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wickedgrumpy's review against another edition
dark
emotional
hopeful
tense
slow-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? Character
- Loveable characters? No
1.5
I'm decidedly peeved. This series takes place on a planet with two moons, has hesperines (aka vamps), magic, and is a historical-ish medieval setting (castles, knights, royalty, barbaric practices, travelling in caravans, cults, bathing regularly isn't fashionable, fated mated, etc.) which is decidedly not Earth. Why then is there mention a literal traditional shamisen from their "mortal foremothers" from the Archipelagos which is a human homeland? It is sloppy world building to borrow culture specific words like shamisen instead of describing some generic stringed instrument when the author also chooses to make up words for penis and vagina, not to mention has several languages mentioned (Vulgus, Divine, and whatever commands she uses to command her hound).
In addition, it is glacially slow. It took half of the book for anything to even really start happening and even then, I could easily summarize everything that happened. It's one thing if it's slow burn until they get together but they did that in book one. In book two, it's not so much pining/yearning but lusting for when they get to be together again. When they do get to reconnect their conversations are filled with obvious innuendos that are heavy-handed. Lio isn't the promised soft cinnamon roll character but an angsty horny mess. Cassia isn't the master manipulator she thinks she is either since she likes to gloat about her achievements when she deems it "safe" which seems to be randomly sprinkled as a telling and not showing of her political maneuverings.
Overall lots of telling and not showing. This might be for some big reveals later on but I cannot find it within myself to care. The gifts, gods, and magic system(s) were sparsely explained and the only part I was interested in. I read the blurbs for the next books and it seems like it's just as agonizingly slow-paced.
I will not be continuing on.
In addition, it is glacially slow. It took half of the book for anything to even really start happening and even then, I could easily summarize everything that happened. It's one thing if it's slow burn until they get together but they did that in book one. In book two, it's not so much pining/yearning but lusting for when they get to be together again. When they do get to reconnect their conversations are filled with obvious innuendos that are heavy-handed. Lio isn't the promised soft cinnamon roll character but an angsty horny mess. Cassia isn't the master manipulator she thinks she is either since she likes to gloat about her achievements when she deems it "safe" which seems to be randomly sprinkled as a telling and not showing of her political maneuverings.
Overall lots of telling and not showing. This might be for some big reveals later on but I cannot find it within myself to care. The gifts, gods, and magic system(s) were sparsely explained and the only part I was interested in. I read the blurbs for the next books and it seems like it's just as agonizingly slow-paced.
I will not be continuing on.
Content Warnings
Minor: Addiction, Animal cruelty, Body shaming, Bullying, Confinement, Cursing, Death, Domestic abuse, Eating disorder, Emotional abuse, Infertility, Misogyny, Rape, Self harm, Sexism, Sexual content, Toxic relationship, Violence, Xenophobia, Blood, Medical content, Kidnapping, Grief, Stalking, Murder, Sexual harassment, War, Injury/Injury detail, and Classism
dollscanreadtoo's review
emotional
hopeful
reflective
slow-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? No
3.25
This is the second book in the Blood Grace series. I liked the first book much better, when the stakes felt high and I was legitimately worried about what would end up happening. In this novel, Cassia is much less a struggling, relatable human with flaws (which was one of my favorite parts of the first book!) and much more a Mary Sue political mastermind. While I'm happy for her as a person to have escaped her father's grasp, it really feels like this book pulled his teeth and he is no longer the terrifying antagonist he seemed to be in the first book. In fact, every "antagonist" in this novel, from the king to the nobility to the magicians, all come across as bumbling idiots. It feels like nothing can happen to Cassia and Lio - they are untouchable in the north with the power of the Hesperines protecting them. The pace of this book is so slow that maybe all the danger and stress come back in the next book, but if I wasn't already invested in this story I would give this a pass. I finished this book, but I am not motivated to keep reading.
Content Warnings
Minor: Emotional abuse and Blood