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cecilia_branco's review against another edition
adventurous
funny
lighthearted
medium-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? Plot
- Strong character development? No
- Loveable characters? No
- Diverse cast of characters? Yes
- Flaws of characters a main focus? No
3.0
Content Warnings
Graphic: Fatphobia and Racism
merin_aran's review against another edition
adventurous
funny
lighthearted
medium-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? Plot
- Strong character development? Yes
- Loveable characters? Yes
- Diverse cast of characters? Yes
- Flaws of characters a main focus? No
2.0
- Enchanting, whimsical and fun (mostly). Has much of the same wit and humour that I really enjoyed in the first book, however...
- The new main characters were a bit disappointing. I found Abdullah and the soldier a bit lacklustre and annoying at times and I didn't warm to them much.
- I really wanted more of the OG characters that I fell in love with previously - they are in it, but remain in disguise through most of the book, which was a shame because they were such a big part of why I loved the first book.
- There were also definitely some problems with exoticism and racial stereotyping that changed the vibe of the book - I don’t think it was malicious but rather outdated ignorance and you can tell that Jones is not writing about her own culture.
- There was also a fair bit of fat-shaming and misogyny from the main character too, which is probably why I really didn’t like him tbh
- Overall an ok book, but the characterisation and problematic writing let it down.
Content Warnings
Graphic: Kidnapping
Moderate: Fatphobia and Racism
Minor: Sexism
k_bb's review against another edition
1.0
This book was riddled with racist tropes. There were quite a few plot holes. A very disappointing sequel.
Content Warnings
Graphic: Fatphobia and Racism
soph22's review against another edition
funny
inspiring
lighthearted
fast-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? A mix
- Strong character development? It's complicated
- Loveable characters? It's complicated
- Diverse cast of characters? It's complicated
- Flaws of characters a main focus? No
3.75
Content Warnings
Moderate: Racism and Fatphobia
poirot's review against another edition
adventurous
lighthearted
medium-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? A mix
- Strong character development? No
- Loveable characters? Yes
- Diverse cast of characters? It's complicated
- Flaws of characters a main focus? No
4.0
Content Warnings
Graphic: Fatphobia, Kidnapping, and Misogyny
Moderate: Death of parent, Racism, and Pregnancy
Minor: Animal cruelty and Physical abuse
kccrewdson's review against another edition
adventurous
lighthearted
medium-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? Plot
- Strong character development? Yes
- Loveable characters? Yes
- Diverse cast of characters? Yes
- Flaws of characters a main focus? No
3.0
Fine, but not nearly as good as the first book and Jones’ veers into orientalism pretty frequently
Content Warnings
Moderate: Racism
Not necessarily a negative portrayal of POC or Muslims but definitely orientalist. Not surprising given the publishing date and the race of the author, but worth noting.labello's review against another edition
adventurous
funny
mysterious
medium-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? A mix
- Strong character development? Yes
- Loveable characters? Yes
- Diverse cast of characters? It's complicated
- Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes
1.75
review for the audible audiobook:
I really appreciated Kristin Atherton while I was massively disappointed in DW Jones. Kristin I already appreciated in the first audiobook of the series and she did another great job.
The writing is great, no questions asked DWJ knew how to write, but the story was just a massive letdown and Abdullah just came across as really unlikable.
Now to the story... It's quite racist. And fatphobic. Flower-in-the-Night who is the love interest of this book seems to be the only woman Abdullah, the protagonist, ever found worthy of respect. The arabic-esque Zanzib is filled to the brim with stereotypes that hearing in 2022 is just.. grotesque. The only thing Abdullah seems to actually like about Flower is her looks; he continuously points out how thin, pretty and *light-skinned* she is. Her personality is described as kind and smart, we barely see any examples of that now by the very end of the book she even goes completely against that established smartness by being upset that Abdullah didnt kiss her because of the other princesses, who were also abducted, told her if he'd like her he'd have already kissed her. They have met twice at that point. Twice. . Moreover, these characteristics seem to just be an afterthought, a bonus at best, for Abdullah since he is completely focussed on her looks. Her father going so far as to not even let her into the garden during the day lest she might get a tan. Before meeting Abdullah Flower has only ever met one single man in her entire life. That man being her father.
Shortly before Abdullah can rescue her, after meeting her exactly twice, from the prison that is her palace, he is being forced by his family to marry two of his relatives, cousins or something of the sort. These two cousins are the only overweight characters in the entirety of the book. The only way these two are described is as dumb and disgusting. It is literally pointed out when these two are just giggling Abdullah can see nothing but their fat wobbling and how he is appaled by that.
If you hope to continue to follow Howl and Sophie in this book, you will be disappointed. The insertion of those two feels like an afterthought, the story being pretty much the same if their parts had been played by new characters. Their pre-established personalities almost don't play a part whatsoever, some parts of it going directly against what'd you'd expect them to do if you read this right after reading/hearing Howls Moving Castle. It feels like this was just something to get the fans who kept asking for a sequel to calm down and be quiet. Abdullah even goes on about how Sophie's strong character is entirely unattractive.
