Adam

A high fantasy series with a fun, unique twist on

Reviewed: 02-10-23

A high fantasy series with a fun, unique twist on dragons that I couldn’t get enough of.

Plot: 5/5
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The Iron Crown is an epic, multi-POV story that follows a cast of individuals as they discover that an ancient enemy is not quite so locked up as once believed. Meanwhile, one of the main characters also struggles with the loss of his memory and how he might bring it back.

The plot is well paced and filled with several surprises and intriguing moments. The stories combine and mix well as the characters each battle with their own personal battles while seeing rise to a much larger battle. I am very excited for book two and to see what the crew will face in the future!

Characters: 5/5
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There is a large cast of characters and each are wonderfully molded within the story. You are introduced to their personal battles, which helps to provide deep and emotionally interesting characters and arcs.

Worldbuilding: 5/5
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The world felt reach and plentiful, I was excited to keep diving in and learning more and more about the different creatures, dragon spirits, magic items, and so on.

Writing: 5/5
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I always find writing to be harder to judge when listening to it as an audiobook, but I was always highly interested in the story and was not often lost or confused, so I feel confident when I say the writing was excellent. It was very easy to fall into the world and become captured by it entirely.

Enjoyability: 5/5
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I had such a good time with this book, and was ready to return to it each time. I am excited to return once more to the world of the Dragon Spirits with book #2, The Shadow Gate!


OVERALL: 5/5 Dragons


Narration: 5/5
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RJ Bayley narrated the audiobook for Iron Crown and his narration is fantastic. The voices are well done and rich, and helped to keep me interested throughout.

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Legacy of the Brightwash is a deeply engrossing...

Reviewed: 11-08-22

Legacy of the Brightwash is a deeply engrossing exploration of brilliant characters in a dark and difficult world.

Plot: 5/5
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Legacy of the Brightwash is a dark gaslamp fantasy which follows Tashué, a government employee who begins questioning who the laws are actually helping. Meanwhile, Stella is a “tainted” with a hidden past that is sure to cause no inconveniences whatsoever.

The plot is well written, and begins as an investigation into the death of a child (don’t eat while reading this part, fyi). The story transforms into a deep exploration of character and the coming to terms with working for a corrupt government. We see the story represented from several viewpoints and while at times it feels like the “main” plot doesn’t seem to be moving forward, the story sweeps us along with several other parts to keep investment long enough to see it all come together at the end!

Characters: 5/5
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Oh gosh, I said in the plot we get a lot of character exploration, and this is where the book shines at its brightest! Krystle is magnificent at characters, and exploring their emotions. Tashué is one of my favorite characters of the year, and he’s just one of many brilliantly written characters. And she will smack you in the heart with the emotion she generates through her characters.

Worldbuilding: 5/5
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I absolutely loved the worldbuilding for the Dominion. The magic system is intriguing and the only complaint I have is that I wanted more of it! But, that’s what sequels are for… I’m sure we’ll learn more, I’m just impatient. The world itself was built out well, and the many dynamics explored well enough to create a clear picture. I’m curious to see how it expands or deepens as the story continues.

Writing: 5/5
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The writing is fantastic throughout. There were so many moments where I laughed from the great humor (I love you, Ishmael!), and there were moments where I surely almost cried. The range of emotion is incredible, and though the book is very chonky, I don’t feel like time is wasted at any point.

Enjoyability: 5/5
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Yeah, it was okay…. I CAN’T KEEP A STRAIGHT FACE, THIS BOOK IS FANTASTIC! It has definitely soared to the top and contends with my other favorites of the year. I was so excited to delve into this and it really delivered. Now, I must return to yelling at Krystle about how that book ended…


OVERALL: 5/5 Cigarillos


Narration: 5/5
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Brightwash is narrated by Felicity Munroe and Paul Woodson, and while it took a moment to get used to the switch between narrators (this is the first time I’ve listened to an audiobook with multiple narrators that wasn’t a full cast situation), they were both spectacular at their narration. They voice the characters uniquely, and it is easy to recognize them across the narrators. And the emotion! It was so well done! If you prefer audiobook, I highly recommend reading in this form!

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Stakes are raised, the scale is expanded, and...

