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The Bright & the Pale Duology #2
Wrath & Mercy
This second book in Russian folklore–based YA fantasy duology The Bright & the Pale follows Valeria as she works to truly free her people from the Czar and the Bright God—at whatever the cost.
Surviving the ill-fated expedition to Knnot, Valeria, Alik, and the others have found refuge in Valeria’s village. With her family at long last released from the curse that trapped them in ice for a decade, Valeria should find comfort in their reunion. But everything has changed—including herself. For now, Valeria is the Pale God’s chosen champion. And she is ready for revenge on the Czar.
With the power gifted to her by the Pale God, she will do whatever it takes to liberate her people. Even if that means stealing the Czar’s son away from the safety of the Winter Palace. As Alik watches Valeria struggle to maintain control over the god she holds captive, he begs her to sever the connection. For it is clear the Pale God plans a revenge of his own.
The inevitable is coming—one final battle. And Valeria must be ready to sacrifice everything—even her love for Alik—to win.
Surviving the ill-fated expedition to Knnot, Valeria, Alik, and the others have found refuge in Valeria’s village. With her family at long last released from the curse that trapped them in ice for a decade, Valeria should find comfort in their reunion. But everything has changed—including herself. For now, Valeria is the Pale God’s chosen champion. And she is ready for revenge on the Czar.
With the power gifted to her by the Pale God, she will do whatever it takes to liberate her people. Even if that means stealing the Czar’s son away from the safety of the Winter Palace. As Alik watches Valeria struggle to maintain control over the god she holds captive, he begs her to sever the connection. For it is clear the Pale God plans a revenge of his own.
The inevitable is coming—one final battle. And Valeria must be ready to sacrifice everything—even her love for Alik—to win.
416 pages, Hardcover
First published March 22, 2022
18 people are currently reading
3770 people want to read
About the author
Jessica Rubinkowski
4 books225 followersJessica Rubinkowski grew up in the fields of Illinois beside a haunted house. A fan of never sitting still, she picked up Scottish dancing, horseback riding, and general herb lore. Now, when not creating fantastical words to throw her characters into, she can be found baking or gardening. She lives in Central Illinois with her family and far too many pets to keep track of.
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Displaying 1 - 30 of 85 reviews
June 20, 2022
I believe that this is a great example of unnecessary sequels, it could have been better as a stand alone because I felt like the plot of this book is a mess and thus, ruining its potential to become a great series.
June 17, 2022
3.5 stars rounded down this time.
I was looking forward to this one for a few reasons; one, I was hoping that Val and Kosci would maybe have a romance? Two, I wanted to see Val delve into the dark side and become a villain, and three, I was curious to see how this ended.
While Val and Kosci didn't have a thing, there is a new player introduced to make a mild love triangle. And dang, I really liked him. Even more than Alik tbh... new guy supported Valeria through everything, he was devoted and loyal. I wish Alik had tried to explain more to Val when he "betrayed" her. I do like that Alik and Val were endgame though. Their love story was more believable in this one than the first one.
As for two, I was disappointed because Val was so wishy-washy. She would give in to her powers and got the dirty work done, but then double back and weakly claim she was a good girl. There's no reason a savior can't be a bad guy. I just wanted more darkness from her!
And three... well the ending wasn't bad. But holy heck did it wrap up FAST. I had like 15 pages left in the book and she still hadn't even seen Ladislaw on the battlefield???? Then BOOM, shit happens, it's over. It wasn't bad, but when I spent this whooooole book waiting for this confrontation, it was sad. Also, Yuri's part was just not well explained. Like I didn't get a good feeling as to why he'd . A lot of the plot seems to just be convenient for the characters. Also like Alik in the end .
It's worth the read, but wasn't worth the wait for me. If I read both of them back to back, I'm sure I'd have different opinions.
I was looking forward to this one for a few reasons; one, I was hoping that Val and Kosci would maybe have a romance? Two, I wanted to see Val delve into the dark side and become a villain, and three, I was curious to see how this ended.
While Val and Kosci didn't have a thing, there is a new player introduced to make a mild love triangle. And dang, I really liked him. Even more than Alik tbh... new guy supported Valeria through everything, he was devoted and loyal. I wish Alik had tried to explain more to Val when he "betrayed" her. I do like that Alik and Val were endgame though. Their love story was more believable in this one than the first one.
As for two, I was disappointed because Val was so wishy-washy. She would give in to her powers and got the dirty work done, but then double back and weakly claim she was a good girl. There's no reason a savior can't be a bad guy. I just wanted more darkness from her!
And three... well the ending wasn't bad. But holy heck did it wrap up FAST. I had like 15 pages left in the book and she still hadn't even seen Ladislaw on the battlefield???? Then BOOM, shit happens, it's over. It wasn't bad, but when I spent this whooooole book waiting for this confrontation, it was sad. Also, Yuri's part was just not well explained. Like I didn't get a good feeling as to why he'd . A lot of the plot seems to just be convenient for the characters. Also like Alik in the end .
It's worth the read, but wasn't worth the wait for me. If I read both of them back to back, I'm sure I'd have different opinions.
