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dani_1405's review against another edition
adventurous
emotional
tense
medium-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? A mix
- Strong character development? Yes
- Loveable characters? Yes
- Diverse cast of characters? Yes
- Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes
5.0
How can one be so elated and heartbroken all at once? This book has so much angst in it, it is constant with such little reprieve and yet I don't think it could have been any other way as it felt like I was in this story with the characters. Every interaction between Lei and Aoki was like a punch in the gut and the struggle their friendship went through in this book is crazy. The loss of Chenna was also heart-breaking, I had to take a couple minutes after that chapter. As well as this, while I didn't fully understand how or why the Demon Queen was so ready to trust Lei, the ending that it brought was very fulfilling. This final book was a brilliant ending of the series and brought all of the themes to a true crescendo.
aandrus's review against another edition
adventurous
challenging
emotional
medium-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? Plot
- Strong character development? It's complicated
- Loveable characters? Yes
- Diverse cast of characters? Yes
- Flaws of characters a main focus? No
4.0
usuallyaudio's review against another edition
I’m usually one to always finish a book, whether or not I’m enjoying it. I’m not going to keep doing that! After the first few chapters of this book (third in the series) I could tell that it was going to be a repeat of previous plots.
Oh no! We escaped the evil king’s castle in book 1, but now one of the leads has been captured again!
Also the reader of the audio wasn’t doing it for me.
Also the reader of the audio wasn’t doing it for me.
evl204's review against another edition
adventurous
dark
tense
medium-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? A mix
- Strong character development? Yes
- Loveable characters? Yes
- Diverse cast of characters? Yes
- Flaws of characters a main focus? It's complicated
4.25
hijabi_booknook's review against another edition
adventurous
dark
emotional
funny
sad
tense
fast-paced
4.75
sapphocyra's review against another edition
adventurous
dark
hopeful
sad
slow-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? A mix
- Strong character development? Yes
- Loveable characters? Yes
- Diverse cast of characters? Yes
- Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes
4.0
i think what was essentially the epilogue could've been structured and condensed better but i really enjoyed this! also blue always gave off sapphic vibes to me so that's a win and i'm glad the full extent of what ketai put wren through was addressed
nokvi's review against another edition
adventurous
dark
emotional
funny
hopeful
inspiring
reflective
sad
tense
medium-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? A mix
- Strong character development? Yes
- Loveable characters? Yes
- Diverse cast of characters? Yes
- Flaws of characters a main focus? It's complicated
4.0
Oh I think book 3 is my favorite out of the three. As always with my YA reads, I remember I am not the target audience and assess them from that view point and Natasha really put her pen to work.
I question the need for dual POVs but this version really had me thinking, especially in the context of Ketai's actions
I question the need for dual POVs but this version really had me thinking, especially in the context of Ketai's actions
- "What is the moral line in war?"
- "At one point in the revolution do we become our oppressors in the very attempt to uproot them?"
Ketai Hanno really brings that into focus thru Wren as we navigate the resistance side. As Wren learns that she is more than the vengeance machine her father made her
And I'm not talking about fighting, the basis of a revolution and resistance is violence; rights and equality irl weren't won in via peaceful measures. No what is examined how much of ourselves can we morally sacrifice to obtain our goal
Lei herself also faces her own issues as she realises how skewed the ideology she was preaching in previous books do not hold weight in these circumstances. As she battles with her own trauma paired with the responsibility (and consequences) that comes with being the Moonchosen, Lei comes to terms with how much persons have sacrificed and are willing to give up in the name of her protection
heavy topics with heavy themes and I just loved every second of it
Content Warnings
Graphic: War, Death, and Violence
Moderate: Rape, Sexual violence, Slavery, and Sexual assault
Minor: Child death, Pregnancy, Fire/Fire injury, and Torture
eva_reads_sometimes's review against another edition
1.0
Oh dear, do I have thoughts on this one:
Either I’m too autistic for this book or Natasha Ngan needs to work on her writing really bad because I cannot for the life of me understand how Lei got “I’m on your side! Save me! It’s possible for my child to be born without being the king’s heir if you sneak me out of the palace!” from a couple of seconds of eye contact with the queen. How do you get all that just from looking at someone’s face in complete silence? For all you know she was thinking “Why is he making this dirty Paper bitch touch me?” (Lei ends up being right though, of course, because Natasha’s got themes she wants to push.)
