Spencer

I knew this would be bad before getting into it. It just felt like it was gratuitous violence and abuse for the sake of it (and shock value) at times. Like for the first half of the book, it just felt like it was getting worse in terms of the abuse and violence. And it didn't even have the thing of being well written. I've read books with similar themes before and happenings before, but the abuse in those books actually served a point. The scenes in this book didn't feel like this. At all. The horrifically violent scenes did simmer down post 45% of the book, but at this point, Laurent just felt too icky to support. And at this point, I don't see my feelings towards him changing. I've read and enjoyed characters who have been redeemed before, but that was with better writing.

I honestly have no idea how Laurent and Damen are supposed to be together. Like if I was Damen, I'd run the furthest I could from him. The second book is supposed to better and not the same levels of horrific violence and abuse, but I'm currently in no rush to read the second book. 

A really good book. Highly enjoyable. The main characters (Edwin and Robin) were well developed and fleshed out and their relationship was believable. 

The plot twists are quite easy to see through but that doesn't matter, it's still an enjoyable read and I'll be adding the next instalment to my tbr list. 

I had such high hopes for this book based on the summary. Paladin x Necromancer? Yes! But this book didn't hit any of the spots.

The relationship between Arthur and Shae wasn't developed at all. The characters went soft around each other too early, and it just felt underwhelming when they got together. And then you had the “I love you” despite not knowing each other for long. And I don't understand Arthur's sudden turn away from his Order. 

Maybe it was an issue of the book being only 247 pages long, but it just felt underwhelming. The fight scenes were underwhelming, the defeat of the big bad was underwhelming. About half way through, I did have a moment where I thought I was enjoying it (after the third act breakup) but then it got boring and underwhelming again. It just read like fanfiction. 

This is the second Ben Alderson book I've read and I gave that three stars too. I think I might just be a personal taste issue with the author. One of the big issues I had with this book, was it was too short for the story. I feel like a lot of it was underdeveloped and rushed because of the word count. Even a hundred or so more words would have developed it more. And (spoilers) but I kinda got the ick from the Jak having the same name as the deceased lover of the Marius. Especially because the LI is three hundred years older. I had a hard time believing that the Marius would have loved Jak if he had a different name. And then the sudden switch up at the end where they both have the urge to rain terror onto the town despite Marius spending the book hating his “monstrous” side. I feel like I would have enjoyed this more if it had been more fleshed out.

I enjoyed the book at the start and then it kinda went off the rails a bit. I found most of the deaths to be unnecessary if I'm honest.

I have no idea why Arlo would find Faenir attractive after he just straight up murdered his previous lover, and his previous lovers parents. And then when they finally got together, it felt rushed. It relied too much on exposition. Like the author had to get from point A to B so they did it hurriedly. 

The death of May and the servants felt necessary like it was there just for shock value. The entire mass extinction of Faenir's family at the end of the book just felt unnecessary too. Like you've got these interesting characters who've not been expanded upon or went into detail with and you just wipe them out as a “surprise they're all backstabbers evil”? I honestly agree with them all. Faenir should not rule. He's shown no leadership qualities whatsoever. 

It just felt rushed and underwhelming and underdeveloped. Like it was a first draft.