June 27, 2022
God. Alik was so annoying! Ok he was right, but so annoying. He could have at least try to understand than to bloody make her feel guilty! Like obviously her decisions were hard but with the way he was complaining you would expect she was murdering a child everyday at supper 🤦🏻♀️ and at the end - oh Valeria, I thought you were dead …. And now I understand, well well well 🤦🏻♀️ idiot 😅
Like Baatar was so much better. I am not mad she ended up with Alik, but Baatar at least understood it’s war and not Tetris.
Like Baatar was so much better. I am not mad she ended up with Alik, but Baatar at least understood it’s war and not Tetris.
This entire review has been hidden because of spoilers.
April 10, 2022
A vicious, tumultuous follow up to a surprise favorite of 2021, Wrath and Mercy follows the consequences of Valeria’s choices in Knnot. Now the Pale God’s champion, Valeria wages war against the Czar and the Bright God’s champion, but each ruthless choice she must make to survive might freeze what remains of her humanity.
The Bright and the Pale left off at such a fun place, so I was really excited for this sequel. It delivers on the brutality of revolution and war, and Val’s struggles to become the leader her people need while battling her own emotional trauma was so engrossing. Watching her make the hard choices and also the fun arguments she had with Kosci made her descent into darkness all the more enjoyable.
As much as I enjoyed her corruption arc, I was left feeling iffy on Alik’s role as moral compass in the story. It might be a matter of personal taste, but I found it tiring that he kept arguing that her actions were wrong without bringing up any decent counter arguments for what else she could do. If, for instance, we were shown all the countless paths to peace that he proposed, but that Valeria ignored in favor of her vengeance, he’d have a solid foundation. Sadly, the conflict between them got reduced to a very black or white situation that I was disappointed by, because the potential was there.
Also, Bataar is great. He deserves more page time.
Overall a delightful little foray into the dark side!
The Bright and the Pale left off at such a fun place, so I was really excited for this sequel. It delivers on the brutality of revolution and war, and Val’s struggles to become the leader her people need while battling her own emotional trauma was so engrossing. Watching her make the hard choices and also the fun arguments she had with Kosci made her descent into darkness all the more enjoyable.
As much as I enjoyed her corruption arc, I was left feeling iffy on Alik’s role as moral compass in the story. It might be a matter of personal taste, but I found it tiring that he kept arguing that her actions were wrong without bringing up any decent counter arguments for what else she could do. If, for instance, we were shown all the countless paths to peace that he proposed, but that Valeria ignored in favor of her vengeance, he’d have a solid foundation. Sadly, the conflict between them got reduced to a very black or white situation that I was disappointed by, because the potential was there.
Also, Bataar is great. He deserves more page time.
Overall a delightful little foray into the dark side!
November 13, 2023
This was Mid at best. Did The Bright & The Pale need a sequel? No, it did not in my opinion. The story didn’t really give us anything extra, other then a new love intrest which in my opinion was much better then Alic.
Alic went against Val every step of the way. He never supported her, only gave her trouble, wouldn’t love her for who she became, he never gave her a real explanation.
Also the whole war story line didn’t make much sense, Val went from a thief to a war commander, like she knew how to command an army. It all didn’t make much sense..
Alic went against Val every step of the way. He never supported her, only gave her trouble, wouldn’t love her for who she became, he never gave her a real explanation.
Also the whole war story line didn’t make much sense, Val went from a thief to a war commander, like she knew how to command an army. It all didn’t make much sense..
March 24, 2023
Having enjoyed the first book so much, this was a bit of a let down. The story is really slow and mostly politicking except for a few fight scenes here and there. I didn’t find Valeria to be nearly as likeable and she took on more of a Danaerys in season 8 kind of roll. But no one stands up to her crazy and she’s magically forgiven.
I did like the semi love triangle with Baatar. And honestly, he was infinitely more likable than Alik.
I also think Chinua and Serafima’s romance was a bit of a flop. Like there didn’t seem to be that much chemistry between them.
I did like the semi love triangle with Baatar. And honestly, he was infinitely more likable than Alik.
I also think Chinua and Serafima’s romance was a bit of a flop. Like there didn’t seem to be that much chemistry between them.
This entire review has been hidden because of spoilers.
July 9, 2023
2.5 ⭐️
I feel like the first book was way better 😭
This was underwhelming as hell, not an ounce of excitement or surprise until the last thirty pages. They planned stuff and it happened, there wasn’t even a plottwist, nothing 🥲
The romance was not good - Alik was just a ghost with no personality and disagreeing with everything Valeria planned, yet wouldn’t come up with anything better
The Bright & the Pale should’ve just been a standalone…
I feel like the first book was way better 😭
This was underwhelming as hell, not an ounce of excitement or surprise until the last thirty pages. They planned stuff and it happened, there wasn’t even a plottwist, nothing 🥲
The romance was not good - Alik was just a ghost with no personality and disagreeing with everything Valeria planned, yet wouldn’t come up with anything better
The Bright & the Pale should’ve just been a standalone…
December 19, 2022
Bataar was the only thing that made me keep reading this book. So obviously I'm mad that Val ended up with Alik 😐
This entire review has been hidden because of spoilers.
April 7, 2023
More of a 3.5 star.
Nice way to end the duology, didnt quite like it as much as the first but it was a great book to listen to whilst pottering around the house.
Nice way to end the duology, didnt quite like it as much as the first but it was a great book to listen to whilst pottering around the house.
