A review by haynoelle96
Master of One, by Dani Bennett, Jaida Jones
4.0
So... I'm almost embarrassed by how long it took me to read this book. Ever since starting my job at the beginning of the year, I hadn't been able to read as much as I used to. It was expected, but not to the extent that I could only maybe read on the weekend if the feelings hits. I just didn't feel like reading. But!!! I finally sat down and finished the book and I'm so glad I did!! In terms of rating, this book was more of a 3.5, but I rounded up to a 4 star considering that the last 2oo pages I couldn't put the book down and I literally HAD to finish.
This book is a novel set in a fantastical setting with a "ragtag group" on a quest to find certain people in their world. It starts with a thief who gets himself in a bit of a situation with the kingdom's infamous sorcerer. As soon as he hears what the sorcerer want's him to do, he couldn't be more shocked or unwilling, but as a set of events set the story in action, one thief's discovery will change the course of the world forever. Now it's up to him and the people he's met to try and free the kingdom from its evil ruler and deal with the horrifying discoveries they make along the way. Discovering the last fae alive wasn't exactly on Rag's to-do list, but hey. What are you gonna do?
I have a few criticisms with this book, but not many. The first thing is that this felt like a debut novel. With room to grow, obviously, but it started out pretty rough. For the first 50-70 pages, there was a simile on every page and it drove me CRAZY. It ended soon after that, so that was a relief. Another thing that I felt really drew away from the novel was how many perspectives there were. There ended up being 4 main storylines going on, and I found one or two of the different narrators to be boring. Or I would find myself not looking forward to their chapters. I enjoyed Cab's and Rag's chapters, but the other two were a little boring at times. I think that's going to change in later chapters, but especially in the beginning, it was an odd structure to the novel.
One thing that I will totally give the author's credit for, however, is the level of world-building that's present in Master of One. Almost immediately you get a feel for what this world is like and what the authors want you to know. The atmosphere is perfectly described and I appreciated how they can take a character like Rags, who is a smart-ass and doesn't take things seriously, and put him in a setting where it's extremely morbid and he can still make jokes but not sound stupid. How Jones and Bennett described the world was truly something to read and I can't wait to find more things out.
Jones and Bennett had a way of keeping you on the edge of your seat the entire time. You know some things going into the story, but there were still times that I was completely surprised and taken aback at what had happened. You think you have it all figured out, but then 100 pages later everything has changed when you figure something else out. It was so fun to read and discover, along with the characters, how the plot progressed.
I mean, I've read some villains in my time, but I haven't even met the main villain in this book and I'm terrified at what's going to happen when we do. We already have somebody who we can't stand, but I can almost imagine them being a secondary boss compared to what we haven't seen yet.
Master of One created a cast of characters that was a bit confusing at times but ultimately made you want them to succeed. A lot of the names are in Welsh, so that makes things a bit difficult pronunciation-wise, but they were unique and gave the book personality!! You got to see how the characters grew and got to know each other along the way of their journey. The tension and relationships that were built between the different characters were a joy to witness as well. You can tell that the authors took care in making sure that there's diversity in this book by making it casual and honest. We didn't get too much into people's past or that much time with one character because of the various perspectives, but I have a feeling that that's going to change in the later novels.
Anyways!! If you're looking for a new and different fantasy, then I recommend this one for sure!! It was really good and I'm for sure looking forward to the sequel to see what's going to happen to our characters after that explosive ending! Happy Reading!!
This book is a novel set in a fantastical setting with a "ragtag group" on a quest to find certain people in their world. It starts with a thief who gets himself in a bit of a situation with the kingdom's infamous sorcerer. As soon as he hears what the sorcerer want's him to do, he couldn't be more shocked or unwilling, but as a set of events set the story in action, one thief's discovery will change the course of the world forever. Now it's up to him and the people he's met to try and free the kingdom from its evil ruler and deal with the horrifying discoveries they make along the way. Discovering the last fae alive wasn't exactly on Rag's to-do list, but hey. What are you gonna do?
I have a few criticisms with this book, but not many. The first thing is that this felt like a debut novel. With room to grow, obviously, but it started out pretty rough. For the first 50-70 pages, there was a simile on every page and it drove me CRAZY. It ended soon after that, so that was a relief. Another thing that I felt really drew away from the novel was how many perspectives there were. There ended up being 4 main storylines going on, and I found one or two of the different narrators to be boring. Or I would find myself not looking forward to their chapters. I enjoyed Cab's and Rag's chapters, but the other two were a little boring at times. I think that's going to change in later chapters, but especially in the beginning, it was an odd structure to the novel.
One thing that I will totally give the author's credit for, however, is the level of world-building that's present in Master of One. Almost immediately you get a feel for what this world is like and what the authors want you to know. The atmosphere is perfectly described and I appreciated how they can take a character like Rags, who is a smart-ass and doesn't take things seriously, and put him in a setting where it's extremely morbid and he can still make jokes but not sound stupid. How Jones and Bennett described the world was truly something to read and I can't wait to find more things out.
Jones and Bennett had a way of keeping you on the edge of your seat the entire time. You know some things going into the story, but there were still times that I was completely surprised and taken aback at what had happened. You think you have it all figured out, but then 100 pages later everything has changed when you figure something else out. It was so fun to read and discover, along with the characters, how the plot progressed.
I mean, I've read some villains in my time, but I haven't even met the main villain in this book and I'm terrified at what's going to happen when we do. We already have somebody who we can't stand, but I can almost imagine them being a secondary boss compared to what we haven't seen yet.
Master of One created a cast of characters that was a bit confusing at times but ultimately made you want them to succeed. A lot of the names are in Welsh, so that makes things a bit difficult pronunciation-wise, but they were unique and gave the book personality!! You got to see how the characters grew and got to know each other along the way of their journey. The tension and relationships that were built between the different characters were a joy to witness as well. You can tell that the authors took care in making sure that there's diversity in this book by making it casual and honest. We didn't get too much into people's past or that much time with one character because of the various perspectives, but I have a feeling that that's going to change in the later novels.
Anyways!! If you're looking for a new and different fantasy, then I recommend this one for sure!! It was really good and I'm for sure looking forward to the sequel to see what's going to happen to our characters after that explosive ending! Happy Reading!!