This book reminds me why I love to read. To experience what the characters are experiencing. To feel what the characters are feeling. For it to actually seem like I'm not reading in bed at all, I'm with the characters in their world instead.
I had so many emotions running through me while reading this. I laughed. I cried. I squealed. I swooned. I screamed. I yelled. This book was just pure *magic*
Of course, I did not like some parts: The three different POVs when all I wanted to do was read with Lazlo's POV, those long and tiresome scenes with Thyon Nero, and (view spoiler)[how I still feel like I need to know how Minya's feeling now with the aftermath of all that - I thought we needed a bit more conclusion in Minya's POV (hide spoiler)] But I will read this again and again and I will never get tired. The writing is gorgeous. The world magical. The characters worth dying for, and the plot absolutely thrilling. I loved this so so much and just can't write a constructive review right now. Aghghghgh I just love this so damn much! 💕📚...more
Before I get started with this review I'm going to have to tell you about my relationship with the Throne of Glass series. I started this series in 2017 when I was spending most of my time in hospital. The gratitude I have for it taking me away from my hospital bed and into another world is the main reason I love this series. As well as it being that this was the series got me into reading YA fantasy. It's a flawed series and if I hadn't have read it when I did, I wouldn't have liked it half as much. But I did and so it remains that this review is biased by sentimentality.
Now, on to the review. I'm pretty much speechless. I've been thinking of what the heck I'm going to write about for the review for the 2 two hours after reading. But this time, I'm ready. This is the first time I've written thorough notes after each chapter of a book I'm really enjoying. Let's start with the writing of this tome.
The Writing Well, the writing is definitely no Charles Dickens but Maas does have a way to make a 900+ page book read like a novella. There's a thing that made me cringe though: The The Lord of the Rings plagiarism . I'm half joking of course. But some scenes and dialogues were so close to LotR that I was half expecting Fenrys with his Elf Fae sight to look into the distance and shout, "THEY'RE TAKING THE WYRDKEYS TO ISENGARD MOR-A-TH". I don't know, I just get salty when books copy my favourite book. Let's just say instead that Sarah J Maas was heavily inspired by Tolkien and feel happy for her. There were some problems in her writing, though I, with my erroneous reviews, am no one to judge. Along my favourite, the reoccurring words. Reoccurring Words/Phrases "balk" "...voice raked talons" "...said softly, but not weakly." "eyes glowed" "male" "his/her mate" And talking involves: "snarling" "hissing" "roaring" "growling"
There's much more to say but I'm bored, let's move on to something much more worthy of talk.
The Characters There's so many characters that it's impossible to talk about them all; I'd run out of words on the review word count. Of course I don't mind loads of characters in a fantasy, but this did lead up to what I like to call the 'Infinity War effect'. So the "Infinity War effect" is, you guessed it, when there's so many characters' POV but your favourites don't get enough screen time. Or in this case, page time. This was actually handled much better than Infinity War but I still wanted more Yrene/Chaol time...
