Did not finish at 30%

This book was so promising! Royals, an assassin with a secret mission, revenge, and murders... I am sad to say that this book was really disappointing. It felt like reading a Fanfiction where the authors had too many ideas that she tried to pack in one book without taking the time to fully explain the ideas.

I thought this story was happening in a fictional world up until the 20% mark when they started to talk about North America, Cuba, and China. But even after that, I couldn't figure out if this was an alternate timeline where there were royals in North America or if this was a post-apocalyptic kind of world because they also mentioned a plague (very briefly so I have no idea what actually happened there). There is also a ''clash'' between technology and really poor and undeveloped cities. The main character obviously grew up without any technology, but they have limos, helicopters, and paparazzi later in the story. It was weird honestly.

Then there are the characters, they are impossibly bland and ordinary. The main character is a teenager who decided to take matters into her own hands and to kill corrupted and powerful men and women in her country until she gets arrested for trying to kill the empress (I assumed so since she remembered the empress screaming as she was holding a knife to her throat)... She then spent 1 year in jail - quick mention of torture and whipping to gain some sympathy from the reader - and she is to be executed until the empress stops it because she needs Ember to go on a suicide mission to retrieve a prisoner in the neighbor country. Ember then learns that her sister died while she was in ail and the empress tells her that she upheld this information so Ember could become stronger and not break while in jail... So the empress planned all along to use Ember?

The empress also mentions being aware of Ivelisse because she might suspect Ember, but then Ember goes to live with Ivelisse's family for the time of her mission and Ivelisse clearly knows who Ember is when she greets her... As I said, it felt like reading a Fanfiction, with lots of ideas that were not well explained, and that sometimes did not make any sense (for me).

Don't Blame The Reckless by Maddyson Wilson ⭐⭐⭐⭐⭐/5

Maddyson Wilson wrote a fantasy book that felt more dystopian than the normal medieval route people tend to take. Tech was included in the book where others would have left it out. I have to say, it totally paid off.


We follow Ember, an assassin badass who's fighting for the good of her people.
And Roman, a prince in a rival Nation who just wants change and to get out from under his father.

The plot twists in this book left my head spinning.

I finished Dont Blame The Reckless in one sitting.

AND THAT ENDING.

I need the next book asap.

I really enjoyed this book! I loved having a somewhat morally gray main character, she was one of my favorite parts of this book. When I finished it, I immediately needed the next book because of the way it ended!

Don't Blame the Reckless follows Ember, the so called Bloodhound of the East Sector. A vigilante assassin, she kills in hopes of gaining a better life for her people. After being caught trying to kill the Empress, she is sent on a mission to free a prison of war from the rival nation. During her mission, she meets Prince Roman, and discovers that they may be just what the world needs.

Let's start this by skipping straight to the end of the book! Ummm, cliffhanger!!! That was absolutely shocking, I don't know what I was expecting, but it wasn't that. It left me desperate for the next book. I do have to say that there were a few conflicts that were left completely unanswered, but I'm depending on the next book to answer those.

The world building in Don't Blame the Reckless was decent, it was a pretty basic fantasy kingdom setup, but I liked it. I loved having the inclusion of tech, so many fantasies leave out tech and go medieval, but having phones added a whole new element. It allowed the plot to move faster, because less time was needed for communication.

I really liked the characters. They all felt somewhat realistic, they both had inner demons you were hoping they could conquer. I liked them before they got together, which says a lot. I've read a lot of books that have assassins as main characters, and it's one of my favorite things to read. That being said, I want to see Ember actually being an assassin in the next book, not just failing to kill people.

The romance in this book was not my favorite, but I still liked it. I was sooo happy that it wasn't a love triangle, I've gotten so tired of those in fantasy books. Although it was insta love, it felt slightly more realistic because it took a bit longer to happen.

The plot was pretty entertaining, but it mainly focused on killing the king. I'm super excited to see where the next book takes it, there's a lot of potential for character development.

As soon as I saw the cover, I needed the book. Its simplicity drew me in, and the color scheme was beautiful. I loved the quote that gave this book the title, it was immediately added to my wall of favorite book quotes. I want the next book now, this book kept me hooked the entire time!

"I guess you can't blame the reckless, though. They never stop to care about who they are hurting, do they?

Thanks to Netgalley and Maddyson Wilson for providing a free copy in exchange for an honest review.

1.75/5

*Thank you to Netgalley and GenZ Publshing for providing me a copy of this book in exchange for an honest review*

Yeah, this book was not my favorite. I feel like the author has a lot of potential, but for me, this book falls flat.

My main problems are..

Worldbuilding: I was a bit confused by the world this story is meant to take place in. I thought that it was supposed to be a more sort of "medival" world at first, but then they kept throwing in more modern characteristics such as different technologies. I think that I really would have enjoyed this book if it were in more of a steampunk world (especially because that was the vibe I got from this book)

Pacing: Pacing is a common dislike of mine that I read in books. As a whole this book was just slow for me, I think that this could be a part of me not really connected to the characters, but I found my mind wandering off at times.

Character: Okay this is a problem that I have noticed in fiction, especially YA fiction lately, but.... MAKE YOUR ASSASSIN CHARACTERS MORE GRITTY. I never really felt like she was this great assassin character and he came across kind of flat to me.

Instalove: I did not really see this great romantic connection between the characters.

Overall this was not one of my favorite books, BUT I would keep an eye out for this author (I expect some really good things from her in the future because this has a lot of the makings of a good book).

The blurb sounded great, and I really wanted to love it, but it fell flat for me. I enjoyed the story, but felt it was bland and forced in places. The romance especially felt forced and her assassin role felt more for show, and less like she really owned it. It needed a better backstory and more details to really set up the world-building and make it believable, and the pacing needed some work as it dragged with little detail or actual events through much of the story.

The concept and 'bare-bones' of the story was great and could have been something special, but this version felt rough and unpolished.I can see this story being something special, but didn't quite feel it has reached potential yet.

When I say I really wanted to like this book, I mean I really did. This had everything that was up my alley: royalty, a mission, a girl who seeks to help people, but everything about what I read was another disaster after another.

- I think my first issue with this book was the lack of worldbuilding. I had no idea about the kind of world I was stepping into when reading this book. It came across as very modern and then something random would make me question whether or not it was. I didn't get any sense of what the surroundings looked like and I didn't feel immersed in the story.
- This book is slower than my Grandma's driving. Impossibly slow. So slow to the point that it was an effort turning the page. Nothing happens. Like at all. For at least 60% of the book, I was sitting there questioning if I was reading some rambles from someone or an actual plot.
- I did like the writing, however. I think Maddyson clearly is talented but this is not the right book for her. I think more thought and attention to detail needed to be added to make the plot more rounded.
- The characters. Ember was dull and sad attempt of being some well-known assassin although we never see this from her. Roman was boring too. I didn't feel the developing romance or even why they would like each other.

Overall, I didn't enjoy this book as much as I wanted to. I felt a lot of it was rushed where the pacing should have slowed and the rest of the book felt like I was hurtling down a very long cliff with no bottom in sight.
I received this book via NetGalley in exchange for an honest review.