and the storytelling and writing just brought me to tears. and then after that i got home and watched that cringe disney movie, Upside down magic. It was cute, funny, an enjoyable film. but it had no depth, I didn't care about the characters, and lets just say the acting tipped a bit.
you compare that to Pans Labyrinth, and there is an obvious better choice. That was this book. it was as deep as a disney channel movie, but enjoyable and silly nonetheless.
the characters lacked depth. I didn't connect with Kaia at all, I liked Anders, and Vidar just got on my nerves. and for the *insert eye roll* evil-but-hot-oh-and-also-immoral-but-misunderstood villain, I liked him a little bit. i think his reason for becoming evil was fair enough, but he fell a bit one-dimensional. He was just there to play the 'hot obvious love interest' and he was so one dimensional.
oh, and speaking of love interests, there was like a love square, not even a love TRIANGLE. Honestly, I would've settled foor a love triangle at that point. Can I mention that kaia is SIXTEEN years old, one man is four years older than her and another is a century older. That is disgusting. You can at least make her 23 or something so I don't get grossed out every time Morlet obsesses over her. And the part where they said she was dIfFerEnT and sPeCiAl just made me cringe.
But the plot was okay, for a fantasy novel. it was cute and i did get invested at one point. I liked the little action bits and training, although there wasn't enough tension. The action scenes were low-risk, but still fun.
that's all bitches,
see ya
----------------------------------
Was it as thrilling and fun as I expected?
No
Did I still enjoy it?
Yes. It was as enjoyable as a nice rom-com, but didn't have enough depth.
Review To Come
--------------------------
currently reading
I am ready for some dark magicy enemies to lovers
Okay so in spanish class, we watched Pans Labyrinth. Now when i tell you guys that this film was sickengly beautiful and heartbreaking. the acting was wonderful, the cinematography was so unique, and the storytelling and writing just brought me to tears. and then after that i got home and watched that cringe disney movie, Upside down magic. It was cute, funny, an enjoyable film. but it had no depth, I didn't care about the characters, and lets just say the acting tipped a bit.
you compare that to Pans Labyrinth, and there is an obvious better choice. That was this book. it was as deep as a disney channel movie, but enjoyable and silly nonetheless.
the characters lacked depth. I didn't connect with Kaia at all, I liked Anders, and Vidar just got on my nerves. and for the *insert eye roll* evil-but-hot-oh-and-also-immoral-but-misunderstood villain, I liked him a little bit. i think his reason for becoming evil was fair enough, but he fell a bit one-dimensional. He was just there to play the 'hot obvious love interest' and he was so one dimensional.
oh, and speaking of love interests, there was like a love square, not even a love TRIANGLE. Honestly, I would've settled foor a love triangle at that point. Can I mention that kaia is SIXTEEN years old, one man is four years older than her and another is a century older. That is disgusting. You can at least make her 23 or something so I don't get grossed out every time Morlet obsesses over her. And the part where they said she was dIfFerEnT and sPeCiAl just made me cringe.
But the plot was okay, for a fantasy novel. it was cute and i did get invested at one point. I liked the little action bits and training, although there wasn't enough tension. The action scenes were low-risk, but still fun.
that's all bitches,
see ya
----------------------------------
Was it as thrilling and fun as I expected?
No
Did I still enjoy it?
Yes. It was as enjoyable as a nice rom-com, but didn't have enough depth.
Review To Come
--------------------------
currently reading
I am ready for some dark magicy enemies to lovers
ladyamberreviewspr's review
5.0
This is the first book I have read by Jennifer Anne Davis and have wanted to read her books for awhile now. Rise was full of action, each turn of the page had you hooked and begging for more. I loved every bit of it and can’t wait to finish the series. I love the world building and the characters created by Jennifer. If I had to choose my favorite it’d definitely by Anders. He just kinda grabs you from the start and you can’t help but fall for his character and the connection he has with Kaia. I definitely recommend this story and am excited to see what’s in store in the next book.
chanelchapters's review
2.0
I’m sorry but making your protagonist a 16 year old girl and having three men in their HUNDREDS wanting to bang her is just gross.
desertlover's review
4.0
I am huge fan of the True Reign Series and couldn't wait for another High Fantasy from Jennifer Anne Davis. She is one of the most underrated authors in this genre, and I was anxious to discover her new world. I'm not normally drawn into a book from the first chapter, but with Rise I was sucked in from the beginning. From the first moments this is action and intrigue, and it never relents throughout the entire book.
Standing there, holding an almost-burned torch, I had no idea what I'd gotten myself into.