**WARNING: SPOILERS FROM NOW ON.** Aelin Ashryver Galathynius "You do not yield." So I've never really liked Aelin I'm afraid. There's the time when she wasn't Aelin in the first book and the prequels where I did love her, but then of course she changed. Which is perfectly understandable and all that drab, but I still didn't have to like it. But in this book she changed yet again. I don't completely love her again, but she has definitely had some major character development that has done her some good. It's made her grow into a queen. I was so nervous when Rowan and the gang rescued her, that she'd be so shaken that she'd never want to see a battle or anything again. Her clawing at her mask and chains, screaming "Take it off!" was the most haunting thing. I was in tears, my heart cracking. It was awful, but powerful. Her journey through this journey has been amazing to witness. Rowan Whitethorn I've never felt anything for Rowan since QoS. And sadly, nothing changed for me with him. I don't like the fact that he kinda IS his relationship with Aelin. There's not much else about him. I really wish I could like him but ugh there's not much to go on. Dorian Havilliard "The loss and pain - they had not broken him wholly. Without them, would the moments of happiness be as bright? [...] What do you wish to be? A king worthy of his crown. A king who would rebuild what had been shattered, both within himself and in his lands." Dorian has changed so much since book 1. I'm so dang proud but sometimes I miss the old, cinnamon roll Dorian. I was surprised at how big of a role he played in this. I mean, he darn right had have better had a big role but I wasn't really expecting Maas to actually write it into the book. I loved watching him grow into a king throughout the series, just wow. Chaol Westfall I love this guy so muchh!! He is literally THE BEST. (IDK why but he reminds me of Samwise Gamgee type of figure 😅)But I needed more of him in this book! That scene where Dorian and Chaol meet up - OMIGOSH. I cried so hard. I mean, objectively thinking it could have been written better (aka longer, more detailed) and I know you're thinking, "Girl, you just said you were cRYING so hARD." Well, yeah. But I'd be crying so hard even if Chaol and Dorian met up and just did that weird guy shoulder bump and said "Wassup, bruh?" to each other. I LOVE EM SO MUCCCH. His character development in ToD made him so real and so caring and so precioussss. Okay, I'm going to stop gushing. Yrene Towers/Westfall Yrene is actually amazing, by the way. Of course if you've read the book you know that already, but damn. Why couldn't she have been the MC? Why did we only meet her in a novella and near the end of this series?? wHERE wAs sHE alll this tIME. There's not much to say about her if you've read the book, because you know. She's just epic. Manon Blackbeak/Crochan Manon kind of reminds me of me. Not in the way she's awesome or how she can wield a sword, but in the way she hides her emotions. Yes, I'm open and gushy and chatty on Goodreads. Here, we all are. But irl I can't convey my inside feelings to my outside emotions or put what I'm feeling into words. Manon's been too used to showing her fierceness, cruelty, fearlessness 24/7. She doesn't know how to do anything different. Throughout the book, she learns though. Her love for Dorian and the Thirteen's deaths make her feel. She changes. And I reallly wish we got to see her overcoming her grief - we can't just leave her in mourning! Aedion These character "reviews" aren't in any order, but I thought to mix some rants with the gushes. So. Aedion. I tried to understand. Really, I did. I mean, I half do. Your cousin, who you believed dead, comes back only to give herself up for torture, and not only that she planned it with your lover. But.... before I get to the major no-no here's a quote from Aedion's POV "Ren could have [Lyssandra]. Even if the thought made [Aedion] want to shatter something." This is so wrong in so many ways but I'm just going to point out the obvious, "could have her" I just...wow. I was going to comment but can't because I'm so fuming. But yes, then we get to that scene where Lyssandra is in Aedion's tent, naked from shifting, and he calls her "useless" and tells her to "Get out" of his tent...and into the snow. And I wouldn't mind if there was a scene that redeemed him - there wasn't. Or rather, it didn't cut it. I'll go into this more in the relationship section of this review. Gah this book was NOT his best book. In fact, I only liked him in QoS when he was close to being the comic relief. Lorcan Lorcan has had quite a journey. He's also gone from proud to rather humble (that scene with Elide at the end 😍😭) - and that was the best development in this book. There's sadly a bit of the situation with Rowan (being his relationship) but there's so much more to Lorcan too. Elide Elide's not as strong as anyone else in the series, but she's not exactly weak either. I didn't pay much attention to her when she was first introduced in... HoF? IDK. ...but she's quite the brains of the operation to destroy Sauron Erawan. Nesryn So, I was saying in my review of ToD that I didn't feel for Nesryn, but though there wasn't much change to make me do so I did. Feel for Nesryn in the sense that I cared for her. (is it just me or did it feel like Sartaq and Dorian rushed her into making the decision of her being Empress? well the book did have to end, after all but...) Gavriel His death didn't really affect me. Is that harsh? He didn't need to die, it just seemed SJM was like, oops not enough people are dying, let's add this guy to the death pile. The death pile is almost none existent - by the way. Yeah I didn't want anyone either, but come on! Someone big's gotta die! It makes the book more emotional, impactful (which aren't exactly adjectives I'd describe this book as?) NOX OWEN I was so excited Nox was back but...wth happened to Nox Owen in the end? If I missed something, please comment, but where did he go? I was COUNTING on that meet up he was gonna get with Aelin, dash it! I'm so annoyed that didn't happen! Lyssandra Why did Lyssandra have to get into a relationship anyways. She has had enough of men from her background, and Aedion does not deserve her. QoS was my favourite with her in. QoS is kinda all the characters best representative of their personalities. Lyssandra was brill in the battles and shade shifting but I didn't really connect with her in this book...
