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novel_sarahndipity's review
adventurous
dark
emotional
mysterious
medium-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? A mix
- Strong character development? It's complicated
- Loveable characters? No
- Diverse cast of characters? Yes
- Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes
3.0
Thanks to HR Moore for a copy of this book in return for an honest review.
The history and mystery behind all the characters and the main plot point had me intrigued early on in the book. Our main character is a reincarnated demon, but she has not ‘awoken’ yet. Meaning she doesn’t have her memories of all her past lives yet.
A lot of background information and history of the characters were thrown at you around the 25% mark and it was honestly a lot. Some of the character’s conversations were hard to follow but it wasn’t bad or too overwhelming overall.
Some of the words used to describe characters I felt were a bit problematic. Like “crazy”, “insane” and “psychopath” were used a bit too much for my comfort.
There were a lot of really unique aspects of this book. The different religions, reincarnation and how time and life cycles is written and executed is unique. The way reincarnation works in this book is probably my favorite part. The different religions and beliefs were added in and I felt like it was well done.
I didn’t like the cheating aspect of this book. I felt like it would had been more meaningful if it was executed a bit differently. Though I feel like if a few things were executed differently the story would had felt a bit more impactful.
The end of the book was intense, and it has me interested and intrigued in picking up the next book. Some of the conflicts in the book were handled a bit too ‘clean’ and felt forced or a bit lack luster. But the main ending twist in the book was very well done and had me STRESSED.
All in all this was a solid book, but I feel like there is room for improvement for the following books in the series.
Content Warnings
Moderate: Child death
stp_reads's review against another edition
4.0
Nation of the Sun is sold as Outlander meets A Discovery of Witches and I can see how it could be a bit like ADOW but I didn’t see anything that could be like Outlander besides Jamie…
The premise of the book is that there’s this demon society where they have nations, which are like countries/religions. Of course, there’s discord between the nations. Also, demons are able to reincarnate but their demon side is dormant and so the “human” doesn’t know anything about demons or their way of life. Once a demon awakens, they remember all their past lives plus the one they’re currently living.
Amari is our protagonist. Her demon, Raina, is still dormant but the nation she’s part of and her soulmate, Caspar, try to awaken her before she marries a human.
It’s said over and over that Raina and Caspar have been separated for the past couple of lifetimes because of something Caspar did but no one says what that is. With that mystery, I was on the fence about liking Caspar, you never know what the twist could be.
So the first part of the book; Amari’s wedding, the interactions with her family and friends, her aloofness towards Dean after she learns about demons, and her freaking stubbornness felt rushed, a bit off and choppy. We also got multiple POVs and they were quite confusing at first. I would have to go back and reread to “get into” that new POV.
As I said before, Caspar and Raina had some sort of fallout in a past life me so I was on the fence about liking Caspar. I kept my distance! But once Raina finally decides to show up, I feel soooooooooo bad for Caspar. Raina is a grade A bi***!!!!! Everyone goes on and on about how great she is but man, she’s horrible to Caspar. Her one true love. Stubborn as all hell, ruthless, a liar, and won’t admit when she’s wrong.
The book answers what the conflict between Caspar and Raina was and boy, is it good!!!! I had some feeling about how that might’ve played out but didn’t see it that way lol
I wasn’t ready for that ending so it was a bit abrupt for me so I’m obviously going to be waiting for book 2, impatiently…
The premise of the book is that there’s this demon society where they have nations, which are like countries/religions. Of course, there’s discord between the nations. Also, demons are able to reincarnate but their demon side is dormant and so the “human” doesn’t know anything about demons or their way of life. Once a demon awakens, they remember all their past lives plus the one they’re currently living.
Amari is our protagonist. Her demon, Raina, is still dormant but the nation she’s part of and her soulmate, Caspar, try to awaken her before she marries a human.
It’s said over and over that Raina and Caspar have been separated for the past couple of lifetimes because of something Caspar did but no one says what that is. With that mystery, I was on the fence about liking Caspar, you never know what the twist could be.
