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cdoubet'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
Graphic: Blood, Cursing, Suicide attempt, Fire/Fire injury, Gore, Death of parent, Terminal illness, Ableism, Suicidal thoughts, War, Genocide, Death, Physical abuse, Confinement, Grief, Medical content, Alcohol, Emotional abuse, Toxic relationship, Torture, Murder, Violence, Injury/Injury detail, Mental illness, Animal death, Body horror, Cancer, and Kidnapping
Minor: Vomit, Sexual harassment, Sexual violence, Sexism, Panic attacks/disorders, Gun violence, Infidelity, and Suicidal thoughts
onefineelephant'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? Yes
4.5
Graphic: Kidnapping, War, Vomit, Injury/Injury detail, Blood, Grief, Alcohol, Gore, Chronic illness, Death, Death of parent, Fire/Fire injury, Violence, Medical content, Murder, and Torture
Moderate: Body horror and Child death
Minor: Abandonment, Ableism, Gun violence, Rape, Suicide attempt, Suicidal thoughts, Drug abuse, Cancer, Cannibalism, Drug use, Misogyny, Sexual violence, Sexual assault, and Terminal illness
foldingthepage_kayleigh's review against another edition
- Plot- or character-driven? Plot
- Strong character development? Yes
- Loveable characters? Yes
- Diverse cast of characters? No
- Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes
3.25
Graphic: Torture, Injury/Injury detail, Murder, Violence, Death, Suicide attempt, Grief, Blood, Body horror, Ableism, Death of parent, War, Medical content, Chronic illness, Alcohol, and Kidnapping
Minor: Sexual harassment and Pedophilia
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
a_wren_that_reads'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
4.5
Graphic: Body horror, Cancer, Death of parent, Death, War, Blood, Violence, and Adult/minor relationship
Minor: Gun violence and Ableism
hiddeninfantasy's review against another edition
- Plot- or character-driven? Plot
- Strong character development? No
- Loveable characters? Yes
- Diverse cast of characters? No
- Flaws of characters a main focus? It's complicated
5.0
Moderate: Chronic illness, Gore, Kidnapping, Genocide, War, Alcohol, Murder, Cancer, Death, Grief, Injury/Injury detail, Vomit, Body horror, Death of parent, Medical content, Suicide attempt, Terminal illness, Trafficking, Violence, Ableism, Blood, Gun violence, and Suicidal thoughts
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
rensreading's review against another edition
- 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? Yes
5.0
i have no idea where to begin with my love for this story. it was heartbreaking, tragic, funny, and full of so much promise.
though to be fair, i think that plot twist at the end was completely unnecessary and this could’ve just been a standalone. but that’s just my opinion and it might change after i read the sequel. i suppose we’ll see in time.
i adore absolutely everything about harper. she’s so badass. i hope if i ever end up in her position i too can do what she has. wishful thinking though heh
rhen, oh that man. and scary gray!!!! gods they were the best thing to come from this book. zo too! i just loved their dynamic so much. gray’s undying loyalty was just the absolute best. i love him so much. and rhen was so tortured but so unwilling to let anyone else shoulder his hurts. that’s the kind of love interest i would give up everything for.
100% a 5 star read for me!
Graphic: Chronic illness, Blood, Violence, Body horror, and Medical content
Moderate: Torture, War, Infidelity, and Medical trauma
Minor: Ableism and Abandonment
blewballoon's review
- Plot- or character-driven? Character
- Strong character development? Yes
- Loveable characters? Yes
- Diverse cast of characters? Yes
- Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes
3.5
Minor: Death, Blood, Body horror, War, Gore, Violence, Chronic illness, and Death of parent
ilikebooks_okay'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? Yes
5.0
"I am always surprised to discover when the world seems darkest, there exists the greatest opportunity for light."
I didn't know that Harper would be from our America! Our two worlds colliding. That came as a huge surprise at the beginning, I expected her to be from Rhens world. This made it so much more interesting as you learned the world at the same time as Harper.
I also really loved how fiery and intense Harper was and I've never read a book where the mc has cerebral palsy which was really awesome to read! (though I could not say if its realistic as I don't know much about cerebral palsy).
"Not all scars can be seen, my lady."
I really found all the characters lovable. And theirs arcs so far have been very fleshed out I cannot wait to get my hands on the second book and follow Grey more as the ending was crazy!!
"Words spoken in the dark in the middle of the night always feel so much heavier than they would at any other time."
If you've read this did you like it? What did you like? Or what did you not like?
I read it about a week ago so I feel like my review doesn't touch on everything I wished to talk about.
Graphic: Body horror and Violence