Reading with teafortiffany

Hello friends!!!

It’s Sunday! I spent my morning celebrating the 1-year anniversary of adopting my dog Rex! He got some new toys from PetSmart and a nice ice cream. I also spent some time watching the British Grand Prix F1 race! I absolutely love F1, and I would not miss a race for anything, so I pay to make sure I can watch the V.O.D.s.

I guess none of that is truly what you are all here for, so let’s get into the review!

I know that I say this a lot, but this book was a surprise for me. I think this is partially because I had just finished another ARC that disappointed me, and I was still stuck in that; however, this book was better than I had expected. 

This book centers around two people on opposite sides of a war, one being a Witch and the other an Imperialist. Circumstances lead them to being stuck together and, in turn, understanding each other and who they are and what they truly believe in. This novel deals with lost identity, political schemes, and finding your home, all in a fantastical setting with dragons, sea creatures, and magic. 

One of the parts of this novel that I enjoyed the most was the relationship between our two main characters. They felt like people who truly had no intention of being remotely civil. It was an evolution in a relationship that felt believable while still giving a sense of a fated-mates situation (they’re meant to be together… eventually). I personally don’t want to see enemies instantly become lovers, and these two definitely fight at first sight instead. There is obvious tension that doesn’t feel sexual (at first). They are conflicted and confused, unsure what to make of each other but forced (for various reasons) not to kill each other. 

The world was interesting, but I would have liked to have had just a little bit more. I felt like I got a pretty good idea of what the world was and the current state of the world, but we don’t really get into the history very much. This is a standalone novel, so I’m not sure if we will ever return to this world again. I would like to know more about how/why the war started in the first place. It seems like it has been going on for decades by the point we enter the novel. I don’t know if it was necessarily important to understand this in terms of this novel, but it is something I am still interested in.

The only other complaint I have with this novel is that it dragged for me a bit around the halfway mark. It felt like it was slowing down, and I was struggling to push through for a moment. That being said, once I got through that slump, it was a novel I couldn’t force myself to put down. There was so much happening going into the end of the novel that I did wonder if the author would be able to wrap it up neatly. In the end, I think it was a relatively solid ending. There was a point that I wasn’t completely sold on, but outside of that, I enjoyed the ending.

In the end, I absolutely loved this book. The plot was there, and it was important, but the character development was honestly the best part of the book for me. Seeing them evolve throughout the events of this story made all the difference in the world. If you like enemies-to-lovers, witches, familiars, and bonds, I highly recommend you check this out when it releases on July 14th.

4.5 ★

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And I have officially caught up with all of the ARCs I had pending! I believe I’ll have some more on the way, but I’m going to take the time to read some more books I already own (they’re starting to overflow on my shelves). I do have a review for Godkiller on the way, but I wanted to get the ARC review out first as it’s being released soon.

If you do ever read one of the books I recommend, let me know how you liked it! I have a blast talking with other people about books. Even if you don’t like it, I’m all for friendly discourse.

That’s all for this week.

Bye friends!!!