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“That is a true gift, to help others see the world in a different way.”
Stars (Out of 10): 9/10 Stars
Favorite Character: Cartier or Brienna!
Spoiler Free: I’ll admit, for some reason, I had low expectations going into this book. Even though the synopsis seemed quite intriguing, and unlike other books I’ve read before, I kind of expected it to just read like any other YA Fantasy, and the world and plot to be fairly standard as well. In the end though, I absolutely loved this book, and it hooked me much more than some of my other recent reads. From the first few chapters I was hooked, and kept wanting to read this instead of my other current read at the time.
For me, the book owes its success to its lush and intriguing world as well as fantastic characters. I was wholly invested in Brienna and her story, from how she balanced herself between her two worlds/two kingdoms to her relationships and role in the plot itself.
In terms of the world, I thought the author did a fantastic job of building both kingdoms as well as the passion and magic systems. While magic and kingdoms and tyrant kings are nothing new, Ross definitely put her own spin on this world, and I found myself quite intrigued by how everything worked. For example, magic exists, but it doesn’t dominate the structure of the kingdoms, as only a single family has it. Furthermore, to avoid a dominance of said family, the magic is a fickle thing, and should not be used for violence/harm if the user wants to stay sane. Additionally, the combination of this magic with a different sort of talent, passions, balanced the world while also adding another interesting system. While the story could have technically been told the same with passions removed, these passions did make the world feel more deep, and more thought through. It also just added hobbies to a fantasy world, which oddly, isn’t a thing most fantasy characters have. Lastly, the two kingdoms themselves were quite distinguishable, but not so different that it became hard to believe. For example, differences stemmed from the systems the country were built upon, as Maevana is a country built on physical strength and therefore their customs are less “refined” and both women and men are trained, while in Valenia, a country built more on the system of passions and refining talents in schools, is the more polite of the two kingdoms.
Additionally, the characters and their relationships with each other were also well done. Not only does Brienna form strong female friendships with most of the women she meets, promoting support and friendship instead of competition, she also struggles with a lot of familial relationships. Since she is an illegitimate child whose mother died when she was young, and whose father she knows nothing about, a lot of the story deals with Brienna defining herself through her blood and chosen families, and her navigation of these relationships feels extremely realistic. Additionally, the romance was also done quite well in the story. It wasn’t the main focus by far, and spends about half of the book in the background, but it was a constant thread throughout the story. It was reliable in the story rather than volatile, but it was still extremely sweet and full of love, and blended really well with the beauty of the relationships in this story in general.
The plot itself was also intriguing, even if it wasn’t altogether too surprising or intense. It was also resolved rather easily, without much loss, but then this is also the first book. I was quite surprised at a few twists, but others were a bit too obvious, or given away by the information/maps/genealogy charts in the beginning of the book. However, it wrapped up extremely nicely, so I am curious how Ross will draw more of a story out of this, especially if Brienna is to be the main character again.
Overall, I’m really happy with this book as a whole, and really enjoyed this read! I cannot wait to read what Ross does next, as this world is one I’d love to dive into again.
Stars (Out of 10): 9/10 Stars
Favorite Character: Cartier or Brienna!
Spoiler Free: I’ll admit, for some reason, I had low expectations going into this book. Even though the synopsis seemed quite intriguing, and unlike other books I’ve read before, I kind of expected it to just read like any other YA Fantasy, and the world and plot to be fairly standard as well. In the end though, I absolutely loved this book, and it hooked me much more than some of my other recent reads. From the first few chapters I was hooked, and kept wanting to read this instead of my other current read at the time.
For me, the book owes its success to its lush and intriguing world as well as fantastic characters. I was wholly invested in Brienna and her story, from how she balanced herself between her two worlds/two kingdoms to her relationships and role in the plot itself.
In terms of the world, I thought the author did a fantastic job of building both kingdoms as well as the passion and magic systems. While magic and kingdoms and tyrant kings are nothing new, Ross definitely put her own spin on this world, and I found myself quite intrigued by how everything worked. For example, magic exists, but it doesn’t dominate the structure of the kingdoms, as only a single family has it. Furthermore, to avoid a dominance of said family, the magic is a fickle thing, and should not be used for violence/harm if the user wants to stay sane. Additionally, the combination of this magic with a different sort of talent, passions, balanced the world while also adding another interesting system. While the story could have technically been told the same with passions removed, these passions did make the world feel more deep, and more thought through. It also just added hobbies to a fantasy world, which oddly, isn’t a thing most fantasy characters have. Lastly, the two kingdoms themselves were quite distinguishable, but not so different that it became hard to believe. For example, differences stemmed from the systems the country were built upon, as Maevana is a country built on physical strength and therefore their customs are less “refined” and both women and men are trained, while in Valenia, a country built more on the system of passions and refining talents in schools, is the more polite of the two kingdoms.
Additionally, the characters and their relationships with each other were also well done. Not only does Brienna form strong female friendships with most of the women she meets, promoting support and friendship instead of competition, she also struggles with a lot of familial relationships. Since she is an illegitimate child whose mother died when she was young, and whose father she knows nothing about, a lot of the story deals with Brienna defining herself through her blood and chosen families, and her navigation of these relationships feels extremely realistic. Additionally, the romance was also done quite well in the story. It wasn’t the main focus by far, and spends about half of the book in the background, but it was a constant thread throughout the story. It was reliable in the story rather than volatile, but it was still extremely sweet and full of love, and blended really well with the beauty of the relationships in this story in general.
