i didn't enjoy this book to put it bluntly. while it had a semi-decent start and a heck of a twist at the end i'm still rat very bland and unseasoned
i didn't enjoy this book to put it bluntly. while it had a semi-decent start and a heck of a twist at the end i'm still rating it one star because of the lack of... well... everything. i literally skimmed the last few chapters because i was so disinterested and couldn't care less and just couldn't wait to finish this.
the characters lacked depth. they were paper thin and had zero personality??? like dawsyn had a little bit of one- she was giving undomesticated cavewoman at times which was borderline amusing but not enough. ryon was so... BLAND. i appreciate he was a poc but like he had zero personality- like it just consisted of being a love interest. his conversations with dawsyn felt kind of random and had many cliches without any mundanity. at times they were just both kinda stupid but not that stupid i suppose.
the actual world itself was okay i think. i found it stupid how there was this chasm thing and people would fall into it- like just stay away from it???? unless i misunderstood it then idk. it wasn't explained well. the world building wasn't integrated in an interesting way, we got a bunch of it at the start instead of being introduced to dawysn- for me that's bad because the first few pages is the frame in which i either attach to the fmc or don't attach. i'm also so lost about iskra. like what the fuck- like it says it would suck out souls so it wouldn;t physically destroy them but then glacians had to collect remains??? it wasn't good.
the dialogue wasn't great. too superficial and lacked fluidity at times. like the conversations weren't conversationing at times. the chemistry was kind of there but yk what, they both aren't even that compatible i don't think. it could have been written better. also i don't fucking know why ryon kept calling dawsyn 'girl' like BOY stfu before i SMACK you. it sounded like either a) he was gay or b)he was being condescending.
however it could have been worse, icl.
defo not wasting my time with book 2. i'm so sad this was my 100th book of 2024. omw to reread the plated prisoner series now because i'm seeing the author in waterstones next moth now!! now THAT is a brilliant fantasy series....more
i was so excited... but then it flopped this book follows naralia AKA nara, a girl who has been a (creature) trapper for years and finally fullfills i was so excited... but then it flopped this book follows naralia AKA nara, a girl who has been a (creature) trapper for years and finally fullfills her dreams of being a dragon huntress when she gets invited to join the venators (training programme to become one), the queen's elite group of dragon hunters. things happen and naralia finds that her priorities are changing aswell as her feelings to someone who should be her enemy... an infamous dragon shifter...
i'm just gonna bullet point all the reasons why this book isn't up to par as other good fantasy books~ -not enough world building. all i know is that they live in a world with lots of creatures and some history about the queen. i needed more lore, how the kingdom works, and actual physical descriptions of places etc bc honestly my mind was in a haze the whole book. it constantly felt like i didn't have the whole picture. -nara joined this whole program thing and guess what? we got nothing much about it at all (perhaps a few odd chapters). because she was already perfect we got none of her training montage because there was no effort from the author but also there was little room for her to improve. the little room for her to improve was also influenced by her peers who didn't have the heart to kill creatures (freya and rydan) which is completely stupid because you're telling me these pussy people qualified for training in the royal hunting group??? like surely there would have been a process where people were selected more carefully?? even nara's introduction to it was careless- girl was picked up off the streets and not even in an interesting wow way. -leading on from the royal hunting group. this group is attached to royalty so i would have expected some elitist vocab and shit to describe them and give them that awesome aura but nope. none. nada. -the side characters gave little. so you know how in dystopia the mc will have those sort of predatory rivals who will at first be better but then as the mc progresses they get jealous and bitter and do everything they can to take down the mc? so we got some of that- a petty little scene- then like in the next chapter or something they were killed. like what the fuck?????? it was so boring. i feel like the author didn't know how to make training interesting or give it a plot. -the relationships didn't hit. freya was a nice side character to a degree but i wasn't cherishing their friendship how i'd like to. rydan just felt like a random ass character- he wasn't explored well enough to be part of nara's inner circle, yet there he is, in her inner circle. there were only two dynamics that were valuable. the best was freya and her dad ...more
"Oh this is a coloniser romance!" Bffr. Did we even read the same book???? FYI this book was awesome. This book follows a girl named Yang Ruying who "Oh this is a coloniser romance!" Bffr. Did we even read the same book???? FYI this book was awesome. This book follows a girl named Yang Ruying who lives in Pangu, a world that is now invaded and overtaken by Romans. She is desperate to keep her sister, who is an addict, and her grandma safe and to do so she agrees to be an assassin for one of the Roman princes, Antony Augustus.
