savage_book_review's Reviews (328)

The last one of this round of my Russian history era... I only wish I'd known how chunky it was before I'd ordered it from the library! While Grigory Rasputin is a fascinating historical character, I can safely say this was the wrong book for me. It's clearly very well researched and impressively detailed, but it's certainly more of a scholarly tome than something for a more general audience. I have a working knowledge of this era (yay A Level history!), but I just couldn't keep up. 

My main impression is that this is not a biography per say. Rasputin is at the heart of the book, ans it follows his life from birth to death, yes, but more often than not the author is viewing Rasputin through the lens of other peoples' reactions to him, be it direct or indirect. It came across to me that you learned far more about his rivals and enemies' motivations for disliking him or wanting to remove him than you ever did about the man himself. The trouble is, where that's a long list of people, all of whom have fairly long Russian names that I wasn't always familiar with, it's very easy to lose track and lose interest. It's definitely a good and different way of approaching a biography, but it does make it a much harder read. For example, there are a few people who run parallel to Rasputin and appear throughout, to whom it seems like this book could also serve as biography - Iliodor is one such person, but despite just having finished the book, I can remember his name and that's about it. There is lots of information in there about this guy, but I almost immediately lost the thread of who he was and how he relates to Rasputin. I think friend-turned-enemy?!

There were some things I picked up on that made me think though! The book quotes a number of letters written by Tsarina Alexandra, which are imploring Tsar Nicholas to take Rasputin's advice on everything from troop movements to ministerial appointments. By doing so, it absolutely reinforces the historical narrative that Alix leaned on 'the mad monk' heavily and almost worshipped him. However, it also gives nuance to the argument that Nicholas was weak-willed and ruled by his wife (who was ruled by Rasputin). The books successfully illustrates that, on the majority of occasions, Nicholas either ignored or rejected the proffered advice, and Rasputin would then change his stance accordingly. There is no denying that Nicholas made some poor choices, but this books makes a good case for not laying all of those mistakes at Rasputin's door. 

The book does try to act as something of a 'myth-buster', working through various episodes to try and get to the truth of the matter. The issue I had here is that, a lot of the time, it felt like the discussions surrounding the event often overshadowed the event itself - even with the big one, his unaliving, it doesn't feel like that much time or effort is actually dedicated to the event. Instead, it's all about the investigation afterwards and the theories surrounding the mysteries of that night. And unfortunately a lot of the events he chooses to examine were essentially misreported or made up at the time, so more often than not the conclusion of the author is 'sorry, another falsehood'. Which, while factual and appreciated, does tend to detract from the engagement level!

I will say I do like that this book has very short chapters, meaning you can take the information in in very easy bite-sized chunks, and there are plenty of good stopping off points. 

Overall, I don't think I absorbed any more than about 10% of this book. If you are a university student or academic studying this period, I suspect you will find this a fascinating read. But for Joe public, it's probably just a bit far out of reach. I probably should have DNFed by about page 200, but I was committed!

A freebie from the Audible Plus catalogue, I picked this one up because it was relatively short and I just needed some background noise while I was ironing. It did the job, but unfortunately not much more than that for me. 

At first glance, the premise looks promising; a half-Fae half-Were barista with the usual tragic romantasy backstory quits her job in a fit of pique after zoning out of reality and into one of her loopy aunt's dreams. She's also distracted by the guy she had a childhood crush on (and who left her inside a burning building) walking into the cafe despite hiding from him and his pack for the past decade. There's a semi-sentient amulet sidekick, a mystery to solve and an alpha male to keep things interesting. But the writing just doesn't live up to expectations. It feels incredibly disjointed, with scenes either full of exposition or that seem completely divorced from the main plot. There are moments that, if they stood alone, could come across quite well, but it all just gets a bit lost. The twists and shocks are relatively predictable, and overall the narrative didn't feel that well executed. 

The same issue arises with the characters and their relationships. It's billed as enemies to lovers, which it is, but there's no real development; in a very quick moment, Hedi goes from hating Bridge's  guts to calling him hers, but there's no sense of relief or joy at it for the reader. It just appears from no-where, with none of the emotional attachments that make it feel plausible, let alone realistic. Hedi's decisions and logic made no real sense to me throughout, and even during the denouement I hadn't been drawn into the characters enough to care about them. Bridge is the best drawn character in the book by a long way, but sadly that isn't saying much. The only time I got any sort of flickers of interest was in the moments where they were about to head to the bedroom and the afterglow. The book is closed door, so no actual smut to see here. These scenes were the closest we get to actual feelings and bonding between the two main characters, and honestly I put this down more to the performers of the audio than the writing. 