The plot itself was also intriguing, even if it wasn’t altogether too surprising or intense. It was also resolved rather easily, without much loss, but then this is also the first book. I was quite surprised at a few twists, but others were a bit too obvious, or given away by the information/maps/genealogy charts in the beginning of the book. However, it wrapped up extremely nicely, so I am curious how Ross will draw more of a story out of this, especially if Brienna is to be the main character again.
Overall, I’m really happy with this book as a whole, and really enjoyed this read! I cannot wait to read what Ross does next, as this world is one I’d love to dive into again.
First off, I would like to thank the publisher and author for providing me this ARC to review. Please note that the version I read was an advanced copy, and certain events/language may be changed in the published edition.
Stars (Out of 10): 4/10 Stars
Favorite Character: Nik
Spoiler Free: I really wanted to love this book. From the gorgeous cover to the fact it was about mermaids and witches and magic, my hopes were high. Unfortunately, there were just way too many awkward moments for me, and the plot wasn’t all that surprising (especially considering the fact that we already knew how it was going to end.) While I was intrigued by the world and small village, and was hooked during certain portions of the plot, there were overall too many meh moments for me.
I’ll start with the characters and their relationships with each other. This, for me, was one of the weakest parts of the book. While I generally liked the friendship Nik and Evie had, especially in the beginning, it became less and less enjoyable as the book went on (and jealousy started tainting every relationship). The relationship that Evie has with Iker is also extremely shallow, and was not presented in a good way at all. I understand that the romance needed to start early, but we barely got any background to their relationship before suddenly that was a thing. And everything got worse as the story went on in terms of relationships, as as I mentioned above, almost every single relationship becomes dominated by jealousy. Evie is jealous of Annemette taking Nik’s time, Evie is jealous of the status of everyone else, Evie is jealous over the ease with which Annemette uses magic, Iker is jealous of Nik, Nik is jealous of Iker, and it goes on and on. It makes all the relationships and friendships seem extremely shallow, as no one seems actually happy with their friends/the person they’re with.
The plot also just fell flat. Everything was extremely predictable (which I’ll discuss more in the spoiler section) and the ending also didn’t fully line up with all the events of the story. Besides this, I can’t discuss more of the plot without spoilers, but saying it was predictable and weak about sums it up.
I was intrigued by the world, however, and Evie’s conflict to fit into a town that was not accepting of her, even without knowing she was a witch. The festival and setting felt very realistic and full of the essence of the sea, but without the characters and plot to carry this setting, it felt wasted.
I also quite enjoyed the third person, and I may have even dropped the story without them. I’m always a sucker for these kind of cuts into the book, where they explain past events in a mysterious way that provides both context and foreshadowing for the rest of the story.
Overall, I can’t say I was a fan of this book, and I was overall extremely disappointed. While reading, the awkward character relationships were definitely the most distracting, and after reading I found a lot of issues with the plot and how it was wrapped up. It just wasn’t for me.
Careful! Spoilers beyond this point!
Spoilers:
First off, Anna = Annemette. That is super surprising, right?? Even Evie spends the whole book convinced Annemette is her drowned friend, even against all of Annemette’s anger towards the assumption, so I’m not even sure if this is supposed to be a twist.
Second, Nik was in love with Evie the whole time. (Evie even claims to have felt the same but, y’know, that never actually crossed her mind while we were reading inside her head apparently). Not only is it hinted at really heavily in the third person chapters, it’s quite obvious in every longer conversation the pair has alone.
Third, Iker was visiting/boating around other girls. While I did gasp when it was specifically revealed, it wasn’t actually all that surprising. He was just acting up to his reputation, and if we take the track record of this book, none of the characters are actually all that capable of growth, so it’s not surprising he wasn’t either.
Fourth, Evie turns into an octo-mermaid, and becomes evil under the sea. Obviously, this was already known from the synopsis, so this wouldn’t have ever been a surprise. Regardless, the fact that the ending of the book is already known means that more effort needs to be put into the mid-book plot, and to make the journey to that ending surprising/interesting.
In terms of a weak ending, there were too many things left open or not lining up to make this ending actually satisfying for me.
First, Evie being malicious/evil as an octo-mermaid. Nowhere in the story is there journey toward Evie becoming more malicious/more cruel, she only becomes more desperate for love and acceptance as the story goes on. Additionally, her final act is out of love rather than hate, showing her love for her village and sacrificing her life to ensure it remains safe. The anger also seems to be pointed towards the mermaids for some reason, even though that is barely explained/does not make sense.
Second, lack of resolution in terms of Iker. Yes, he turns on Evie when he hears she’s a witch, proving how weak his “love” actually is, but we never see the “Evie being hurt when Iker proves to be unfaithful” part of Anna’s plan come to fruition. I wanted to see some sort of confrontation, something to show Evie is a part of her story rather than just following where the story pushes her.
Third, Anna/Annemette’s plan. From 70% to 90% in the book, the third POV chapters of the little mermaid are all aimed at building up this huge plan she has to ruin the lives of the triad that ruined her life. But in the end, nothing actually happens with all of that? She calls Evie a witch when Evie reveals she’s a mermaid, but that seems reactionary more than planned. She also tries to kill Nic/Iker, but fails, and even those moves seem purely reactionary. In the end, it seems like she barely had the chance to enact her plan, even though she was entirely in control of the situation?