I reaaaaaaaally liked this book!!! I think I just love chinese fantasy tbh, because who the hell doesn't?
The book was written so beautifully-poetic prose- and I devoured all of it. The book itself and plot line had odd pacing. At the start, perhaps for the 40% was very slow, but then we experienced an "interlude" where the author wrote summarised how six months passed of Ruying being Antony's assassin. The world building was nicely done and easy to understand although I still don't understand the emperor shit.
Yang Ruying is a girl with a power of pulling people's Qi (soul) out of people's bodies, killing them. She isn't a murderer but she's forced to be one to save her family. We see her go back on her morals by taking this job and her corruption arc was wonderful. She was so human. What I would have loved more is if we didn't have the interlude and the author actually wrote those six months out. It would have been nice to read her gradual indepth corruption arc and also gave us more of an insight in her relationship with Antony. She kept telling us that the killing was getting easier and it made her evil but I wish we saw it more.
I have high expectations because I've read Fang Runin, from The Poppy War.
Antony Augustus is one of the coloniser roman princes. We learn a lot about him which I won't spoil but all I know is that he is 100% tortured but also the villain. Throughout the book his soft spot for Ruying becomes bigger and bigger and you really see it ahh. He's also such a cool character to read personally, because honestly he's just not a good person. He will be soft with Ruying and then pull the power card on her.
Their toxic dynamic was everything. I wish we saw Ruying slowly depend more on him in those six months. (I WANT TO KNOW MORE ABOUT THOSE SIX MONTHS!!). As readers, we can clearly see her being manipulated and moulded for Antony's use therefore making her character a victim of all this brainwashing whatever so I don't see this being a coloniser romance. First person is always unreliable. it is never fact, and it makes me sad that a lot of this book's reviews are bombarded by "this is a coloniser romance ew".
!! spoilers ahead !!
I think I died when he used "My love". I haven't had a reaction to that LIKE THAT is forever because it's so overused and not by the right people but for Antony it just... fit and broke my heart. I was even more horrified by him stabbing himself.
At the end of the book Ruying joined the good guys. I was hoping for a bigger corruption arc and wanted her to stay with Antony and see their relationship get more toxic and messy but nevertheless I don't think it will.
Part of me hopes this series will take the tragedy route. I personally don't think Antony is redeemable and it would be unrealistic for him to even redeem himself. I would kinda love him to die believing what he believes now [I love pain].
a bodyguard romance book can never be rated below 3.5 stars. this one devoured me o.m.g.
this author hits again. but this time i have alternate thoughta bodyguard romance book can never be rated below 3.5 stars. this one devoured me o.m.g.
this author hits again. but this time i have alternate thoughts surrounding our mmc <3 i loved him in the end, truly. but bro was blind as a bat (he became aware of this thankfully) and he was such a jerk ...more
So we have the main character Morana who's name spells scarily close to "moan". She's a tough macho girl who is a literal genius- she says she 3.94 ⭐
So we have the main character Morana who's name spells scarily close to "moan". She's a tough macho girl who is a literal genius- she says she can't fight which is stupid because she totally can and is a complete badass. I can't lie the third person made her character amazaingly dry at the start because she was constantly tense or just not having normal human emotions or positive ones for the least. Then you have Tristan the love interest who's only personality trait is growling and staring AND his blue fooken eyes. He's totally alpha male and his inability to talk can be annoying.