The Relationships (Romantic & Friendships) The best romantic relationship was Chaol & Yrene's, no question. I did like a few others but SJM can be a little(view spoiler)[then I remembered Nikolai Lantsov's words, "understatement is overrated"😬 (hide spoiler)] problematic when it comes to relationships. But Elide's and Lorcan's...😍 I was going to come back here and write about friendships too, but the amount of words I've got left on the word count aren't very many. I will say though, I love friendships more than romantic relationships. I wish so badly that Aelin and Chaol, Aelin and Dorian could have had a closer friendship with each other... It seems a waste, after all they've been through. They do care for each other, but SJM could have worked on their friendship a lot more. Chaol and Dorian though 👏🤗❤ Yrene & Chaol Like I said, these pair are The Best. And THEY'RE PREGNANT! Omg when I found out I couldn't believe it - I was SO HAPPY. Shame on me, but I've never been more happy to find out someone's pregnant irl than I did with Chaol and Yrene😐 Their relationship is just 👌🙌 whatever 👌🙌 means. They just GIVE ME LIFE. And that scene where Elide needs Yrene to stop Erawan. When he's reluctant to let her go and then she's like, "You are my joy." and then it mentions his eyes being, "Full of trust, and understanding, and pride." and then he says "Go save the world, Yrene." THAT SCENE THAT SCENE THAT SCENE THAT SCEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEENE (I'm sorry, I was meaning to write this review like a proper, critical reviewer but I melting while thinking of Chaol and Yrene. Let's move on before I completely lose control and uses up the word count on how I love them so muchh) Aedion & Lyssandra I need a rant after that gush. So, I've already sort of commented on how I feel about their relationship. And as I said, his apology didn't redeem him from being an ass. As Lyssandra herself put, “I have been degraded and humiliated in so many ways, for so many years,” she said, voice shaking [...]“But I have never felt as humiliated as I did when you threw me into the snow. When you called me a lying bitch in front of our friends and allies. Never.” She hated the angry tears that stung her eyes. “I was once forced to crawl before men. And gods above, I nearly crawled for you these months. And yet it takes me nearly dying for you to realize that you’ve been an ass? It takes me nearly dying for you to see me as human again?” I was hoping he'd do some amazing recompense and IDK maybe almost dying in the process of saving her or SOMETHING. But just saying his sorry and shedding a few tears didn't cut it for me. Especially since they never bring the matter up again. You know what? Ren should have ended up with her. Aelin & Rowan I don't care about Aelin and Rowan's relationship? Their personalities (well Rowan's) seemed to be built around their 'ship which is not something I liked. And it felt like SJM was trying to force me into loving Aelin & Rowan's 'ship too. I say it felt like it because I can't pinpoint exactly how she tried to do this. She definitely exaggerates their love/relationship as being this awe-inspiring love, but it's not all that SJM, it's not all that. Also, the love scenes? (I'm not just talking about Aelin's and Rowan's here) EoS's were nauseating these a lil better but this started out as YA, - it still feels YA, but the love scenes are looking on NA. Kids are going to be picking up this series and binge reading and - ugh. I know kids have probably heard all - and worse things - but that doesn't make it right or me comfortable with it. Lorcan & Elide These pair are The (second) Best! I didn't know what to think in EoS, but in this they certainly did pleasantly surprise me. The scene with Elide looking for Lorcan in the battle field was so heartwrenching. Obviously Maas wasn't going to kill the main Faes but it was still a jump. And then the last scene with them ❤❤❤ Honestly this could be a Beauty and the Beast retelling. Agh so darn swoon worthy. Manon & Dorian You know what the definition of a relationship cliffhanger is? This right here. What was that Maas?? Dorian was trying to be all indifferent 'n cool around Manon when she was leaving and then Yrene was just voicing my opinion, "Why don't you just get married?" 🤣❤ But really, why not? Borte & Yeran I love how I actually cared about these two though they didn't get a page's worth altogether. Borte is just so blunt and fun. And her pretending to hate Yeran was adorable🤗 well for us to read, poor Yeran. Although it's kind of their signature personas.