January 9, 2024
2.5 stars ✨ RTC
March 30, 2022
Series Info/Source: This is the 2nd book in The Bright & the Pale duology. I borrowed an ebook of this from my library.
Thoughts: I absolutely loved The Bright & the Pale and was very much looking forward to reading the conclusion to this duology. This book met, and exceeded, my expectations! I loved it so much.
This book picks up where the last book left off; Valeria has accepted the Pale God's power and is on a mission to overthrow the current Czar and save her people. However, as things progress Alik is watching Valeria become less herself and more Pale God. Will Valeria be able to save her people with the Pale God’s power and save herself too? Or will the power of the Pale God overwhelm her and the centuries long battle between the Bright God and the Pale God continue?
So much happens in this book. Valeria is learning to use her new power, she is adventuring in hopes of gaining allies and freeing her people to form an army. I loved her steadfast companions and how her family is involved in the story as well. Alik was amazing and I loved how he took a less typical male role but was still incredibly important to the story. He ends up becoming Valeria’s moral compass and puts enormous effort into helping her stay herself.
As I was getting toward the end of the book I was actually getting a little nervous that this was going to be a trilogy. There was so much going on I had no idea how Rubinkowski was going to wrap it up without the story feeling incomplete or rushed. However, I shouldn’t have worried…the story ended magnificently! It didn’t feel rushed, contrived, or incomplete…it was perfect!
The writing style is so easy to read here. The world-building is very well done and complete, I loved the characters, the action, and the magical ever warring gods. This was a very solid fantasy duology that I thoroughly enjoyed. I have been so spoiled with the last few books I have read, they have all been excellent.
My Summary (5/5): Overall I loved this, it does a perfect job wrapping up this fantasy adventure duology. While this book is more politically focused than the last one, there is still plenty of magic, adventure, and action. The plot, world-building, magic, and characters were all incredibly well done. This was an easy and entertaining read and I definitely plan on checking out more books by Rubinkowski in the future! I would highly recommend this duology if you are looking for a solid fantasy adventure story!
Thoughts: I absolutely loved The Bright & the Pale and was very much looking forward to reading the conclusion to this duology. This book met, and exceeded, my expectations! I loved it so much.
This book picks up where the last book left off; Valeria has accepted the Pale God's power and is on a mission to overthrow the current Czar and save her people. However, as things progress Alik is watching Valeria become less herself and more Pale God. Will Valeria be able to save her people with the Pale God’s power and save herself too? Or will the power of the Pale God overwhelm her and the centuries long battle between the Bright God and the Pale God continue?
So much happens in this book. Valeria is learning to use her new power, she is adventuring in hopes of gaining allies and freeing her people to form an army. I loved her steadfast companions and how her family is involved in the story as well. Alik was amazing and I loved how he took a less typical male role but was still incredibly important to the story. He ends up becoming Valeria’s moral compass and puts enormous effort into helping her stay herself.
As I was getting toward the end of the book I was actually getting a little nervous that this was going to be a trilogy. There was so much going on I had no idea how Rubinkowski was going to wrap it up without the story feeling incomplete or rushed. However, I shouldn’t have worried…the story ended magnificently! It didn’t feel rushed, contrived, or incomplete…it was perfect!
The writing style is so easy to read here. The world-building is very well done and complete, I loved the characters, the action, and the magical ever warring gods. This was a very solid fantasy duology that I thoroughly enjoyed. I have been so spoiled with the last few books I have read, they have all been excellent.
My Summary (5/5): Overall I loved this, it does a perfect job wrapping up this fantasy adventure duology. While this book is more politically focused than the last one, there is still plenty of magic, adventure, and action. The plot, world-building, magic, and characters were all incredibly well done. This was an easy and entertaining read and I definitely plan on checking out more books by Rubinkowski in the future! I would highly recommend this duology if you are looking for a solid fantasy adventure story!
December 27, 2022
⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️ / 4 stars
Wrath & Mercy is the sequel to The Bright & The Pale. After surviving Knnot and having freed her people from the ice, Valeria works toward freeing them from the Czar and the Bright God.
“You are not people to be broken and used!”
The Bright & The Pale review|⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️💫
The Bright & The Pale was one of the last books I’ve read last year and this year Wrath & Mercy is also one of the last hahaha. When this book came out in March earlier in 2022, I immediately bought it to save it for winter time hahaha. I feel like this story should be read when it is cold to appreciate it better.
The worldbuilding was still very easy to understand and still as intriguing as I found it after the first book. What made it more fun was the expansion of the world, beyond just hearsay. We got to see different places and leaving the mountain behind (wow that feels like the Hobbit a bit haha)
Valeria is still such a badass character, but it felt a bit like she lost herself somewhere along the way after fusing together with Kosci. Alik was such a sweet character who really went lengths for those he loved. I really liked him a lot. The whole theme of the book seems to be the lengths we go to protect those we love and I really liked that in the book. His moral compass though sometimes was a bit to black and white it seemed compared to Val.
The found family vibes were still very much there and I loved the way that was explored even more this story, which each character somehow taking on a more prominent role. I wasn’t a fan of the romance to be honest. I loved the relationship between Val and Alik and wanted to see it more and more. It was a bit of a pity to see it crumble and the love-triangle that came with it. It didn’t really feel completely right.
The ending was done so well, I loved how that all played out. While the fighting sometimes was a bit hard to follow, I appreciate how everything was resolved and how all came about.
