heartbrekker's Reviews (797)

Will I ever stop crying?
No, probably not.
The Burning God is a masterpiece.
A strategy-war masterpiece and another finale to rip my soul in half.
There's a lot of pain throughout this series. That's one of the first things people reference about TPW. Though this was different on so many levels, especially at the end.
Rin has truly gone through hell and back to achieve her goals and help those she deems worthy across the series, and it's culmination in this finale was INTENSE. It's melancholic and traumatic to watch her win and fail numerous times because she starts to lose bits and pieces from herself.
I'd argue this is a very truthful depiction of the aftermath in a Civil War. It's a good depiction for new rulers. It's certainly a damn honest depiction of colonization.
The whole last hundred pages were some of the most painful sections to read for a lot of reasons, but I cannot list them since they include spoilers. Maybe I'll come back to this review later to scream and cry about my spoilery thoughts, but for now I'm going to be a sob-induced, vague mess.
All I have left to say is again, this is another finale where the ending only has one trajectory, and while I did not forsee exactly what comes to fruition.. It made sense, but it was a knife to the heart. I'm so thankful to Rebecca for writing this incredible trilogy. It may have been a doozy to my heart, but it will always hold a high place in my heart/ head. She deserves SO many rewards!
TW: Extreme famine, animal brutality, torture, racism, paranoia, drowning, suicide, claustrophobia, relationship abuse, starvation, colonialism, and significant war scenes/ themes.

2.5
“The faeries are always looking for something to devour. They find the sadness in souls particularly tasty, and when they happen upon them, they will do whatever they can to get it.”
I had a whimsical and intriguing time with this novel. Though I didn’t expect the route it was going to take at all, which I think was both a positive and negative for me.
Nannerl is the older sister of Wolfgang Mozart, and this follows her journey as a young women trying to comprehend the fact that she can never do what her brother will, compose and play. She dreams of composing, personally, but alas, she is restricted because of her gender.
Meanwhile Nannerl and Wolfgang create a world called the Kingdom of Back during their childhood, and it slowly starts to become a reality in their lives. Along with this revelation Nannerl meets a faerie who sends her on missions with the prospect that he can help her not be forgotten.
KOB is a story about family, dreams, and the strifes of societal expectations. Society has suppressed a great talent, Nannerl, all because of her gender. Marie does a good job trying to rectify this injustice on Nannerl, and I enjoyed Nannerl having a realistic desire to be more. She wanted her dreams so badly that she was willing to overlook obstacles and outcomes that would be less favorable if she wasn't so focused on what she wants. She was very real in that way.
In my opinion, KOB writing seemed to be more simplistic than her other books. There’s definitely a lyrical tone to the sentences, but the style felt different to me.
Nannerl was the only truly developed character, and I wish we could’ve gotten more from the outer characters. Wolfgang is obviously very important, but a part of me wishes the story focused more on their older years as teens rather than younger since they’re five years in age difference. Wolfgang was a child 90% of the book, and I just wanted more from their relationship. Marie and a lot of scholars discuss the impact of their relationship when they were sending letters to one another, and I guess maybe I hoped that would come into play. Relationships are so different between childhood and adulthood, and I wanted both. Maybe it’s not even this but just a desire for more overall. I feel as if something was missing cause the story is short, and I can’t quite put my finger on what.
TW: Child abuse (it isn't anything too intense/ brutal with violence but the Mozart children are overworked severely by their father)

4.5

Lightbringer was epic.
I'm surprised to see so many different opinions on this finale because I feel as if Claire chose the only ending possible for this book..? Throughout all of my reads I've watched this world tear these two women apart, and I actively discuss the fact that this book is very much about the toxicity in society towards women.
A society telling a young girl how to live, breathe, and act is horrible and traumatizing for SO many reasons. Rielle suffered enough as a child when she accidentally killed her mother, but this only further progresses as she grows older. It's like Elsa with the whole "conceal don't feel." Anyway, a society telling young women they will either be the salvation of their kingdom or doom is only further pressure. Rielle and Eliana have dealt with these intense, destructive influences throughout the course of the series, and it peaks in this finale.
For starters, I cannot understand any of these reviews sending curse words and hate to Claire for giving them an ending they deemed bad. You're allowed to have opinions, feels, etc. but to call Claire names and act so childishly is bullying and hateful. Be mature and respectful.
Moreover, to all the people wanting Corien and Rielle together... Did you miss the manipulation? The abuse? THE CHILD SLAVERY?! Did we read the same book? Rielle knows at that moment that seeing those children harmed is beyond her limit. I completely understand liking him a bit for the bad boy aesthetic in Furyborn, but after Lightbringer especially you should be on one side and one side only. Even the trickery against him and other angels is no reason to mentally enslave children. Rielle has a few moments of clarity within this finale, and each time she runs for the hills away from Corien. It is only through his charismatic and manipulative words that she goes back with him. Her mind is so clouded half the time that she cannot coherently make decisions! He's so bad!!!
Now I understand Rielle's different emotions once she's fully touched the Empirium/ seen this childhood version of herself representing the Empirium. She's tasted so much godly power at that point that her human self is starting to wither away because the power is intense and screaming in her head. It wants to be let out, so of course, Rielle would be inclined to aid the angels because that only intensifies her abilities. Now that's a completely separate side of this story.. but anytime someone says Corien and Rielle should have been together..
I just have to dry heave a bit.
Also I don't know where people are seeing Furyborn described as a grim-dark YA fantasy, but in ALL my book scouring for this beloved trilogy, I cannot find this descriptor. If you want grim dark fantasies where the villains win then read some adult fantasy because YA doesn't really do that a lot. This trilogy is certainly a darker one in the genre, and we saw that through Corien's manipulations to both Rielle and Eliana. Eliana's POV is called boring, but then she has some of the darkest points in this finale.. She's ruthlessly abused by Corien to a point where she considers suicide. If that isn't dark then I don't know what y'all want.
Overall, this review list on GR has made me a bit sick to my stomach. I'm astounded by the reviews of some people on here.
The title Lightbringer speaks for itself. Light shall triumph all, and I'm so glad Claire decided to give us this version. Rielle and Eliana went through too much for this to end in tyranny and destruction.

Sometimes you come across books that don’t fit into your reading taste and that’s okay. These Violent Delights just happened to be that for me. The writing style/ pace is slow and not the kind that intrigues me. I felt no connection to the characters either. This is by no means a bad story, but it feels like a lot of stories I've read before just slightly altered.

4.25-4.5