Where the first book basically showed that Howl and Sophie fell for each other for their personalities, for the faults that made them the person they are. This book seems to do the complete opposite, Howl fell in love with Sophie despite her looking like a 90year old woman, Abdullah falls for Flowers looks only. Where Howl grows and learns that being "pinned down" isn't always bad and he can actually genuinely love, Abdullah never faces any repercussions for only being interested in Flowers looks. Where Sophie grows to be more confident, self-assured and learns to speak up for herself, we only see a step back for Flower at the very end and no real growth at all since we barely had any time with her. The first book took its time to show Howl and Sophie getting closer and more comfortable with each other showing that falling in love is a process and more than the crush Howl had on the girls he was courting before, Abdullah and Flower meet like 4 times in the entirety of this book. The fourth time being when they finally reunite after finding the kidnapped Flower.
I really appreciated Kristin Atherton while I was massively disappointed in DW Jones. Kristin I already appreciated in the first audiobook of the series and she did another great job.
The writing is great, no questions asked DWJ knew how to write, but the story was just a massive letdown and Abdullah just came across as really unlikable.
Now to the story... It's quite racist. And fatphobic. Flower-in-the-Night who is the love interest of this book seems to be the only woman Abdullah, the protagonist, ever found worthy of respect. The arabic-esque Zanzib is filled to the brim with stereotypes that hearing in 2022 is just.. grotesque. The only thing Abdullah seems to actually like about Flower is her looks; he continuously points out how thin, pretty and *light-skinned* she is. Her personality is described as kind and smart, we barely see any examples of that
Shortly before Abdullah can rescue her, after meeting her exactly twice, from the prison that is her palace, he is being forced by his family to marry two of his relatives, cousins or something of the sort. These two cousins are the only overweight characters in the entirety of the book. The only way these two are described is as dumb and disgusting. It is literally pointed out when these two are just giggling Abdullah can see nothing but their fat wobbling and how he is appaled by that.
If you hope to continue to follow Howl and Sophie in this book, you will be disappointed. The insertion of those two feels like an afterthought, the story being pretty much the same if their parts had been played by new characters. Their pre-established personalities almost don't play a part whatsoever, some parts of it going directly against what'd you'd expect them to do if you read this right after reading/hearing Howls Moving Castle. It feels like this was just something to get the fans who kept asking for a sequel to calm down and be quiet. Abdullah even goes on about how Sophie's strong character is entirely unattractive.
Where the first book basically showed that Howl and Sophie fell for each other for their personalities, for the faults that made them the person they are. This book seems to do the complete opposite, Howl fell in love with Sophie despite her looking like a 90year old woman, Abdullah falls for Flowers looks only. Where Howl grows and learns that being "pinned down" isn't always bad and he can actually genuinely love, Abdullah never faces any repercussions for only being interested in Flowers looks. Where Sophie grows to be more confident, self-assured and learns to speak up for herself, we only see a step back for Flower at the very end and no real growth at all since we barely had any time with her. The first book took its time to show Howl and Sophie getting closer and more comfortable with each other showing that falling in love is a process and more than the crush Howl had on the girls he was courting before, Abdullah and Flower meet like 4 times in the entirety of this book. The fourth time being when they finally reunite after finding the kidnapped Flower.
Content Warnings
Graphic: Body shaming, Misogyny, and Fatphobia
Moderate: Racism
Minor: Death of parent and Emotional abuse
bpop's review against another edition
adventurous
fast-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? Plot
- Strong character development? No
- Loveable characters? No
- Diverse cast of characters? It's complicated
- Flaws of characters a main focus? No
2.0
Content Warnings
Graphic: Kidnapping
Moderate: Racism and Sexism
littlecat's review
adventurous
lighthearted
medium-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? Plot
- Strong character development? No
- Loveable characters? It's complicated
- Diverse cast of characters? Yes
- Flaws of characters a main focus? It's complicated
1.5
< spoiler> I really liked Howls Moving Castle and wished to have the sequel for my birthday blindly, now I regret it a bit.
The first thing that irked me was the sterotpyical orientalism at the beginning I though something would happen and invert it somehow, the first book does some clever things with fairytale tropes but there is none of that here.
And then the whole lot of fatphobia happens, there is love at first sight a trope i always disliked, and the sexism of the main character makes it really hard to root for him and his "romance", and the tone of the book for 2/3 of the run also felt like ... a downgrade, like it was writen for a much younger audience
the last 112 pages are better in terms of writing and now Sophie is there, and we do meet the princess and Flower-in-the-night gets to be a character (though main character does his best to ignore that) and I wish it had been there book instead, what a nice turn of fairytale tropes would it be to be about kidnapped princess from their viewpoint?
The first thing that irked me was the sterotpyical orientalism at the beginning I though something would happen and invert it somehow, the first book does some clever things with fairytale tropes but there is none of that here.
And then the whole lot of fatphobia happens, there is love at first sight a trope i always disliked, and the sexism of the main character makes it really hard to root for him and his "romance", and the tone of the book for 2/3 of the run also felt like ... a downgrade, like it was writen for a much younger audience
the last 112 pages are better in terms of writing and now Sophie is there, and we do meet the princess and Flower-in-the-night gets to be a character (though main character does his best to ignore that) and I wish it had been there book instead, what a nice turn of fairytale tropes would it be to be about kidnapped princess from their viewpoint?
Content Warnings
Moderate: Confinement, Fatphobia, Racism, and Sexism
It is very orientalism, very ninthteenhundered idea of "arabian nights".
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