A review by mallorypen
Sacrati by Kate Sherwood

adventurous challenging emotional informative 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? It's complicated

3.0

As someone who has been personally victimized by Captive Prince (as in, I went a little feral for the series and love it so much and am constantly looking for the same high as the relationship dynamic, political machinations, and overall slap-you-in-the-face-and-give-you-a-kiss feeling of CaPri) I picked this book up because of the similar themes.

That said, this was as if someone stuck CaPri in the wash and it came out of the dryer a little shrunken, and with all the colors running together. It just didn't hit the same.

The things I liked:
  • Interesting worldbuilding! I felt fully immersed in the Torian culture; it was matriarchal in a sneaky way, where the men felt like they were ultimately the more powerful ones because they drove the war machine, but the women were making the societal choices that ultimately protected their own interests. The concepts of building Torian loyalty through familial ties without a traditional family unit, warriors bringing Torian soil with them in case they died while out on campaign, and everyone treating sex as less of a romantic act and more companionship and stress relief ... the culture felt fully formed and it was easy to follow Torian logic.
  • Building off of the culture, seeing how Finvid and Theos philosophized together about the pros and cons of their respective ways of life was an interesting thought experiment for their characters and showed growth for them both. 
  • I appreciated that Theos wasn't shown as all that intelligent. He wasn't easy to manipulate, mostly because of how black-and-white he saw the world and his place in it, but his lack of cunning made him a more believable character. It also made his character arc from perfect soldier to
    unwilling interim Torian leader
    all the more dynamic.
  • The story took turns I wasn't expecting.

The things I wished were stronger:
  • That ending, though. We enjoyed a long, plotty climb only to have the climax and subsequent resolution be essentially a short cliff, and it really felt like the author ran out of steam and just wanted the book to be over.
  • Finvid's 180 on
    how he viewed penetrative sex, and then the author skipping the actual first time he was on the receiving end of said penetrative sex. In the hands of another author, that would be a great moment for Finvid to fully come to terms with the repression from his old life in Elkat, and to have feelings and experiences that allow him another element of character development and personal growth. Did he like that kind of sex? Was it hard to let go of his old ways of thinking, even when sharing something so deeply personal and transformative with a person he loved? It was an experience he never thought he would even want, let alone have - what did that mean for him? How did he react to it? Did it hurt, was it awkward, was it easier than he expected, did it feel freeing or was it surprising in how beautifully mundane it was? All great questions we as the reader could have had answered ... but instead, we fast forward to the time when he's super used to it and loves it wholeheartedly.
    A waste, in my opinion. 
  • There were parts of the story that dragged a little bit, and the political machinations weren't as complex as I'd like them to be. The warlord never even got a name, which, in CaPri, is an amazing tool given who he is and what his plans are ... but in this story, it felt weird and like he was a caricature villain.

Overall, I'm glad I read it, but it didn't fill the big shoes I invited it to stand in.