I find Lei’s willingness to posthumously forgive Madam Himura entirely because “she too is a lost woman” disturbing. Forgiveness is all well and good, but forgiving the woman who knowingly sent a bunch of teenagers off to be raped every night (and later killed one of those teenagers) because she’s a woman is completely unthinkable to me. The things Himura did undermines the attempt at a feminist message because forgiving sexual abuse enablers is pretty damn unfeminist imo.
I’d also like to know what possessed Ngan to make half the chapters in first person perspective and the other half in third person perspective. Maybe to try to separate the character voices, but personally I found it annoying having to readjust to the new style every other chapter.
The fact that all of Aoki’s character growth happens off-page is kinda disappointing. Aoki was a pretty interesting character in book 1 and I was excited to see whether she’d grow to understand why the king’s reign was actually awful, and I was excited to see that journey. But we don’t. We get the shock of the king trying to kill her and then immediately cut to several months later when she’s apologising to Lei for everything. This isn’t a fatal flaw with the book, just a missed opportunity for what could’ve been a very interesting character arc.
Finally, I hate that Blue and Lova get paired up at the last second with no explanation. Once again, we skip over Blue’s growth and go straight from her cussing out Lei for being a lesbian to her making eyes at another woman. It’s so fast it’s almost whiplash-inducing.
And I think that’s it. The stuff I haven’t talked about is stuff I barely have opinions on because I found it boring. It’s been a while since I’ve had this little fun with a book.
Either I’m too autistic for this book or Natasha Ngan needs to work on her writing really bad because I cannot for the life of me understand how Lei got “I’m on your side! Save me! It’s possible for my child to be born without being the king’s heir if you sneak me out of the palace!” from a couple of seconds of eye contact with the queen. How do you get all that just from looking at someone’s face in complete silence? For all you know she was thinking “Why is he making this dirty Paper bitch touch me?” (Lei ends up being right though, of course, because Natasha’s got themes she wants to push.)
I find Lei’s willingness to posthumously forgive Madam Himura entirely because “she too is a lost woman” disturbing. Forgiveness is all well and good, but forgiving the woman who knowingly sent a bunch of teenagers off to be raped every night (and later killed one of those teenagers) because she’s a woman is completely unthinkable to me. The things Himura did undermines the attempt at a feminist message because forgiving sexual abuse enablers is pretty damn unfeminist imo.
I’d also like to know what possessed Ngan to make half the chapters in first person perspective and the other half in third person perspective. Maybe to try to separate the character voices, but personally I found it annoying having to readjust to the new style every other chapter.
The fact that all of Aoki’s character growth happens off-page is kinda disappointing. Aoki was a pretty interesting character in book 1 and I was excited to see whether she’d grow to understand why the king’s reign was actually awful, and I was excited to see that journey. But we don’t. We get the shock of the king trying to kill her and then immediately cut to several months later when she’s apologising to Lei for everything. This isn’t a fatal flaw with the book, just a missed opportunity for what could’ve been a very interesting character arc.
Finally, I hate that Blue and Lova get paired up at the last second with no explanation. Once again, we skip over Blue’s growth and go straight from her cussing out Lei for being a lesbian to her making eyes at another woman. It’s so fast it’s almost whiplash-inducing.
And I think that’s it. The stuff I haven’t talked about is stuff I barely have opinions on because I found it boring. It’s been a while since I’ve had this little fun with a book.