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qrschulte's review against another edition
- Plot- or character-driven? Plot
- Strong character development? Yes
- Loveable characters? It's complicated
- Diverse cast of characters? It's complicated
- Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes
4.0
Things I loved:
- a protagonist with a disability who is affected by their disability but not defined by it. So refreshing that she was a fully realized person
- the Rhen narrator. Honestly, the book might have been better with just him narrating the whole thing.
- believable reasoning for why someone from our world could ride a fucking horse
Things I did not love:
- How whiny the Harper narrator made her sound sometimes. It made it a lot less believable it was the same character between the narrators.
- The monster narration (so fucking creepy/scary). Could have done without that.
- The parts where it was said Harper was “not like other girls” *cue vomiting*
Graphic: Confinement, Medical content, Physical abuse, Injury/Injury detail, Kidnapping, Suicide attempt, Terminal illness, War, Ableism, Alcohol, Blood, Death, Suicidal thoughts, Violence, Cancer, Suicide, Torture, Emotional abuse, and Grief
Moderate: Abandonment, Body horror, Self harm, Classism, Death of parent, Gore, Murder, and Stalking
Minor: Gun violence, Child death, and Infidelity
amykwrites's review
- Plot- or character-driven? Plot
- Strong character development? No
- Loveable characters? Yes
- Diverse cast of characters? No
- Flaws of characters a main focus? No
4.25
Graphic: Injury/Injury detail
Moderate: Emotional abuse, Ableism, Blood, Cancer, Gore, Kidnapping, Violence, Body shaming, Death, Death of parent, Grief, Physical abuse, Terminal illness, and War
Minor: Suicidal thoughts, Suicide attempt, Animal death, Infidelity, Vomit, Medical content, Medical trauma, Abandonment, Alcohol, Classism, Confinement, Cursing, Murder, and Torture
sirkeili's review against another edition
- Plot- or character-driven? A mix
- Strong character development? It's complicated
- Loveable characters? It's complicated
- Diverse cast of characters? No
- Flaws of characters a main focus? No
3.0
I found Harper to be both intriguing, but also sometimes frustrating when she takes things too literally. She grows a lot during book, but I still found most of her troubles could be solved by trusting Rhen and Grey a lot more than she initially did (even when they proved they meant no ill will).
I think Grey was my favourite, as he seemed the most well rounded and intruguing character. His abilities, attitude and mysterious past seem to all line up in a way that I wanted to follow along with him and see his side of the story. He has so much to tell, and yet so much to unravel about himself as well. Despite the rough and scatter hand of cards he's been given, Grey still shows an innate softness and care for those he holds close.
Harper has all the aspects of a great heroine, but I feel the author hinges everything on her disability, and yet its rarely addressed in the novel. It's almost as though it's just for the ✨ d r a m a ✨ and the "I'm not like other girls" trope (ugh), and not to really showcase how exceptional Harper is despite - and because- of it. I think if there was substance and heart going into developing her character more, Harper could really shine as bright as I know she can. She has a spark big enough to even set Emberfall ablaze, truly.
If you need a softer, yet still slightly gritty retelling, this is a solid one. Very spunky, goofy and generally easy-going-ish book.
Graphic: Grief, Injury/Injury detail, Violence, Torture, Murder, Suicidal thoughts, War, Blood, Body horror, Death, Death of parent, Medical trauma, Suicide, Suicide attempt, Toxic relationship, and Chronic illness
Moderate: Stalking, Terminal illness, Ableism, Bullying, Confinement, Gun violence, and Medical content
Minor: Child death, Cursing, Classism, Misogyny, and Sexism