Overall, it is very much an adventure that sweeps you up. A lot more political intrigue, morally grey characters and a stunning ending to the duology.
Wrath & Mercy is the sequel to The Bright & The Pale. After surviving Knnot and having freed her people from the ice, Valeria works toward freeing them from the Czar and the Bright God.
“You are not people to be broken and used!”
The Bright & The Pale review|⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️💫
The Bright & The Pale was one of the last books I’ve read last year and this year Wrath & Mercy is also one of the last hahaha. When this book came out in March earlier in 2022, I immediately bought it to save it for winter time hahaha. I feel like this story should be read when it is cold to appreciate it better.
The worldbuilding was still very easy to understand and still as intriguing as I found it after the first book. What made it more fun was the expansion of the world, beyond just hearsay. We got to see different places and leaving the mountain behind (wow that feels like the Hobbit a bit haha)
Valeria is still such a badass character, but it felt a bit like she lost herself somewhere along the way after fusing together with Kosci. Alik was such a sweet character who really went lengths for those he loved. I really liked him a lot. The whole theme of the book seems to be the lengths we go to protect those we love and I really liked that in the book. His moral compass though sometimes was a bit to black and white it seemed compared to Val.
The found family vibes were still very much there and I loved the way that was explored even more this story, which each character somehow taking on a more prominent role. I wasn’t a fan of the romance to be honest. I loved the relationship between Val and Alik and wanted to see it more and more. It was a bit of a pity to see it crumble and the love-triangle that came with it. It didn’t really feel completely right.
The ending was done so well, I loved how that all played out. While the fighting sometimes was a bit hard to follow, I appreciate how everything was resolved and how all came about.
Overall, it is very much an adventure that sweeps you up. A lot more political intrigue, morally grey characters and a stunning ending to the duology.
June 27, 2023
3.5 Stars
I’m giving the series as a whole 3 stars. It was enjoyable but not incredibly memorable. This duology would have been much better as a stand-alone and I think most of the second book was actually the plot to follow as book one felt slow while book two held most of the action and conflict and had parts that were rushed.
I think this book was more enjoyable, but I notice other reviews saying they preferred the first book. This book definitely dealt with Val changing and warring with two sides of herself. Somewhat of a love triangle between her and two men and honestly I saw myself rooting for the new guy more, but then the “twist” of this fantasy kind of cleared it all up. The war strategy and battles were pulse racing and I felt more captivated during this story vs the first book.
Overall I say this series was okay but forgettable which sucks, because I think it had so much potential and could have been an incredible stand-alone fantasy.
I’m giving the series as a whole 3 stars. It was enjoyable but not incredibly memorable. This duology would have been much better as a stand-alone and I think most of the second book was actually the plot to follow as book one felt slow while book two held most of the action and conflict and had parts that were rushed.
I think this book was more enjoyable, but I notice other reviews saying they preferred the first book. This book definitely dealt with Val changing and warring with two sides of herself. Somewhat of a love triangle between her and two men and honestly I saw myself rooting for the new guy more, but then the “twist” of this fantasy kind of cleared it all up. The war strategy and battles were pulse racing and I felt more captivated during this story vs the first book.
Overall I say this series was okay but forgettable which sucks, because I think it had so much potential and could have been an incredible stand-alone fantasy.
September 29, 2024
I'm afraid I don't have anything good to say.
I actually enjoyed the first book, and wish I would have stopped at that.
The second book just lost the plot completely. Nothing. Absolutely nothing makes sense.
How the hell did we get from the events of the first book to the main character becoming some weird kindergarten version of a war general that wants to free people and rule the world?!? Yeah yeah, I know, pale god and the amulet. BUT STILL.
Don't even get me started on Valeria and Alik. I didn't think I would ever hate a love interest/an endgame relationship as much as Mal/Alina BUT HERE WE ARE.
I should've dnf'd but this just felt like a trainwreck and I couldn't look away.
(I'm just really mad that I actually spend money on the Fairyloot version of this book, jfc)
I actually enjoyed the first book, and wish I would have stopped at that.
The second book just lost the plot completely. Nothing. Absolutely nothing makes sense.
How the hell did we get from the events of the first book to the main character becoming some weird kindergarten version of a war general that wants to free people and rule the world?!? Yeah yeah, I know, pale god and the amulet. BUT STILL.
Don't even get me started on Valeria and Alik. I didn't think I would ever hate a love interest/an endgame relationship as much as Mal/Alina BUT HERE WE ARE.
I should've dnf'd but this just felt like a trainwreck and I couldn't look away.
(I'm just really mad that I actually spend money on the Fairyloot version of this book, jfc)
January 10, 2024
A really good conclusion to this duology! 👏 I loved reading about Valeria's decent into madness, the shift from subtly unhingedness to outright madness was so well done too I barely noticed to start with.
Honestly, this was such a good duology and I loved reading it!
Honestly, this was such a good duology and I loved reading it!
Want to read
January 5, 2022also, great names for twins!
October 18, 2022
Better than the first book and ended well
January 8, 2023
This was a fantastic sequel, loved being in this world again with these characters, and how everything went down!
April 2, 2025
3/5
A marked improvement from book 1, but the FMC ends up with a jackass who I'd like to beat up, so.
A marked improvement from book 1, but the FMC ends up with a jackass who I'd like to beat up, so.
