After fleeing Coroa and leaving the memory of her beloved Silas behind, Hollis is unsteadily adjusting to life in Isolte. The Eastoffe family’s affection is a balm on her weary spirit, though Etan, a surly cousin with a deep distaste for Coroans, threatens to upset the uneasy peace she’s found.
While tensions at home ratchet up, disquiet in the kingdom of Isolte is reaching a fever pitch. The Eastoffes may have the power to unseat a tyrannical king—but only with Hollis’s help.
Can a girl who’s lost it all put the fate of her adopted homeland over the secret longings of her heart?"
Kiera Cass, otherwise known as the Mistress of Creating Despicable MCs is back at it with her talent. This time, she delivered a predictable, unconvincing story of two crowns, two kingdoms, and two lovers.
If I had to describe this book in one word, I would call it expected.
I know a lot of reviewers start with a quote from the book, but I'm terrible at doing that, so you'll have to bear with me. Honestly, nothing from this book even stood out to me enough to make a quote out of it. It was all so very dull.
Writing: 2/5
After writing so many books, one would expect the author to have learnt to use punctuation. Yet she continues to give us books filled to the brim with bothersome sentences and long ponderings of the characters which force us to have to read every sentence very carefully to puzzle out its meaning and such sentences make us want to give up on reading completely... as this one might've done for you.
The pacing was pretty decent though. The story moved quickly, and that was one aspect I liked about this book. It was quite addictive because of its fast pace
Apart from using half of the first book as a filler, the author also did not bother to come up with anything original. This book was short enough for me to finish within twenty-four hours, despite not being too interested in it, and yet it failed to provide content different from anything I've previously read. Hollis kept reminiscing about her life back in Coroa, and thinking about Silas and Delia Grace and gowns and flowers and Keresken and every little thing that one can possibly remember about their life in a different city.
This drawn-out book was completely unnecessary. The author could have just as well added it as part 2 to the first, and equally short, book.
Plot: 3/5
As I've said before, this book was everything I had expected it to be, but not in a good way. There were no surprises or plot twists. It was sort of a comfort-read, where you already know what's to come and you're only reading for the happy ending. Except, here, I neither liked the characters nor the writing.
The climax was satisfying in a way, and also sort of frustrating. Everything happened too fast without any conflicts or challenges. I would have liked for maybe a small battle, or for some to turn traitor at the last moment. The basic setting of the book remained the same throughout, with the same group of people attempting to overthrow the same enemy. Nobody changed sides, nor did anything drastic happen in their lives.
Characters: 3/5
Did I hate Hollis with all my being? Yes.
But am I still rating the characters a 3? Guilty.
Apart from the dislikeability of the characters, there was nothing actually wrong with them. Their personalities stayed mostly the same...a little too same in fact. Hollis appeared to have learned nothing from anything and remained the same foolish girl throughout. I was hoping for a character arc, but this book did not deliver.
Romance: forgive me for being unable to rate something that didn't exist
I think the rating speaks for itself, but everything with Ethan was very rushed. Maybe I read the book too fast, or it was just the length and pacing of the book that made it appear so. I'm not mad that it wasn't drawn out, but it was the only thing in the book that wasn't, so might as well have worked some Kiera magic on that.
It wasn't all that bad though. The author's books are just very easy to hate on. The overall plot of both the books was good, and I don't regret reading this duology.
If I had to describe this book in one word, I would call it expected.
I know a lot of reviewers start with a quote from the book, but I'm terrible at doing that, so you'll have to bear with me. Honestly, nothing from this book even stood out to me enough to make a quote out of it. It was all so very dull.
Writing: 2/5
After writing so many books, one would expect the author to have learnt to use punctuation. Yet she continues to give us books filled to the brim with bothersome sentences and long ponderings of the characters which force us to have to read every sentence very carefully to puzzle out its meaning and such sentences make us want to give up on reading completely... as this one might've done for you.
The pacing was pretty decent though. The story moved quickly, and that was one aspect I liked about this book. It was quite addictive because of its fast pace
Apart from using half of the first book as a filler, the author also did not bother to come up with anything original. This book was short enough for me to finish within twenty-four hours, despite not being too interested in it, and yet it failed to provide content different from anything I've previously read. Hollis kept reminiscing about her life back in Coroa, and thinking about Silas and Delia Grace and gowns and flowers and Keresken and every little thing that one can possibly remember about their life in a different city.
This drawn-out book was completely unnecessary. The author could have just as well added it as part 2 to the first, and equally short, book.
Plot: 3/5
As I've said before, this book was everything I had expected it to be, but not in a good way. There were no surprises or plot twists. It was sort of a comfort-read, where you already know what's to come and you're only reading for the happy ending. Except, here, I neither liked the characters nor the writing.
The climax was satisfying in a way, and also sort of frustrating. Everything happened too fast without any conflicts or challenges. I would have liked for maybe a small battle, or for some to turn traitor at the last moment. The basic setting of the book remained the same throughout, with the same group of people attempting to overthrow the same enemy. Nobody changed sides, nor did anything drastic happen in their lives.
Characters: 3/5
Did I hate Hollis with all my being? Yes.
But am I still rating the characters a 3? Guilty.
Apart from the dislikeability of the characters, there was nothing actually wrong with them. Their personalities stayed mostly the same...a little too same in fact. Hollis appeared to have learned nothing from anything and remained the same foolish girl throughout. I was hoping for a character arc, but this book did not deliver.
Romance: forgive me for being unable to rate something that didn't exist
I think the rating speaks for itself, but everything with Ethan was very rushed. Maybe I read the book too fast, or it was just the length and pacing of the book that made it appear so. I'm not mad that it wasn't drawn out, but it was the only thing in the book that wasn't, so might as well have worked some Kiera magic on that.
It wasn't all that bad though. The author's books are just very easy to hate on. The overall plot of both the books was good, and I don't regret reading this duology.
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