Lastly, the treatment of Evie before she was known as a witch. I get that she’s poor and shouldn’t be friends with the prince, and Evie has just learned to accept their hate, but this seems to play such a large, underlying role in the whole story. Where did it go? Why is Evie’s hate and anger, as the Sea Witch, not turned upon her town? Why does she not blame them for not accepting her, for forcing her to befriend a mermaid because she was so isolated otherwise? Why is Evie not angry at all? Once again, it just felt like Evie barely cared about anything happening to her besides Iker/Anna/Nik, and it made her feel blind to what was going on around her. (I also found this treatment one of the most interesting parts of the book, a part that could have very easily developed into something to build a better, stronger ending for the story).
Stars (Out of 10): 4/10 Stars
Favorite Character: Nik
Spoiler Free: I really wanted to love this book. From the gorgeous cover to the fact it was about mermaids and witches and magic, my hopes were high. Unfortunately, there were just way too many awkward moments for me, and the plot wasn’t all that surprising (especially considering the fact that we already knew how it was going to end.) While I was intrigued by the world and small village, and was hooked during certain portions of the plot, there were overall too many meh moments for me.
I’ll start with the characters and their relationships with each other. This, for me, was one of the weakest parts of the book. While I generally liked the friendship Nik and Evie had, especially in the beginning, it became less and less enjoyable as the book went on (and jealousy started tainting every relationship). The relationship that Evie has with Iker is also extremely shallow, and was not presented in a good way at all. I understand that the romance needed to start early, but we barely got any background to their relationship before suddenly that was a thing. And everything got worse as the story went on in terms of relationships, as as I mentioned above, almost every single relationship becomes dominated by jealousy. Evie is jealous of Annemette taking Nik’s time, Evie is jealous of the status of everyone else, Evie is jealous over the ease with which Annemette uses magic, Iker is jealous of Nik, Nik is jealous of Iker, and it goes on and on. It makes all the relationships and friendships seem extremely shallow, as no one seems actually happy with their friends/the person they’re with.
The plot also just fell flat. Everything was extremely predictable (which I’ll discuss more in the spoiler section) and the ending also didn’t fully line up with all the events of the story. Besides this, I can’t discuss more of the plot without spoilers, but saying it was predictable and weak about sums it up.
I was intrigued by the world, however, and Evie’s conflict to fit into a town that was not accepting of her, even without knowing she was a witch. The festival and setting felt very realistic and full of the essence of the sea, but without the characters and plot to carry this setting, it felt wasted.
I also quite enjoyed the third person, and I may have even dropped the story without them. I’m always a sucker for these kind of cuts into the book, where they explain past events in a mysterious way that provides both context and foreshadowing for the rest of the story.
Overall, I can’t say I was a fan of this book, and I was overall extremely disappointed. While reading, the awkward character relationships were definitely the most distracting, and after reading I found a lot of issues with the plot and how it was wrapped up. It just wasn’t for me.
Careful! Spoilers beyond this point!
Spoilers:
Spoiler
So, about the plot twists…First off, Anna = Annemette. That is super surprising, right?? Even Evie spends the whole book convinced Annemette is her drowned friend, even against all of Annemette’s anger towards the assumption, so I’m not even sure if this is supposed to be a twist.
Second, Nik was in love with Evie the whole time. (Evie even claims to have felt the same but, y’know, that never actually crossed her mind while we were reading inside her head apparently). Not only is it hinted at really heavily in the third person chapters, it’s quite obvious in every longer conversation the pair has alone.
Third, Iker was visiting/boating around other girls. While I did gasp when it was specifically revealed, it wasn’t actually all that surprising. He was just acting up to his reputation, and if we take the track record of this book, none of the characters are actually all that capable of growth, so it’s not surprising he wasn’t either.
Fourth, Evie turns into an octo-mermaid, and becomes evil under the sea. Obviously, this was already known from the synopsis, so this wouldn’t have ever been a surprise. Regardless, the fact that the ending of the book is already known means that more effort needs to be put into the mid-book plot, and to make the journey to that ending surprising/interesting.
In terms of a weak ending, there were too many things left open or not lining up to make this ending actually satisfying for me.
First, Evie being malicious/evil as an octo-mermaid. Nowhere in the story is there journey toward Evie becoming more malicious/more cruel, she only becomes more desperate for love and acceptance as the story goes on. Additionally, her final act is out of love rather than hate, showing her love for her village and sacrificing her life to ensure it remains safe. The anger also seems to be pointed towards the mermaids for some reason, even though that is barely explained/does not make sense.
Second, lack of resolution in terms of Iker. Yes, he turns on Evie when he hears she’s a witch, proving how weak his “love” actually is, but we never see the “Evie being hurt when Iker proves to be unfaithful” part of Anna’s plan come to fruition. I wanted to see some sort of confrontation, something to show Evie is a part of her story rather than just following where the story pushes her.
Third, Anna/Annemette’s plan. From 70% to 90% in the book, the third POV chapters of the little mermaid are all aimed at building up this huge plan she has to ruin the lives of the triad that ruined her life. But in the end, nothing actually happens with all of that? She calls Evie a witch when Evie reveals she’s a mermaid, but that seems reactionary more than planned. She also tries to kill Nic/Iker, but fails, and even those moves seem purely reactionary. In the end, it seems like she barely had the chance to enact her plan, even though she was entirely in control of the situation?