January 1, 2023
Told in first person, this duology is inspired by Russian folklore and follows a girl from the region of Zladonia who joins a guild of thieves after her family and home are frozen in a mysterious event. While I enjoyed the world-building somewhat, I was left with questions about the brother Gods and I was extremely frustrated with Valeria’s choices especially in regard to Alik, her best friend that she lost during a job before the beginning of the story.
I found Valeria to be courageous but narrow-minded. I often felt frustrated by the communications between Valeria and Alik, their words fueled by passion instead of intent. My favorite parts of the story involved the adventure to retrieve the lovite that was once mined in Zladonia for the Czar and enjoyed the group of characters that came together for the journey, especially those that stayed with Valeria as she moved against the Czar in the latter part of the duology. There are strong themes of friendship, found family, revenge and abuse of power.
I found Valeria to be courageous but narrow-minded. I often felt frustrated by the communications between Valeria and Alik, their words fueled by passion instead of intent. My favorite parts of the story involved the adventure to retrieve the lovite that was once mined in Zladonia for the Czar and enjoyed the group of characters that came together for the journey, especially those that stayed with Valeria as she moved against the Czar in the latter part of the duology. There are strong themes of friendship, found family, revenge and abuse of power.
dnf
December 11, 2023DNF
I liked the first book and was intrigued enough to read the sequel. And even though I roughly remember what happened, which almost never happens, I couldn’t get into the story. I don’t remember enough to follow what’s going on and honestly, I don’t really care either. I’ve looked at reviews and they were mostly negative as well, so I think I’d better off skipping this one.
I liked the first book and was intrigued enough to read the sequel. And even though I roughly remember what happened, which almost never happens, I couldn’t get into the story. I don’t remember enough to follow what’s going on and honestly, I don’t really care either. I’ve looked at reviews and they were mostly negative as well, so I think I’d better off skipping this one.
January 24, 2023
More like a 2.5 rating.
This book was quite average for me. The mystery did not intrigue me, I didn’t care for the villain, he was just bad, no depth really to him. Val was too strong, battles were too easy. The first book was a lot more interesting because it was a story of the little guy. There was more team work, each character had abilities that were vital to team work. This book it is all Val, they just follow her and she just seems to know what to do. She’s a thief, how does she know how to manoeuvre an army? She shouldn’t, she goes from thief to commander… how? With what training? At the start of the book she struggles to ride a horse, and in this book she’s riding into battle on one. I would have thought you’d need to train how to fight on a horse.
Everything just seemed too easy. Magic makes things too easy. Also Val can just imagine things into being? Seems too easy. I didn’t feel the struggle, I didn’t feel the pain. I can see I was meant to feel like she was going evil but I still didn’t really care. Thank goodness for Alik, the only person seeming to not bow to her every whims, and yet Bataar was probably my favourite character. Bataar was awesome, I loved reading about him.
Also there were many grammatical errors. At least 3 times in this book quotation marks were forgotten. And 1 time in the first book that I spotted. Very strange for a fairyloot exclusive, you’d think they would take good care of rookie mistakes like that.
I actually am kind of sad for the Gods story. Would have liked some other resolution for them. There was a lot of potential in this story, but it missed the grit, the fight, the friendship and loyalty. It was too much of Val choosing and others following. And her choices didn’t make sense to me, with her characters upbringing (referring to her lack of military training).
This series was very “eh” for me. Unfortunately I wouldn’t recommend it. Left a lot to be desired.
This book was quite average for me. The mystery did not intrigue me, I didn’t care for the villain, he was just bad, no depth really to him. Val was too strong, battles were too easy. The first book was a lot more interesting because it was a story of the little guy. There was more team work, each character had abilities that were vital to team work. This book it is all Val, they just follow her and she just seems to know what to do. She’s a thief, how does she know how to manoeuvre an army? She shouldn’t, she goes from thief to commander… how? With what training? At the start of the book she struggles to ride a horse, and in this book she’s riding into battle on one. I would have thought you’d need to train how to fight on a horse.
Everything just seemed too easy. Magic makes things too easy. Also Val can just imagine things into being? Seems too easy. I didn’t feel the struggle, I didn’t feel the pain. I can see I was meant to feel like she was going evil but I still didn’t really care. Thank goodness for Alik, the only person seeming to not bow to her every whims, and yet Bataar was probably my favourite character. Bataar was awesome, I loved reading about him.
Also there were many grammatical errors. At least 3 times in this book quotation marks were forgotten. And 1 time in the first book that I spotted. Very strange for a fairyloot exclusive, you’d think they would take good care of rookie mistakes like that.
I actually am kind of sad for the Gods story. Would have liked some other resolution for them. There was a lot of potential in this story, but it missed the grit, the fight, the friendship and loyalty. It was too much of Val choosing and others following. And her choices didn’t make sense to me, with her characters upbringing (referring to her lack of military training).
This series was very “eh” for me. Unfortunately I wouldn’t recommend it. Left a lot to be desired.
April 8, 2022
This was a somewhat disappointing sequel for me. The plot skips and wanders around enough that it lises a lot of the narrative flow that book one had.
My biggest issue with this particular installment is how random the main characters powers became. They realky were just whatever the plot conveniently needed them to be in that moment and a lit of what seemed like careful world building from book one at least in this aspect was completely list to me.