I enjoyed the action, but most of my adoration involved the relationship with Kaia and Anders. He completely stole my heart. It becomes apparent early on, there is so much more to his character that is hidden. Their banter and disdain for each other is fun and a refreshing distraction to the life and death situations they are often immersed in. Of course, I was hopeful their animosity would turn into something more as the book progressed.
If the assassin didn't learn to keep his mouth shut, I'd end up murdering him while he slept.
Kaia is a strong and likable heroine. She is self sufficient and loyal to those she cares about. She is not without flaws, but it makes her even more endearing. She continues to place the needs of her kingdom and family above her own, but without complaint or indecisiveness. She is the type of heroine that a series should be centered upon.
"She is not the end, but the beginning, of that I am certain."
Whether you are new to High Fantasy or a seasoned veteran, I think this is a series all YA readers can embrace and enjoy. Rise contains fast paced action, mystery, slow burning romance, and interesting magical elements. There are many unanswered questions and unknown adventures to come. I cannot wait for the next installment!
**Thank you to Month9Books and Ms. Davis for my advanced copy of Rise.**
Standing there, holding an almost-burned torch, I had no idea what I'd gotten myself into.
I enjoyed the action, but most of my adoration involved the relationship with Kaia and Anders. He completely stole my heart. It becomes apparent early on, there is so much more to his character that is hidden. Their banter and disdain for each other is fun and a refreshing distraction to the life and death situations they are often immersed in. Of course, I was hopeful their animosity would turn into something more as the book progressed.
If the assassin didn't learn to keep his mouth shut, I'd end up murdering him while he slept.
Kaia is a strong and likable heroine. She is self sufficient and loyal to those she cares about. She is not without flaws, but it makes her even more endearing. She continues to place the needs of her kingdom and family above her own, but without complaint or indecisiveness. She is the type of heroine that a series should be centered upon.
"She is not the end, but the beginning, of that I am certain."
Whether you are new to High Fantasy or a seasoned veteran, I think this is a series all YA readers can embrace and enjoy. Rise contains fast paced action, mystery, slow burning romance, and interesting magical elements. There are many unanswered questions and unknown adventures to come. I cannot wait for the next installment!
**Thank you to Month9Books and Ms. Davis for my advanced copy of Rise.**
blessedwannab's review
3.0
I’m not quite sure how to review this book. It’s one of those reads with a list of a bunch of problems within the story, but you also found yourself liking it! I actually read Rise in one day, because it was a fast read but also because it kept me interested enough that the kindle stayed in my hands.
Let’s start with the things that I really liked. First, and most importantly, Morlet. What I feel for Morlet isn’t love, though if my hunch’s prove true I can see it easily becoming love. What I felt for Morlet was complicated. He was, I think, the only character in the entire story that felt multifaceted. Yes, he was definitely the bad guy. It’s pretty obvious from the first chapter that he isn’t ‘good’. Yet, reading through Kaia’s eyes shows something that makes you want to fix him. There’s so much going on under the surface, so much pain, that you find yourself wanting to know more and more about him. I think that’s exactly what prevented me from putting the book down, the author forces her readers to look into Morlet’s eyes too. It makes you curious. You want him to heal.
Second, I liked Anders a lot. I liked him nearly as much as I liked Morlet, even if he wasn’t an onion that needs it’s layers peeled away. I had Anders number right away, but that wasn’t necessarily bad. I’m not sure the author did it on purpose, but he was perfectly balanced between Morlet and Vidar (Anders best friend). Morlet and Vidar are both full of secrets, one supposedly good and one supposedly evil. Anders was in the very center, not a lot of well kept secrets, and not quite good or evil. He was witty, and with Kaia he was endearing. He was also deadly and could be cold. He holds my romantic hopes for Kaia’s future. For now.
I also liked the history of the Krigers. The idea that they’re magic surges when they find their weapon.
As far as what I think didn’t work in the story, well I didn’t like Vidar much. I’m not sure that counts since my spidey senses are telling me there’s something off about him so my dislike could be warranted. IF he’s supposed to be a good guy, he totally fails. He was a jerk. I also wasn’t a huge fan of Kaia’s. I think she was on the TSTL side of the line. Mostly though, I thought that the story could have used a LOT of editing. The pacing was way off. The story moved too fast. Too much happened in too short a time. My head was practically spinning as one short scene bled into another. If Davis had just slowed everything down a bit we would have gotten a really wonderful story, and we would have been able to enjoy our time with each of the characters.
While immediately upon finishing I was interested in where the story will go next, my guess is that as more distance is put between myself and Rise the less I’ll start to think about it or care.
Thank you to Month9Books for providing a copy of his book, in exchange for an honest review.