It does feel like a great base on which to build a world and a series; with some work, I can imagine this offering laughs, tears, gut punches and amazements aplenty. But there is just too much for the reader to do to get there at the moment. 

The audio itself was good - Colleen Delaney puts in another great performance and I was happy to listen to her narrate the story, and it's always fun to play 'spot the ACOTAR voice artist' when listening to the works produced by this company. However, there are moments where the background music/sound effects completely overwhelm the narration, which was really frustrating. This also feels like it relies quite heavily on the background music - I don't remember many times where there wasn't sound there. 

There are three more parts to this series. While I am a little intrigued as to how the story plays out, I really can't find any argument that it's worth me spending my Audible credits on as only this part is free. But I can live with not knowing.

Disclaimer: I listened to the audio version of this, so if I spell any of the character/place names incorrectly in my review, it's because I haven't seen them written down.

We all know how this story goes. A spunky young human woman with a tragic backstory and a family to support because she's the only one who can finds herself in some kind of trouble, only for a talk, dark, handsome mysterious male warrior to arrive at an opportune moment and whisk her away to the land of the Fae. Somehow, this random human holds the key to saving all of Fae-kind, and the grumpy shadow daddy that is a bit of an ass to her at the outset slowly starts to reveal his soft centre and his hard anatomy 😉, before they overcome their differences and fight the good fight side by side. But while the story and the tropes might be easily recognisable, when the writing and the particulars of the author's tale are this good, it doesn't matter one little bit. Basically, I now have a new favourite book of the year. 

One of the biggest things that caught my attention about the writing was the consistency with which the author addresses the differences between the human and Fae worlds. Our main character, Saeris, lives on a world with twin suns that never set. Water is scarce, food is hard to come by and the royal Guardians are a constant threat. So when she winds up in Yvelia, where the ground is covered with snow, the world goes dark at night and the first thing she is greeted with is a whole pitcher of water just for her, followed by a bath, you can feel her wariness, awe and disbelief through the pages. But, where most authors would probably forget about these things as inconsequential details or seemingly have the character assimilate quickly, Callie Hart manages to keep weaving in these little mentions throughout the story that serve to keep Saeris, and by extension the reader, feeling out this strange new world and longing for home. It's really well done, and gives the worldbuilding an edge which really works. 

That being said, this book lays the groundwork for an epic spanning several territories and worlds, but there isn't always as much clarity or detail as I would like to allow me to picture everything or plot out the worlds in my mind. I suspect having the physical book (hopefully with maps!) in front of me might help with this, but for the time being I will admit to there being a couple of moments where I found myself a bit lost in the ether when it came to where the characters were. 

I have seen comments that the indy version of this book isn't brilliantly edited, it's littered with spelling mistakes etc. Obviously I can't comment on that as I was listening rather than reading, but I can say that you can feel the heart and soul that has been poured into this story by the author, so if there are problems with the indy book, do try and push past them if you can because it is absolutely worth it. And I'll definitely be buying the reissued version when it's traditionally published in paperback (only because that's all that will fit on my shelves now!). 

For the most part, the characters are all brilliantly drawn. I'd argue that the more you're meant to care about the character, the better written they are, meaning that the villains of the piece don't feel quite as fully formed, but when your cast of 'found family' each has their own way of pulling at your emotions, their reactions to the villains basically makes up for it. Kingfisher has disrupted the business end of my book boyfriend list; his bad attitude, shadow-wielding power and sexy smirk make for a pretty much perfect romantasy leading man, and he has his own cadre of warrior brothers whose contrasting personalities sing. Saeris might fulfil a lot of stereotypes for the FMC of a romantasy book; annoying human who thinks she knows best, suspiciously good with a blade despite limited training and stubbornly independent to the point of stupidity, but the author has managed to give her more depth and agency than that; she gives as good as she gets. But the star of the show is Carion Swift. He might be a secondary character, but his personality is writ large across every single page he appears on. He's the comic relief and the butt of jokes, yes, but he's also a genuine supporting character with his own development, history and motives. I adored him. 

