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Colleen

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Colleen is Currently Reading

Colleen is currently reading

Legends & Lattes (Legends & Lattes, #1)

by Travis Baldree (Goodreads Author)

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Feb 16, 2026 06:39AM

Colleen is currently reading

The Will of the Many (Hierarchy, #1)

by James Islington (Goodreads Author)

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read in June 2024

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Colleen said: " **Content Warnings at the Bottom**

This was definitely influenced by social media when EVERYONE I saw was talking about how good this book was. Now, I have been burned by online recommendations before so I gave it some time, but when a couple of my fr **Content Warnings at the Bottom**

This was definitely influenced by social media when EVERYONE I saw was talking about how good this book was. Now, I have been burned by online recommendations before so I gave it some time, but when a couple of my friends read it and also praised it, I figured it was time to pick it up. It turned out to be my third 5-star read of the year.

The Will of the Many follows Vis, a seventeen-year-old orphan who has many secrets that he wishes to keep secret and a deep-seated hatred for the Hierarchy. Not a lot is told in the synopsis and I don’t want to spoil anything so the rest of this synopsis is going to be a bit vague. Vis is an orphan who fights for his life, literally, on the outskirts of The Catenan Republic. Most of his trouble comes from the fact that if anyone discovers who he truly is, he will be outright killed or sent to the Sappers, slabs that take all the will of the individual on it and funnel it to someone else. However, when he is unexpectedly adopted by a Senator, Vis is thrust into the unexpected political maneuvering of the Hierarchy and his new father’s desire to figure out what happened to his brother. To do that, Vis has to get into the pretentious Academy, rise through the ranks, and also do a number of things that might get him expelled or killed. Yet, more than one force is pulling for Vis to do what they want and the other one is aware of his true name and lineage. Vis has no choice, if he wants to live and stay out of the pyramid that would lead to him ceding his will, he has to be good. If he wants to live, he has to be the best.

The plot of this novel is so expansive, yet never loses focus on the main point that started VIs on this path to start with, discovering what happened to Senator Telimus's brother while he was at the Academy. Yet, soon Vis finds that other parties have put him in the path of the Senator, wanting him to work for them instead while at the Academy, and all the other plot points unravel from there. I never once found myself bored while reading this novel, always wanting to see what would happen next. It is difficult to keep up the pace and interest through an over 600-page book, but Islington does a good job of utilizing time skips to cut out of the daily grind of the Academy while still giving the reader a good idea of the world that Vis is inhabiting. I think that at times leads to some missed opportunities for character development, it is the smallest of gripes. I am truly in awe of how Islington kept weaving all these threads and brought them all to a satisfying conclusion, every twist made sense once it was revealed, and left me with more questions than answers in the end.

There was a conversation going on around Tiktok when this book started to get popular that if it had been written by a woman, it would have been considered YA instead of Adult. I thought that this was an interesting angle, numerous female presenting authors have complained that their books are misshelved or marketed as YA just because they are female-presenting. This conversation was in the front of my mind when I started reading and I could see a lot of points that people were making, Vis was only 17 and this is a coming-of-age tale in a sense taking place at a school. Islington does not hold the reader's hands and even as someone who has been reading fantasy for many years, I would have to go back to some sections and reread to make sure I was understanding and not missing something important. However, as soon as the events that led to Vis making a name for himself throughout The Cantenan Republic, any thought that this was anything but an adult novel exploded. It isn’t just the brutality of this scene, but the conversation that it starts and the way that Vis responds. There is also a tone to YA novels, even ones that are brutal, that is not seen in this novel. I wish I had better words for what I am attempting to explain because I don’t think that there is anything in this novel that a teenager couldn’t read, but this is clearly for adults.
Vis is a wonderful POV character and I came to think of him as almost like a little brother as the story progressed. He is traumatized, firm in his beliefs, stubborn, and determined, yet still at his core cares about people and wants to do what he can to keep them safe. While he grows throughout the novel, it is not a way that completely changes who he is. In fact, it is the things at Vis’s core that keep him alive in the end(s). I really fell in love with Eidhin and Callidus, but I did feel as if the female students could be fleshed out a bit more. Then again, this is a plot-driven story, not character-driven, so it didn’t affect the rating.

The ending!?! When I tell you I reread the last ten pages about three times and then thought about it in the shower to make sure I had gotten it all straight in my head. This is not a fault of the writing, in fact, it makes perfect sense given what we learn throughout the novel, but it was also so unexpected that I had to keep going back over it. This is how reveals are supposed to be done, not for shock and awe, but as a reward for following all the information placed throughout the novel. It was so satisfying and then I was SO MAD I have to wait for the next novel.

There isn’t much more I can say without spoilers, but if you have read this book PLEASE talk to me because I have theories and will forget them within 3-5 business days. This is a 5-star read and if you are into fantasy or political intrigue tales. I have no idea how this trilogy is going to end, or even where it is going, but I am so excited to go along for the ride.

**Content Warnings**

Violence, Death, Blood, Death of a parent, Suicide, Grief, War, Vomit, Fatphobia ...more "

progress:

(page 153 of 639)
— Feb 16, 2026 08:02PM

Jun 01, 2024 06:39PM · see review

Colleen’s Quotes

“If, then, I were asked for the most important advice I could give, that which I considered to be the most useful to the men of our century, I should simply say: in the name of God, stop a moment, cease your work, look around you.”
― Leo Tolstoy, Essays, Letters and Miscellanies

tags: advice-for-writers, awareness, life

2732 likes

“To burn with desire and keep quiet about it is the greatest punishment we can bring on ourselves.”
― Federico García Lorca, Blood Wedding and Yerma

tags: desire, punishment, unrequited-love

4521 likes

“If I could believe in myself, why not give other improbabilities the benefit of the doubt?”
― David Sedaris, Holidays on Ice

1090 likes

“Common sense in an uncommon degree is what the world calls wisdom.”
― Samuel Taylor Coleridge, Literary Remains

tags: common-sense, wisdom

1661 likes

“Nobody gets everything in this life. You decide your priorities and you make your choices. I'd decided long ago that any cake I had would be eaten.”
― Donald E. Westlake, Two Much

2537 likes

More of Colleen’s quotes…