Lastly, the treatment of Evie before she was known as a witch. I get that she’s poor and shouldn’t be friends with the prince, and Evie has just learned to accept their hate, but this seems to play such a large, underlying role in the whole story. Where did it go? Why is Evie’s hate and anger, as the Sea Witch, not turned upon her town? Why does she not blame them for not accepting her, for forcing her to befriend a mermaid because she was so isolated otherwise? Why is Evie not angry at all? Once again, it just felt like Evie barely cared about anything happening to her besides Iker/Anna/Nik, and it made her feel blind to what was going on around her. (I also found this treatment one of the most interesting parts of the book, a part that could have very easily developed into something to build a better, stronger ending for the story).
“Maybe they have broken you, but you are a sharper weapon because of it. And it is time to strike.”
Stars (Out of 10): 8/10 Stars
Favorite Character: Soren
Spoiler Free: I ended up enjoying this a lot more than expected to, especially considering the reviews claiming it was fairly tropey, and used a lot of traits that have become extremely common in YA Fantasy in general. I do agree with this, but the way the book was written, for me personally, used the tropes in an interesting and new way.
The main thing I enjoyed about this book was how it made me feel conflicted. Since our main character, Theo, can not easily make decisions on what she wants and who she’s willing to hurt/save, it makes it harder for me, as the reader, to decide what I want to happen. Especially when it came to her childhood friend, I was often found stuck on what path I wanted Theo to take, either one of a badass queen (who burned everything in her way) and a caring queen (who had a higher chance to fail).
The romance also followed this path. We have a standard love triangle, but it feels different than other love triangles I’ve read. The opposing choices aren’t unique, we have the childhood friend and the prince of the conquering kingdom. However, I normally do have a choice by the first book, of who I would prefer, but that isn’t the case here. It is written in such a way that you feel as conflicted as Theo, and the ending does even more to enhance this feeling.
Additionally, I really enjoyed the plot and the way it was written. Theo, after a certain point, becomes an active player in the kingdom, in her story, and yet we still manage to be surprised by some of the things she does, as the author did a good job of showing us enough of Theo to like her and cheer for her, but not everything that’s in her head, leaving some twists able to surprise us. I also really like where the ending went, and the setup it provided for the rest of the series (honestly really excited by the antagonist that the ending created).
I also liked the world, and the use of stones as bearers of magic. I especially liked how the magic system worked alongside the stones, and how the combination of both a strong belief, luck, and the stones themselves all worked together to create varying levels of magic users. It added another sort of hierarchy that went against the standard royal one.
The story was also rather dark, including a lot of the extreme hardships that the enslaved people had to face. While these moments are often unnecessary to the books, I feel it was necessary to the story in this case, as becoming less blind to those hardships was an integral part in forming Theo as a character, a rebel, and a queen.
In the end, I am really excited to see where this story continues to go, and cannot wait for the next installment!
Stars (Out of 10): 8/10 Stars
Favorite Character: Soren
Spoiler Free: I ended up enjoying this a lot more than expected to, especially considering the reviews claiming it was fairly tropey, and used a lot of traits that have become extremely common in YA Fantasy in general. I do agree with this, but the way the book was written, for me personally, used the tropes in an interesting and new way.
The main thing I enjoyed about this book was how it made me feel conflicted. Since our main character, Theo, can not easily make decisions on what she wants and who she’s willing to hurt/save, it makes it harder for me, as the reader, to decide what I want to happen. Especially when it came to her childhood friend, I was often found stuck on what path I wanted Theo to take, either one of a badass queen (who burned everything in her way) and a caring queen (who had a higher chance to fail).
The romance also followed this path. We have a standard love triangle, but it feels different than other love triangles I’ve read. The opposing choices aren’t unique, we have the childhood friend and the prince of the conquering kingdom. However, I normally do have a choice by the first book, of who I would prefer, but that isn’t the case here. It is written in such a way that you feel as conflicted as Theo, and the ending does even more to enhance this feeling.
Additionally, I really enjoyed the plot and the way it was written. Theo, after a certain point, becomes an active player in the kingdom, in her story, and yet we still manage to be surprised by some of the things she does, as the author did a good job of showing us enough of Theo to like her and cheer for her, but not everything that’s in her head, leaving some twists able to surprise us. I also really like where the ending went, and the setup it provided for the rest of the series (honestly really excited by the antagonist that the ending created).
I also liked the world, and the use of stones as bearers of magic. I especially liked how the magic system worked alongside the stones, and how the combination of both a strong belief, luck, and the stones themselves all worked together to create varying levels of magic users. It added another sort of hierarchy that went against the standard royal one.
The story was also rather dark, including a lot of the extreme hardships that the enslaved people had to face. While these moments are often unnecessary to the books, I feel it was necessary to the story in this case, as becoming less blind to those hardships was an integral part in forming Theo as a character, a rebel, and a queen.
In the end, I am really excited to see where this story continues to go, and cannot wait for the next installment!
“Those who know what it's like in the dark will do anything to stay in the light.”
Stars (Out of 10): 9/10 Stars
Overall Thoughts: Okay so somehow I never got the memo that this was no longer a trilogy. I have no idea how I missed that very important piece of information, but it did end up ruining my perception of the ending (after all, who likes a cliff hanger in the final book?) However, I did really enjoy this installment, and while I still enjoyed the first book the most, King’s Cage reminded me why I started loving the series in the first place (I was disappointed by most of Glass Sword if I’m being honest.)
The Good: I finally like the characters again, and for most of the book, they weren’t that frustrating. I also enjoyed where the story went, especially the developments in the last half of the novel.
The Bad: A ton of build up in the beginning, with little major action which was saved all for the end. Also, a super frustrating ending that continues the frustrating love plot into the 4th book, rather than focusing on the war. I also did not care for Cameron’s POV at all, since it just felt like a ton of whining in my opinion, and just continued to paint the Scarlet Guard even worse.
