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violetmoon8's review against another edition
5.0
THIS IS ONE OF THE BEST FANTASY BOOKS I'VE EVER READ.
A friend recommended it to me and said it's very similar to ACOTAR. It's literally ACOTAR but DARK.
The first part was insanely confusing to me. I didn't understand a single thing. And I wasn't so into it until around 60%. After that I couldn't put it down!!!!
Some parts are so sick and twisted but I absolutely loved it. I will reread it for sure to understand everything better. This book can't be read only once. It is complex. The world building is so good. I highly recommend.
The similarities with ACOTAR are insane. High Lords. Prythian. Bat-winged people called the Eyriens who live in mountain camps. They are warriors who brutalize their females and prevent them from learning to fight. They have a rite of passage called the Blood Run. Evil queen who enslaves poweful males to be her sxc slaves. A court called the Dark Court where the MMC is from. The MMC (Daemon) is literally Rhysand. Lucivar is Cassian. There are colored jewels which is the same thing as siphons. They talk about Eyrien wing size correlating to parts of male bodies . "Like calls to like.". And there are so many characters the same as ACOTAR characters and I won't get into details.
This is no shade to SJM though. I only wanted to point out the similarities.
A friend recommended it to me and said it's very similar to ACOTAR. It's literally ACOTAR but DARK.
The first part was insanely confusing to me. I didn't understand a single thing. And I wasn't so into it until around 60%. After that I couldn't put it down!!!!
Some parts are so sick and twisted but I absolutely loved it. I will reread it for sure to understand everything better. This book can't be read only once. It is complex. The world building is so good. I highly recommend.
The similarities with ACOTAR are insane. High Lords. Prythian. Bat-winged people called the Eyriens who live in mountain camps. They are warriors who brutalize their females and prevent them from learning to fight. They have a rite of passage called the Blood Run. Evil queen who enslaves poweful males to be her sxc slaves. A court called the Dark Court where the MMC is from. The MMC (Daemon) is literally Rhysand. Lucivar is Cassian. There are colored jewels which is the same thing as siphons. They talk about Eyrien wing size correlating to parts of male bodies . "Like calls to like.". And there are so many characters the same as ACOTAR characters and I won't get into details.
This is no shade to SJM though. I only wanted to point out the similarities.
sierrainstitches's review against another edition
I am just not in the right place for this rn.
mastersal's review against another edition
5.0
With all the other things happening in the world and getting bad news at work has made my brain rot. I decided to pick this book again (in fact I bought the ebook - and then bought the combined bind-up of the trilogy as my paperbacks are across the globe). After my last successful jaunt back into this fantasy world (see: https://www.goodreads.com/review/show/3020761436?book_show_action=false&from_review_page=1) I figured this would be a comfortable but fun reread. After all - why =not? 7th times the charm.
This was still a fun reread - I had forgotten how dark it is. The later short stories are more comfortable and play up the quirkiness of the characters. I had remembered this book being the same so it was a surprise to recall the darkness of the world and the story. I did have to skim the ending a little because it was a little much for my mood - worth reading but I wanted to focus on the “cute” parts.
This book is one of my favourite romance-fantasy series. The characters are still OTT ridiculous in an addictive way. This still holds up after many years. This will not be to everyone taste but I love it. I am going to make this a full 5 stars since I thoroughly enjoyed my time with this.
I will probably go head and skim read the other books as well when my physical copy arrives.
This was still a fun reread - I had forgotten how dark it is. The later short stories are more comfortable and play up the quirkiness of the characters. I had remembered this book being the same so it was a surprise to recall the darkness of the world and the story. I did have to skim the ending a little because it was a little much for my mood - worth reading but I wanted to focus on the “cute” parts.
This book is one of my favourite romance-fantasy series. The characters are still OTT ridiculous in an addictive way. This still holds up after many years. This will not be to everyone taste but I love it. I am going to make this a full 5 stars since I thoroughly enjoyed my time with this.
