I stopped reading on page 136. It wasn't a bad book – if I kept reading I probably would have given it somewhere around 3 stars. But it didn't grip me, and to be honest I'd rather just move on to something I enjoy more.
I think the three downsides were:
- Lack of action. By page 136 nothing had happened. As a result I wasn't excited to keep reading.
- It was repetitive. It felt like every chapter had constant reminders of what this particular character was doing and what their motivations were. Constant reminders that Rapp wanted glory – not to be working on peace. Reminders that another character's memories of his family were fading. Just repeating those motivations over and over. And this ties into point #1 because the chapters are very short – sometimes only 2-3 pages. So by the time those are repeated, nothing has happened and it's onto someone else's point of view.
- The world building and characters were a little hollow. I LOVE the idea of a story that focuses on a defeated empire, but I found the details behind that really lacking. I also felt like I didn't know who I was supposed to be rooting for, and I like knowing that.
Also, I was disappointed to learn the the main character was only 14. That made it feel a bit YA-ish for me. I don't know why, but I imagined a 20-something when I first read the synopsis.