At this point, I have to give credit to the narrators. IMO, if you're going to do a 'straight' audiobook (as opposed to a graphic audio), this is how it should be done; a male and a female narrator, each voicing the characters of the appropriate gender. It just immerses the listener so much more into the story, and brings the charactera to life so much more! I was already a huge fan of Anthony Palmini because of ACOTAR, but oh. My. Goodness! This is a whole other level. There is one slightly dodgy accent (I can't quite tell if Renthis is meant to be Scottish or a Viking), but for the most part his range of voices is incredible. And yes, his Kingfisher low, growly rumble is everything you hope for and more besides 🥵🥵🥵. I haven't listened to anything by Stella Bloom before, but I will certainly listen to her work in future! She had the lion's share of the work here, with the book being told from Saeris' POV, but she made it sound easy.  The way she conveyed emotions ranging from exasperation to desire to hurt to fear through her voice was amazing, and there wasn't a single moment where I was bored or disengaged from listening to her. As much as I'm sure I would enjoy reading the book in the traditional sense, I am immensely glad that I didn't miss out on this audio version and would thoroughly recommend it to everyone! 

Is this book perfect? No. But does it tick all my boxes and a few more besides? Absolutely yes. I'm half tempted to just start listening from the beginning again! I just wish I didn't have to wait for the next one!!!

It's time for 'The Little Mermaid' to get the Emily McIntire treatment! Enzo comes to Atlantic Cove engaged to the beautiful but vapid Aria, daughter to the boss of the state's organised crime ring. He's the son of a New York mafia Don, and is content to do his duty. But when he meets Vanesa, Aria's witch of a cousin, sparks begin to fly as their dark deeds come to light.

Immediately, I can say that this takes the crown as my favourite of the Never After series. The story has the best feel and flow, the relationship is really engaging and keeps you invested, and the characters all evoke strong emotions from the reader. Considering the personal difficulties experienced by the author during the writing of this book, I actually think this may be the best writing of the series too. 

I love the fact that the attraction and UST between Enzo and Vanesa is sizzling from literally the moment they officially meet for the first time. We were warned that this was going to be a slow burn and it absolutely is, but it's not a frustrating wait; it feels naturally inevitable and reading about their attraction and back-and-forth just makes you want a relationship like theirs! Both characters have wonderful appeal individually too - Enzo appears incredibly well put together, sexy and confident, with a hint of that vulnerability which makes women melt and a violent dark streak, ultimately making him an almost perfect morally grey man! 

Vanesa, although seeking validation from her Uncle, is an incredibly strong woman, determined to only be reliant upon herself until she meets the one person who can match and compliment her without smothering her. What I really love about her though is that she encompasses a lot of diversity within one character; an out and proud bisexual, even in the face of people who don't support or accept that aspect of her; a curvy girl who is still portrayed as gorgeous and sexy; and a woman who wants to remain childless by choice who isn't made to feel guilty about it! And the way it's written, nothing comes across as controversial, but rather it's readily accepted.

The secondary characters are great too. Aria REALLY annoys me; she's a horrible character, a spoiled brat and an almost stereotypical mean girl... but that is precisely why she works! Both Enzo and Vanesa's underlings have great personalities, and are a riot when they come together, and the two family heads are just utter b*****ds. There isn't a single character that feels like filler or a placeholder; they've all been well developed and have a clear purpose. And there are moments throughout where you do question some of their motives, which adds an extra edge to the narrative. 

I did manage to pre-empt the majority of the twists, but nevertheless I enjoyed watching the story unfold and reward me for my correct guessing. There are a couple of small moments in the narrative which feel underdeveloped, but what I feel is missing from those moments is more character development / backstory / motivation, rather than a lack of driving the plot forward. Overall though, the pace feels pretty much spot on. 

It wouldn't be a Never After novel without a few good spicy scenes. Again, the magnetic draw between the two characters is electric, so when they do get down to business, it really is a release of tension! And I love the fact that they don't shy away from PDA - the fact that their underlings keep having to leave the apartment because they can't keep their hands off of eachother just gives me the warm fuzzies!

I know this is meant to be the last of the series, but I really hope it isn't - I will continue to buy books by this author as long as they keep being released!

The leader of Olympus' security forces is dead, and so a new Ares must be crowned in a spectacular contest. Zeus also adds a sweetener to the deal; whoever wins the title also wins the hand of his sister, the beautiful Helen. Achilles has been training his whole life for this opportunity, and his lover Patroclus is determined  to help him achieve it. But when Helen submits herself as a contender, the game changes and it's not just a title they're fighting for...