SPOILERS BEGIN HERE
The Characters: I like the new and improved Mare we saw, and how Maven’s character and overall evilness was given a purpose and a reason. We also got to see some of the side characters become stronger and more okay with their situation, and adding in new Ardents/Newbloods from Montfort from other areas made Mare feel less like a chosen one, since she isn’t that at all.
The Plot: While the first half of the book was just tons of build up, it did lead to some pretty interesting developments later on in the story, especially in the whole warring kingdoms thing being developed further, where allies turned to enemies and enemies turned out allies. However, I was finally happy with where Cal and Mare were with their relationship, and some other wrench was thrown in the plan once again, trying to stretch out the drama-filled romantic plot even more, when I personally feel a unified front + strong relationship would have been amazing to see in the finale of the book.
The Favorite Character: I like the change we saw in Mare, and Cal has been kicked out of this slot with great prejudice after his dismal performance in the last two or three pages of the book, where he suddenly decides to give up on everything Mare, him, and the Guard have worked for. Thanks Cal, for quickly and effectively letting both me and Mare down with only a few paragraphs. (I’m only a teensy bit mad okay.)
Buy it, Borrow it, or Bin it: Buy it
This review can also be found on my blog: https://paragraphsandpages.wordpress.com/
Stars (Out of 10): 9/10 Stars
Overall Thoughts: Okay so somehow I never got the memo that this was no longer a trilogy. I have no idea how I missed that very important piece of information, but it did end up ruining my perception of the ending (after all, who likes a cliff hanger in the final book?) However, I did really enjoy this installment, and while I still enjoyed the first book the most, King’s Cage reminded me why I started loving the series in the first place (I was disappointed by most of Glass Sword if I’m being honest.)
The Good: I finally like the characters again, and for most of the book, they weren’t that frustrating. I also enjoyed where the story went, especially the developments in the last half of the novel.
The Bad: A ton of build up in the beginning, with little major action which was saved all for the end. Also, a super frustrating ending that continues the frustrating love plot into the 4th book, rather than focusing on the war. I also did not care for Cameron’s POV at all, since it just felt like a ton of whining in my opinion, and just continued to paint the Scarlet Guard even worse.
SPOILERS BEGIN HERE
The Characters: I like the new and improved Mare we saw, and how Maven’s character and overall evilness was given a purpose and a reason. We also got to see some of the side characters become stronger and more okay with their situation, and adding in new Ardents/Newbloods from Montfort from other areas made Mare feel less like a chosen one, since she isn’t that at all.
The Plot: While the first half of the book was just tons of build up, it did lead to some pretty interesting developments later on in the story, especially in the whole warring kingdoms thing being developed further, where allies turned to enemies and enemies turned out allies. However, I was finally happy with where Cal and Mare were with their relationship, and some other wrench was thrown in the plan once again, trying to stretch out the drama-filled romantic plot even more, when I personally feel a unified front + strong relationship would have been amazing to see in the finale of the book.
The Favorite Character: I like the change we saw in Mare, and Cal has been kicked out of this slot with great prejudice after his dismal performance in the last two or three pages of the book, where he suddenly decides to give up on everything Mare, him, and the Guard have worked for. Thanks Cal, for quickly and effectively letting both me and Mare down with only a few paragraphs. (I’m only a teensy bit mad okay.)
Buy it, Borrow it, or Bin it: Buy it
This review can also be found on my blog: https://paragraphsandpages.wordpress.com/
“If I am a sword, I am a sword made of glass, and I can feel myself beginning to shatter.”
Stars (Out of 10): 6/10 Stars
Overall Thoughts: While I definitely enjoyed this installment, I liked it far less than the first book. Some of the plot, while overall interesting, seemed a bit dull or boring, and I sometimes found myself reading just to get back to the interesting parts, not because I enjoyed what I was currently reading. However, the ending took me for a spin, and I do where the plot brought us in the end. (I am also extremely extremely glad that I finished this a few days before the finale because I definitely could not handle waiting any longer.)
The Good: I quite enjoyed the plot, especially the ending. In addition, I liked the introduction of many new side characters, and exploring ideas from the first book more. Also, since they are no longer in the Silver Kingdom, we see more of the other side of society.
The Bad: Some parts of the book fell a bit flat, or boring. In addition, actions/thoughts of both Mare and those around her gave Mare the idea of being a very unlikable person, with very little redeeming qualities. She almost reminded me of Katniss, sometimes acting selfish, or at odds with the people around her, and pushing away people for seemingly no reason. This made it a bit less enjoyable, since it seemed many bonds built over years were somewhat broken, and reasons were given by Mare herself to distrust almost everyone, and reasons for them to dislike her.
SPOILERS BEGIN HERE
The Characters: As I said above, while I enjoyed the new side characters, and additions they made to our current ones, I hate what they took away from Mare. She became unlikable, isolated, and sometimes cruel, and while I understand how her character got there, and the reality of the situation, it made the book, at points, less interesting to read. Instead of a strong group banded together, it usually seemed more of a group of people who would rather be far away from each other, feeling forced to work together. I also felt it sometimes took away from the interesting plot going on, as division and relationship issues battled for the forefront of reader’s attention. However, I do quite enjoy the direction Mare is now taking, and the growth seen in the last few chapters as Mare attempts to fix her isolation (up until she gets kinda sorta captured by Maven, and kinda sorta is scheduled for execution.)
