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medium-paced
Plot or Character Driven:
A mix
Strong character development:
Yes
Loveable characters:
Yes
Diverse cast of characters:
Yes
Flaws of characters a main focus:
Complicated
Rating: 4.25/5
I really liked this book! What a great debut to a new series and for an author pair! I have been wanting to get back into reading fantasy, and this was a great way to do that.
I really enjoyed the various topics an themes throughout the book, with a faction of people who are branded due to the sins of their parents and the way they navigate through life because of those brands: the way they are treated, the way they grow up, the jobs they can find, etc. Fia, our FMC is one of these branded, marked for a betrayal that she didn't even commit.
I also really enjoyed the magic system in this book, as I thought that it was unique with powers that were unique. The way the authors spend time explaining how they work made me really buy in to the whole system and made it believable. The variety of powers that people can have and the variety of strengths that they can have adds to the complexity of the system and to the sheer strength of the team of people we spend time with.
The pacing of the book was really well done as well. I never felt bored and was always looking forward to what was coming next, while still being told that there was a jump in time between chapters that helped me buy in to our FMC, her powers, her training, and everything else. Nothing felt rushed and nothing felt too slow.
I enjoyed our MMC, Laryk, as well. I thought that the romance was well done and I liked the way that it built up over time and almost sneaks up on you, but it never felt wrong. I liked that he was willing to train her to control her powers, but wasn't her main trainer for the Faction. Even though he wanted to use her as a weapon, that is a pretty common thing in a fantasy novel and I was okay with it. Especially once he started to show some of his colors and be considerate of her needs. I am withholding being completely on board as it is only the first book and I have learned my lesson too many times lol.
The ensemble cast is really great! From Fia's friendships with the other branded, the trainees that she befriends, and the various leaders she interacts with, I was looking forward to each interaction and learning more about each person. They were all interesting and unique, and I really enjoyed the character work done on each of them. Brava! I am so used to being able to draw parallels between characters of the ensemble of various series, so this was a nice way to break the cycle and have something fresh.
The twist at the end was not what I was expecting, which is pretty unusual for me! I'm pretty good at predicting where things are going, so I am super excited to see where this series is going especially the ramifications of that twist, and I cannot wait for the next book to come out. I will definitely be continuing this series.
fast-paced
Plot or Character Driven:
Plot
Strong character development:
Complicated
Loveable characters:
No
Diverse cast of characters:
Complicated
I received an ARC of this book through NetGalley in exchange for an honest review. All opinions are my own.
I was very excited to read this book, and it delivered on some things that I was looking for but lacked in many other ways for me.
Let's start with what I liked:
- Having a morally grey FMC with an interesting twist at the end of the book.
- The various players and the "found family" aspect of fantasy novels that bring me a lot of joy with the rebellion members
- The plot was an interesting premise that kept me interested in what was going to happen next
- The fantasy setting was great, with various creatures, species, and dangers
What I struggled with:
- The pace of the book was so fast that I wished this was split into two books with some more scenes that built on the character relationships. I truly struggled to really care about anyone or have an opinion about the love triangle because I felt like I didn't have enough time to make an opinion. Things moved really fast throughout the whole book, which made everything seem very surface level. Having some scenes where we get to sit with our FMC and MMC (like multiple training sessions, talks around fires while traveling, dinners with the group of people she meets, etc.) without trying to hit a plot point beat would have really helped this for me and made me feel more connected to our main characters.
- In the same vein, I struggled with the magic system here because we barely saw our FMC using magic throughout the book. Some more time on that would have helped me understand how the system worked and shown that our FMC gets stronger over time, which would have given the final scenes some more believability for me.
- The timeline. I have no idea how much time actually took place in this book or how much time was between scenes. I felt lost a lot, to the point where I was trying to figure out if I was in the same scene as the last chapter or on an entirely different day. Some kind of indicator to what day it was or how much time had passed (even just a "The next day...") would have helped me a lot. As it is, the timeline felt very rushed.
- I didn't really find either of the romantic interests very believable. I think this is mostly because of how plot heavy the book was that took away from character driven moments, so I didn't get a good feel for either of them.
- I would have liked to have spent more time in the battle sequence to build up more tension. Maybe even seeing preparations for battle that geared up the reader to it instead of just "BAM, armies at the ready to battle it out." I didn't even think a real battle was going to happen in this book until it was upon me, so it threw me for a loop.
Overall, this book was a decent read in that it kept my attention for part of it, but I struggled to read through parts of it, too. I always want to commend anyone who spends so much time and effort in writing a novel, especially a fantasy novel. I definitely think that Jamye has really great potential for future fantasy endeavors because of how interesting the various plot points were, but this book just fell flat for me.
I was very excited to read this book, and it delivered on some things that I was looking for but lacked in many other ways for me.
Let's start with what I liked:
- Having a morally grey FMC with an interesting twist at the end of the book.
- The various players and the "found family" aspect of fantasy novels that bring me a lot of joy with the rebellion members
- The plot was an interesting premise that kept me interested in what was going to happen next
- The fantasy setting was great, with various creatures, species, and dangers
What I struggled with:
- The pace of the book was so fast that I wished this was split into two books with some more scenes that built on the character relationships. I truly struggled to really care about anyone or have an opinion about the love triangle because I felt like I didn't have enough time to make an opinion. Things moved really fast throughout the whole book, which made everything seem very surface level. Having some scenes where we get to sit with our FMC and MMC (like multiple training sessions, talks around fires while traveling, dinners with the group of people she meets, etc.) without trying to hit a plot point beat would have really helped this for me and made me feel more connected to our main characters.
- In the same vein, I struggled with the magic system here because we barely saw our FMC using magic throughout the book. Some more time on that would have helped me understand how the system worked and shown that our FMC gets stronger over time, which would have given the final scenes some more believability for me.
- The timeline. I have no idea how much time actually took place in this book or how much time was between scenes. I felt lost a lot, to the point where I was trying to figure out if I was in the same scene as the last chapter or on an entirely different day. Some kind of indicator to what day it was or how much time had passed (even just a "The next day...") would have helped me a lot. As it is, the timeline felt very rushed.
- I didn't really find either of the romantic interests very believable. I think this is mostly because of how plot heavy the book was that took away from character driven moments, so I didn't get a good feel for either of them.
- I would have liked to have spent more time in the battle sequence to build up more tension. Maybe even seeing preparations for battle that geared up the reader to it instead of just "BAM, armies at the ready to battle it out." I didn't even think a real battle was going to happen in this book until it was upon me, so it threw me for a loop.
Overall, this book was a decent read in that it kept my attention for part of it, but I struggled to read through parts of it, too. I always want to commend anyone who spends so much time and effort in writing a novel, especially a fantasy novel. I definitely think that Jamye has really great potential for future fantasy endeavors because of how interesting the various plot points were, but this book just fell flat for me.