There is also an insufferable and randomly sudden live triangle amd bickering between the main guy and girl that comes completely out if no where. It was extremely reiterating and while I was glad to see the representation that Baatar brought by entering the story his preference was introduced and shoved in for the sake of a live triangle so fast I almost got whiplash.
Im also not really amused with the fact the author could jot get more creative with naming the khan other rhan giving hjn Ghengis khans littoral name while having Baatar go on a big speech about the khans ideals that match up with ghengis 's ideals really well all while having this khan do a lot of things that seem to contradict either that or things that the actual historical figure he's clearly ripped off from would have done.
Im also realky confused as to what the technology level is meant to be in this world and it realky could have used more fleshing out.
All in all this was a pretty disappointing sequel for me. I'd live to one day read more of this authors work but for the time being I just didn't really find the epic end to a duology that I was hoping for.
My biggest issue with this particular installment is how random the main characters powers became. They realky were just whatever the plot conveniently needed them to be in that moment and a lit of what seemed like careful world building from book one at least in this aspect was completely list to me.
There is also an insufferable and randomly sudden live triangle amd bickering between the main guy and girl that comes completely out if no where. It was extremely reiterating and while I was glad to see the representation that Baatar brought by entering the story his preference was introduced and shoved in for the sake of a live triangle so fast I almost got whiplash.
Im also not really amused with the fact the author could jot get more creative with naming the khan other rhan giving hjn Ghengis khans littoral name while having Baatar go on a big speech about the khans ideals that match up with ghengis 's ideals really well all while having this khan do a lot of things that seem to contradict either that or things that the actual historical figure he's clearly ripped off from would have done.
Im also realky confused as to what the technology level is meant to be in this world and it realky could have used more fleshing out.
All in all this was a pretty disappointing sequel for me. I'd live to one day read more of this authors work but for the time being I just didn't really find the epic end to a duology that I was hoping for.
November 12, 2022
Hmmm.
First of all, I would just like to say that I need to get better at tracking reading on goodreads. I didn’t start this book on the 5th but i forgot to log it, and same with Evelyn Hugo. I really need to be more on top of it tbh.
This book was… a typical ya war book, honestly. The plot was better, yes, but it changed completely, and so did the characters, if a bit less so.
𝑇ℎ𝑖𝑛𝑔𝑠 𝐼 𝑙𝑖𝑘𝑒𝑑：
⍟ Alik’s character development & Alik (shocking ik)
⍟ The ending
⍟ Chinua & Sera together
⍟ Valeria reuniting with her familyy
⍟ Valeria & Alik together, surprisingly?
𝑇ℎ𝑖𝑛𝑔𝑠 𝐼 𝑑𝑖𝑑 𝑛𝑜𝑡 𝑙𝑖𝑘𝑒：
⍟ Valeria when she turned into Kosci’s little plaything
⍟ Valeria & Bataar
⍟ The love triangle in general
⍟ Kosci
⍟ How little Chinua & Sera content there was
⍟ Them calling Valeria “Czarista” and her liking it 🤮
⍟ How everyone stuck with Valeria at like 300 page mark even though she was a narcissistic, dumb, psychopathic who thought she was the shit when really she was weak and a plaything
Yeah as you can see I feel quite strongly about Valeria.
But, overall, I wouldn’t really recommend this series, so don’t waste your time and money on it.
First of all, I would just like to say that I need to get better at tracking reading on goodreads. I didn’t start this book on the 5th but i forgot to log it, and same with Evelyn Hugo. I really need to be more on top of it tbh.
This book was… a typical ya war book, honestly. The plot was better, yes, but it changed completely, and so did the characters, if a bit less so.
𝑇ℎ𝑖𝑛𝑔𝑠 𝐼 𝑙𝑖𝑘𝑒𝑑：
⍟ Alik’s character development & Alik (shocking ik)
⍟ The ending
⍟ Chinua & Sera together
⍟ Valeria reuniting with her familyy
⍟ Valeria & Alik together, surprisingly?
𝑇ℎ𝑖𝑛𝑔𝑠 𝐼 𝑑𝑖𝑑 𝑛𝑜𝑡 𝑙𝑖𝑘𝑒：
⍟ Valeria when she turned into Kosci’s little plaything
⍟ Valeria & Bataar
⍟ The love triangle in general
⍟ Kosci
⍟ How little Chinua & Sera content there was
⍟ Them calling Valeria “Czarista” and her liking it 🤮
⍟ How everyone stuck with Valeria at like 300 page mark even though she was a narcissistic, dumb, psychopathic who thought she was the shit when really she was weak and a plaything
Yeah as you can see I feel quite strongly about Valeria.
But, overall, I wouldn’t really recommend this series, so don’t waste your time and money on it.
October 15, 2022
I took a star off because again, no map!! In a fantasy world you create, maps are important for context. This also had a military campaign and jumped from city to city....you need a map for that!! I guess I'm the only one with this hang-up though. Solid sequel but I think it tried to do a little too much which caused some plot holes. Plus it wrapped up too tidy. Don't get me wrong, I didn't want anyone to die, but in war that seems unrealistic.
July 17, 2022
a snow queen retelling turned ice king’s (adventure time) backstory that is as repetitive as the entirety of the walking dead? no, thanks
February 6, 2023
2,5⭐
J'avais bien aimé le tome 1 et vu la fin j'attendais ce tome 2...
