Reviewed by Silvara on
I received this book for free from Philomel Books in exchange for an honest review. This does not affect my opinion of the book or the content of my review.
I loved the legends and magic system. Magic that has costs and that you can't do over and over again. Magic that makes you give something in exchange for what you want to have happen. The legends felt true to life, in that they grew and twisted away from what actually happened.
All the characters felt very real, with strengths and flaws. Ones you grew attached to and really wanted to know more about, like Edmund, Katherine and Tom. Ones that you hated and wanted bad things to happen to like Athelstan, and ones that actually grew and changed like Edmund's father.
The world building was phenomenal. It wasn't too much, but at the same time you learned almost everything you wanted to know, and learned everything you NEEDED to know as well. There are still lots of things I hope we get to explore, but the ending of the book wasn't a cliffhanger like a lot of first in a series books. Most things were wrapped up, with enough left over that you want to start the next book as soon as possible. Yet without being of the "it's over? Nooooooo!!!!" variety.
I liked the monsters in the book as well. They were interesting and unique in some ways. I liked that they only came out at night, and had weaknesses as well as strengths.
There is a little bit of romance in the book, but not a lot. And it's fairly far in the background of things most of the time. There's also slavery, death, evil wizards, friendship and laughter. For all the length, this was a very quick read. I finished it in 2 days because I didn't want to put it down.
If you haven't read this yet, you need to!
This review was originally posted on Fantasy of the Silver Dragon
Reading updates
- Started reading
- 19 June, 2016: Finished reading
- 19 June, 2016: Reviewed