The Rising

Rating: 2.5 leaves out of 5
Characters: 3/5
Cover: 2/5
Story: 3/5
Writing: 2/5
Genre: Fantasy/Romance
Type: Book
Worth?: If you can get over Derana, yes.

This book was written by a lovely lady that I know from Book Lovers Discord (which you should totally join :D) which makes me conflicted to be truthful for the sake of not hurting feelings but I think that would be a disservice to her.

With that said there were a lot of things I liked. The story was okay, it was your basic everyday the world needs saving and the hero will do so. I liked the supporting characters and despised the main, which really brings the book down a few notches for me. Adding to that a lot of the book was telling and not showing us. We missed a lot of the twins growing into who they are, besides Raethon whom we see a lot more growth than we ever do with Derana. Everything that should be in there is skipped over with time skips. Like when they had to grow up in a particular setting or how things were done. A lot of that take away really dampened the book.

Because of these giant holes it made Derana a big Mary Sue. Just because you are a hero doesn't mean you don't have flaws. There were times when she “had a flaw” but calling the flaws is like accidentally giving someone a paper cut and then calling it murder. The two don't add up.

Will I be reading the second book? I am not sure. From the way it ended it looks like it will be highly focused on Derana and I don't really think I can take a whole other book with her. If it isn't I MIGHT...

It was hard to give it a 2, but I just didn't like it all as much as I wish I would have. But it was okay and I didn't absolutely hate the book even though I did want to throw it sometimes. Between the holes in the story and the trope, of let me use you and then I will fall in love with you, it was just too much and usually I wouldn't mind that trope if it wasn't for her seeming so Mary Sue-ish.

Either way Rae and Kaiden can come to my fanfiction any day. Lolol.