En soit c'est pas mauvais : l'intrigue se tient, il y a des petits "plot twist", l'action est présente, il y a de la magie etc et ça pourrait presqu'être un "villain origin story".
Le rythme du récit était plutôt mal, même s'il y a avait quelques longueurs parfois, ça allait.
Les personnages évoluent pas mal, surtout Val. J'ai bien aimé qu'elle passe un peu du côté obscur (même si je n'étais pas toujours d'accord avec ses choix). J'aurais aimé qu'elle prenne plus en compte l'avis des autres et pas juste foncer tête baissée en espérant que ça passe.
J'aurais aimé plus de Chinua et Sera.
J'ai bien aimé Bataar, même si je ne lui ai jamais vraiment fait confiance, mais je n'ai pas trouvé qu'il avait grand intérêt dans l'histoire. Genre, pourquoi un triangle amoureux ?
Et Alik j'aurais aimé plus le voir aussi, qu'il soit moins "gentil" avec Val, parce qu'il est quand même patient le gars, et qu'il parle plus avec Val, ou Chinua et Sera, qu'il y ait vraiment une recherche sur le devenir du champion des dieux et pas juste une info qui est chuchoter entre deux étagères...
Je suis déçue de ne pas avoir retrouvé le travail d'équipe du tome 1 et que ça soit juste Val toute seule qui "gère" la situation.
J'ai trouvé que l'usage de la magie était trop "facile". Avant la fin du livre il n'y a pas vraiment de conséquences et elle peut pratiquement utiliser la magie de Kosci de façon illimitée.
Ce qui m'a dérangé aussi c'est que certaines choses vont trop vite. On commence le livre avec une armée de paysans et j'ai un peu eu l'impression qu'après une bataille ils étaient tous opérationnels comme si ça faisait des années qu'ils étaient latles gars ....bon.
Je suis pas ultra satisfaite avec la fin et j'aurais préféré que Val se retire et laisse la place de "chef" à qqn de plus compétent pour ce poste. Par contre que les deux dieux disparaissent, ça c'est une bonne chose 😅
C'était pas mauvais, mais ce n'est malheureusement pas une histoire mémorable...
Bon par contre les chapitres sont courts et ça on adore !
J'avais bien aimé le tome 1 et vu la fin j'attendais ce tome 2...
En soit c'est pas mauvais : l'intrigue se tient, il y a des petits "plot twist", l'action est présente, il y a de la magie etc et ça pourrait presqu'être un "villain origin story".
Le rythme du récit était plutôt mal, même s'il y a avait quelques longueurs parfois, ça allait.
Les personnages évoluent pas mal, surtout Val. J'ai bien aimé qu'elle passe un peu du côté obscur (même si je n'étais pas toujours d'accord avec ses choix). J'aurais aimé qu'elle prenne plus en compte l'avis des autres et pas juste foncer tête baissée en espérant que ça passe.
J'aurais aimé plus de Chinua et Sera.
J'ai bien aimé Bataar, même si je ne lui ai jamais vraiment fait confiance, mais je n'ai pas trouvé qu'il avait grand intérêt dans l'histoire. Genre, pourquoi un triangle amoureux ?
Et Alik j'aurais aimé plus le voir aussi, qu'il soit moins "gentil" avec Val, parce qu'il est quand même patient le gars, et qu'il parle plus avec Val, ou Chinua et Sera, qu'il y ait vraiment une recherche sur le devenir du champion des dieux et pas juste une info qui est chuchoter entre deux étagères...
Je suis déçue de ne pas avoir retrouvé le travail d'équipe du tome 1 et que ça soit juste Val toute seule qui "gère" la situation.
J'ai trouvé que l'usage de la magie était trop "facile". Avant la fin du livre il n'y a pas vraiment de conséquences et elle peut pratiquement utiliser la magie de Kosci de façon illimitée.
Ce qui m'a dérangé aussi c'est que certaines choses vont trop vite. On commence le livre avec une armée de paysans et j'ai un peu eu l'impression qu'après une bataille ils étaient tous opérationnels comme si ça faisait des années qu'ils étaient latles gars ....bon.
Je suis pas ultra satisfaite avec la fin et j'aurais préféré que Val se retire et laisse la place de "chef" à qqn de plus compétent pour ce poste. Par contre que les deux dieux disparaissent, ça c'est une bonne chose 😅
C'était pas mauvais, mais ce n'est malheureusement pas une histoire mémorable...
Bon par contre les chapitres sont courts et ça on adore !
This entire review has been hidden because of spoilers.
January 5, 2023
I have very mixed emotions after reading this. It follows Valeria who is now the leader of an army against the king that has oppressed a certain race of people for a decade. She’s the champion of one of the gods (who is fighting against his brother) - the two gods essentially using mortals to do their dirty work in order to achieve power over the other.
The beginning was really slow and I put the book down many times because it just wasn’t holding my attention. It started getting good in the middle and the fight scenes were described really well. There’s only a teeny tiny issue I have with the fighting… you’re telling me, that a bunch of untrained soldiers managed to beat the kings trained soldiers almost every time with only minimal losses? Little bit unrealistic. The final fight scene was much better because people were being killed equally on both sides.
