The fact that I read this in three days and The Way of Kings took me almost three months speaks to how much I LOVED this book. Just flew through it, barely putting it down unless it was absolutely necessary. Totally recommend. 

I found there were a few too many perspectives and it was hard to get invested in every single character, making parts of this book a drag to get through. It started to get better near the end as the connections between all the characters became apparent. I'm still not entirely sure what the overarching plot of this series is, which I think is a part of the issue since it's still focused on each character's individual goals. I'm sure this will be better in the second book, and I'm excited to read it. 

This is not the book it was marketed as. I can't even say it's YA.

The writing is so good. I'm going yo get that out of the way. But everything else... I had to put this down multiple times a comb through reviews to make sure I wasn't the only one baffled by this. It has some.scenes that could have been in Game of Thrones, making the tone very inconsistent when bu all other accounts this feels like a YA book. 

I understand what the author was trying to do: make a statement on abuse cycles, and how they're perpetrated. That part was OK. It's the ending that gets me. I don't understand it. It was so weird and unnecessary. Also, I woild have liked more build-up to Ama freeing herself. It all happened so fast, especially when the author took over 10% of the book building up to lilling the dragon (and not telling us HOW u til the very end, and its so stupid. I understand Ama's relationship to the dragon and I do like it, but the other part with Emory was just a big NO). And when we do find out what happens it's so unsatisfactory. So much is said yet nothing happens. I think the ideas were there but it was poorly executed, and when dealing with this sort of subject matter you can't mess it up. 

I... how does a story that short pack such a punch. 

Very solid 4-dtar read! I read the first book over 6 years ago and still remember it vividly. I've finally committed to continuing the series with help from my library <3

This series is so inventive, and Novik's writing is charming. Unlike most dragon books out there.

I wasn't a huge fan of all the seafaring, but I adored the world expansion and I'm so excited to continue the series. 

It was pretty predictable. Took a while to get interesting but I do love Danielle's writing and the end delivered. Have the same pacing and world building issues I have with most graphic novels/comics. I did find the art style rather drab, but I did enjoy Mera's hair being a pop of colour.

I feel like this book missed the point of being historical fiction  and a fantasy book. It's well written, very engaging, and I'd masterful in the way I expected from the author, however, it's a hard press to call this fantasy. 

As an academic, Kuang was trying hard to make sure everything was backed up with facts, and her own added elements were over justified. Which defeats the point of fiction and fantasy. I was hoping for a unique remaining of how the industrialization could have gone if magic was involved, instead nothing new was added. Other than being a vessel to dump pages of etymology on the reader, it did not feel used it the book at all. I'm not a huge language fan so I was often skipping those paragraphs. When they were little mentions it was good character development, but the pages of etymology slowed the pace of the book and made it felt padded. 

It's still a solid read but you should go into it expecting less of a book and note of an academic paper with some plot thrown in for funsies. Read a couple of reviews where people said it felt like she was trying to justify her fictional and fantastical elements every te they were brough up and I can't agree more. It's a fictional novel, we know it never happened, make us believe it within the confines of your world and don't worry about the confines of the real world. 

Quite excited to see what she writes next though, I love her writing. 

Wasn't expecting to like this as much as I did. Thought it would be an enjoyable three-star but I had me actually sobbing, then rotting for the characters to get together by the end. I love Poston's writing and I'm so excited to read more from her in the future. This book is so delightful. 

I enjoyed the writing style very much. it was so engaging and gave a unique voice to all of the characters. On the other hand, I wasn't on board with everything in this book, there were a few scenes and ideas that felt like they dragged, and this was quite different than what I expected. I am excited to reread it over the years and see how my opinions change.