Anne
I liked parts of this book, it was captivating while I was reading it, but a bit too stressful for me and the ending does not feel very satisfying, or maybe believable is a better word.
I liked Lara coming to rescue Aren from her father, her gathering all her sisters and the infiltration was great, I'd love to see more of them. Aren's mental space made a lot of sense for the most part, I can understand how he obviously felt betrayed by Lara, but can forgive her eventually because he understands what happened to her and why she did what she did and that she tried to stop it. But the choices he makes regarding her and his country seem dumb tbh.
[spoilers for the ending] So much hurt happened because of her, to so many people in ithicana, it feels unrealistic that other people would accept her back as queen, even with that shark justification. And this is probably on me, but it also doesn't feel satisfying that she will spend the rest of her life surrounded by people who lost family and friends because of her (and Aren, he's not innocent in this, he trusted/misjudged her so easily). I mean there was that whole scene where people kept telling her about everyone they lost because of her. I think I might have preferred an ending where they both leave Ithicana and start a life elsewhere, maybe with her sisters. Also the way she kills her father is pretty unsatisfying, so quick and sudden after so much built up.
I also agree with other people that the sex scene after Lara was badly injured and Aren fixes her up was weirdly placed. Like no way that was fun for her just after getting stabbed in the leg till the bone.
I liked parts of this book, it was captivating while I was reading it, but a bit too stressful for me and the ending does not feel very satisfying, or maybe believable is a better word.
I liked Lara coming to rescue Aren from her father, her gathering all her sisters and the infiltration was great, I'd love to see more of them. Aren's mental space made a lot of sense for the most part, I can understand how he obviously felt betrayed by Lara, but can forgive her eventually because he understands what happened to her and why she did what she did and that she tried to stop it. But the choices he makes regarding her and his country seem dumb tbh.
[spoilers for the ending] So much hurt happened because of her, to so many people in ithicana, it feels unrealistic that other people would accept her back as queen, even with that shark justification. And this is probably on me, but it also doesn't feel satisfying that she will spend the rest of her life surrounded by people who lost family and friends because of her (and Aren, he's not innocent in this, he trusted/misjudged her so easily). I mean there was that whole scene where people kept telling her about everyone they lost because of her. I think I might have preferred an ending where they both leave Ithicana and start a life elsewhere, maybe with her sisters. Also the way she kills her father is pretty unsatisfying, so quick and sudden after so much built up.
I also agree with other people that the sex scene after Lara was badly injured and Aren fixes her up was weirdly placed. Like no way that was fun for her just after getting stabbed in the leg till the bone.
I liked it, the story/world was interesting, the main characters are likable and I do have a weakness for graceful assassin/warrior people, the looks-innocent-but-secretly-is-dangerous type does have a certain charm.
I liked the relationship for the most part and Lara's personal development was interesting. I liked Aren as well, but I do think he was maybe a bit too soft for the king of a nation depending on keeping secrets from his wife's home country.
I did not love how this book ended, but that might be a personal preference, it caused a situation that seemingly would make it very difficult for the main characters to be together in a satisfying way and I don't like my romance to get too dark.
I liked it, the story/world was interesting, the main characters are likable and I do have a weakness for graceful assassin/warrior people, the looks-innocent-but-secretly-is-dangerous type does have a certain charm.
I liked the relationship for the most part and Lara's personal development was interesting. I liked Aren as well, but I do think he was maybe a bit too soft for the king of a nation depending on keeping secrets from his wife's home country.
I did not love how this book ended, but that might be a personal preference, it caused a situation that seemingly would make it very difficult for the main characters to be together in a satisfying way and I don't like my romance to get too dark.
*more like 3.75
I was a bit unsure about wanting to read this, because it's YA and I was afraid it would feel very young and teenage-y and I was not feeling that, but I actually enjoyed it, I think it helps the characters are not super young (18&20). They're both very likeable, Mallory's relationship with her family was interesting and I liked their dynamic, I also really liked how confident/straightforward Nolan was. I also liked all the side characters, they were all fun and I would not have minded seeing more of them.
I don't know a lot about chess, so not sure how accurate that part is. It's probably a bit unrealistic how good Mallory is, but I didn't mind it personally.
*more like 3.75
I was a bit unsure about wanting to read this, because it's YA and I was afraid it would feel very young and teenage-y and I was not feeling that, but I actually enjoyed it, I think it helps the characters are not super young (18&20). They're both very likeable, Mallory's relationship with her family was interesting and I liked their dynamic, I also really liked how confident/straightforward Nolan was. I also liked all the side characters, they were all fun and I would not have minded seeing more of them.
I don't know a lot about chess, so not sure how accurate that part is. It's probably a bit unrealistic how good Mallory is, but I didn't mind it personally.