While I did still enjoy this one immensely (I'm almost as big a sap for Achilles and Patroclus as I am for Hades and Persephone), I found myself thinking throughout that this story is essentially the Triwizard Tournament plus elements of the Hunger Games, only with less death and more sex! Three tasks, whittling down the candidates until a winner is crowned.

And they essentially boil down to Ninja Warrior (with added actual ninjas), the Triwizard maze (where your fellow competitors might just attack you at any moment), and the obligatory gladiatorial battle (but where your main characters choose nightsticks as their weapons rather than swords, knives or anything else pointy and sharp).

It just doesn't quite flow as well as a story; it reads more like a series of one off scenes that have been stitched together, with the bridge between each being the characters enjoying eachother. Still a fun read, but just not quite as emotionally engaging as the previous books. 

I did very much like the balance of personalities between Helen, Achilles and Patroclus though. The triad really works, each contributing something to their relationship to make them a strong and believable unit. Equally, each of them are strong characters in their own right, and it was very easy to fall into each of their POVs and understand their perspectives. In particular, I strangely liked the slightly hypocritical stance Achilles takes whereby he's sure that Helen will forgive him when he wins the tournament, without ever giving thought to what he would do if she wins. When you're in his head, the thought process makes absolute sense, even if objectively it's a bit ridiculous! The writing really brings to life these character foibles for each of them.

However, I wasn't always convinced by the development of the relationship; there are a couple of places where things just feel too 'easy', or are glossed over to get them to where they need to be which does detract from their story. Likewise, there are some moments where the reasons for a character doing/not doing something feel very weak... there are some convenient excuses used that just feel a wee bit lazy. I almost feel like this book could have been a lot more of an emotional rollercoaster and given the reader a whole lot more depth if the pace had been slowed a little, or if the book had been twice the length! 

This book also introduces a thread of what I assume will be an ongoing story arc throughout the rest of the series. It's cleverly done by introducing 'outsiders' into Olympus, but those outsiders are still familiar to the reader as characters from Greek myth. It does raise the stakes a little, and I'm interested to see how it might play out. I'm fully invested and can't wait to keep reading!

Eros is a monster. The son and enforcer of Aphrodite, he's used to having blood on his hands. So turning up to a party injured is no big deal. Except he's met on arrival by Psyche who, despite his reputation, offers to help him clean up. But her mother is still determined to set up one of her daughters as Hera, which enrages Aphrodite, as matchmaker is her job. Taking out Psyche offers too many advantages, and she has the perfect assassin on hand. But when kindness is such a rare thing in his life, will Eros be able to strike the killing blow?

The literal only reason this book doesn't get the full five stars is because there are a couple of small moments that stick out as a bit too contrived , and my favourite couple don'tmake quite enough of an appearance. Other than that, I loved this book! I don't even know where to start with my praise!

Psyche is a wonderful character, well rounded and 'real'. I've never really been bothered about what size the characters I read about are described as; it just doesn't matter to me. But having Psyche as an overt plus-size character, who still has amazing body confidence and is generally considered to be gorgeous and desirable... it feels important, and gave me an image to aspire to. It made her so easy to identify with, despite all the other madness going on in the story. Likewise, Eros leaps off the page and, right from the start, it's obvious there is more to him than his reputation would suggest. His protective instincts are written to perfection, and yes, you get a little shiver down the spine with every claim of 'mine'. 

Yes, the story is chock full of tropes, most obviously 'marriage of convenience'. And despite the slightly bizarre leap from 'I've been ordered to unalive you' to 'marry me', the logic makes just enough sense for the set up to work. But once you're there, the characters themselves carry ypu off so well that the plot is a secondary concern. While there is a story arc and a thread to follow, the background just dropped away as my focus fixed on Eros and Psyche and their realisation that they might just be meant for each other. I'm fairly confident that there are some seeds planted for future books in the series in here, so you do have to pay a little bit of attention, but overall it's the developing relationship and cute moments where it's just the two of them that really hold your attention. 

The world of Olympus continues to grow in this book, with new haunts and new lore being introduced which makes the city start to feel more immersive. Seeing fresh characters' takes on the structure and machinations of the Thirteen, the way the city works and the things that are important to them also helps bring the whole vision to life, and I love it! Where it's still early days in the series for me, I am still getting used to the way these Olympians 'rule' (I.e. their not being actual Gods and Goddesses), but I think it's a clever and original take on the theme.

