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4.34 AVERAGE
4.34 AVERAGE
adventurous
emotional
mysterious
reflective
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
The book had a very interesting way to weave it's narrative. You're either gonna love it or hate it. It took me about a quarter of the book to get used to it. But the more I read the book the more I liked it. Until the end. I can't say that the epilogue was what I wanted. It wasn't bad but it took away from my personal experience. But the book is still great for a mythic style fantasy read.
adventurous
dark
emotional
sad
tense
medium-paced
Plot or Character Driven:
A mix
Strong character development:
Complicated
Loveable characters:
Yes
Diverse cast of characters:
Yes
Flaws of characters a main focus:
No
A dark and violent story that nevertheless manages to be beautifully told. Overlapping points of view, time, and styles made this a difficult but rewarding read. Excellent audiobook narration was especially helpful in moments that the text alone was unclear.
Content Warnings
Graphic: Animal death, Confinement, Death, Gore, Physical abuse, Violence, Blood, Excrement, Vomit, Grief, Cannibalism, Death of parent, Murder, Fire/Fire injury, War, Injury/Injury detail, Classism
Moderate: Animal cruelty, Bullying, Child death, Cursing, Emotional abuse, Misogyny, Suicidal thoughts, Torture, Kidnapping, Abandonment
adventurous
challenging
dark
emotional
mysterious
reflective
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
challenging
dark
reflective
slow-paced
Plot or Character Driven:
A mix
Strong character development:
Complicated
Loveable characters:
No
Diverse cast of characters:
Yes
Flaws of characters a main focus:
Yes
Too difficult to follow the switching POVs in audio format
adventurous
challenging
dark
emotional
mysterious
reflective
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
adventurous
hopeful
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
adventurous
dark
emotional
hopeful
inspiring
reflective
sad
fast-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
I had mixed feelings about this book. The storytelling was interesting and unique. It took me a minute to get used to, but once I did, it felt like sitting around the table at a party while your friends are telling a story and other friends are chiming in whenever the story mentions them. I actually loved that and found it very immersive. The main story about the three terrors and the moon empress was very interesting, and sucked me in, but the side stories about the 5 family politics, the narrator's family, and Araya's descendents were a slog. I absolutely tore through parts of this book, and had trouble staying awake through others. I found Keema and Jun too shy to be interesting. I really wish they had more personality. They had potential, but ultimately fell flat for me. I could've skipped the entire "after" section.
adventurous
dark
emotional
hopeful
inspiring
medium-paced
Plot or Character Driven:
Character
Strong character development:
Yes
Loveable characters:
Yes
Diverse cast of characters:
Yes
Flaws of characters a main focus:
Yes
currently trying not to cry in the open plan office (and failing)
things i loved:
-the format. takes a second to get used to it but once I settled in it was a very easy story to get lost in, and it lends itself well to the story it's telling.
-the plethora of mommy and daddy issues. i didn't go into this expecting to feel a great deal of sympathy for "the terrors" but boy did I by the end
-big fan of life-affirming narratives and this one is a great example
-there's a tender allegory somewhere in all of the juvenile fight-picking i just don't know what it is yet
-all the little bits of worldbuilding. the capricious moon goddess. the way the water loves her so dearly. the turtles. the inverted theater. the truly nauseating body horror.
-jun and keema. dang it i miss them already
there wasn't anything i hated. i was fully captivated throughout.
things i loved:
-the format. takes a second to get used to it but once I settled in it was a very easy story to get lost in, and it lends itself well to the story it's telling.
-the plethora of mommy and daddy issues. i didn't go into this expecting to feel a great deal of sympathy for "the terrors" but boy did I by the end
-big fan of life-affirming narratives and this one is a great example
-there's a tender allegory somewhere in all of the juvenile fight-picking i just don't know what it is yet
-all the little bits of worldbuilding. the capricious moon goddess. the way the water loves her so dearly. the turtles. the inverted theater. the truly nauseating body horror.
-jun and keema. dang it i miss them already
there wasn't anything i hated. i was fully captivated throughout.