The Plot: I actually really enjoyed where the plot went in this novel. I do like that the rebel groups were unwilling to trust a silver and someone with the powers of one, because it felt truly realistic. I also liked how this forced them to go on their own, as if the rebels could be easily swayed by a few silver words, it would undermine the strength of both the leader and the organization. However, I truly enjoyed the final parts of the book, from the heist to Mare taking more of a leadership role and coming up with her own plan. And lastly, I’m sure that cliffhanger will continue to haunt me until I get my hands on King’s Cage! (Which will, if Amazon doesn’t fall me, be tomorrow, the 7th!)
The World Building: I actually really enjoyed how the author switched perspectives to give a better view of the world. Instead of kings and queens, we saw the poor and the rebels. Instead of sparkling clean, cities, we saw the slums, the reason these people are fighting. It both strengthens the rebel’s cause, and allows us to see the true secrets of the world this novel takes place in.
The Favorite Character: The poor heartbroken Cal (although, by the end, anyone can fit that title ); )
Buy it, Borrow it, or Bin it: Borrow it
This review can also be found on my blog: https://paragraphsandpages.wordpress.com/
Stars (Out of 10): 6/10 Stars
Overall Thoughts: While I definitely enjoyed this installment, I liked it far less than the first book. Some of the plot, while overall interesting, seemed a bit dull or boring, and I sometimes found myself reading just to get back to the interesting parts, not because I enjoyed what I was currently reading. However, the ending took me for a spin, and I do where the plot brought us in the end. (I am also extremely extremely glad that I finished this a few days before the finale because I definitely could not handle waiting any longer.)
The Good: I quite enjoyed the plot, especially the ending. In addition, I liked the introduction of many new side characters, and exploring ideas from the first book more. Also, since they are no longer in the Silver Kingdom, we see more of the other side of society.
The Bad: Some parts of the book fell a bit flat, or boring. In addition, actions/thoughts of both Mare and those around her gave Mare the idea of being a very unlikable person, with very little redeeming qualities. She almost reminded me of Katniss, sometimes acting selfish, or at odds with the people around her, and pushing away people for seemingly no reason. This made it a bit less enjoyable, since it seemed many bonds built over years were somewhat broken, and reasons were given by Mare herself to distrust almost everyone, and reasons for them to dislike her.
SPOILERS BEGIN HERE
The Characters: As I said above, while I enjoyed the new side characters, and additions they made to our current ones, I hate what they took away from Mare. She became unlikable, isolated, and sometimes cruel, and while I understand how her character got there, and the reality of the situation, it made the book, at points, less interesting to read. Instead of a strong group banded together, it usually seemed more of a group of people who would rather be far away from each other, feeling forced to work together. I also felt it sometimes took away from the interesting plot going on, as division and relationship issues battled for the forefront of reader’s attention. However, I do quite enjoy the direction Mare is now taking, and the growth seen in the last few chapters as Mare attempts to fix her isolation (up until she gets kinda sorta captured by Maven, and kinda sorta is scheduled for execution.)
The Plot: I actually really enjoyed where the plot went in this novel. I do like that the rebel groups were unwilling to trust a silver and someone with the powers of one, because it felt truly realistic. I also liked how this forced them to go on their own, as if the rebels could be easily swayed by a few silver words, it would undermine the strength of both the leader and the organization. However, I truly enjoyed the final parts of the book, from the heist to Mare taking more of a leadership role and coming up with her own plan. And lastly, I’m sure that cliffhanger will continue to haunt me until I get my hands on King’s Cage! (Which will, if Amazon doesn’t fall me, be tomorrow, the 7th!)
The World Building: I actually really enjoyed how the author switched perspectives to give a better view of the world. Instead of kings and queens, we saw the poor and the rebels. Instead of sparkling clean, cities, we saw the slums, the reason these people are fighting. It both strengthens the rebel’s cause, and allows us to see the true secrets of the world this novel takes place in.
The Favorite Character: The poor heartbroken Cal (although, by the end, anyone can fit that title ); )
Buy it, Borrow it, or Bin it: Borrow it
This review can also be found on my blog: https://paragraphsandpages.wordpress.com/
“They think that you won't hit back - that you'll just lower your eyes and hide. And sometimes, to protect yourself, to make it go away, you do. But sometimes, you find yourself standing in exactly the right position, wielding exactly the right weapon to hit back.”
Stars (Out of 10): 7/10 Stars
Favorite Character: I ended up really liking Emika!
Spoiler Free: I picked this up on a whim after finished War Storm, as I had just come off of a wave of YA Fantasy and really needed a genre cleanse. This ended up being the perfect choice! Like most of Marie Lu’s books, the simple writing in combination with exciting plot/world ideas often leads to quite a quick, but extremely enjoyable, read, and Warcross was no exception!
Firstly, the plot was exciting and action-packed enough that putting the book down was always difficult, as I knew some intriguing or shocking revelation would probably come from the next few chapters. This, combined with the fairly short chapters, created a book that I never wanted to put down, and flew like a breeze. While the plot was fairly twisty, only the cliffhanger at the end actually managed to surprise me, as I was too suspicious to be all that surprised by the others (even if I didn’t exactly guess what was going to happen). Additionally, an action-packed plot also has its downsides, as it means the book almost moves too fast during some moments, and some moments don’t necessarily have enough build up.
