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literarypenguin's review against another edition
- Plot- or character-driven? Character
- Strong character development? Yes
- Loveable characters? Yes
- Diverse cast of characters? Yes
- Flaws of characters a main focus? No
5.0
We follow a cleric named Chih traveling the kingdom with their Hoopoe companion Almost Brilliant recording stories about the empress. They meet an older woman named Rabbit who recounts her adventures and travels with the empress and alongside the cleric we learn about the empress, her exile, and what she did after. I love stories where we learn alongside the characters what truly happened in the story and it was very exciting to read it this way!
Rabbit was a great character and just in her words, you could tell how much she valued her friendship with the empress and how much she truly meant to her. How she would have done anything for her and the empress in her own way would have done the same for her. Despite her strong friendship, she told the truth about the empress and people got to see her as a person instead of a historical figure.
This tells the story of a rebellion but doesn't show war or big battles, instead, it shows us what happens behind the scenes and the people that make a rebellion work. It shows people coming and going throughout the war and the impact they had no matter how short their time was. It was refreshing to see that side of a battle in a book.
This was such a good novella and I highly recommend reading this and can not wait to read the other two books in the series for myself!!
Graphic: Confinement
Moderate: War and Violence
Minor: Infertility
aardwyrm's review against another edition
- 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
4.5
Graphic: Abandonment, Colonisation, Death, Violence, Suicide, Infidelity, Pregnancy, Medical content, Blood, and War
skypotion's review against another edition
- Plot- or character-driven? Character
- Strong character development? It's complicated
- Loveable characters? Yes
- Diverse cast of characters? Yes
- Flaws of characters a main focus? No
5.0
Graphic: War
sydneybedell's review against another edition
- Plot- or character-driven? Character
- Strong character development? Yes
- Loveable characters? Yes
- Diverse cast of characters? Yes
- Flaws of characters a main focus? No
3.0
Graphic: War, Death, and Pregnancy
ehmannky's review against another edition
- Plot- or character-driven? Character
- Strong character development? Yes
- Loveable characters? Yes
- Diverse cast of characters? Yes
- Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes
5.0
Minor: Death, Murder, War, and Xenophobia
uranaishi's review against another edition
- 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? It's complicated
4.75
Moderate: Death of parent, War, Death, Grief, and Pregnancy
mmccombs's review against another edition
- Plot- or character-driven? Plot
4.0
Minor: Violence and War
ijustreallyliketrees's review against another edition
- Plot- or character-driven? Character
- Strong character development? Yes
- Loveable characters? Yes
- Diverse cast of characters? Yes
- Flaws of characters a main focus? No
5.0
Graphic: Confinement and Grief
Moderate: Death, Pregnancy, Suicide, War, and Murder
Minor: Medical trauma
ghulsona's review against another edition
- Plot- or character-driven? Character
- Strong character development? No
- Loveable characters? Yes
- Diverse cast of characters? Yes
- Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes
3.5
Moderate: Death, Confinement, Sexism, Misogyny, Xenophobia, and War
Minor: Sexual content
thewordsdevourer's review against another edition
- Plot- or character-driven? A mix
- Strong character development? No
- Loveable characters? No
- Diverse cast of characters? Yes
- Flaws of characters a main focus? No
2.0
many parts of the writing also feel unnecessarily obscure; show-not-tell is def sth to adhere to, but there are times when it feels confusing here, ultimately leaving me unable to fully connect w/ or even comprehend the characters. ig what im tryna say is it doesnt have to be that discombobulated. however, i do like the story's theme of remembrance, and mighttt just check out the sequel simply to see how things continue after that nicely tied up ending.
Moderate: Death, War, Violence, Xenophobia, and Sexism
Minor: Sexual content