night0wl_23's reviews
137 reviews

I cannot recommend this trilogy enough to fantasy enjoyers. Especially the audiobook version, the narrator is phenomenal. 

The only thing keeping this from 5 stars is because I felt like the ending was a bit short, I really wish it had been drawn out just a bit longer. 

Other than that, the entire trilogy was amazing, heartbreaking and unforgettable.

This book was incredibly predictable from start to finish, with mid world building and no moral of the story. 

I couldn’t connect with the characters because I never got to know them. 
For example,

Emerson is there start to finish but all I really know about him is that he’s ‘logical’. Not because I saw him being logical, but because that’s the only thing Bly described him as. But like, what logical person gets themselves death cursed?

. I don’t know Elise, her death was sad sure, but I don’t notice her loss even though that’s the entire plot of the book. 

Somehow Bly has prepared for the games for an entire year, but at every challenge she has to cheat her way through to win, orrr be lucky enough to catch the eye of a hopelessly romantic suicidal vampire. 

But the side characters will be quick to remind you that they see her strength, and fully believe she can achieve this impossible task. 

Our main character, Bly, isn’t very likeable either. She sees herself as this selfless person trying to revive her sister, but her reasoning is entirely selfish. She’s so selfish and self absorbed that she didn’t even realise her sister and Emerson were friends unrelated to her, she feels horrible for causing Elise’s death, not because she got her sister killed, but because her parents hate her for taking away their perfect daughter.

And the way she thought Emerson joined the games for her? Girly, Elise was his friend too, he joined to try to win Elise’s life back. Not to help you specifically get over your guilt so the two of you can live happily ever after. 

Speaking of guilt and Bly’s motivations, I’m so incredibly disappointed that she didn’t learn anything. At the end, after all the lessons we just went through she’s still the same Bly from the beginning of the story. The only difference is the pain and suffering, and pointless bloodshed she’s caused. 

Onto the romance, zero chemistry for miles. Kerrigan was probably the only interesting character, but still your typical edgy mysterious love interest who’s actually just misunderstood and a sweetheart. 

I hope he never forgives Bly for what she did. After everything he did for her, after opening up about his past and his insecurities, she intended to cause him the same pain she can’t live with.

And to end the review, circling back to the world building. The lore was nice, I liked the detail of history changing based on who you asked. But the game was disappointing. You expect something like Hunger Games, but the party didn’t even face any danger. It was just a walk through the woods, hearing the screams of death in the distance but never having to face it.

I’m disappointed. A really cool concept with really poor execution. 

Haunting and beautiful 

This book was okay. It was fine. But I couldn’t get into it until the halfway mark.

The ending was rushed and kinda strange, and I really didn’t like the ‘romance’ between Wren and Alarik. He’s been holding her hostage, threatening her grandmothers life, which ultimately lead to her death and they kiss 20 minutes later?? 

The same with Shen and Rose, I adored them in the first book but I just cannot stand the “oh this horrible thing just happened to me, let’s kiss for an hour” moments, it gives me such a massive ick. 

Them finding the Sunkissed Kingdom was cool, but I again find it strange that they crowned Shen the day after he returned. He’s the heir yes but surely the people would want to know him, at least have him learn what it takes to rule, before they crown him? 

And don’t even get me started on Rose, I’m so upset. In the first book it felt like she learned so much about life, but that was gone now. She’s lived a life of luxury and I don’t expect her attitude to change overnight, that’s not my issue.
It just disappointed me that everything still had to be about her. When Shen finally found his long lost family and was catching up with them she was upset that she felt like an outsider looking in, upset that Shen wasn’t speaking to her in that very moment. It’s like she couldn’t comprehend that she, the Queen of Eana, wouldn’t be the centre of attention in a kingdom that didn’t even know who she was. 

I honestly really enjoyed the first book, but I read it over a year ago, and I can’t tell if I just didn’t like this one or if I’m getting too old for YA heh.

Anyways, I have a little fun fact for you:
Elske means Love/ to Love in norwegian. Tor named his wolf Love, and I think that’s really sweet. She is undeniably my favourite character. 