The Plot This'll have to be the last section, since the word count on how many words I'm allowed is running out! So, let's be honest, who actually thought SJM was going to bring about any major deaths? SJM is a cinnamon roll - she could never hurt any of her 'ships or characters except those she felt she had to lose so we wouldn't complain that she teased us with potential deaths. It's not slow... but the battles were sometimes draggy. Especially the looong march to Terrasen and the hopeless battle they were fighting there before Aelin showed up. There were fillers and draggers but I was just engrossed in it I didn't realise they were fillers/draggers while reading. Then there's the question of morals. I'm a Christian, so I don't believe in the whole "eye for an eye".But even so, I didn't feel right with Rowan skinning Cairn alive, Aelin leaving Vernon to die locked up (though she promised not to kill him - pretty sure that still counts tho). Maeve and Erawen obviously had to die. But... IDK! I'd rather they just killed 'em quick..(and here I am saying SJM is a cinnamon roll)
This way to the quick, list of memorable, spoilery parts - > Parts that made me cry 😭Aelin screaming take it off at her chains + mask(Im flaming claustrophobic so that scene, as well as being devastating, scared me really bad!) 😭Fenrys standing up to Cairn. 😭"I will always find you" Elide when she goes to find Lorcan (oh yeah that's another thing that scared me. SHE TOOK CHAOL'S HORSE. I mean yes that scene was epic but I was worrying more for Chaol's horse than anything else, I'm afraid to say..) 😭Dorian + Chaol's reunion. Chaol + Aelin's reunion. ALL REUNIONS. 😭Abraxos almost dyin! 😭The Thirteen dying! 😭Dorian, Chaol + Aelin saying goodbye. (ruddy 'ell, I'm still sobbing) 😭The FACT THAT THE FIRST BOOK TOG ENDS WITH THE SAME LINE AS KOA "Tell me tomorrow," < - Aelin's a big procrastinator (I'm trying to make light of it when I may be crying rn) Parts that made me scream "Yeah boiiiiiiiii!!" 👏Aelin's escape from Maeve 👏Yrene + Aelin's snarky comments to Chaol's dad 👏Manon standing up to the Ironteeth Matrons + beheading Yellowleg's Matron 👏Aelin saving Chaol's horse Elide and Lorcan from the tidal wave using her saved up fire 👏Crochan witches leaving their villages to go to Terrasen's aid. 👏Dorian crumpling Morath to tHE GROUND 👏Petrah Blueblood defeating Iskra and her bull 👏Rhysand helping Aelin (I haven't even read ACOTAR and I geeked out) 👏Yrene killing Erawan. 👏Aelin defeating Maeve Parts that made me mad 😒🤦♀️The word "mate" "male" and all the snarling going on 😒🤦♀️That we don't get to see Fleetfoot! 😒🤦♀️Aedion 😒🤦♀️Nox Owen's disappearance 😒🤦♀️Draggy journey scenes Parts that I loved 😍All the parts that made me scream Yeah boiii ^ 😍All the parts that made me cry ^ 😍Yrene + Chaol + their relationship 😍ArwenLorcan giving up his immortality for AragornElide 😍Dorian being the kING 😍Everything being nicely tied up
I just... ... I can't believe this series is over.😭📚💖
4.5 stars I'm conflicted about rating this. In a sentence, I loved this. I loved the characters, the world, and I swear the way Brandon Sanderson makes4.5 stars I'm conflicted about rating this. In a sentence, I loved this. I loved the characters, the world, and I swear the way Brandon Sanderson makes a plot twist, even if it's a little one, is epic. This book should be given 5/5 stars for just the world though. And how thought out everything is. It was amazing. But. The middle part was tough to get through, I didn't connect with the characters just then and the plot was going nowhere. I would have liked a bit more depth to the characters and a bit more of a complex plot. But it's the first book, could be just setting the scene for the next books, I'm not sure. Like I said, the world and magic systems are amazing and make up for everything (so does the ending scene) and Brandon Sanderson has to be one of the few Masters of Imagination....more
Edit 11/2/19: It's only been 6 months and already I'm planning on rereading the duology. I've never read anything like it - Laini Taylor's imaginationEdit 11/2/19: It's only been 6 months and already I'm planning on rereading the duology. I've never read anything like it - Laini Taylor's imagination is what I aspire to be like 💕
“It was impossible, of course. But when did that ever stop any dreamer from dreaming.”
