Reviewed by Leigha on
Aurora Pavan is a complicated character. I admire her courage and bravery to obtain magic despite her supposedly magical shortcomings. Fiercely setting off with a bunch of unknown hunters in order to bring back power to her kingdom is a wonderful thing. But all that admiration drys up when I really step back to analyze the events of the book. Aurora essential leaves her kingdom defenseless and unprotected to gain something she may never obtain. I feel very little remorse for her as the rest of the story unfolds.
For someone brought up to be a queen of a territory, she comes across as ignorant and juvenile. Reasons are revealed as to why she has certain characteristics, but in the end they do not justify her complete lack of knowledge about her own kingdom. Additionally, she runs off on this adventure without really thinking through the logistics. I expect a young woman, raised to be a queen, to be smarter and more thoughtful in regards to her kingdom.
The romance took me completely by surprise. I thought one individual was meant to be Aurora’s love interest, and it turned out to be someone completely different. While the romance is surprisingly sweet, I had a hard time rooting for the two lovers. Their relationships is built on lies and deceit. I wish more had been done by the end of the novel to dispel some of the lies between the two of them.
In the end, I wish this story had focused more on developing and defining Aurora as a character outside of her romantic interests and her quest hunting. The world-building and the characters are interesting enough to keep me reading further in the series. However, I need Aurora to accept some accountability and ownership over the actions she takes that lead to the ending circumstances. Her character development could make, or break, the series for me.
tl;dr A problematic protagonist mixed with intriguing world-building and a sweet romance make this an uneven read.
Reading updates
- Started reading
- 1 August, 2017: Finished reading
- 1 August, 2017: Reviewed