I have some mixed feelings about this book, overall I really enjoyed it, and I think my issues with it is mainly based on personal preference.

Tricia Levenseller’s world building and characters are amazing, the characters feel so real and the dialogue flows naturally. This book was no exception, but as a standalone it obviously had less time to develop. 

I just wish we got to see a bit more of the wild. For example, the Ziken is said to be the biggest active threat to humans in the wild, but we only see them during the trial and when Raz meets Soren. After that they’re irrelevant, and the focus is on the monsters Raz and the boys have to face. 

I struggled a bit at the beginning and end with Raz as a character, she was giving too much ‘not like other girls’. She loves her sisters so much, but we only hear about one of them a couple of times while she’s banished. 

When she told Soren about her picking her trade, she was just a natural at it. An 8 year old, having shown no interest in an axe before, throwing her father’s axe AND hitting the target first try? An axe her older sisters couldn’t even pick up? That gives me such a massive ick. “Simply built different.” 

Her being a ‘not like other girls’ girl makes perfect sense in universe, with her upbringing and everything, but I don’t think she moved on from that mentality by the end of the book. Which is disappointing. 

The plot was predictable, I figured out the plot twists long before they were revealed, but I don’t think that’s negative, it’s just easy to pick up the hints. 

Overall I liked the book, my problems with some of Raz’s characteristics is a personal preference. The ending was exactly what I had hoped for. I’m very happy that the people who wronged her faced consequences for their actions, and that they weren’t just forgiven cause Raz had to be ‘the bigger person’.

This book was so hard to read, for all the right reasons. It’s terrifying, thought provoking and a must read for anyone into dystopian fiction.

The inclusion of the historical notes at the ending really drove the story home. Knowing the entire book is a transcript of tapes ‘Offred’ made after she escaped, realising that we’ve read a historical document about early Gilead.

I realise that the whole interview can be read differently from person to person, and I read it as distasteful and disrespectful. At times it sounded like the guy was annoyed that Offred used fake names, annoyed that she didn’t talk enough about the rules, the living conditions and the commander (cause he’s obviously the only interesting person here /s).

It’s like this historian couldn’t understand that she wasn’t documenting for the future, for him specifically. He couldn’t imagine that she simply told her story, as she had lived it and experienced it - the things most important for her to tell and possibly leave behind. 

It upset me, and that was definitely the point. A fitting ending to a terribly sad story. It really pushed me to think about everything I had read again. 

I absolutely adore this book series and I’m so excited to finally see it put into a visual medium! 

The character designs and artstyle is simply amazing, and embodies the books perfectly. 

The only thing that’s keeping this from being 5 stars is the exclusion of the gorge scene, which in my opinion is very important to Fireheart and Sandpaw’s relationship development. Her going from teasing him with Dustpaw to suddenly out of the blue being friendly just doesn’t work that well. 

I was very excited when I found this book at the bookstore and I’m happy to report that it didn’t disappoint!! 

It’s exactly how I expected it to be for being 152 years old, a lot of focus on the setting while ignoring the main character a bit, but still being interesting and spooky. More queer than I had anticipated, which is always a bonus! (We love toxic sapphics in this household.) 

The book stands great on its own, but I would love to see someone building onto this story in the future, give it more depth and really flesh out the characters and dynamics more. 150 pages isn’t a lot, and I think there’s even more potential here. 

Did not finish at 113 pages.

I just can’t get into it. I don’t like the main characters and the plot is moving too slow for me. A lot of info dumping and jumping between presence and past memories - it’s just not doing it for me. 

I simply adore this series, and I’m blown away by this new adventure and new focus on Sorinda and Kearan! 

Only thing keeping this book from being a 5 star is the slightly rushed ending. I wish we got 50 pages more where Sorinda actually warms up to and gets used to being in a relationship and allowing Kearan near her, instead of what felt like an instant switch. 

Other than that the book was amazing. 

I really hope we get to revisit this universe, possibly a book following Nirinda and Mandsey on their mission to find Draxten? I would love that.