Have you ever finished a book that was so good that you slowly close the last page and sit in silence for the next 2 hours? Yeah. That was how it was with me. I guess now I'll make a review for this book. Oh goodness, where do I begin? This was beautiful. That's all I know for sure. The writing was magical and poetic. Everything about this book was magical and poetic, in fact. But I've read some negative reviews, and can understand why this book wasn't for everyone. It was a slow burn. Made slower by tons of descriptions. I have to say, I love descriptive stories, even though they take me months to read. This book especially isn't for those impatience for action. It takes until page 317 for it to really get going, it took me just over a month to finish it. But let's move over to the good stuff. Lazlo. Lazlo was a phenomenal character. I loved how he was strong and masculine and sensitive and caring. In these days, people often associate masculinity with violence, we need more books like this to show that masculinity doesn't mean violent or brash, being masculine means being chivalrous and sensitive and strong, not always in physical strength, but also morally strong. Lazlo was a little naive in the beginning--okay, maybe very naive but boy, did that changed in the end. THE ENDING *hyperventilates* okay it's a little too soon to talk about The Ending, but have no doubt I will.
Spoilers from here on!
Lazlo and Sarai's relationship was adorable. Just for an example,
"All godspawn have gifts." "Godspawn?" "That's what they call us." "Spawn, though. It doesn't suit. That's the off-spring of fish or demons." "The intent, I believe, is the latter." "Well, you're a singularly unhorrible demon, if I may say so." "Thank you, that's the nicest thing anyone has ever said to me." "Well, I have at least a hundred nicer things to say and am only prevented by embarrassment."
Talking of relationships, I didn't get the thing that happened with Ruby and Feral. It was kind of pointless because it ended on a cliffhanger. And, correct me if I'm wrong, but it seems now no one wants Feral now he got desperate and went with Ruby who never loved him in the first place. Was that trying to show that it's best to wait for someone worthy of your love rather than throwing it away to anyone, or is Taylor going to do something else with it in the next book?
There were a few deep topics explored in this book as well, like the Lokibabies one (so called because it says blue babies and all I can think of when it says blue babies is Loki when he was a frostgiant baby) ANYWAY, would you kill thirty Lokibabies and end a species to save yours?
"What would they do with children who would grow up into a new generation of tormentors?" To which Lazlo returned, "...if they had been embraced with love and raised with love, they wouldn't become tormentors."
I must say though, the first chapter made me a tad uncomfortable. There were these horrid monks who were quite abusing to the orphans, but Taylor used Catholic terms and names of devotions for their religion stuff
[image]
I did not feel comfortable with that and was glad when it was over. I really don't get YA religion in books. It's like the author wants some "ancient religion" in their book but doesn't think it through and just says, "These guys believe this, this and this, because...because they do." What I want to know is why they believe it and what exactly it is that they do believe. The author probably doesn't think it matters to specify and add detail to what religion they have in their world, but to me, I find it really interesting and I find it helps build that world they're creating. Also, the anatomy of their bodies. I may have missed this but where does it give an explanation for why they have two hearts? Are all the "humans" in this not really humans but another race entirely? If you're going to add something like that, authors, please explain WHY.
Okay, now we're getting to The Ending. *Hyperventilates* Okay, okay, I can do this, I can relive this for just enough time to write something in my review... I was reading The End in the car (obviously, I wasn't driving ;'P) listening to Never Give Up On Your Dreams and it fit so perfectly I was almost crying! (view spoiler)[ I literally thought Sparrow was the one who fell from the citadel so I was like nah it's fine, and then it hit me with THAT and I can't! Why is Taylor so inconsiderate to my feelings?! And then Minya catches her ghost and brings her to life and Lazlo is telling himself that it's going to be okay and he is going to be like that guy who made peace with the fact he couldn't embrace the moon, all the while I'm internally screaming at Minya because I knew exactly what was going to happen, and IT HAPPENED, AND THEN IT ENDED every booknerd's nightmare: the Cliffhanger. And now I'm going to have to wait until October until the next one? How DARE you Taylor!? (hide spoiler)] The Ending destroyed me. You could say the whole book did, too. Magical, poetic, beautiful, one of the best books I've read this year.
