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immoralrite's review against another edition
adventurous
dark
mysterious
medium-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? Character
3.5
Content Warnings
Moderate: Classism, Violence, Death, and Murder
maddog01's review against another edition
adventurous
dark
mysterious
slow-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? Character
- Strong character development? It's complicated
- Loveable characters? It's complicated
- Diverse cast of characters? Yes
- Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes
2.5
I wanted to like this book I really did, but it just wasn’t as well thought out as I wanted it to be. The idea was there, but the writing was choppy and was hard to follow at some points. Other times pieces of the writing just didn’t make sense or it felt like we had skipped something. Nothing of substance happened until page 93 and then it slowed down again. The book ended in a weird way, and I’m not sure that I would really want to read the second book. Like I said, good intentions, bad execution.
Content Warnings
Graphic: Child death, War, Blood, Injury/Injury detail, Vomit, and Death
noellelovesbooks's review
3.0
Content Warnings: Violence, blood/gore, murder, racism, classism, oppression, drug use, loss of loved ones, and police brutality. Mention of forced sterilization and abandonment.
A few years ago, when I first joined Booktok, I saw a lot of people hyping this book up. And yet, like so many books I’ve bought, I placed it on my shelves and forgot about it. Having joined the #ReadYourOwnAdventure Tiktok readathon I’ve been looking through my bookshelves to see what books would fit the prompt I have. As this book is a Nigerian-influenced fantasy…it fit my “Non-Western Inspired World” prompt perfectly.
I found the lore in this book completely fascinating. Imagine a world where any sin you had could be extracted and taken into someone else. Instead of being constantly weighed down by the guilt of your own sins, you could simply have it removed and placed on a complete stranger. Or imagine being that aki [sin-eater] and as soon as signs appeared that you possessed the power of a sin-eater you were cast out of your home and community and forced to take on the sins of strangers in order to have money to survive?
While I loved the lore within this book I had trouble believing in the romantic subplot that was introduced between Taj and the princess. Can feelings develop after merely seeing someone you find attractive or having a short conversation with them? Of course, but the level and speed at which Taj develops feelings for the princess just didn’t fit for me. I also felt like they introduced a lot of characters, to Taj, but didn’t really give them any depth or story for us to feel a true connection to them.
Although the lore was fascinating, and I would love to read more about it, the way the rest of the story felt very flat to me…I’m not sure if I’ll pick up the next book to read. The beginning of this book felt like it had a good speed, introducing us to Taj as well as the lore, but the romance subplot didn’t feel fully fleshed out and the ending felt extremely rushed and forced. I feel like if they’d allowed this book to be 100-200 pages longer they could have fleshed out so much more of the story and perhaps then it all would have fit well together.
Content Warnings
Graphic: Violence, Blood, Gore, Classism, Police brutality, Racism, Death, and Murder
Moderate: Drug abuse, Abandonment, and Drug use
victorianrogue's review against another edition
adventurous
dark
emotional
fast-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? Plot
- Strong character development? No
- Loveable characters? Yes
- Diverse cast of characters? Yes
- Flaws of characters a main focus? No
4.0
Content Warnings
Moderate: Addiction, Blood, Death, Drug abuse, Drug use, Kidnapping, Police brutality, Violence, and Vomit
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