Rating: 1/5 stars
I was struggling to read this book during the first chapter, which is never a good sign. I wish I had picked it up as soon as I finished A Kingdom of Flesh and Fire because I was excited to read it then, but that was six months ago. And in the past six months, I have forgotten everything I knew about this series. What happened in the first book? How did the second book end? Who are all these people? Why do I even care?
I couldn’t answer any of those questions.
So I was immediately struggling when I started this book because I found it very hard to jump back into the story.
I have realized I do not like dark romance, and that’s what this series is. Casteel is not a good guy, and he’s not a sexy love interest, so I just hated reading about him. I hate how much he manipulated Poppy and called it love. You can read my rants about him in my reviews of the first two books if you’re interested in my full thoughts.
I also didn’t care for Poppy either. I liked her in the first book, but she slowly got more and more irritating and overpowered and less fierce. And she basically becomes a deity in this book which is just too much, no thank you.
The Crown of Gilded Bones is way too long. Like the second book, this installment needed some trimming and concision editing, which is unfortunately lacking seeing as this is a self-published novel.
I found myself just completely uninterested during the book to the point that I started skimming. In chapter two. It’s not that I hated the book, it’s that I didn’t care one bit about anything that was happening. I think nonchalance is a worse reaction to a book than hatred because at least you made me feel something if I hated it. But I didn’t care about this book enough to hate it. I skimmed a couple of chapters, reading mostly dialogue, until I decided I didn’t want to spend any more time with this story or these characters, so then I read the last two pages and decided to be done.
I know I will never reread these books, and I have no intention of finishing the series because I could barely read the little of this book that I did before DNFing. It was supposed to be a trilogy but it got extended to six books, which is what authors do when they want more money, I guess.
When I was originally reading the first book I found it to be very engaging and I was really into it. The second book I liked less but it was still good. Now that I’ve had some time away from the series, coming back to it has made me realize that upon reflection, this series is unmemorable and actually not that great. I think Jennifer Armentrout is good at writing compelling stories, and I liked the political intrigue present in the first two books, but I did not like the romance here at all. At this time I don’t plan on reading any other books by her, but that could always change in the future, who knows.
Here is my updated glossary for this series based on what I read of this book. It contains minor spoilers:
~GLOSSARY~
Ascended: Another name for a vampry. They were originally created by the Atlantians by accident by draining a mortal of blood and replacing their blood with Atlantian blood; consuming large quantities of Atlantian blood can turn one into an Ascended during a process called the Ascension. They are basically immortal and live for a long time but can ultimately still be killed.
Atlantian: Beings of an ancient race created by the gods. Basically they’re sophisticated vampires. They have fangs and are pretty much immortal but can still be killed. They age very slowly and their blood has healing properties.
Changeling: A certain Atlantian bloodline that can shift between two forms. Believed to be offspring of a deity and a wolven.
Craven: Dangerous beings that are a mix of vampires, werewolves, and zombies. If bitten by one, humans will turn into one. When a Vampry drains a mortal of blood, it turns into a Craven. The Ascended tell the people that the Dark One controls the Craven but this is not true as they are not even created by him. Instead, the Ascended use the Craven to control the people through fear.
Culling: The process when an Atlantian reaches a state of maturity and goes through physical changes when abilities sometimes begin to manifest, such as growing fangs.
Dark One: Prince Casteel / Hawke. He is the heir to the Atlantian throne, although he has a brother named Prince Malik, who is the true heir to the throne.
Descenters: The group that follows the Dark One. They believe the Solis gods are false and the Dark One, AKA Prince Casteel, is the true Prince. They are followers but are not directly led by him and sometimes act on their own.
Eather: What some would call magic. The essence of the gods; what gives them their abilities.
Joining: When an elemental Atlantian bonded to a wolven takes on a partner, there is an exchange of blood between the three individuals (or four, if the partner is also bonded to a wolven), causing the bond to be extended to the other person. This ceremony is sometimes done by way of sexual intercourse. The partner will then live as long as the wolven, even if they are half-mortal (it won’t work on full mortals though).
Rise: Mountainous walls constructed from limestone and iron mined from the Elysium Peaks. A Rise surrounds each city.
Soul Eater: A derogatory name for the Empath bloodline of Atlantians, named such because they can sense and manipulate people’s emotions and actions. Poppy is currently believed by some to belong to this bloodline.
Vampry: Basically vampires. Another name for the Ascended. They feed on mortals.
Wolven: Basically werewolves. Some Wolven can bond with certain Atlantians.
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