To see this review and others like it, please visit Badass Book Reviews!
Let’s start with the things that I really liked. First, and most importantly, Morlet. What I feel for Morlet isn’t love, though if my hunch’s prove true I can see it easily becoming love. What I felt for Morlet was complicated. He was, I think, the only character in the entire story that felt multifaceted. Yes, he was definitely the bad guy. It’s pretty obvious from the first chapter that he isn’t ‘good’. Yet, reading through Kaia’s eyes shows something that makes you want to fix him. There’s so much going on under the surface, so much pain, that you find yourself wanting to know more and more about him. I think that’s exactly what prevented me from putting the book down, the author forces her readers to look into Morlet’s eyes too. It makes you curious. You want him to heal.
Second, I liked Anders a lot. I liked him nearly as much as I liked Morlet, even if he wasn’t an onion that needs it’s layers peeled away. I had Anders number right away, but that wasn’t necessarily bad. I’m not sure the author did it on purpose, but he was perfectly balanced between Morlet and Vidar (Anders best friend). Morlet and Vidar are both full of secrets, one supposedly good and one supposedly evil. Anders was in the very center, not a lot of well kept secrets, and not quite good or evil. He was witty, and with Kaia he was endearing. He was also deadly and could be cold. He holds my romantic hopes for Kaia’s future. For now.
I also liked the history of the Krigers. The idea that they’re magic surges when they find their weapon.
As far as what I think didn’t work in the story, well I didn’t like Vidar much. I’m not sure that counts since my spidey senses are telling me there’s something off about him so my dislike could be warranted. IF he’s supposed to be a good guy, he totally fails. He was a jerk. I also wasn’t a huge fan of Kaia’s. I think she was on the TSTL side of the line. Mostly though, I thought that the story could have used a LOT of editing. The pacing was way off. The story moved too fast. Too much happened in too short a time. My head was practically spinning as one short scene bled into another. If Davis had just slowed everything down a bit we would have gotten a really wonderful story, and we would have been able to enjoy our time with each of the characters.
While immediately upon finishing I was interested in where the story will go next, my guess is that as more distance is put between myself and Rise the less I’ll start to think about it or care.
Thank you to Month9Books for providing a copy of his book, in exchange for an honest review.
To see this review and others like it, please visit Badass Book Reviews!
fallingwings's review against another edition
1.0
DNF
I'm a little under half way into this book and I just...can't keep pushing myself to continue it. I don't really enjoy anything about it and that is so disappointing because I was sure I would adore this.
Biggest problems?
The writing. It's overly simplistic and fails to give any real depth to immerse the reader into the world or the characters. Also, I'm pretty sure this takes place in a medieval setting, yet we get words like "shirt(s)", "tree-house", and "apartment(s)", making it sound jarringly modern.
The stupid love-square. That's right. Love SQUARE. And the author doesn't even try to flesh out the bonds or relationships between any of them before jumping into the obvious "they have feelings for her" signs. We've got the flirt, the assassin, and the evil king. Though Kaia seems more drawn to the assassin and evil king as opposed to the flirt.
Kaia. She's not the worst heroine I've seen, and she's definitely tolerable, but I just didn't like her. She talks too much (Yes, Anders, you are completely right). She wanders off, she's constantly falling asleep (she has a bad habit of getting sleepy without reason when the medallion isn't around), she flip-flops on trusting people -- yes, even the big baddie. Favorite stupid moment is when she looks into Morlet's eyes and just "knows" he isn't evil...even though she knows he plans to kill her, along with the other Kirgers, and he threatens to kill her father, and has threatened to torture a child in front of her. Pretty sure he's killed in the past as well. Yeah, Kaia, he doesn't sound evil at allll. What's a female Kriger's one weakness? If you guessed a handsome evil king, you get a cookie. And last but not least, have you ever met a heroine who verbally asks too many questions? Didn't think it was possible? How is that a bad thing? Meet Kaia. Asking questions and wanting to know more isn't a bad thing, in fact, there are some heroines/heroes who I wish would have asked more questions in their stories. But when it's 90% of what comes out of the MC's mouth, it gets horribly annoying real fast.
So yeah...there's more but I don't see the point in touching on them. I'm still sad because I was sure I would like this book. The summary made it sound so interesting, but when the writing falls flat and I don't like the MC, it's only a matter of time before I have to walk away.
I'm a little under half way into this book and I just...can't keep pushing myself to continue it. I don't really enjoy anything about it and that is so disappointing because I was sure I would adore this.
Biggest problems?