Secondly, the world itself was quite thrilling, though many things felt unexplained, or nonsensical, but I feel that did not necessarily detract from the plot. I was entranced by the two sides of the world, real and alternative, and even by the two sides to the alternative world. The descriptions were enough to make me wish the Neurolink was a thing in our age, even if some certain scenes got repetitive (specifically the night sky imagery/usage).
Lastly, the characters themselves were also quite interesting, even if Emika was hard to connect with at first. Hideo was an interesting character as well, especially with the mystery surrounding his past and interest in Emika. I also became quite attached to the characters on Emika’s Warcross team, even if they didn’t really see the spotlight in this book! While none of them are the best developed nor interesting characters ever, they all complimented the world and plot really nicely, and made a nice balance within the book.
I’m quite excited to see what happens with the next book, Wildcard, and where the story continues from here! (Though I am sad it won’t contain the Warcross games, as I am always a sucker for books with a competition!)
Careful! Spoilers beyond this point!
Spoilers:
Stars (Out of 10): 7/10 Stars
Favorite Character: I ended up really liking Emika!
Spoiler Free: I picked this up on a whim after finished War Storm, as I had just come off of a wave of YA Fantasy and really needed a genre cleanse. This ended up being the perfect choice! Like most of Marie Lu’s books, the simple writing in combination with exciting plot/world ideas often leads to quite a quick, but extremely enjoyable, read, and Warcross was no exception!
Firstly, the plot was exciting and action-packed enough that putting the book down was always difficult, as I knew some intriguing or shocking revelation would probably come from the next few chapters. This, combined with the fairly short chapters, created a book that I never wanted to put down, and flew like a breeze. While the plot was fairly twisty, only the cliffhanger at the end actually managed to surprise me, as I was too suspicious to be all that surprised by the others (even if I didn’t exactly guess what was going to happen). Additionally, an action-packed plot also has its downsides, as it means the book almost moves too fast during some moments, and some moments don’t necessarily have enough build up.
Secondly, the world itself was quite thrilling, though many things felt unexplained, or nonsensical, but I feel that did not necessarily detract from the plot. I was entranced by the two sides of the world, real and alternative, and even by the two sides to the alternative world. The descriptions were enough to make me wish the Neurolink was a thing in our age, even if some certain scenes got repetitive (specifically the night sky imagery/usage).
Lastly, the characters themselves were also quite interesting, even if Emika was hard to connect with at first. Hideo was an interesting character as well, especially with the mystery surrounding his past and interest in Emika. I also became quite attached to the characters on Emika’s Warcross team, even if they didn’t really see the spotlight in this book! While none of them are the best developed nor interesting characters ever, they all complimented the world and plot really nicely, and made a nice balance within the book.
I’m quite excited to see what happens with the next book, Wildcard, and where the story continues from here! (Though I am sad it won’t contain the Warcross games, as I am always a sucker for books with a competition!)
Careful! Spoilers beyond this point!
Spoilers:
Spoiler
I’m really intrigued by how Emika’s and Hideo’s relationship will go from here, as both of them are completely swayed by their side, but feel for each other as well. Reminds me of another relationship I read recently...
“I am different from what my world demands I be. And I am not worse for it.”
Stars (Out of 10): 7.5/10 Stars
Spoiler Free: Surprising myself and everyone I know, I actually really enjoyed this book? Which is surprising considering I wasn’t a fan of book 2 at all, and book 3 ended up frustrating me a lot. However, that did mean I went into this book with either low expectations (in terms of characters/relationships/etc.) or no expectations (in terms of plot, as I never actually spent any time theorizing what would happen), and this could be the reason why I enjoyed it so much.
Firstly, I loved the plot itself. Due to aforementioned lack of theorizing, not only did I not have any idea what to expect going in, I also wasn’t stuck on certain hopes or wishes for how it would all go down. Additionally, this installment, compared to book 2 and 3, was much more action-packed, and didn’t have any of the lulls I had issues with the other sequels. The battles were really fun to read, as not only did all the Silver powers get showcased, but they got played off Ardent/Newblood powers in interesting ways. To continue, these battles also had twists within them as well, keeping my eyes glued to the page to see if these characters would make it out of these tense situations alive and well. I’m also quite happy with how it “tied up”, even though the ending leaves a lot of questions unanswered/open for developments.
Secondly, I both loved and hated the characters. To preface, the hate mainly comes from prior feelings in books 2 and 3, as everyone was at least bearable in this novel, whether it be bearable as a villain or as a hero (as I have different standards for each). I also loved how snarky everyone was towards each other, especially in the beginning. The constant tension and competition between the Silver/Newblood/Red Alliance was constantly offset with these sarcastic/snarky comments towards figures of authority/parents/each other, and it really helped with easing me back into the storyline. The romance was also an interesting one, and while I was extremely frustrated with it in the first few books, as I was trying to read it and cheer for it as a normal YA romance, I did not feel that same frustration in this book. While that may just come from me detaching from it/realizing it is a much more complex and complicated romance than most YA fantasy, I think I was also just happy with how it tied up/was used within the novel. Lastly, I also felt that most of the characters held to their ideals/developed in logical ways all throughout the book, meaning that this feeling also extended to their actions/how the book ended because of them.
Additionally, this book saw the introduction of a lot of new viewpoints, but I think Victoria also did this fairly well. She didn’t worry about balancing them at all, and only utilized them when it was actually necessary. For example, Cal and Maven only really had POV chapters near the ending, and it ended up adding to the story rather than making it seem more confusing. We also got quite a variety of viewpoints, and everyone sounded quite distinct within their own chapters. It gave us a larger view of the story and conflict as a whole, and how it would affect each individual party. I also enjoyed the addition of Iris as a POV, even if I don’t like her as a person/agree with her, as it added another level of depth to the new players on the battlefield that we otherwise wouldn’t have been able to get, especially considering the Lakelands didn’t play as active roles in the other books.
