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heartbrekker 's review for:
Gates of Stone
by Angus Macallan
3.25
"Flapping lips must be sealed with whips."
This book is the pure definition of brutality.
Obviously, I knew ahead of time that it wasn't going to be an innocent or non-violent read, but the intensity of the violence did surprise me. Katerina specifically is ruthless on a whole 'nother level.
Arjun was my favorite POV of the bunch, and I came back to his thoughts and experiences each time excited for more. There's a lot of layers to what he's going through, and it was interesting and palpable (specifically, the first scene of him during his home's slaughter).
One of my negatives is around the halfway point, I really started to lose steam. I'd read so much of the book in a matter of a few days, and I wouldn't return to it until nearly 17 days later. It's where the downfall occurred because I became disconnected to the characters and the storyline. Now this is my fault more so than the story because it was very enjoyable because my long hiatus, but it also says something that I put this book down for that amount of time.
Besides Arjun and Katerina, the other two POVs were not my favorite, and it took me, what felt like, forever to wade through them. They were vital to the plot and imperative to our understanding of the world, but the characters just were not ones I enjoyed.
There's a bit of info dumping at the start, but there's a wonderful point in the story where you finally have a grasp of the world.
One of the best parts to Gates of Stone are the political atmospheres. Katerina is trying her hardest to build a life for herself where she is in full control as the ruler. On top of that, she's juggling her desperate desire to destroy her father and cousin who so easily flung her away. Kat wants to show just how brutal and capable she is as a ruler, and nothing is going to stop her. Her final few chapters where she's making her military plans real are some of her best moments. There's a wave of emotions running through everything and everyone, and she is finally struck with realities no one can prepare for as a ruler. She's a bit over confident and naive at times, but what's a ruler without hubris?
I think I'm going to reread this story in a few months to see if my review changes under different circumstances that don't involve reading a book for 20ish days.
I would like to thank Ace Books for sending me a review copy. All thoughts and opinions are my own.
"Flapping lips must be sealed with whips."
This book is the pure definition of brutality.
Obviously, I knew ahead of time that it wasn't going to be an innocent or non-violent read, but the intensity of the violence did surprise me. Katerina specifically is ruthless on a whole 'nother level.
Arjun was my favorite POV of the bunch, and I came back to his thoughts and experiences each time excited for more. There's a lot of layers to what he's going through, and it was interesting and palpable (specifically, the first scene of him during his home's slaughter).
One of my negatives is around the halfway point, I really started to lose steam. I'd read so much of the book in a matter of a few days, and I wouldn't return to it until nearly 17 days later. It's where the downfall occurred because I became disconnected to the characters and the storyline. Now this is my fault more so than the story because it was very enjoyable because my long hiatus, but it also says something that I put this book down for that amount of time.
Besides Arjun and Katerina, the other two POVs were not my favorite, and it took me, what felt like, forever to wade through them. They were vital to the plot and imperative to our understanding of the world, but the characters just were not ones I enjoyed.
There's a bit of info dumping at the start, but there's a wonderful point in the story where you finally have a grasp of the world.
One of the best parts to Gates of Stone are the political atmospheres. Katerina is trying her hardest to build a life for herself where she is in full control as the ruler. On top of that, she's juggling her desperate desire to destroy her father and cousin who so easily flung her away. Kat wants to show just how brutal and capable she is as a ruler, and nothing is going to stop her. Her final few chapters where she's making her military plans real are some of her best moments. There's a wave of emotions running through everything and everyone, and she is finally struck with realities no one can prepare for as a ruler. She's a bit over confident and naive at times, but what's a ruler without hubris?
I think I'm going to reread this story in a few months to see if my review changes under different circumstances that don't involve reading a book for 20ish days.
I would like to thank Ace Books for sending me a review copy. All thoughts and opinions are my own.