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alxisrae'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? No
5.0
Graphic: Murder, Blood, Body horror, and Religious bigotry
Moderate: Death and Death of parent
Minor: Sexual content and Vomit
zzaranazz's review against another edition
- Plot- or character-driven? A mix
- Strong character development? No
- Loveable characters? Yes
- Diverse cast of characters? Yes
- Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes
3.75
Graphic: Self harm and Religious bigotry
Minor: Body horror
hmatt'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? Yes
3.75
YA "romantasy" is wayyy down the list of genres I gravitate towards, but I did find this enjoyable. The world-building is solid, and the characters are interesting. For me, the complexity of the novel is just right: it's not high high fantasy with a million characters and dynamics, but there is enough there for it to be satisfyingly fleshed-out. I'm even contemplating reading the next book in the series...
That said, I'm still rating based on my taste. This is definitely for a younger audience, and it shows in how some of the relationships develop (including the primary romantic one, in which a switch just seems to flick between one chapter and the next). Some of the writing is clumsy or overly descriptive in a gauche way.
I had fun, though! And I hardly ever read physical books over 400 pages, so that's a big win.
Graphic: Child abuse, Violence, Emotional abuse, Fire/Fire injury, Forced institutionalization, Grief, Injury/Injury detail, Schizophrenia/Psychosis , Torture, Death, Death of parent, Blood, Body horror, Physical abuse, Self harm, War, Confinement, Cursing, Murder, and Police brutality
Moderate: Panic attacks/disorders, Sexual content, Medical trauma, and Animal death
Minor: Abandonment
unusuallyy's review against another edition
- 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? No
4.0
Graphic: Body horror, Death, Murder, Sexual content, and Blood
Moderate: Self harm and Religious bigotry
Minor: Toxic relationship
ritualistic trauma; religious trauma-ish, cultish traumastllyltc'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
5.0
Graphic: Hate crime, Animal death, Death, Grief, Physical abuse, War, Blood, Toxic friendship, Confinement, Drug use, Murder, Infidelity, Injury/Injury detail, Abandonment, Fire/Fire injury, Death of parent, Animal cruelty, Kidnapping, Body horror, Violence, and Torture
corine'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? No
4.5
Graphic: Death, Cursing, Blood, Body horror, Injury/Injury detail, Violence, Murder, Misogyny, Religious bigotry, and Sexism
molls's review against another edition
- Plot- or character-driven? Plot
- Strong character development? It's complicated
- Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes
2.0
Graphic: Death and Body horror
zoepagereader's review against another edition
- Plot- or character-driven? A mix
- Strong character development? Yes
- Loveable characters? Yes
- Diverse cast of characters? No
- Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes
5.0
Graphic: Blood, Violence, Gore, Misogyny, Torture, Body horror, Murder, Religious bigotry, Cursing, Death, Grief, and War
Minor: Abandonment
dlsmk'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? It's complicated
4.5
Graphic: Child abuse, Cursing, Fire/Fire injury, Gore, Murder, Blood, Death, Animal death, Body horror, Violence, Injury/Injury detail, and Self harm
cosmicpasta's review against another edition
- Plot- or character-driven? A mix
- Strong character development? It's complicated
- Loveable characters? No
- Diverse cast of characters? Yes
- Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes
1.75
This sure was a book I finished. I waited a few days after actually finishing to write this so I dont have the same level of anger and try to be as fair as possible. Lots of others have said what I dont like in their reviews so I'm going to keep this brief.
This is book largely feels like a debut novel that was rushed in the editing or suggestions were largely ignored. The pacing was inconsistent as was the tone, with poorly placed humor in between scenes that should've been more serious. Especially the use if the annoying bar song characters kept using in the worst times. Theme wise, it is incredibly white feminist who recently was told she needed to be more intersectional but doesn't know how. So any feminist ideas that don't conform to white cishet women is played poorly
Character wise, the main characters were really lacking for me. Lou is constantly called smart and clever but majority of the book I found myself yelling because she was constantly making the stupid choice. Reid was slightly better but he still fell flat when it came to connecting clear dots. Not to mention their relationship did not click for me because while I love enemies to lovers, there is a difference between "different sides fall in love" and
All in all, it was a messy, disjointed time that ended up being more aggravating in the end than enjoyable for me.
Graphic: Death, Fire/Fire injury, Misogyny, Religious bigotry, Kidnapping, Violence, Blood, Body horror, and Injury/Injury detail
Moderate: Body shaming