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joreadsbooks's review against another edition
adventurous
dark
mysterious
tense
medium-paced
4.0
Content warnings: Fantasy violence, war
One of the greatest pieces of Jo bait are stories in which a technology faction is at war with a magic faction and neither seems to be winning. Throw in, specifically, ice witches and an enemies-to-lovers romance, and I’m hooked.
A mechanical utopia, The Empire, is at war with a paradise for witches, The Sovereignty. Iska is the youngest to rise to the rank of Saint Disciple in the military, on a mission to capture the Ice Calamity Witch, Alice. Epic fights ensue while intrigue and plotting unfold in the quieter moments, culminating in a literally earth-shattering fight against a originator witch possessing multiple elemental powers.
There are some beautiful turns of phrase throughout this novel that makes the prose as exciting to read as seeing the illustrations. The world feels lived in, with one of my favorite details being the culture present within the neutral cities. It’s where main characters Iska and Alice get to know each other, specifically attending an opera and seeing an art exhibition together. They can’t attack, and that forced proximity and peace makes for some charming awkwardness that brings the characters together almost as efficiently as their weapons and magic clashing in battle.
There are more powers that be than just the Empire and the Sovereignty, and I’m eager to keep reading.
isabel_grup's review against another edition
3.0
Ha sido una novela muy entretenida. Nada del otro mundo pero un buen inicio que puede dar lugar a una buena historia. Habrá que ver por dónde irá el autor.
Los dos protagonistas me han gustado. La relación que tienen de rivales-aliados es good y los secundarios no se quedan atrás. Habrá que ver qué papel les da el autor.
Y el diseño de personajes me parece bonito, simple quitando el de la prota pero bien. Alguna ilustración creo que queda algo rara pero bueno, nada importante.
*Soy de esas que la portada fue el motivo por el que quiso leerse la novela*
Sin duda leeré la segunda novela estos días.
Los dos protagonistas me han gustado. La relación que tienen de rivales-aliados es good y los secundarios no se quedan atrás. Habrá que ver qué papel les da el autor.
Y el diseño de personajes me parece bonito, simple quitando el de la prota pero bien. Alguna ilustración creo que queda algo rara pero bueno, nada importante.
*Soy de esas que la portada fue el motivo por el que quiso leerse la novela*
Sin duda leeré la segunda novela estos días.
sarrie's review against another edition
4.0
This did such a better job than the anime of setting up this world and giving us more real characters. Both Alice and Iska feel like caricatures in the anime. Here they felt a little more real and thoughtful. Also the details that we got through the artwork helped build the world overall much better. My anime/manga partner fully agreed with me on this one.