I'm going to start off saying what I think many of you will agree on; this book is uniquely spectacular in the sense of format. Amazing. Truly. The efI'm going to start off saying what I think many of you will agree on; this book is uniquely spectacular in the sense of format. Amazing. Truly. The effort that was put into this book is really appreciated. Thing is, I didn't like the book-but it kept me entertained. I know that sounds contradicting, but that's how I felt about the book. So why didn't I like? Well, to put it simply, I'm just not a fan of science fiction. Yes, I enjoyed the sci-fi stories my dad read to me when I was a child, but it has never really become a favourite genre of mine. Apart from this, I thought our protagonist, Kady, was a little immature.(view spoiler)[ Okay, one thing I need to get off my chest is why did Kady just let them put Charles Dorian and Stephanie LeFevre in the hole where the zombie-type-people are? I just don't understand why Kady didn't seem bothered when they were punished for something she did (hide spoiler)] (view spoiler)[ And what the heck was that plot twist/notreally though? I really have mixed feelings for AIDAN. Playing Mozart's requiem while the zombie-like-people come slaughter everyone? That's just screwed. Also it felt like he/it was in love with Kady and I just don't like that at all (Vision and Wanda was pushing it with the whole humans-love-with-AI/aliens/otherbeings) (hide spoiler)] (view spoiler)[I'll tell you what I really liked though: That scene at the near end when Kady is getting McCall off the Alexanderthat was epic!(hide spoiler)] Another reason I had issues with this book is that it's all very good having the book set messages, art and whatnot but it didn't give me a good enough picture of the story. To be honest, I was mildly confused throughout the whole book. But it'll leave me thinking about it for a long time though.
In short: Things I liked: C. Dorian, (view spoiler)[(RIP), The last stand of the Alexander personnel, the crazy plot twists, (hide spoiler)] the jump scares, and obviously the format, and the Eastereggs of other authors names hidden in this book.
Things I didn't like: How little information we had about the time they are living in, how slow it was at some points, AIDAN, James McNultsomething, how it's fuelling my already-screwed-up-imagination with terrifying-ness....more
I originally gave this five stars, but I've been thinking it over and while I loved it and loved the African-inspired world, and the all-black cast, II originally gave this five stars, but I've been thinking it over and while I loved it and loved the African-inspired world, and the all-black cast, I also had a lot of problems (mostly to do with the romance) with it.
The world itself deserves five stars. It was the best world-building I've read this year. Plus, it's given me so much inspiration for my story I'm writing for NaNoWriMo. It's quite slow-paced too, which I like in a fantasy book, but I know a lot of people don't.
Mild spoilers ahead.
Characters:
Main Protagonist > Zelie First chapter, heck yes. I was really excited to have a character like her. Literally fangirl screaming. Aaaand then she turned. I can't pin prick when she turned into a female dog but she did, and yeah, I can get why, but I still don't have to like it.
Side...dude > Tzain. I really liked this dude! Some people are missing him out on reviews and stuff, but this guy was my favourite character. I mean, it sucks having to deal with your sibling's problems but this dudeTzain did. 👏
Main Protagonist > Amari First second Amari stepped into the scene, I could not stand her. But the character development changed everything. I honestly think character development is one of the best things you can put in a book. (view spoiler)[ and that final scene? Daaaamn that was amazing. If I could have stood up at the time I was reading those last 100 pages (two o'clock in the morning) without falling over, I'd have done a standing ovation. Character development at its best. Went from hating Amari to loving her. (hide spoiler)]
Main (Pro? An?) tagonist > Inan. This dude needs help because he has problems. (view spoiler)[ Now I love hate-to-love relationships but seriously? THIS HATE-TO-LOVE RELATIONSHIP HAPPENED QUICKER THAN The Wrath and the Dawn'S. Honestly there was no build up. And I hated that! It made me dislike Zelie more and despise Inan (after that final scene does anyone like him?) (hide spoiler)] On the whole, I don't find him redeemable and ugh I pray he's not going to be in the next book...
