These Shattered Spires

Let's start with the best thing about this book, which is its characters. They are so compelling and messy and their dynamics are quite literally addicting. Even Morgan, who isn't part of the core four, I've grown to... love? They are all absolutely psycho. But when that's the baseline, it's really only up from here and all of a sudden you find yourself arguing for your favorite sociopath. It was awesome. The only bone I have to pick with is otherwise pretty phenomenal book is in the world building. I felt like the book kinda lost itself in the attempt to be as grotesque and strange as possible to the point the whole world becomes almost swampy and unintelligible. It's still undoubtedly expansive, just not very clear in the picture it's painting. If that potential had been met, working in tandem with the top tier characters, this could have certainly been a five star read for me.

This definitely was a wild ride from start to finish. Characters which were interesting and nuanced but not that likable. Combined with a bloody and grimy gothic world where magic always comes at a price. Overall, I enjoyed the first half but after that it went a bit downhill for me. There were just too many plot lines, it got a bit messy. Unfortunately, that made me lose a bit of interest in the end. Still, a unique book with a lot of promising potential for the rest of the series.