I will probably go head and skim read the other books as well when my physical copy arrives.
atomicnovelty's review against another edition
challenging
dark
mysterious
sad
tense
medium-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? Character
- Strong character development? Yes
- Loveable characters? No
- Diverse cast of characters? No
- Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes
4.0
darlswan's review against another edition
5.0
Don't get stuck one the names. This series is wonderful
arielthereader's review against another edition
challenging
dark
sad
tense
medium-paced
3.25
Content Warnings
Graphic: Child abuse, Child death, Emotional abuse, Gore, Incest, Misogyny, Pedophilia, Physical abuse, Rape, Sexual assault, Sexual violence, Slavery, Suicide, Torture, Violence, Forced institutionalization, Blood, Kidnapping, Murder, and Injury/Injury detail
fionnghuala's review against another edition
Got about a third of the way through and could not finish. The world building was not good, you're thrust into a world with no context or exciting submersion into it. The main plot line is sex, but not in an interesting way between 2 characters - it's incest and rape. The matriarchical society is not well structured either, it's literally about chaining men by their dicks. The point when I gave up was when one of the lead ladies decided to cut a male characters penis off for entertainment.
Content Warnings
Graphic: Incest, Rape, Sexism, Sexual assault, Sexual content, Sexual violence, Slavery, Torture, Toxic relationship, Trafficking, and Sexual harassment
overzealous_reader's review against another edition
adventurous
challenging
dark
emotional
sad
tense
medium-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? A mix
- Strong character development? It's complicated
- Loveable characters? It's complicated
- Diverse cast of characters? N/A
- Flaws of characters a main focus? It's complicated
4.0
“*No,* he said gently when her words finally stopped, *they don’t want you. They don’t love you, can’t love you. But I do love you. The Priest loves you. The beautiful ones, the gentle ones—they love you. We’ve waited so long for you to come. We need you with us. We need you to walk among us.*”
― Anne Bishop, Daughter of the Blood
After hearing that this book inspired Sarah J. Maas to write A Court of Thorns and Roses, I read it. However, I was thoroughly unprepared for the harsh world that Bishop created, especially towards Jaenelle. The main plot is simple; there is a prophecy that the Witch will return and restore order to their world. A few thousand years later, a young girl, Jaenelle, starts to appear in lands considered lost. It is during her meeting with Saetan that it becomes apparent that Jaenelle has immense power and needs honing it. Jaenelle gains the help of Saetan and the protection of his son, Daemon. However, Jaenelle’s apprenticeship with Saetan starts a chain of events that results in Jaenelle being abused.
― Anne Bishop, Daughter of the Blood
After hearing that this book inspired Sarah J. Maas to write A Court of Thorns and Roses, I read it. However, I was thoroughly unprepared for the harsh world that Bishop created, especially towards Jaenelle. The main plot is simple; there is a prophecy that the Witch will return and restore order to their world. A few thousand years later, a young girl, Jaenelle, starts to appear in lands considered lost. It is during her meeting with Saetan that it becomes apparent that Jaenelle has immense power and needs honing it. Jaenelle gains the help of Saetan and the protection of his son, Daemon. However, Jaenelle’s apprenticeship with Saetan starts a chain of events that results in Jaenelle being abused.
The novel’s ending was the most difficult to read and left me wondering if Bishop should have aged up Jaenelle. It was uncomfortable to read about Daemon’s physical response to Jaenelle, a twelve-year-old child. After looking back on the story, I wonder if the ending was to paint Daemon differently as he did not act on those urges, unlike the aristocratic men within the courts. There are many politics between the living and the dead, and the hierarchy symbolized by jewels is unique.
This story is not for the weak but has compelling villains and morally grey characters.
duckie84's review against another edition
3.0
This book was hard to follow at first. But I enjoyed it enough that I look forward to seeing how it unfolds in the next 2 books