Okay, the third person tense at the start is difficult to read. It's laborious, long and hard.
We definitely needed more dialogue because the dialogue was ACTUALLY good when it appeared-which was a rare appearance. Instaead of dialogue, we recieved endless and unneeded amounts of inner monologue and mindless information dumps. If it wasn't for that wonderful ending I wouldn't be continuing the series.
he bit her lip to draw blood, dunked her head into the ocean almost drowning, they're still doing it, sharks smell her bloodso lemme get this straight
he bit her lip to draw blood, dunked her head into the ocean almost drowning, they're still doing it, sharks smell her blood, he pulls her head back before sharks come, then it happens all over again.
i absolutely love this series. I'm so inlove with it, but I've come to realise many things could be cu sera is mommy
look. it could have been shorter.
i absolutely love this series. I'm so inlove with it, but I've come to realise many things could be cut out because i do lose focus with all the rambling JLA calls her writing. i love JLA, don't get me wrong, i love her and how she writes these high fantasy worlds and how she wrote sera and nyktos and poppy and casteel. i love her worlds, they are literally perfect and there's nothing about the plot i could pick out because it is perfect. her writing is good too- like when sera relaised she was in love it was... perfectly written unlike some other books I've read where its just out of nowhere.
JLA also just knows how to write MEN. some mmc's give off boy vibes but like nyktos is ALL man. ugh i love it.a anyways back to her too long ramblings- it's a problem because i end up losing focus and also forgetting important parts of the book. girly needs a new editor.
one of my fave parts is the drakens. sera caring for jadis and reaver is so heart warming. and the fact we see reaver in FBAA brings tears to my eyes. i also love the characters, despite there being too many with slightly similar names and personalities not distinctive enough.
but overall vibes as always were chefs kiss and the ending had me gagged because like literally what will happen now? i thought i wouldn't want to read the next book but really i think i just forgot how much i love this world, characters and series....more
okay so this is my 3rd read of this book; i for some reason didn't track the first two-maybe i didn't have good reads.
let me just say the book doesn'okay so this is my 3rd read of this book; i for some reason didn't track the first two-maybe i didn't have good reads.
let me just say the book doesn't bore AT ALL. it is kind of slow? but there is so much good fantasy vibes i'm not complaining much. holly black does an incredible job at writing, her style is honestly chefs kiss and so well suited for fantasy. it's regal, elegant and other worldy. but also easy to read, which i love.
the character's she made are so amazing i want to cuddle them. jude's struggles and how she became who she is by the end of the book- the gradualness of it- was honestly AMAZING. i need to see it in a film honestly. so beautifully crafted. she is also so relatable, i love her. (and her relationship with madoc (?!) it was arghhhh so much)
cardan is a mood. especially after being kidnapped, like honestly i'm rolling with laughter. he is so... just sdjkfkhfd. definitely an emo kid. i love holly black for writing him.
all the characters slayed tbh (hate taryn tho...). the plot slayed. the whole ass book slayed. jude is so mother. cardan is so baby girl.
GIVE. ME. MORE.
five stars bc of the pure nostalgia and the amount of headcanons i have for them
Holy moly- that was amazing. The arrival of the love interest was the most anticipitated arrival omg and when he dREAD THIS BOOK RIGHT NOW!!!!!!!!!!!!!
Holy moly- that was amazing. The arrival of the love interest was the most anticipitated arrival omg and when he did the author did not disappoint with his description. This book was beautifully written too im in love with it.
I think I loved the book very much, despite missing the oldd version quite a bit- like aabout nate and him cracking the book spines AND THE GODDAMN PRI think I loved the book very much, despite missing the oldd version quite a bit- like aabout nate and him cracking the book spines AND THE GODDAMN PROPOSALLLLL whyyyy did she take that out. tell me i'm not hallucinating cause in the old version istg he proposed at Basils Kitchen...more
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