Was in one of those moods where I just needed a standalone book that wasn't inkeeping with the last few books I've read. I came across this on KU, and the blurb sparked enough of an interest for me to read on. On the eve of WW2, a ship leaves Hamburg Harbour for Cuba. On board are around 900 Jewish refugees, fleeing persecution either by choice or after being forced out of the country. But circumstances beyond their control mean that, while they've sailed half way round the world to escape the shadow of the far right, there is no guarantee that their final destination will be where they desire.

I do enjoy reading this sort of book; a non-fiction work that picks up on a little-known event and changes your perception of the wider period. It's a reminder that history is a) not black and white, and b) written by the winners. For while the people on this ship are seeking a safe port in a storm, even the "good guys" show an incredible lack of interest in offering a helping hand. It's terrifying how politics and back room deals seems to have more impact than the direct threat to the lives of these people, and yet the best the land of the free and home of thr brave (along with her allies) can do is shrug its shoulders.

The authors do an amazing job at bringing the various people on the St Louis to life in the reader's mind. This is in part helped by the sheer amount of primary testimonies they've gathered and the huge amount of research that appears to have gone into the book. It may have been written in 1974, but it remains a tight, concise examination of events that aims to convey the story and the facts as far as possible, rather than sensationalise. It is a little hard to follow in places as there are a few members of the Cuban authorities with similar-ish names, and generally there are just a lot of people involved in negotiations, but generally speaking it's set out as a day by day chronology of events and so it remains easy to follow the developments, twists and turns of the story.

They've managed to capture the idea that the ship is a microcosm of 1930s Germany; we meet a Jewish family who board the ship in their finest clothes, and another who is freshly out of Dachau and hiding from the authorities. One of the crew is a fully paid up member of the N*zi party and wannabe spy, and the Captain is the stand up gentleman who is determined to treat his current crop of passengers in exactly the same way he would on any other trip. It's wonderful to read the experiences of ordinary people who are being persecuted for their beliefs, and their shock and awe at the fact that the majority of the crew actually treat them like human beings. Similarly, the authors don't shy away from describing the effects of a concentration / forced labour camp on a person's physical and mental health, but every instance is treated with respect and care, and doesn't feel sensationalist, but rather just a reporting of the sad consequences.

What's particularly effective is how well it still resonates with modern events. Refugees being turned away or barred entry from every port because of isolationist policies and a fear that they're going to be reliant upon the state rather than standing on their own two feet. How is this same story being told with the same consequences 85 years later?! The book was written closer in time to the events it describes than today, and yet it's still going on. It's particularly hard to stomach when you consider the 'luck of the draw' outcomes of the passengers - though all found a 'safe' harbour to disembark from the ship, the likelihood is a majority of passengers ultimately failed to escape. Whereas if Cuba and/or the USA had opened a port to them, the vast majority would have likely survived the war.

It's not light reading, but it is easy reading and very, very insightful.

This is a novella set before Neon Gods, briefly telling the story of Medusa, a special ops bod under the command of Athena, and her target, Calypso, the spurned mistress of Odysseus. Again, there's no holding back on the storytelling - it's a very quick and yet very effective look at one night that changes their lives. 

This is probably a little too fast paced for me - as much as I can enjoy the love at first sight trope, in this case there's nothing much more than that and so, at this point, I don't necessarily believe in their relationship. However, I understand one of the later novels in the series returns to these characters, and so I shall reserve full judgement until then.

That bring said, I love the twist on Medusa's story, with Athena actually standing up for her rather than abandoning her. But it also still manages to stay true to the myth by having Athena's help come at a cost. 

In this version of my favourite myth, Hades has been erased from the history of the city of Olympus, but no-one dares cross the River Styx into what was once his territory. Until Persephone, trying to escape from a nasty surprise, runs straight into his arms. Both have reasons to want to see Zeus suffer, but can they work together to bring about his downfall in the limited time they have available?

Once again, Hades is everything you want in a morally grey man in this book. Dark, dominant and dangerous on the outside, and ooey-gooey squishiness once you get past his steel defences. Throw in the brooding sexiness, tragic backstory and a penchant for exhibitionism, and yeah, this version ranks definitely top 3 on my 'Hades as book boyfriend' list! What surprises me though is that Persephone actually comes across quite well in here too. She's still a little immature if I'm being picky, but the role she inhabits in Hades' life  suits that. 