Inan (view spoiler)[ and Zelie's relationship with him (which I would have liked if it hadn't have been so rushed (to say the least) (hide spoiler)], Zelie, and the fact that some parts draaagged, and it felt like everything was happening but at the same time it felt like nothing was, was the reason I lowered it to 4 shining stars.
But I still really liked the world, it's just a great book. Read it....more
Snow Like Ashes is exactly the type of novel i would have loved in my early teens. My tastes, however, have changed over the years--I feel that I would have enjoyed this a great deal more if I'd read this when I was younger. This book was entertaining. And also enjoyable. But by the near end it was becoming a bit predictable and a little tiresome.
The writing wasn't too bad and I particularly liked the way Raasch described the Seasons and the action scenes, but other than that it was average.
The world was cool, I was confused with how things worked with the Rhythms and the Seasons and the conduits but it made sense the more deeper into the book I got. It was really fascinating though, I was particularly interested in Autumn. I wish it had more page time.
The characters. Our protagonist, Meira was a typical YA 16-year old: sassy, petty, and of course, pigheaded. Don't get me wrong I liked her character, but she was just like every other YA female lead. Her sass was the best, but most of the time my eyes hurt from rolling them back so much. Mather. He was a bit of a flat character.
[image]
(I told myself I'm not going to add any gifs in this review, but I can't help it) I don't know why Meira fell for him in the first place. He was bland and boring. Apparently he gets better in the next book but I don't know... I hated Sir. He was so irritating and horrible. (view spoiler)[[image] I might have liked the book better if he had stayed dead. That sounds terrible, but I can't hate people who've died and it was too predictable to bring him back after Meira's found out she's got healing powers (hide spoiler)] Theron was my favourite. He was so considerate and kind. But then I had this annoying YouTuber's face stuck in my head when I was reading his description. Then I couldn't think of Prince Theron without thinking of this stupid YouTuber's face! (going too hard on the YouTuber here, I mean, I haven't even seen any of his videos (but he's been in trouble on the news plenty of times)) (Sidetracked! I promised myself I wouldn't get distracted during a review! But I also promised myself I wouldn't use gifs so, forget it.)
Tropes/cliches--there's quite a lotta YA tropes and cliches in this one, but I haven't been to the YA section for a while now, so the tropes gave me a little....refreshment.
[image]
Okay, yes I was sort of drowned in YA tropes, but who cares? I need some cheesyness in my serious life. We had the "underappreciated-girl-who-want-to-prove-to-her-elders-that-she's-stronger-than-she-looks", a smidgen of insta-love, and my old enemy, the Love Triangle (don't get me wrong, I love a good love triangle but it's so overused and I haven't have read a gooden in years) Now this love-triangle wasn't bad, (view spoiler)[ but we all knew Mather wouldn't stand a chance so it didn't feel like a real love tri (hide spoiler)] I'm glad it was (kind of) resolved in the end (because most books keep the triangle going throughout the series and-> ) Sadly, I doubt I'll be finishing this trilogy, but overall I enjoyed this one. It's one of those few fantasy books you can read without having your brain switched on....more
Ugh, I hate leaving reviews so late! I read this in August, so bare with if this review is awful... So, this is meant to be a retelling of the Arabian Ugh, I hate leaving reviews so late! I read this in August, so bare with if this review is awful... So, this is meant to be a retelling of the Arabian Nights, I believe. Well, I did not know that until I read the book, and if I did then you can be sure my rating would be at least one star lower. The writing was gorgeously lush though and the romance was to die for (even though I felt that it needed to be more of a slow burn. It was ridiculous the way Shazi suddenly began to swoon over the man who killed her best friend!) Other than that, well, I'm just fuzzy on what actually happened in the book... that can't be a good sign. Overall, I loved the world, the writing, the romance, and that's all I can remember. The rest I'm having trouble remembering!...more
Loading...
