Threats of Sky and Sea Review
*Disclaimer: I received a copy from the author in exchange for an honest review. All opinions expressed are mine.*
If you know me at all you know that I have a hard time reading books in first person. I don't have an exact reason why, things just seems stilted to me. This book was hard for me to get into at first. I liked the story and the characters but the overall style threw me. I eased into it, and it once I finally adjusted to the writing style I couldn't put it down.
I wrote a note early on that the characters fell flat. That they all fell into tropes that were carbon copies of most YA novels. I was wrong, so freaking wrong. As the book goes on Ellision did an amazing job of revealing each characters motivations and past. Looking back now, the personalities fit perfectly and they come to life in time as we learn more about who they actually are. My favorite part character-wise is that both the King and Kat had motivations revealed though not directly. Too often it seems the "bad guy" is either evil just to be evil or they have reasons but cue a shitty long speech as to why. That's uncharacteristic of a "villain" in my opinion but Ellision revealed their reasoning through other ways. I'm so sorry for thinking the characters were flat because in the end the slow reveal of why each acted as they did made the book that much better. I got to see them first as Breena saw them and eventually as who they really were.
I'm more reluctant to comment on story because I'm always worried to give anything away. Personally I like going into stories completely blind and seeing where things go. My only comment would be that nothing felt useless. Like Maas, Ellision did a great job of making every scene matter, either it added to story or character progression. I see that as a great feat, not one all writers can pull off. The story did a fabulous job with the ending. It managed to leave you wanting more without a cliffhanger.
All in all it was a fun read and really enjoyable. I really am looking forward to Riot of Storm and Smoke. I'm reluctant to start it without a definite release date for book 3 though! Thank you so much Jennifer Ellision for reaching out to me, I really enjoyed the read!
I wrote a note early on that the characters fell flat. That they all fell into tropes that were carbon copies of most YA novels. I was wrong, so freaking wrong. As the book goes on Ellision did an amazing job of revealing each characters motivations and past. Looking back now, the personalities fit perfectly and they come to life in time as we learn more about who they actually are. My favorite part character-wise is that both the King and Kat had motivations revealed though not directly. Too often it seems the "bad guy" is either evil just to be evil or they have reasons but cue a shitty long speech as to why. That's uncharacteristic of a "villain" in my opinion but Ellision revealed their reasoning through other ways. I'm so sorry for thinking the characters were flat because in the end the slow reveal of why each acted as they did made the book that much better. I got to see them first as Breena saw them and eventually as who they really were.
I'm more reluctant to comment on story because I'm always worried to give anything away. Personally I like going into stories completely blind and seeing where things go. My only comment would be that nothing felt useless. Like Maas, Ellision did a great job of making every scene matter, either it added to story or character progression. I see that as a great feat, not one all writers can pull off. The story did a fabulous job with the ending. It managed to leave you wanting more without a cliffhanger.
All in all it was a fun read and really enjoyable. I really am looking forward to Riot of Storm and Smoke. I'm reluctant to start it without a definite release date for book 3 though! Thank you so much Jennifer Ellision for reaching out to me, I really enjoyed the read!
4
 - Jennifer Ellision)