I always find it fun exploring a new author's version of Olympus and working out what's unique to them. In this case, there's a good mix of contemporary fantasy and mythology; while Olympus is (on the face of it) somewhere in the USA, it appears to be shielded to make it hard for people to get in and out. Within the city, the 'gods' are the Thirteen; leaders of the various sources of infrastructure, agriculture and support. With a mix of elected, selected and hereditary positions, the name is a title passed on. In places I did find this bit of worldbuilding a little patchy, but seriously if you're reading this for the depth, you've probably picked up the wrong book. I did also enjoy the introduction of other characters from the mythology; for example, in this book Persephone has three sisters; Callisto, Psyche and Euridyce. And of course Cerberus as a cute lil puppy makes an appearance! That does seem to be one of thr big rules in these retellings; Cerberus must ALWAYS be a very good dog.

Plot-wise, there are no great surprises. While there are some changes to fit the tone and this author's needs, generally speaking you're going into this knowing exactly what's going to happen, and that it's going to be spicy! My preference would have been to have it as a slower burn than it is, but this absolutely works! The writing is punchy, getting you exactly where you need to be while still letting you inside your character's heads and feel their emotions; it's a great balancing act. 

But what a shame... it's not on KU and my library doesn't stock the next books in the series, either physically or on Borrowbox. So I've had to order the set myself *sighs dramatically*. Can't wait for my book mail!!!

Full of positive representations of different sexualities, genders, races, ages and body types, I think this is quickly going to become a new favourite series. I've even signed up to the author's Patreon to get access to all of the other short stories, artwork etc she's got going... and as a surprise bonus I found out I get access to the audio versions of her fairytale retelling series, which is also on my WTR list! Woop!!!

The war is over and Agamemnon can finally return home with his army and spoils of war in tow. With him is is greatest prize; Cassandra, King Priam's daughter, priestess of Apollo and his war bride. Waiting for him, his wife and Queen, Clytemnestra, who has never forgiven him for the murder of their eldest daughter in exchange for a fair wind. Both dream of the King's death, but what do thr Gods and fate have in store for them all?

Similar to the first two books in the series, we see the story primarily through the eyes of one person. Unfortunately, that person is not Brieseis. Instead, we follow her friend, Ritsa, who acts as Cassandra's slave, servant and eventually friend. While she is recognisable from the previous books, I don't feel that she was given a huge amount of character development or an overly crucial role in the narrative to date. And there are a couple of additions that I found questionable - for example the hint of romance, while well done and quite sweet, is a little tainted by the reminiscences that she and her love interest have about the time he played games with her (now deceased) husband when he was a child. It's quite a change to suddenly be experiencing a totally different person's take on the situation, so there is an automatic disconnect between this 'finale' and the other stories; indeed, it reads more like a standalone, or the start of a new series rather than a continuation of the old. 

While Briseis is mentioned, she only makes a cameo appearance right at the outset of the story. This left me feeling quite disappointed, as the narrative voice throughout the previous books has been of her 'reminiscing' (for want of a better word) about her time in Troy from what seemed to be many years later. As a result, there was plenty of scope for a third book from her POV, or to at least somehow reunite her and Ritsa so that both could reach a satisfying conclusion.

I was concerned that having Cassandra as the leading protagonist would be less enjoyable, as I didn't take to her character at all previously. However, while I still can't say I liked her, she was seemingly a more rational character in this book. I could understand her better, agree with more of her actions and actually enjoyed her more straightforward style. Likewise, Agamemnon is somehow less abrasive in this book, although just as horrible a man. 

The story itself is well written, but it's not quite as intense as the previous instalments. The story takes place over a relatively short space of time (only a few days, by my count), and essentially you only have two real settings; the ship travelling home, and the royal palace and surroundings. So it feels like there's a lot of "busy work" going on; it's all heading to the inevitable conclusion and, while it is a lovely retelling, that's really all it is. There's very little extra added to the tale by the author to make you see the story from a fresh perspective. I found myself wanting more throughout, but it never arrived. And while Ritsa's story does seem to get a fitting conclusion, the book itself is left open-ended.

It is definitely worth a read, but I can't say I'll be rushing to buy this series.