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A review by marcellemml
Counterpart by Ella Pyne
adventurous
emotional
sad
tense
medium-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? A mix
- Strong character development? It's complicated
- Loveable characters? Yes
- Diverse cast of characters? Yes
- Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes
4.5
I think it's 4,5. This is what I expect to find in a romantasy. It has a good world development, not that deep, but not shallow in a way that I keep asking for more information. The romance is a slow burn with stakes, and Leda, the female main character, is not 100% sure she can trust Pyrrhus (my god, what a silly name, lol), the male main character. As the daughter of one of the king's royal mistress, she's bound to be sacrificed to the Gods in the following year, so her sister can fulfill her role as one of the royal heirs But Leda is planning her escape, and she can't risk the king discovering her plan.
The sibling relationship is so good, so full of angst, I was rooting for a redemption arc. Azaria and Leda reminded me of Zuko and Azula, if Azula had some redeemable qualities. And of course there's mommy issues, daddy issues, Pyrrhus becomes the second friend Leda ever had, and the friendship and impossibility of their relationship made me cry a little bit.
It's not a 5 stars because I wish the social aspects had more impact, that the parallels between fiction world and real world were explored. Not that there isn't is just that it's not deep. I still really liked the book, and immediately grabbed book 2 on KU (the whole series is available for free with KU).
The sibling relationship is so good, so full of angst, I was rooting for a redemption arc. Azaria and Leda reminded me of Zuko and Azula, if Azula had some redeemable qualities. And of course there's mommy issues, daddy issues, Pyrrhus becomes the second friend Leda ever had, and the friendship and impossibility of their relationship made me cry a little bit.
It's not a 5 stars because I wish the social aspects had more impact, that the parallels between fiction world and real world were explored. Not that there isn't is just that it's not deep. I still really liked the book, and immediately grabbed book 2 on KU (the whole series is available for free with KU).