YA Buddy Readers' Corner ♥ discussion

The stunningly original, must-read fantasy of 2018 follows two fiercely independent young women, centuries apart, who hold the power to save their world...or doom it.

When assassins ambush her best friend, the crown prince, Rielle Dardenne risks everything to save him, exposing her ability to perform all seven kinds of elemental magic. The only people who should possess this extraordinary power are a pair of prophesied queens: a queen of light and salvation and a queen of blood and destruction. To prove she is the Sun Queen, Rielle must endure seven trials to test her magic. If she fails, she will be executed...unless the trials kill her first.

A thousand years later, the legend of Queen Rielle is a mere fairy tale to bounty hunter Eliana Ferracora. When the Undying Empire conquered her kingdom, she embraced violence to keep her family alive. Now, she believes herself untouchable--until her mother vanishes without a trace, along with countless other women in their city. To find her, Eliana joins a rebel captain on a dangerous mission and discovers that the evil at the heart of the empire is more terrible than she ever imagined.

As Rielle and Eliana fight in a cosmic war that spans millennia, their stories intersect, and the shocking connections between them ultimately determine the fate of their world--and of each other.

So I'm about 1/4 in and so far it's a 3 star for me. I find that the author threw too much info at me at once and there are too many characters for me too easily follow. Maybe if this was a hardcover copy it would be a little easier to go back and forth but with an e-book copy it just annoys me.

However I am very intrigued by both girls powers (view spoiler)[Rielle's 7 elements and Eliana's inability to break bones. I'm left wondering if Eliana is Rielle's daughter since Simon is the Wolf and if she is the other Queen since Rielle is obviously the blood queen.

So many questions. (view spoiler)[ (hide spoiler)] (hide spoiler)]

So I'm about 2/3 of the way in an it's definitely improving. I'm enjoying Eliana's POV as lot more that Rielle's. Rielle is just (view spoiler)[ a bit too cocky and a bit annoying. I find her poor me to be grating for some reason.

I am also pleasantly surprised to find elements of LGBT in this book. It's rare to find that in a fantasy book. I though Eliana was pretty much straight but forced herself to allow woman to kiss her but now I can see she is a willing participant at least some of the time. The fact that her 'best' lover was a woman shows that.

I really want Harkan to be alive and well. But I also can see Eliana and Simon together so I'm torn. Then again. Eliana doesn't seem to be a monogamous type so maybe they can all be together? ^_^ (hide spoiler)]

I hope you can join soon Vanessa. I actually really want to talk to someone about this book for once. lol. :)

68% Okay this is so not YA. O.O

78% Yup. Definitely not YA. OMG. O.O

87% Nooooo! (view spoiler)[Not Ludivine!!! (hide spoiler)] D:

88% (view spoiler)[Both her father and the king as well! (hide spoiler)] O.O D:

I'm so excited I got approved for this one! I literally want to start it right now but I have a book for school that I needed to read by tomorrow and I haven't even started yet... oops. :D

Michelle wrote: "I'm so excited I got approved for this one! I literally want to start it right now but I have a book for school that I needed to read by tomorrow and I haven't even started yet... oops. :D"

Can't wait to hear you thoughts! ^-^

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Reading from the 5th of May 2018

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Joining! :)

Oh, yes! I'll join too and hopefully this time I'll be able to read it :D

I just can't wait to see what you guys think! Been waiting a long time lol!

10%
(view spoiler)[ The first chapter was very interesting and seemed action packed, but the following chapters are confusing the heck out of me. (hide spoiler)]

22%
(view spoiler)[Eliana's chapters are still not interesting to me at this point, but I'm digging Reille's chapters. (view spoiler)[ (hide spoiler)] (hide spoiler)]

Starting right now to not make Book wait much longer 😅 I tend to forget about my kindle books but hopefully that won't be the case with this one :D

66%
(view spoiler)[I'm starting to get annoyed by Rielle because she's so arrogant and cocky, even in such trying times. Although I think Corien may be influencing her, that pride is still something that I think is just deep within her.
As for Eliana, I was annoyed at her at first, not knowing where her loyalties lie, but as she becomes softer, I am starting to like her more and more.
I must admit, I really love Remy and Ludivine. I like Audric sometimes too, and Navi. Simon infuriates me still since I still don't know his motives yet.
I have so many questions, and I need answers!
I've thought about Eliana being Rielle's daughter, but I don't think it's possible since these two stories are happening a millennia apart. They must be related or something, I guess? (hide spoiler)]

Finished:
(view spoiler)[ I still don't get how Eliana can be Rielle's daughter if the stories are supposedly told a millennia apart. I think that the storyline is very interesting, although I think the pacing is too slow. For a 500-page novel, I still think that there are too few things revealed to Eliana. Also, how did Corien come to rule? Obviously, it was after Rielle died, but what happened after? I know that this is only the first book in the series, but I still feel like as a reader, I should know more about what is going on, and what happened in the past.

I must say, this book is very interesting, and I really want to find out what happens next. However, I must also say that the narratives are at times too long for me, and I just skim over them honestly. I wish the next book would be more concise.

Overall, I think I'm rating this 3 or 3.5 stars. (hide spoiler)]

Bookbuyer wrote: "So I'm about 1/4 in and so far it's a 3 star for me. I find that the author threw too much info at me at once and there are too many characters for me too easily follow. Maybe if this was a hardcov..."

