4 Stars.
Soooooooo, The Dragons of Nova. I might put this review into two sections: -
1. The brief review - a very, very, VERY short review for readers who just want an answer to the question 'Should I read this?'
2. The long review - a more detailed break down of what I liked/didn't like.
Let's get to it!
The short of this review is that this book is steeped in epic and unashamedly fierce. The Dragons of Nova doesn't shy away from violence, sexy times or political drama, so you if like any or all of the above mentioned, then this book is for you. Compared to The Alchemists of Loom, I have to say that in my humble opinion, TAoL grabbed me more as a reader, and I preferred the character development, but in regard to action and intensity, TDoN beats TAoL hands down, so pros and cons on both sides.
All in all, TDoN is for you if:-
*You liked TAoL
*You like Elise Kova's work
* You're in the market for an intense and gritty fantasy world.
This ends the brief review, so now prepare for the nit-picking.
As I mentioned above, for me, TAoL was a more enjoyable read, but do keep in mind that the margin is really small, but it is the truth of it. I wanted to love TDoN more, I really did, and it is a good middle book, but that is what it felt like - a good middle book.
Take for instance the character development - in TAoL, all the POV's felt fresh, individual and fascinating. In TDoN, I felt that Ari's and Florence's voices were a little too similar (in the language and inner dialogue, just too close in topics and themes). Cvareh was fierce, which I thought was great, but I also felt that he lost his sense of... how do I put it? Humour? Levity? Adorable and endearing clumsiness? Yes, all of the above were missing from his inner voice and the perceptions by characters around him. I get it, he's more comfortable and in control, but I felt a little lose that my favourite character suddenly felt more like the male eye-candy and that was it. I loved Petra and Yveun's voices, those POV chapters were pure gold.
A little more on the POV's - I feel like the timeline of everything was way skewed off because of all the POV changes and I don't think they dovetailed perfectly. I'm not sure if weeks, months or years passed to be honest (I think it was several months, but it sort of felt more like weeks, but *shrugs* I'm still not sure). I loved this book for the characters, don't get me wrong, but the pacing was a little off at times, which made me pause whilst I was reading to get my bearings.
The plot, hmmmmmmmm. I liked being on Nova, that was fun and exciting. I felt that all of that political drama and such was the real strength of the book. Florence's chapters were a little boring in comparison, because all of her story felt like direct set-up for book 3, which is when it will pay off, but it was occasionally a drag in between particularly fascinating Nova chapters. As I mentioned before, the pacing was a little off, and the first 150 pages were a little too slow for my taste, but after that it picked up a lot, so all the thumbs up.
That slow-burn romance that started in TAoL was really put on the boil in TDoN, which I liked, and if I were to sum it up in one word - tumultuous. I felt the romance was handled well (considering all the feels and drama flying around), but I did feel at times... wary of the romance between the characters. I was all on board the train in TAoL, there were moments of light and dark, but TDoN felt more dark and dramatic in regard to their romantic relationship that I started to feel a little less convinced about it. I'm probably not making any sense, I can't really sum up my feelings in words, but there was a stop in my mind when I was reading that wasn't there during TAoL.
A little word on the writing - fabulous and easy to read as usual, with the world-building vivid and fascinating (Nova seems so brutal), but I will say that in the first 150 or so pages, there were a number of awkward sentences that made me pause and reread them a few times before I understood what was happening. This probably just slipped past the proofreaders and stuff, but just a heads up for readers that it disappears later on in the book.
All in all, TDoN was a solid sequel in a vivid, dark, emotive and brutal fantasy world that draws you in through fascinating and complex characters. I'm really looking forward to The Rebels of Gold in December, as I feel that TDoN is a very strong set-up for the finale and it should certainly end with a big bang. (Side note: I've now totally caught up on all my Elise Kova reading, and have read everything she's published to date, so yay!).