The writing. It's overly simplistic and fails to give any real depth to immerse the reader into the world or the characters. Also, I'm pretty sure this takes place in a medieval setting, yet we get words like "shirt(s)", "tree-house", and "apartment(s)", making it sound jarringly modern.
The stupid love-square. That's right. Love SQUARE. And the author doesn't even try to flesh out the bonds or relationships between any of them before jumping into the obvious "they have feelings for her" signs. We've got the flirt, the assassin, and the evil king. Though Kaia seems more drawn to the assassin and evil king as opposed to the flirt.
Kaia. She's not the worst heroine I've seen, and she's definitely tolerable, but I just didn't like her. She talks too much (Yes, Anders, you are completely right). She wanders off, she's constantly falling asleep (she has a bad habit of getting sleepy without reason when the medallion isn't around), she flip-flops on trusting people -- yes, even the big baddie. Favorite stupid moment is when she looks into Morlet's eyes and just "knows" he isn't evil...even though she knows he plans to kill her, along with the other Kirgers, and he threatens to kill her father, and has threatened to torture a child in front of her. Pretty sure he's killed in the past as well. Yeah, Kaia, he doesn't sound evil at allll. What's a female Kriger's one weakness? If you guessed a handsome evil king, you get a cookie. And last but not least, have you ever met a heroine who verbally asks too many questions? Didn't think it was possible? How is that a bad thing? Meet Kaia. Asking questions and wanting to know more isn't a bad thing, in fact, there are some heroines/heroes who I wish would have asked more questions in their stories. But when it's 90% of what comes out of the MC's mouth, it gets horribly annoying real fast.
So yeah...there's more but I don't see the point in touching on them. I'm still sad because I was sure I would like this book. The summary made it sound so interesting, but when the writing falls flat and I don't like the MC, it's only a matter of time before I have to walk away.
wildfaeriecaps's review against another edition
5.0
I was given a copy of this book for the LibraryThing Early Reviewer Program.
At first I found this book to be on the slow side. The story itself was interesting and I really wanted to know what was going to happen, but I just couldn't make myself read large amounts of it in one sitting. Was it me? Was it pacing? I can't say.
Somewhere around halfway (maybe two thirds) through, I found myself thinking about the story constantly. And it got exciting and fun. I could give you my opinions on characters, but that might spoil some things - let's just say I'm invested in the outcome of this love triangle (pyramid?) and would like to see one or two characters get their butts kicked in a serious way.
Anyway! End result - this book was great! I really want the second book to be out. Right now. And in my hands. Now. Please.
At first I found this book to be on the slow side. The story itself was interesting and I really wanted to know what was going to happen, but I just couldn't make myself read large amounts of it in one sitting. Was it me? Was it pacing? I can't say.
Somewhere around halfway (maybe two thirds) through, I found myself thinking about the story constantly. And it got exciting and fun. I could give you my opinions on characters, but that might spoil some things - let's just say I'm invested in the outcome of this love triangle (pyramid?) and would like to see one or two characters get their butts kicked in a serious way.
Anyway! End result - this book was great! I really want the second book to be out. Right now. And in my hands. Now. Please.
sylwniw's review against another edition
2.0
unfortunately this book didn't do it for me. the premise of the story was interesting but the characters just ended up being flat.
It lost me when Kaia was training with her sick father and punched him in the stomach but that didn't effect him at all. Or when Kaia was training with Anders and hits him in the balls and he's not withering on the ground? doesn't make sense.
And Vidar. Don't know what to say about him. He just didn't really fit in the book. His character was just odd and not a good way. Like he wasn't complete. People have multiple characteristics but Vidar just had one. Seems Vidar was pushed to the back of creativity.
I did enjoy reading about the development of Anders and Kaia. That has great potential and great strength in building it better.
unfortunately that isn't enough for me to continue reading the series. Just isn't for me.
It lost me when Kaia was training with her sick father and punched him in the stomach but that didn't effect him at all. Or when Kaia was training with Anders and hits him in the balls and he's not withering on the ground? doesn't make sense.
And Vidar. Don't know what to say about him. He just didn't really fit in the book. His character was just odd and not a good way. Like he wasn't complete. People have multiple characteristics but Vidar just had one. Seems Vidar was pushed to the back of creativity.
I did enjoy reading about the development of Anders and Kaia. That has great potential and great strength in building it better.
unfortunately that isn't enough for me to continue reading the series. Just isn't for me.
namaria's review against another edition
2.0
I tried so hard to read and enjoy this book. It was well written. But I was bored, and I found myself reading less and less each day because I just didn't want to pick up this book anymore. I finally had to put it down at 40% of the way through it. I love the fantasy genre, but this one just wasn't for me.