Day: July 22, 2020

3.5 out of 5 stars

Books Include:

• The Lightening-Struck Heart – 5 stars
• A Destiny of Dragons – 4 stars
• The Consumption of Magic – 3 stars
• A Wish Upon the Stars – 4 stars

Short Story:

• The Tragic Life of Lady Tina DeSilva – 4.5 stars

Likes:

• Everything about The Lightening-Struck Heart
• The characters (most of the time)
• High fantasy.
• Sam and Ryan’s romance.
• The smut.
• The dragon’s names.

Dislikes:

• So much recap.
• Lacked character development.
• Sam got super annoying.
• I didn’t connect with Sam as the hero.
• I didn’t get what I expected from the books.
• Long.
• Repetitive.

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I turn to high fantasy for specific things. It’s not just dragons and unicorns, it’s the feelings I’m left with. When I finish a really good high fantasy series, I let out a deep breath and just sit for a while, soaking it all in. That didn’t happen at the end of this book, partly because I was just so glad to be done.

One of the things I love most about high fantasy is when characters overcome incredible odds. To that end, I love underdogs. Sam was a perfect underdog – for the first book. The book that was mostly about his romance and can really be seen as a separate entity from the destiny of dragons trilogy. In The Lightening-Struck Heart, Sam was a boy formerly from the slums lusting after the prince’s boyfriend. Perfect underdog.

Sam as the hero of Verania didn’t work for me, because while he was still the boy who’d spent the first decade of his life living in the slums, he’d spent more than half his life living a charmed life in the castle. He and his parents didn’t want for anything. Sam had a wonderful mentor, a friend in the King, loving parents, two amazing best friends, and all the freedom in the world to go on quests and live his life exactly the way he wanted it. And most importantly, he had the most magical ability of anyone!

In other words, Sam wasn’t an underdog anymore. He had privilege. He was spoiled. And he had Ryan, his love and cornerstone.

That change in status didn’t make Sam unlikeable. But by the time I was done with the series, I was incredibly aware of his privilege. Not just because of his constant complaints or his resistance to spending a year away from his friends. (One year! Just one! To train so he could save every single person on the planet, and that was too much of a sacrifice for him! That will never not piss me off.) It was more about what he hadn’t done.

For a boy who came from the slums, he didn’t try to better the lives of those who still lived there, other than a throwaway line about asking the King to spend more money on schools. Sure, Sam goes back to the slums once a year, but only to remind himself of where he came from. Not to help people. In fact, there is no mention of him actively trying to better the people of Verania with his magic. No healing or protection from the Darks. And as one of the few good wizards, you’d think that would be a priority.

Another thing that seems like it should have been a priority but was never mentioned, was of helping those who’d turned Dark. Or even of preventing people from turning Dark. Because while there were only a few good wizards, it seemed like Verania had Dark wizards coming out of its ears. And the only difference is training. Follow the rules and find a cornerstone to be a good wizard. Be a selfish asshole and be a Dark.

I have expectations of a hero. One of the things I look for, one of the reasons why I read books with heroes in them at all, is to be inspired. I want the hero to triumph over incredible odds. To lead and to give hope. Yes, they should be human. They should fail and suffer, but ultimately grow stronger.

Sam didn’t inspire me. Didn’t give me hope. He bitched and whined about his destiny, about the choices other had made, about his magic and long lifespan. He didn’t grow up. Didn’t mature. I wanted to see him become someone amazing. He could have done that without changing the core of who he was. But that didn’t happen. He remained a cocky brat who didn’t plan for the future or care about anyone but himself. Even in the third book, Sam is described as “… he understood the implications of what Myrin could bring, but he was still young. Naïve. He was doing this for those closest to him, and nothing more.”

Not a ringing endorsement. Neither is his conversation with Kevin.

“Yeah. You had no plan, did you.”

“Not even remotely. But I’m sure something would have come to me. But since you interrupted my narrative, we’re screwed, and neither of us is getting laid.” I paused, considering. “Or rescue our loved ones and save the kingdom from the clutches of villains. Because I should have said that one first.”

And these are quotes from the last book.

This isn’t to Say that Sam is a bad hero. He might not mature, but he does save the day in the end. And I do love how he solved the conundrum of not Ryan aging while he didn’t. That doesn’t stop me from being disappointed in him.

Luckily, Sam wasn’t the only stand-out character. All of the cast was fantastic. Sure, they got a little stale by the end of the last book, because they didn’t change either. Same jokes and catchphrases. And the number of recaps was truly staggering. At least it was a fun new twist on dragons, unicorns, and half-trolls. And the dragon names were great.

Sam’s romance with Ryan was good. Hot smut. I am looking forward to Justin’s eventual romance, whenever that comes out.

I do think a lot of my issues with this series came from the fact that I read all four books and the side story in about two weeks. It was a binge read, and it really did take that long because of how long the books are. 1770 pages in total! It was a lot, and it was easy for me to get annoyed with Sam.

Overall, my love for The Lightening-Struck Heart has not changed. It’s still my favorite. But the rest of the series? It was just okay. I would definitely not suggest binging this series. There are better high fantasy trilogies out there. Hell, there are better gay romance high fantasy trilogies out there – looking at you, The Knight and the Necromancer.