A review by tinareadsthings
Siren & Scion by J.D. Evans
4.0
I loved it!
I feel it necessary to explain why this one gets four starts instead of five. Let me be clear, I am a fan of this series and this author. All of the things that made the previous books solid are still present in this book.
We remove focus a bit further from court this time, shifting to Amara and Cassian, so if you have hopes to return to that as the driving force behind the story you will be disappointed. I did not find it disappointing personally, but it definitely took an adjustment since the story primarily takes place on Republic soil where mages are persecuted and magic is outlawed. Instead, we find ourselves in this land almost entirely absent of magic in every day living where there are firearms, explosives, and a strong military presence are used in its place. The use of slaves is also common practice.
For me, I like to see something more to a villain. Perhaps that will come in time, but the Republic in general gave such "big bad" vibes - I was hoping that we would learn a bit more background about the motivation behind the persecution of magic users. I understand the fear of magic and the fear that mages would be able to overpower people without magic or always reign superior, but is that truly all? I couldn't help but wonder this, but perhaps the time for that will come later.
Amara is not my favorite character in this series, but I do really like Cassian. He is a total dream. 10/10
I would call the romance the weakest of the series, while still remaining pretty damn good. And to be entirely fair, the first two books come in strong at the top of my favorites. They are just that good!
I feel it necessary to explain why this one gets four starts instead of five. Let me be clear, I am a fan of this series and this author. All of the things that made the previous books solid are still present in this book.
We remove focus a bit further from court this time, shifting to Amara and Cassian, so if you have hopes to return to that as the driving force behind the story you will be disappointed. I did not find it disappointing personally, but it definitely took an adjustment since the story primarily takes place on Republic soil where mages are persecuted and magic is outlawed. Instead, we find ourselves in this land almost entirely absent of magic in every day living where there are firearms, explosives, and a strong military presence are used in its place. The use of slaves is also common practice.
For me, I like to see something more to a villain. Perhaps that will come in time, but the Republic in general gave such "big bad" vibes - I was hoping that we would learn a bit more background about the motivation behind the persecution of magic users. I understand the fear of magic and the fear that mages would be able to overpower people without magic or always reign superior, but is that truly all? I couldn't help but wonder this, but perhaps the time for that will come later.
Amara is not my favorite character in this series, but I do really like Cassian. He is a total dream. 10/10
I would call the romance the weakest of the series, while still remaining pretty damn good. And to be entirely fair, the first two books come in strong at the top of my favorites. They are just that good!