Reviewed: 09-01-22

Stakes are raised, the scale is expanded, and the worldbuilding continues to flourish in this brilliant epic adventure that follows Eska and company.

Plot: 4/5
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The Lessons Never Learned feels to have more of a wandering story as the main goal is to not get thrown back into the Pit. However, as the story goes on, more threads get picked up and a more focused plot appears. I had no issues with the early aimlessness as it felt natural to the story, but it definitely peaks with the back half when Eska’s goals become clear. The plot was engaging throughout, and though there were moments where things slowed down, they never became boring.

Characters: 5/5
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The story begins with the characters we left off with, and the cast grows to add a few more. Eska’s growth was phenomenal during this, we see her transition more into what she wants to become and she learns more about the world. Not much changes with the old cast, but the new cast adds plenty of depth to the characters and impressive relationships built between them.

There was a character moment with Eska that I did not like, and felt that it might be making an easy out for a situation, but I was foolish to think so and Rob changed my mind pretty quickly about it. The decision made sense for Eska, and the aftermath of it helped to add a lot more to the story than I was originally expecting.

Worldbuilding: 5/5
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Rob’s strengths for this series are still in the impressive worldbuilding for me. If book one introduced us to several ideas and gave us a hint of what’s to come, this book delves into all of that and adds so much more. We have improvements to the magic system (love those that come with Kinemancy), much more depth to the world and the other forces that exist within it, as well as a peak into the history as we learn more and more about the War Eternal. Overall, we see great depth added to an already expansive world.

Writing: 4/5
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The writing was still fantastic for the second book as it was in the first, and the pacing felt improved, as we saw plenty of action spaced out between relaxing moments to catch our breath. The prose worked well for the story, and I found the looks into the future to be less distracting and better handled this time around than in Along the Razor’s Edge.

Enjoyability: 5/5
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The story was filled with intense action using a fantastic magic system, and I enjoyed every bit of it. I had a blast with this story and Eska’s continued adventures, and felt that every aspect of Along the Razor’s Edge was improved with this book. The writing builds its strengths off of the fantastic character of Eska and some phenomenal, in depth worldbuilding. By the end of the book, I was actively finding time to listen to the story as it gripped me so much, and though I am taking a short break from the War Eternal, I know book three will be calling to me to return very soon.


OVERALL: 5/5 Sourceblades


Narration: 5/5
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Moira Quirk continues to be one of the best in the business, and her narration for Eska is phenomenal. This is definitely a case of Moira being able to enhance everything Rob does to only make the story better.

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This tale weaves together amazing characters...

Reviewed: 09-01-22

This tale weaves together amazing characters and a deep world with an ambiguous magic system into a story of one woman’s attempt at vengeance.

Plot: 4/5
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The plot has two paths through it, one tells of Kyrra’s past and why she wants revenge, and the other is her trying to get it, and these two stories are weaved together perfectly to avoid either one dragging on, and both have enough content to avoid it seeming to spin in circles just to have something to say. Even knowing parts of how Kyrra’s history was doubtlessly going to end, I was as invested in the flashbacks as the current day events. Both storylines had several twists and reveals that tied into each other expertly, and combined into a beautifully told story.

There are a few moments within the plot where it feels as though things happen for plot convenience rather than feeling natural, but this is in the minority and the rest of this incredible tale dwarfs these moments. For the length of the book, it was not often that I felt there were unnecessary parts of the story, each moment felt like an important moment into Kyrra’s journey.

Characters: 5/5
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The array of characters were fantastic. Even beyond those central to the story, it felt like every character in the story was fleshed out. The interactions between the characters were great, and the various relationships between them were intricate and felt natural.

Worldbuilding: 5/5
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The world itself was intriguing, and its history was deep and well written. The magic system was ambiguous, its uses never really fully explained, which added great amount of mystery with its use. I loved the ideas she plays with when it comes to the gods and how it interacts with the magic. Overall, the worldbuilding was explored well, creating a rich atmosphere for the story to take place in, and tied into the plot so it never felt superfluous.

Writing: 4/5
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I read this as an audiobook, which makes it harder to comment on the prose, however, I still found Angela Boord’s prose to be fantastic. It was able to repeatedly pull me into the story and engage me as I listened. The pacing worked really well, which can definitely be a challenge for longer books. I never felt like the story dragged at parts or was too long or too short. There were a few moments where Kyrra would spend time overanalyzing situations trying to puzzle out the truth, but even in these I was just dragged into the analyzation and enjoyed the ride.

