agustdefault's reviews
169 reviews

pretty inconsistent pacing throughout and it took me a while to connect to the characters. i was almost 100% sure i was gonna dnf the series until the last 50ish pages. I am excited for the next one but hoping its a smoother read. 

the last like 200 pages are not bad but pls tell me why we spent 400 pages of auren just ignoring everything and all her problems like it got so repetitive. also the smut scenes made me want to end my own life raven please stop. 

i couldnt figure out why i keep picking these books up even though i genuinely despise this series and its because raven kennedy knows how to write a damn ending. it makes me want to find out what happens even though the majority of the book is spent cringing at word choices and awkward grammar structures as well as poor pacing. 

alright raven. u got me. i like this one. im not sure if the writing style is better in this book or if im just used to it now but the last half especially i flew through. i dont like men but i would for slade tbh. also what is with aurens determination to never say the word man??????? why does she say male every time????? it sounds so weird and always took me out of the story bc the sentence flow would stop. also can we as a society collectively come up with a new word thats not pussy or cunt because im so tired of het smut scenes. 

okay so. once again. this book is ass. like its not good. but for some reason im gonna pick up the next one so i guess that says something?? it feels like watching trash tv like ur sitting there going “why am i watching this??” but you also dont turn it off. 
also this book is literally just shatter me but the inverse - where people with powers are higher up. like lovked up girl with powers who thinks she can trust someone and turns out hes the one who was locking her up and she falls in love with the rival commander who everyone fhinks is so scary but is soft for her. just go read that. 
so for an actual review -
the first “big reveal” of this book was literally pointless. it was  clear that there was supposed to be some big lead up to finding out what auren is. but?? it was barely hinted at in the book so it wasnt like i was even thinking about it. there was no suspense. and when it WAS hinted at - they basically just told you the answer. so her big climax moment was very anticlimactic. the other twist kind of surprised me i guess. hopefully there is more focus on rip and the other fourth soldiers in the next book bc those are the only characters i actually like and auren is less unbearable!

this book is so bad. like truly awful. the phrase “balls deep” is used on literally page 2 and i cant even count how many times they said the word cunt. i saw a review that said it was all worldbuilfing but there literally?? wasnt any?? no info on the origin of orea or how the kingdoms formed. no info on the saddles or why theyre called that. very little info on aurens life before midas and like a few paragraphs sort of explaining how they met but no relationship development from then to now. three pages of info on the fae/magic system. the fae and pirates were introduced very suddenly without explanation. and pretty much no info on how the magic works or why everyone has different powers or anything. also there is no romance.

when you finally are introduced to a likeable character they almost immediately kill him off. theres also absolutely no romance in a book thats marketed as fantasy romance. im assuming there will be in future books but the guy who i assume is going to be the love interest isnt even introduced until the last like 20 pages???? and so far there has been literally no talk about how shes in love with an abuser

so. this book is bad. but also somehow entertaining. it kind of felt like watching trash tv and i lowkey might read the next one.