So the first part of the book; Amari’s wedding, the interactions with her family and friends, her aloofness towards Dean after she learns about demons, and her freaking stubbornness felt rushed, a bit off and choppy. We also got multiple POVs and they were quite confusing at first. I would have to go back and reread to “get into” that new POV.
As I said before, Caspar and Raina had some sort of fallout in a past life me so I was on the fence about liking Caspar. I kept my distance! But once Raina finally decides to show up, I feel soooooooooo bad for Caspar. Raina is a grade A bi***!!!!! Everyone goes on and on about how great she is but man, she’s horrible to Caspar. Her one true love. Stubborn as all hell, ruthless, a liar, and won’t admit when she’s wrong.
The book answers what the conflict between Caspar and Raina was and boy, is it good!!!! I had some feeling about how that might’ve played out but didn’t see it that way lol
I wasn’t ready for that ending so it was a bit abrupt for me so I’m obviously going to be waiting for book 2, impatiently…
fernanda_moodytbr's review against another edition
adventurous
slow-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? Plot
- Strong character development? No
- Loveable characters? No
- Diverse cast of characters? No
- Flaws of characters a main focus? N/A
2.75
Altho the premise and the storyline seemed new and exciting at first the execution was poorly done.
This story for sure is a diamond in the rough.
A more polished worldbuilding and dialogue would’ve delivered a more dynamic and fun novell, even the tomance felt a tad lackluster in my humble opinion.
Really liked the idea of the nations but they felt really convoluted and not well explained.
The only character that felt a bit more dimensional was Caspar our love interest, for the Mc I felt a huge disconnection between the first and the second part… I get what the author was trying to do but I feel that disconnection was bc of a bad character transition.
Anyhow, I really think people who are looking for an urban fantasy romance with a good pacing and short format will love this one!r
This story for sure is a diamond in the rough.
A more polished worldbuilding and dialogue would’ve delivered a more dynamic and fun novell, even the tomance felt a tad lackluster in my humble opinion.
Really liked the idea of the nations but they felt really convoluted and not well explained.
The only character that felt a bit more dimensional was Caspar our love interest, for the Mc I felt a huge disconnection between the first and the second part… I get what the author was trying to do but I feel that disconnection was bc of a bad character transition.
Anyhow, I really think people who are looking for an urban fantasy romance with a good pacing and short format will love this one!r
miss_ipkiss_reads's review against another edition
3.0
Huge thank you to the author for sending me an ARC in exchange for an honest review.
I'm desperately looking for a new fantasy romance to obsess over, so when this ARC came to me I was instantly taken by the premise (fantasy romance with reincarnation? sign me up). I was intrigued by the first couple chapters, but as the story progressed I really struggled to relate and invest in the characters/world. This reads like a first draft of a fantastic story; the bones are there but it's lacking compelling dialogue and world building. I struggled to get passed 25% for a couple weeks and ended up DNF'ing. A heavy edit would have smoothed out the world building and made the dialogue feel more natural. If you aren't a stickler for solid world building right out the gate, it's worth giving this one a shot. Although this wasn't for me, I have a feeling that fans of FBAA and A Touch of Darkness might really connect with this one.
4 star concept
2 star execution
rounded to 3 stars because there is potential in this story, just wasn't for me
I'm desperately looking for a new fantasy romance to obsess over, so when this ARC came to me I was instantly taken by the premise (fantasy romance with reincarnation? sign me up). I was intrigued by the first couple chapters, but as the story progressed I really struggled to relate and invest in the characters/world. This reads like a first draft of a fantastic story; the bones are there but it's lacking compelling dialogue and world building. I struggled to get passed 25% for a couple weeks and ended up DNF'ing. A heavy edit would have smoothed out the world building and made the dialogue feel more natural. If you aren't a stickler for solid world building right out the gate, it's worth giving this one a shot. Although this wasn't for me, I have a feeling that fans of FBAA and A Touch of Darkness might really connect with this one.
