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aidamaria_reads's review against another edition
adventurous
medium-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? Plot
- Strong character development? No
- Loveable characters? No
- Diverse cast of characters? Yes
- Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes
2.5
I’m so sorry to say this was disappointing. The pacing felt very monotonous to me (*everything* was *always* at stake, so the whole fell flat, especially since Maia’s transformation was so slow), the telling overpowered the showing even more than in the first book, and some things were just way too convenient or didn’t make sense at all.
- What do you mean, Maia can intuitively know so much about what to do or how to use magic, and yet act so stupid at crucial times throughout the story?
- What do you mean, you still respect the emperor after all he’s done to you and his bride, and you’re willing to give your life for his rule to continue?
- What do you mean, Edan has lived for centuries and has still failed to learn how to swim? Is that why she keeps referring to him as a boy rather than an ancient enchanter? You don’t need magic school, my guy; some swimming lessons will do. Don’t be a liability when you’re physically perfectly able.
- What do you mean, Maia gets to choose the ending to her own story and Lord Xina can’t? The gods sure have favourites, it seems. “This girl made dresses from my children? (!) Let her be resurrected at once and give her a Christmas bonus!” Sarnai deserved better; she was the only one with common sense in this book and the bravery of her lover went without any recognition. Yes, she ran away, but she would have just been a puppet to two rivalling power-hungry old windbags.
*end of rant*
(I still think the red cover design is magnificent though, and the author’s most recent novel I read (Her Radiant Curse) was a lot better, so I respect the growth and will be reading more of her work, because I do like the world building.)
- What do you mean, you still respect the emperor after all he’s done to you and his bride, and you’re willing to give your life for his rule to continue?
- What do you mean, Edan has lived for centuries and has still failed to learn how to swim? Is that why she keeps referring to him as a boy rather than an ancient enchanter? You don’t need magic school, my guy; some swimming lessons will do. Don’t be a liability when you’re physically perfectly able.
- What do you mean, Maia gets to choose the ending to her own story and Lord Xina can’t? The gods sure have favourites, it seems. “This girl made dresses from my children? (!) Let her be resurrected at once and give her a Christmas bonus!” Sarnai deserved better; she was the only one with common sense in this book and the bravery of her lover went without any recognition. Yes, she ran away, but she would have just been a puppet to two rivalling power-hungry old windbags.
*end of rant*
(I still think the red cover design is magnificent though, and the author’s most recent novel I read (Her Radiant Curse) was a lot better, so I respect the growth and will be reading more of her work, because I do like the world building.)
Content Warnings
Moderate: Death, Violence, Blood, Grief, Fire/Fire injury, War, and Injury/Injury detail
Minor: Misogyny and Sexism
thing1's review against another edition
adventurous
emotional
tense
fast-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? Yes
4.0
Content Warnings
Graphic: Fire/Fire injury
Moderate: Violence, Grief, War, and Injury/Injury detail
mcpopish's review against another edition
adventurous
dark
emotional
hopeful
fast-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? Yes
4.5
I almost DNF’d this book. I’m so glad I came back to it and gave it a second chance. It was a bit slow in the beginning and that’s where I struggled, but as the story progressed it picked up, and in the end, it was worth the read. Lim really builds such a beautiful setting for this duology, and Edan is a top 10 male lead, for sure.
Content Warnings
Moderate: Violence and War
aelis_'s review against another edition
adventurous
emotional
- Plot- or character-driven? Plot
- Strong character development? Yes
- Loveable characters? Yes
- Diverse cast of characters? It's complicated
- Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes
4.75
Content Warnings
Graphic: Death, Death of parent, and War
chrisljm's review against another edition
adventurous
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? Yes
3.75
Content Warnings
Graphic: Death, Violence, Blood, Murder, Fire/Fire injury, War, and Injury/Injury detail
Moderate: Animal death, Confinement, Sexism, Torture, Grief, and Death of parent
Minor: Vomit
chaptersofamylea's review against another edition
adventurous
dark
emotional
mysterious
tense
medium-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? A mix
- Strong character development? Yes
- Loveable characters? It's complicated
- Diverse cast of characters? Yes
- Flaws of characters a main focus? It's complicated
3.0
“I will stay by your side until the fire in the sun grows cold and the light in the moon is no more. Until time blots out the stars."
3 ⭐️
Elizabeth Lim’s storytelling will never not have me in awe. Beautiful settings, the magic and romance are all just gorgeous. While I enjoyed the high stakes of this book a lot, I just didn’t enjoy it as much as Spin the Dawn or Six Crimson Cranes (which I LOVED the references to in this one).
There was a scene towards the end that had me crying in the bath so theres that.
TWs: War themes, detailed depiction of violence and gore, death of family members
3 ⭐️
Elizabeth Lim’s storytelling will never not have me in awe. Beautiful settings, the magic and romance are all just gorgeous. While I enjoyed the high stakes of this book a lot, I just didn’t enjoy it as much as Spin the Dawn or Six Crimson Cranes (which I LOVED the references to in this one).
There was a scene towards the end that had me crying in the bath so theres that.
TWs: War themes, detailed depiction of violence and gore, death of family members
Content Warnings
Graphic: War
Moderate: Gore and Violence
Minor: Death of parent
sydapel's review against another edition
adventurous
dark
emotional
tense
slow-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? Plot
- Strong character development? No
- Loveable characters? It's complicated
- Diverse cast of characters? Yes
- Flaws of characters a main focus? It's complicated
2.5
Elizabeth Lim (by her own admission according to the author's notes) really struggles with sequels. I found an already confusing magic system becoming even less well explained, and a poorly placed plot that did little to support even it's main character's arc. I do appreciate seeing the Japanese folklore interwoven into the story, as well as Lim's focus on female leaders, but it fails to come together in a satisfying way.
Content Warnings
Graphic: Death, Violence, War, and Injury/Injury detail
Minor: Sexual content
melina_30's review against another edition
adventurous
challenging
dark
emotional
sad
tense
medium-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? A mix
- Strong character development? It's complicated
- Loveable characters? Yes
- Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes
3.0
Nicht so gut, wie der erste Teil, aber trotzdem spannend. Die Stimmung des Buches war sehr deprimierend und hoffnungslos, daher kein Buch, was man unbedingt gerne liest... Trotzdem war es sehr gut geschrieben, spannend und ein relativ guter Abschluss der Reihe.
Content Warnings
Graphic: Death, Violence, Murder, and War
Moderate: Injury/Injury detail
Minor: Animal death
jaerishyuk's review against another edition
adventurous
challenging
emotional
tense
- Plot- or character-driven? A mix
- Strong character development? Yes
- Loveable characters? Yes
- Diverse cast of characters? Yes
- Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes
4.25
Content Warnings
Graphic: Death, Sexism, Grief, and War
taryn_g's review against another edition
adventurous
tense
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? Yes
3.5
Content Warnings
Graphic: Violence, Blood, and War
Minor: Animal death and Death of parent