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ctara2123's review against another edition
- Plot- or character-driven? Plot
- Strong character development? Yes
- Loveable characters? It's complicated
- Diverse cast of characters? Yes
- Flaws of characters a main focus? It's complicated
3.75
Graphic: Religious bigotry, Death, War, Violence, Torture, Sexism, Murder, Misogyny, and Blood
Moderate: Racism, Cursing, Fire/Fire injury, and Death of parent
Minor: Sexual violence, Rape, Sexual assault, and Bullying
nelldiaz's review
- 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: Injury/Injury detail, Religious bigotry, Torture, Body horror, Child death, Blood, Death, Violence, Misogyny, War, Child abuse, and Gore
Moderate: Death of parent, Grief, Rape, Sexism, and Fire/Fire injury
Minor: Vomit
zombiezami's review against another edition
4.0
Graphic: Violence, Animal death, Blood, Misogyny, Child death, Child abuse, Mental illness, Abandonment, Colonisation, Death of parent, Trafficking, Body horror, Gore, Medical content, Religious bigotry, Kidnapping, Grief, Hate crime, Police brutality, Slavery, War, Torture, Murder, Death, Sexism, Outing, Fire/Fire injury, Domestic abuse, Genocide, Physical abuse, and Stalking
Moderate: Excrement, Body shaming, Bullying, Rape, Sexual assault, Sexual harassment, Sexual violence, Colonisation, and Vomit
colorismkimreads14'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? Yes
4.25
The overall experience of reading this book made my blood boil at all times. Forna's capacity to depict a patriarchal and misogynistic world that will make you question your own reality is masterful!
Forna offers a beautiful piece that pushes you to critically think about the state of our society.
The reason why I bumped it down from 5 ⭐️ to 4.25 ⭐️ is because from time to time the writing and the world-building felt a bit forced rather than carrying you inside Otera smoothly and with grace.
Also while I understand that Deka is meant to be special among even the Alakis, the way this was depicted sometimes felt a bit borderline of a Mary Sue character. Anyone who is used to reading books of this kind will admit that the MFC tends to always be special... However, it sometimes felt like Deka was way too special for no real reason other than pumping up the character's ego instead of moving the story along.
Finally, I was a bit disappointed with the brevity of White Hands' final explanation of who she is and why she did what she did. Parts of the story could have been shorter to give this more space, or pages could have been added.
Overall though, this book was beautifully written and truly makes you question how 'free' you are as a woman in society. I'm excited to get back to Deka and her friends' story with the next book in the series.
Graphic: Colonisation, Physical abuse, Misogyny, Death, Slavery, Kidnapping, Fire/Fire injury, Violence, War, Emotional abuse, Religious bigotry, Injury/Injury detail, Hate crime, Grief, Racial slurs, Racism, Child abuse, Torture, and Sexism
Moderate: Sexual assault and Sexual violence
marketa_'s review against another edition
- Plot- or character-driven? A mix
- Strong character development? Yes
3.0
Graphic: Death, Injury/Injury detail, Blood, Fire/Fire injury, Misogyny, Sexual harassment, War, Sexism, Torture, and Violence
Moderate: Child abuse, Death of parent, Fire/Fire injury, Sexual violence, Grief, Rape, and Sexual assault
kimberly_a'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
3.25
Graphic: Murder, Death, Fire/Fire injury, Torture, Violence, War, Injury/Injury detail, Sexual assault, Blood, Genocide, Death of parent, Bullying, Child abuse, Child death, Confinement, Grief, Physical abuse, Rape, and Religious bigotry
tiphreads'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? Yes
4.75
Graphic: Blood, Body horror, Fire/Fire injury, and Classism
wrensreadingroom's review against another edition
5.0
Graphic: Medical content, Murder, Sexual harassment, Slavery, Physical abuse, Pregnancy, Alcoholism, Animal death, Blood, Confinement, Fire/Fire injury, Adult/minor relationship, Death of parent, Domestic abuse, Fatphobia, Forced institutionalization, Body shaming, Child death, Genocide, Abandonment, Alcohol, Animal cruelty, Body horror, Bullying, Child abuse, Classism, Gaslighting, Rape, Self harm, Sexual assault, Sexual violence, Torture, Cursing, Death, Emotional abuse, Gore, Grief, Injury/Injury detail, Kidnapping, Medical trauma, Mental illness, Misogyny, Panic attacks/disorders, Trafficking, Sexism, Violence, Vomit, and War
teabella's review against another edition
- Plot- or character-driven? A mix
- Strong character development? Yes
- Loveable characters? It's complicated
- Diverse cast of characters? It's complicated
- Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes
4.25
Graphic: Death, Slavery, Violence, Emotional abuse, Genocide, Sexual assault, Sexual content, Blood, Death of parent, Medical trauma, Misogyny, Murder, Sexual violence, Body horror, Sexual harassment, Xenophobia, Child abuse, Fire/Fire injury, Gaslighting, Gore, Torture, Vomit, and War
midknytowl's review against another edition
Then she bleeds gold, and the whole introduction to another life thing isn't what the blurb implied - she thinks she's a demon and keeps praying and it's just...not for me.
The writing is good but this is not a world I want to spend any time in, especially if they're not going to over throw this terrible system of oppression.
Graphic: Violence, Sexism, Religious bigotry, and Death
Moderate: Racism, Misogyny, Injury/Injury detail, and Fire/Fire injury