Enjoyability: 5/5
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I was invested in this story from early on. I enjoyed the two storylines and how they supplemented each other and came together at the end. The characters were fantastic, and the world was so well realized that I am excited to return to this world again. I look forward to the chance to reread this physically so I can pick up on all the details I missed when listening as an audiobook. (Due to the nature of how I listen to audiobooks, I am more easily distracted, this is to no fault of the narrator or Angela Boord’s writing).


OVERALL: 5/5 Magic Metal Arms


Narration: 4.5/5
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Gabrielle Baker was the narrator for this book, and she did an excellent job. There were a few moments early on where the voices were difficult to differentiate, but that issue disappeared as the story continued. Her narration gave life to this story in a whole new way and added so much to the various characters.

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When all her power is stripped away, one woman...

Reviewed: 09-01-22

When all her power is stripped away, one woman trapped in an underground prison turns to her wits to help her survive and thrive in this tale of perseverance and revenge.

Plot: 5/5
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The story follows Eska, a Sourcerer imprisoned for being on the losing side of a war, and how she survives within the depths of a deep underground pit.
I’m not always the biggest fan of prison stories (just personal preference, no real reason to it) but Rob sprinkles in a lot of other plot points, and handles the intrigue and politics so well that I was never bored with the plot. Overall, I greatly enjoyed the story and what it set up and I’m looking forward to seeing where it goes in the future.

Characters: 4/5
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Eska as a main character is fantastic. She’s well thought out, and fleshed out, and plays an incredibly strong protagonist for this story. Her dynamics with other characters are done so incredibly well too. I felt things slid a bit for the side characters, some were great (Josef and the relationship between him and Eska) but others felt a little more plain. They certainly weren’t bad, which is why I still gave this section a four, but there was more I was hoping to learn about them, especially the core group, that never seemed to come about or what did was rather sprinkled lightly on top of everything else.

Worldbuilding: 5/5
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The worldbuilding at the beginning had some interesting parts to it but never really grabbed me. And then it did. Understandably so, set up was required for the story and it didn’t explore the world too much given Eska being trapped in a prison, but when it starts delving into the wider world, I loved every moment and became obsessed around the ideas Rob has created. There are only a few tidbits of the world explored outside of the Pit, mostly through flashbacks and conversation, but the parts that do get explored generate a lot of interest for stories beyond. The magic system is primarily explored through flashbacks, and there is a dynamic that is introduced that expands on Impomancy (which was my favorite of the many types of magic explored within the story) that completely gripped me. There is so much more to delve into with the magic and the world that I am excited to see how it is in the following books.

Writing: 4/5
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Rob’s writing is excellent, the pacing of the story and the prose were well done. The only issue I had comes from the voice of the book, and how it’s first person looking back on events, so Eska would often jump from the tale to talk about what incredible feats she accomplishes later in life. There are several moments where this works fantastic, and adds to the world as a whole in a very subtle but exceptional way. But there were other parts where it went a little overboard, and the events talked about would be more interesting to see rather than hear a snippet of. This jumping forward happened a bit too much for my taste, but I feel this is very much a personal preference and will likely differ among readers.

Enjoyability: 5/5
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This book started slow for me, but I blame that entirely on how I listen to audiobooks (it’s not very consistent at times…). It ramped up pretty quickly and was an absolute blast all the way through. Rob crafted an incredible world to play around in, with a compelling protagonist to explore it. He set up an immense magic system and side cast that I look forward to seeing explored as the series goes on. I am so excited to jump back into this story with its sequel (which I’ve already started).


OVERALL: 5/5 Regurgitated Sources


Narration: 5/5 – Moira Quirk
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This was an audiobook listen for me, so I like to comment on the narration quality as well, but let’s be honest for a moment here. It was Moira Quirk who narrated this and she, of course, did a fantastic job. She brought incredible life to Eska’s character and enhanced the book so much with her abilities. A flawless performance from Moira for this story, and she’s the reason I have no doubts about continuing on with the audio format for this series.

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