4 star concept
2 star execution
rounded to 3 stars because there is potential in this story, just wasn't for me
torimcangel's review against another edition
4.0
I finished this book in less than 24 hours. I found the pacing to be refreshing, the plot to be intriguing, the characters drew me in and I had a blast reading. I tend to be a character driven reader. I enjoyed the relationships, the character's history built into the book, and the unique dynamics. I would recommend this book to readers who tend toward fantasy romance, paranormal romance and are looking for something different than the usual. After reading the book, I looked back at the book description and I am realizing that the story felt much deeper and more complex in terms of relationships, group/culture/community loyalty, and personal growth than I initially anticipated--based on the preview description of the book.
Things I really loved:
-The characters--they had distinct voices/characteristics, were unique, and had great chemistry overall with their potential partners.
-The love story--and all related romantic interactions
-The mystery--I am constantly questioning various motives for each group/community and the individuals in this story--it keeps me on my toes. I am looking forward to discovering more as we peel back the layers with the next book.
-Descriptions/scene set up/transitions--for the most part, I felt this was done very well. I frequently find myself irritated when authors over describe what could be left to the reader's imagination. On the flip side, I acknowledge the issue that occurs when authors leave readers completely confused by lack of description or worse when the scene/transitions are so vaguely clarified that we become completely lost. I felt that the author did an exemplary job providing just enough description to leave me clearly knowing where, when, and with whom I was with--without making me feel bored or annoyed with overly descriptive paragraphs.
-Tie in--I love that we see things planted from earlier in the story tie into later developments and I am hoping this is a clue for further tie in details in the next book.
-I was never bored
-Character voices felt genuine/writing felt consistent and solid
Things I did not enjoy:
-The copy of the book that I had access to definitely had errors within the text. Sentences were at times broken up and interspersed with seemingly nonsensical words. I suspect that somehow various sentences were unintentionally merged. This occurred at least 3-4 times throughout the book.
-The ending wasn't the worst thing--it sets us up for the next book and didn't leave me wanting to break something (I can name so many other books I've read this year that have). I still want to read the next book--so that's a good sign! However, I must admit that I felt the ending was abrupt. It didn't feel like a natural place to end the first book in this story.
I received a review copy for free, and I am leaving this honest review voluntarily.
Things I really loved:
-The characters--they had distinct voices/characteristics, were unique, and had great chemistry overall with their potential partners.
-The love story--and all related romantic interactions
-The mystery--I am constantly questioning various motives for each group/community and the individuals in this story--it keeps me on my toes. I am looking forward to discovering more as we peel back the layers with the next book.
-Descriptions/scene set up/transitions--for the most part, I felt this was done very well. I frequently find myself irritated when authors over describe what could be left to the reader's imagination. On the flip side, I acknowledge the issue that occurs when authors leave readers completely confused by lack of description or worse when the scene/transitions are so vaguely clarified that we become completely lost. I felt that the author did an exemplary job providing just enough description to leave me clearly knowing where, when, and with whom I was with--without making me feel bored or annoyed with overly descriptive paragraphs.
-Tie in--I love that we see things planted from earlier in the story tie into later developments and I am hoping this is a clue for further tie in details in the next book.
-I was never bored
-Character voices felt genuine/writing felt consistent and solid
Things I did not enjoy:
-The copy of the book that I had access to definitely had errors within the text. Sentences were at times broken up and interspersed with seemingly nonsensical words. I suspect that somehow various sentences were unintentionally merged. This occurred at least 3-4 times throughout the book.
-The ending wasn't the worst thing--it sets us up for the next book and didn't leave me wanting to break something (I can name so many other books I've read this year that have). I still want to read the next book--so that's a good sign! However, I must admit that I felt the ending was abrupt. It didn't feel like a natural place to end the first book in this story.
I received a review copy for free, and I am leaving this honest review voluntarily.
goodbookorbust's review against another edition
fast-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? Character
- Strong character development? No
- Loveable characters? No
- Diverse cast of characters? No
- Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes
1.0