(view spoiler)[ This one really needed some work to be less confusing in the beginning. I think it's done purposely to slowly bring the reader to the point you find out what/how they relate to one another but confusing readers right off isn't a good way to pull people into a book. (hide spoiler)]

Kim at Divergent Gryffindor wrote: "66%
"

(view spoiler)[ I felt the same along the way, it seems like their personalities switched at some point and the cockiness passed over from character to character. (hide spoiler)]

Bookbuyer wrote: "78% Yup. Definitely not YA. OMG. O.O"

(view spoiler)[ Pretty sure you are talking about when that got really graphic there for a moment. We have a baby being born right off but I didn't think the story would be giving a step by step of how one is made.... (hide spoiler)]

Kim at Divergent Gryffindor wrote: "Finished:
."

(view spoiler)[ This one was ok for the most part but it seriously lacked the world building to make it clear on the story. I kind of get what happened there at the beginning with Simon and the threads is how the whole timeline thing was brought about but still way too vague to really love this book. (hide spoiler)]

Carrie wrote: "Kim at Divergent Gryffindor wrote: "Finished:
."

[spoilers removed]"

Ohhh, so it was because of that! Man this book sets the tone nicely, but it really doesn't explain a lot.

Sorry! Just checking in now!

Beginning notes: While I enjoy both POVs, the back and forth switching was annoying at moments. Just when I got into one of the POVs, it switched me to the other :/

Kim at Divergent Gryffindor wrote: "10%
[spoilers removed]"

(view spoiler)[It does seem to take quite a bit of time get yourself situated in the world and begin to understand it (hide spoiler)]

Kim at Divergent Gryffindor wrote: "22%
[spoilers removed]"

(view spoiler)[I had that in the beginning too! I think it's because it takes a while for Eliana's story to build up, but with Rielle it's interesting almost right away, especially considering the entrance she makes in the prologue. (hide spoiler)]

About 4% (view spoiler)[ I'm really liking it so far! I'm very intrigued by Rielle. I wasn't expecting the whole angels aspect -I don't remember reading in the synopsis but who knows it's been a while haha- but I like it :D (hide spoiler)]

Joining

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Date Changed. Restarting June 15th 2018. Happy Reading ☺

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Starting this one today or tomorrow! Excited!

I would take it to work but it's too big and I don't wanna damage it in my bag :/

So I just read 4 pages and I wanna keep reading but I gotta go to work :/

I'll try to start this soon. I have a couple other books I need to read as well tho :/

Yeah algood Andrea haha. I think I'm slumping with red queen so I need a break

8% (view spoiler)[I'm really liking this so far! But it doesn't feel like 1000 years in the future from Eliana's POV, as nothing much about the world's changed.

I'm really thinking that Eliana's the Princess who was sent somewhere in time by that kid, Simon? (hide spoiler)]

21% (view spoiler)[I kind of don't like the spoilers we get about Rielle's story from Eliana's, the fact that she's the Blood Queen.

But I do want to know how she came around to killing Audric, and how Ludivine didn't marry him instead?

I also like Eliana's mysterious character, reminding me a little of Celaena the assassin, but before she was recruited kind of? And yay we met Simon!

I'm kind of mixing up both of their stories, which is also to do with the differing time zones feeling the same in my head. (hide spoiler)]

Kim at Divergent Gryffindor wrote: "22%
[spoilers removed]"

I'm feeling the same.

I'm hoping to get at least 100 pages done a day, so I'll finish on Wednesday.

@Maddison I started last night but only got 10 pgs XD I’ll try and finish it by or before Wednesday too.

Okay sounds good :D

Bookbuyer wrote: "So I'm about 1/4 in and so far it's a 3 star for me. I find that the author threw too much info at me at once and there are too many characters for me too easily follow. Maybe if this was a hardcov..."

As soon as we got the two POV I had a feeling that (view spoiler)[Eliana was the other daughter, especially as Simon is introduced. But then we meet Navi, who seems to be the right age? 8 years younger than Simon? (hide spoiler)]

How old are Navi and Remy? And how old's Simon? I don't know how to picture them in my head

Chapter 18. I keep on getting them mixed up. I thought that (view spoiler)[Eliana's mother was dead, and I forgot that her last name was Ferracora. Interesting to find out that her dad was a Rebel by that little excerpt at the start of Chapter 15 or 16. (hide spoiler)] I don't know why the little details are missing, but it's annoying me.

Chapter 19 (view spoiler)[So interesting to find out that they are hearing voices in their heads, and that Rielle's is Corien. Isn't Corien who Audric is hearing in his head at the start, the one who would kill Simon for his time-traveling powers? (hide spoiler)]

50% (view spoiler)[How old's Corien?? I hate this whole thing, the ages never being spelled out.

It's got my favourite thing, this book: the trials. I loooove objectives like that, challenges that must be completed for some reason. Trials. Just something that's always up my alley. Even though we know the outcome, the excitement just grabs me. Only thing is I feel like I can't connect to the characters. I feel pretty detached from the stories. (hide spoiler)] This book is so good though! I am a little confused about some things, and I am getting the girls mixed up at times, but it's gripping!

The audiobook came in today so I'll be starting this tomorrow omg

Chapter 29 (view spoiler)[Yay child Simon!

Buuut hold on Simon's 8 when Rielle has her baby too? So does that mean that now he's 6, because Rielle's 18, and when she has her baby she's 20. I just need to know how old he is in the future. (hide spoiler)]

Yeah I saw the audiobook come in XD So many good ones you've requested!