The second thing I had issues with was Valeria’s undeveloped personality. Without giving away spoilers, her personality starts negatively changing throughout the book, but I feel like her personality wasn’t developed enough from the first book for me to notice the changes? I could only go off of the people around Valeria saying that she’s changed and it made it way less enjoyable.
The love triangle was a bit all over the place to but there were definitely aspects I enjoyed. I did really like Valeria’s emotional turmoil in terms of differentiating between wrong and right, I thought that was done really well.
I do think the book was very black and white though. You either had those that were completely loyal to the king or those that wanted to overthrow him, no in between.
The ending was really good though. Lots of action, emotional, unexpected. Again, without giving away spoilers, I was really surprised about how the problem of the gods needed to be solved - in a good way.
Overall, it was okay. The protagonist definitely needed more development but the overall plot was pretty decent.
The beginning was really slow and I put the book down many times because it just wasn’t holding my attention. It started getting good in the middle and the fight scenes were described really well. There’s only a teeny tiny issue I have with the fighting… you’re telling me, that a bunch of untrained soldiers managed to beat the kings trained soldiers almost every time with only minimal losses? Little bit unrealistic. The final fight scene was much better because people were being killed equally on both sides.
The second thing I had issues with was Valeria’s undeveloped personality. Without giving away spoilers, her personality starts negatively changing throughout the book, but I feel like her personality wasn’t developed enough from the first book for me to notice the changes? I could only go off of the people around Valeria saying that she’s changed and it made it way less enjoyable.
The love triangle was a bit all over the place to but there were definitely aspects I enjoyed. I did really like Valeria’s emotional turmoil in terms of differentiating between wrong and right, I thought that was done really well.
I do think the book was very black and white though. You either had those that were completely loyal to the king or those that wanted to overthrow him, no in between.
The ending was really good though. Lots of action, emotional, unexpected. Again, without giving away spoilers, I was really surprised about how the problem of the gods needed to be solved - in a good way.
Overall, it was okay. The protagonist definitely needed more development but the overall plot was pretty decent.
May 25, 2022
The sequel to THE BRIGHT & THE PALE is an emotional roller coaster, but one that will surely resonate with readers who enjoy morally grey/villainous characters.
Much of the book follows Valeria as she becomes a champion, a general, and a veritable goddess as she battles to save her people and topple both czars and gods. Valeria is a complex character. She’s always been fairly intense, but it moved up a whole new level as Kosci continued to manipulate her. On the one hand, I understood why her temper rose the way it did, though part of me wished she’d tried a little harder to resist the lure of power. Still, her actions were understandable for the most part, and I think she remained fairly sympathetic.
I liked many of the side characters, including the new addition, Bataar. I wished he’d had more to do because he was a lot of fun. Valeria had important bonds with all of her friends and family, though her romance with Alik was a lot more complex. I appreciated his constant fighting for her, defying her until she saw reason, and loved how their bond was a challenging one.
The book was also packed with action scenes. They were visceral, inventive, and exciting. It was cinematic and immersive and made for an entertaining read.
This series is underrated, but I think it’s a solid choice for any reader who loves villain origin stories and dark fantasy. The writing is dramatic and the prose is good, and it has plenty of drama and emotional moments to draw in a reader. Check it out if it appeals to you!
Much of the book follows Valeria as she becomes a champion, a general, and a veritable goddess as she battles to save her people and topple both czars and gods. Valeria is a complex character. She’s always been fairly intense, but it moved up a whole new level as Kosci continued to manipulate her. On the one hand, I understood why her temper rose the way it did, though part of me wished she’d tried a little harder to resist the lure of power. Still, her actions were understandable for the most part, and I think she remained fairly sympathetic.
I liked many of the side characters, including the new addition, Bataar. I wished he’d had more to do because he was a lot of fun. Valeria had important bonds with all of her friends and family, though her romance with Alik was a lot more complex. I appreciated his constant fighting for her, defying her until she saw reason, and loved how their bond was a challenging one.
The book was also packed with action scenes. They were visceral, inventive, and exciting. It was cinematic and immersive and made for an entertaining read.
This series is underrated, but I think it’s a solid choice for any reader who loves villain origin stories and dark fantasy. The writing is dramatic and the prose is good, and it has plenty of drama and emotional moments to draw in a reader. Check it out if it appeals to you!
August 31, 2024
this book fell so flat, 80% of this book was so slow and I had to drag myself through it, and then the actual war part was so rushed, I feel like a lot of the book was just valeria barking with herself and her emotions with the god in her head, and there wasn’t much actual plot development besides a couple of raids, even every death held no emotion because they’d be bought back if they were close to Valeria, I guess I just didn’t connect with these books or characters the way I really wanted too, even the characters dynamics held no emotional connection, even before the god took over her head slowly, and even at the end it just felt fake which I hated! as for valeria as a character, it was hard to read about her losing herself and we don’t really get to understand that till later on as Valeria becomes an unreliable narrator, alik just looks like someone trying to hold her back not as a someone who loves her who’s trying to save her which I thought was really well done by the author! and as for alik, I did like his character, my emotions with him were up and down during this one though because of Valeria’s unreliableness, but once I got to understand his motivations behind his actions it all came together and made sense, he is a character that deeply cares for the ones he loves! overall, this was an okay book, it had its flaws with the story and characters, but the writing style and the use of Russian mythology was really well done and interesting!
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