Lastly, I wasn’t the biggest fan of the world building. There was a lot introduced, and a lot that was skipped out on. Since this war contains almost all of the kingdoms/countries within the geographical area, we had a lot of culture and people to catch up on. While we did get some of this before, a lot of the countries hadn’t played all that big of a role yet, leading to readers needing to learn a lot. Not all of our questions were answered either, specifically about how the Silver and Red distinction even arose, and why Newbloods are suddenly appearing. This was such a hot topic for foreshadowing, especially by Julian Jacos, so I’m hoping we get a novella or something in the future that finally explains this, even though it was unfortunate that it didn’t make its way into the mainline story.
Overall, I’m really glad that this series ended on a good note (for me, it seems a lot of people are polarized by this book like the rest of the series), and that I’m able to say all that waiting and frustration was worth it in the end!
Careful! Spoilers beyond this point!
Spoilers:
Stars (Out of 10): 7.5/10 Stars
Spoiler Free: Surprising myself and everyone I know, I actually really enjoyed this book? Which is surprising considering I wasn’t a fan of book 2 at all, and book 3 ended up frustrating me a lot. However, that did mean I went into this book with either low expectations (in terms of characters/relationships/etc.) or no expectations (in terms of plot, as I never actually spent any time theorizing what would happen), and this could be the reason why I enjoyed it so much.
Firstly, I loved the plot itself. Due to aforementioned lack of theorizing, not only did I not have any idea what to expect going in, I also wasn’t stuck on certain hopes or wishes for how it would all go down. Additionally, this installment, compared to book 2 and 3, was much more action-packed, and didn’t have any of the lulls I had issues with the other sequels. The battles were really fun to read, as not only did all the Silver powers get showcased, but they got played off Ardent/Newblood powers in interesting ways. To continue, these battles also had twists within them as well, keeping my eyes glued to the page to see if these characters would make it out of these tense situations alive and well. I’m also quite happy with how it “tied up”, even though the ending leaves a lot of questions unanswered/open for developments.
Secondly, I both loved and hated the characters. To preface, the hate mainly comes from prior feelings in books 2 and 3, as everyone was at least bearable in this novel, whether it be bearable as a villain or as a hero (as I have different standards for each). I also loved how snarky everyone was towards each other, especially in the beginning. The constant tension and competition between the Silver/Newblood/Red Alliance was constantly offset with these sarcastic/snarky comments towards figures of authority/parents/each other, and it really helped with easing me back into the storyline. The romance was also an interesting one, and while I was extremely frustrated with it in the first few books, as I was trying to read it and cheer for it as a normal YA romance, I did not feel that same frustration in this book. While that may just come from me detaching from it/realizing it is a much more complex and complicated romance than most YA fantasy, I think I was also just happy with how it tied up/was used within the novel. Lastly, I also felt that most of the characters held to their ideals/developed in logical ways all throughout the book, meaning that this feeling also extended to their actions/how the book ended because of them.
Additionally, this book saw the introduction of a lot of new viewpoints, but I think Victoria also did this fairly well. She didn’t worry about balancing them at all, and only utilized them when it was actually necessary. For example, Cal and Maven only really had POV chapters near the ending, and it ended up adding to the story rather than making it seem more confusing. We also got quite a variety of viewpoints, and everyone sounded quite distinct within their own chapters. It gave us a larger view of the story and conflict as a whole, and how it would affect each individual party. I also enjoyed the addition of Iris as a POV, even if I don’t like her as a person/agree with her, as it added another level of depth to the new players on the battlefield that we otherwise wouldn’t have been able to get, especially considering the Lakelands didn’t play as active roles in the other books.
Lastly, I wasn’t the biggest fan of the world building. There was a lot introduced, and a lot that was skipped out on. Since this war contains almost all of the kingdoms/countries within the geographical area, we had a lot of culture and people to catch up on. While we did get some of this before, a lot of the countries hadn’t played all that big of a role yet, leading to readers needing to learn a lot. Not all of our questions were answered either, specifically about how the Silver and Red distinction even arose, and why Newbloods are suddenly appearing. This was such a hot topic for foreshadowing, especially by Julian Jacos, so I’m hoping we get a novella or something in the future that finally explains this, even though it was unfortunate that it didn’t make its way into the mainline story.
Overall, I’m really glad that this series ended on a good note (for me, it seems a lot of people are polarized by this book like the rest of the series), and that I’m able to say all that waiting and frustration was worth it in the end!
Careful! Spoilers beyond this point!
Spoilers:
Spoiler
Interestingly enough, even though not a lot of people died in this finale, and possibly no known “good” characters, I didn’t really see an issue with how realistic it felt. I think this was due to the fantastic job Victoria did with humanizing those that did die, even if we didn’t know their names/they died in large amounts. Specifically during battle or during the loss of the Piedmont base, you could still feel a sense of loss even if only unnamed characters were lost. This was probably due to the fact that Mare felt the loss of every Red life very personally, as well as the fact that the war was very much a numbers game, one that our Cal/Rebels Alliance was often losing.
I thought the first 70% was pretty decent, just very strictly tied to the original work. However, the final 30% had so much deviation from it that it was jarring.
(Full review to come)
(Full review to come)
