story craft

My rating: 3.5 out of 5 stars

Reasons to love:

-dragons
-magic
-bonded animals
-enemies to lovers

Themes:

Cautions: lots of graphic sexual content. I skipped chapters 30 and 32, which contained explicit sex scenes. However, chapter 31 contained some pretty specific and vulgar references to what happened in chapter 30. There are clear references to sex and sexual desire throughout; the book contains strong language or uses mild to medium language frequently. Added words would include things like the f-word and G-D. The f-word almost appears on every page; frequent and sometimes graphic deaths and threats of violence and backstabbing and treachery, but I feel like it’s pretty common to the fantasy genre.

Format: audiobook and hardcover

Genre: Fantasy

Favorite quote: “Hope is a fickle, dangerous thing. It steals your focus and aims it toward the possibilities instead of keeping it where it belongs—on the probabilities.”

Review: 

Okay, so when I finished this book, I might’ve been still wiping my eyes. No spoilers, though, sorry for you curious cats. 

I hesitate to write more than that for many reasons. Rebecca Yarros delivers a gritty and compelling story that reaches into your heart, grabs hold, and refuses to let go. And that reminds me of the main characters, Violet and Xaden, because that’s exactly how I’d describe them. They inspire love and loyalty; they’re fierce when they need to be and tender when it’s called for. But honestly, the dragons were my favorite—especially snarky Tairn. The plot was perfectly twisty and the world was easy to envision.

That being said, I could only give this 3.5 stars. I read for the story and characters, but I had a tough time getting past the language, sexual innuendos, and open-door scenes scattered liberally throughout. I understood the characters’ reasoning behind sex being such a focus on a rational level, but the thoughts and comments were often explicit and vulgar, with more of a focus on lust than love. I felt like there were other ways they could’ve seized the day, so to speak. 

I probably won’t continue reading this series, but I wanted to write the review just in case you’re thinking of picking it up.