Member Reviews

Such a fun read! I liked the way the author weaved the story. Definitely going to look for more books written by Lene Kaaberbot. Great job!

Was this review helpful?

A beautifully written book. Really enjoyed reading this. Thanks to publishers and NetGalley for the opportunity to read

Was this review helpful?

A very satisfying read for middle schoolers. I think I would have enjoyed it even more had I read the 1st book, as it is part of a series, but I will be looking into locating the first in the future.

Was this review helpful?

I enjoyed this sequel to The Shamer's Daughter, but it doesn't quite reach the brilliance of the first book. I felt like the book suffered from the introduction of a new viewpoint, Dina's brother, and Dina was far less proactive about rescuing herself from her captivity than she was in the first book. It felt like a shame, when she was such a fantastic, smart character in the first book, to give the role of 'hero' to her brother, especially since he was not anywhere near as clever or engaging. I also missed the dragons! But fans of the first should enjoy the continuation of the series.

Was this review helpful?

Wonderful second volume to one of the greatest YA fantasy novel I have read in the long time.

Even if the newness is a bit out, yet the great plotting (never a dull moment!), interesting characters and the great value questions play their game as strong as ever.

Dina and her family have found a new home, yet their enemies are laying in wait. And as they are unscrupulous, they find even a way how to make a shamer going against their own conscience.
This battle is going to be played on more than one battlegrounds.

And the moral challenges are the strongest point here! How can one forgive others - and themselves? How can one recognize and incorporate weaknesses into their picture of themselves?

The only character I wish to have a stronger play here is Nico, who is practically absent here. Yet I have hopes for him to return in the next volume.
Otherwise - great and enormously catchy read.

Was this review helpful?

I received a copy of this novel from the publisher via Netgalley in exchange for an honest review.

I didn’t enjoy this quite as much as the first one, and I actually would have only rated it as a 3.5. This novel is told from the points of view of Dina and her brother Davin. I’m not a fan of Davin and find his character to be really annoying, self centred and incredibly shallow. He did make Dina’s character look very mature, physically and mentally strong, and the obvious better person.
The mayhem and scandal continues in this book with the entire kingdom under siege by the dragon lord. Dina once again finds herself in a sticky situation in which it’s up to Davin and company to help rescue her.
It was good but I would have preferred the story told by Dina and not Davin. He doesn’t really contribute much.
That being said, I’m on to book 3.

Was this review helpful?

The fantastic series continues. I love the magic system in this - it's really unique and not one I've seen anywhere else. I also enjoyed Dravin's POV in this one; although he himself is a little whiny, it's nice to have a POV from a non-Shamer character. It adds depth to the world and lets us see more of it than we would otherwise.

A wonderful read and I can't wait for the rest of the series!

Was this review helpful?

The first book in this series was better than this one even if this is an entertaining and engrossing read.
i look forward to reading the next book in this series.
Recommended!
Many thanks to the publisher and Netgalley for this ARC, all opinions are mine.

Was this review helpful?

While this novel is not as good as the first novel, it is still very enjoyable. I like how the novel introduces new characters. The story not only focuses on Dina but also on Davin. I found Davin to be a very fascinating character. Overall, I recommend this for fans of Juliet Marrillier.

Was this review helpful?

Book two in this quadrilogy starts soon after the first ends, with the surprise move to a region I think of as the Scottish Highlands (I know the author's Danish, but they don't do highlands). When our main girl character's mother is sent for once again to do her Shaming trick (in which eye contact and a Paddingtonesque stern glare reveals one's inner secrets, and in cases of law, guilt) it begins to unravel a convoluted web of children misbehaving. Yes, it's a little annoying how much of the plot is derived from gung-ho pre-teens heading off on their own to kill people in revenge, or rescue people, or so on. What it all boils down to is the fact that this volume's new Baddie captures our heroine, and forces to use her still-growing talents for ill. Oh, and there's a whole side issue as far as he and everyone is concerned, with some trafficked clan colours…

The previous book was a very decent fantasy for those newly in double figures, with the craft of Shaming being used very well, a good few dragons here and there, but also a lot that was grounded in more real, mundane settings. This loses the dragons, and goes even more mundane perhaps, for what it gains instead is a fine look at clans interacting – fighting, obeying each other or not, and living by strict custom. I was, bizarrely, reminded of the Albanian kanun system, with the "what happens in the fighting ring stays in the fighting ring" action, and different other elements of clans respecting timeless lore together.

All told, this is still highly readable, and even if it doesn't really build on the world of the first book, it isn't that much less impressive. Having so much of it narrated by someone other than the Shamer's daughter didn't seem to aid things, however necessary it was here. I think that – as we were at this stage familiar with the talent – the Shaming could have been enhanced, to give a bit more oomph to proceedings. We don't quite get the sense anything has progressed too much, and perhaps the cynic is allowed too much to think of this as just a stepping stone before the Big Rematch to Come. It's no major surprise then to see the Danish people skip this one and film the third book instead. Three and a half stars, mind.

Was this review helpful?

The first book is about a girl that is looking for her own strength in a world that is afraid of her none the less.
In this one to me, Dina had lost something that she gained in book 1 and with adding man pain where be is an** it didn't work for me - in another book it would possibly work well, but not here.
I'm not sure if I will be following this series anymore. I hope that Dina will play a more important role in the next book.

Was this review helpful?

I have so many questions now. What was Sascha's purpose? Is Rose interested in Allin or Davin? What was the purpose of trying to start wars between the clans? How does all of this play into the storyline of the first book?!?

I didn't like this one as much as The Shamer's Daughter, mostly because there was so much less focus on Dina and more on Davin and I just don't care that much about him. I am looking forward to reading the other two books in this series to find out what happens!

Was this review helpful?