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doodeedoda'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? No
2.5
Graphic: Death, Infertility, Infidelity, Miscarriage, Pregnancy, Religious bigotry, Violence, and Xenophobia
Moderate: Blood and Grief
Minor: Alcohol, Animal death, Cursing, Death of parent, Dementia, Fire/Fire injury, Homophobia, Incest, Lesbophobia, Medical content, Murder, and Injury/Injury detail
theirgracegrace's review against another edition
- Plot- or character-driven? A mix
- Strong character development? It's complicated
- Loveable characters? Yes
- Diverse cast of characters? Yes
- Flaws of characters a main focus? It's complicated
4.75
Graphic: Infertility, Blood, Fire/Fire injury, Grief, Addiction, Alcohol, Alcoholism, Child death, Cursing, Death of parent, Medical content, Medical trauma, Mental illness, Animal cruelty, Animal death, Death, Emotional abuse, Gaslighting, Gore, Hate crime, Infidelity, Kidnapping, Miscarriage, Murder, Pregnancy, Sexual content, Torture, Violence, Injury/Injury detail, Islamophobia, Religious bigotry, War, Xenophobia, Classism, and Confinement
Moderate: Homophobia, Lesbophobia, Vomit, and Excrement
Minor: Cannibalism, Incest, and Abandonment
willontheinternet's review against another edition
- Plot- or character-driven? A mix
- 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
Looking forward to the next book in the series whenever it comes out.
Moderate: Miscarriage, Torture, Body horror, Classism, Death, Abandonment, Blood, Gore, Grief, Injury/Injury detail, Murder, Death of parent, and Fire/Fire injury
Minor: Religious bigotry, Homophobia, Kidnapping, Pregnancy, Infertility, Suicidal thoughts, Infidelity, and Domestic abuse
lifeinsilver'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
3.75
Graphic: Religious bigotry, Xenophobia, Death, Alcoholism, Infertility, Death of parent, Miscarriage, Homophobia, Pregnancy, Outing, War, Violence, Suicidal thoughts, Torture, Sexual content, Murder, Injury/Injury detail, Grief, Lesbophobia, and Fire/Fire injury
Moderate: Dementia
smithreads'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
4.75
Graphic: Animal death, Death, Grief, Injury/Injury detail, Kidnapping, Physical abuse, Blood, War, Violence, Xenophobia, Murder, Sexual content, Miscarriage, Pregnancy, Death of parent, Fire/Fire injury, Infertility, Medical content, and Religious bigotry
Moderate: Alcohol, Alcoholism, Confinement, Emotional abuse, Addiction, Homophobia, Suicide, and Toxic relationship
Minor: Gun violence, Torture, and Infidelity
khylababyla'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
This is by far one of the best books I’ve read in awhile. If you are trying to break into more adult fantasy rather then YA fantasy this is a great starting point.
Also do not let the size of this book intimidate you. It’s a much quicker read then I anticipated and is broken up into sections that make it easier to manage.
Graphic: War
Moderate: Alcoholism, Miscarriage, Death, and Suicidal thoughts
Minor: Religious bigotry and Homophobia
faythfarrar's review against another edition
- Strong character development? Yes
- Loveable characters? No
3.0
Moderate: Blood, Miscarriage, Death, Death of parent, Homophobia, and Lesbophobia
Minor: Suicidal thoughts and Incest
selfbybee'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? No
4.0
I thoroughly enjoyed this book and I am so glad I got over my initial fear of the size and how much world building happened!
Samantha Shannon has a way of building a robust world with language and concepts that feel approachable. If I am going to have to read through 200+ pages of building the world I need to come out of the other side with a clear understanding of the characters. I enjoyed how it felt like the world and characters were built simultaneously--I have seen may reviews stating this book is character driven world building and as someone who is NOT a fan of that, I did not feel this book was.
However, the crescendo of the big moments, the moments that the world building led us to felt lack luster in comparison to the detail and gripping moments that drove us to the "big moment" It honestly pales in comparison to the characters and the world I hardly remember it--in fact I remember thinking "we went through all of that, for that?"
The loose themes of catholicism and colonization (I say loose only to keep those who disagree) put it a smirk on my face as some of the most absurd thoughts and judgements are easily discernible in our collective past and present. Overall, I enjoyed it and will read the prequel.
Graphic: Miscarriage, Homophobia, Religious bigotry, Xenophobia, Violence, Infertility, Death, and Child death
catherinedsharp'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? It's complicated
5.0
Although I placed this book as medium paced, the length of this book can be a little off putting and the density/complexity of the story can sometimes slow reading and understanding. Despite this though, the story is a fantastical adventure of many different characters who all link together in one plot line, although there seems to a very limited link at the beginning.
Additionally this book is slightly LGBTQIA*+ which is lovely! The representation is well written although it is a slow burn, and it is not the main focal point of the story, so I wouldn’t go into the story just for that.
All in all, I really enjoyed this book and, although it was a long text, I found it enjoyable throughout and didn’t want to stop reading.
Graphic: Religious bigotry, Cultural appropriation, Cursing, Death, Grief, Homophobia, Infertility, Injury/Injury detail, Pregnancy, Sexual content, Animal death, Blood, Fire/Fire injury, Gore, Lesbophobia, Violence, and Miscarriage
nila's review against another edition
- Plot- or character-driven? A mix
- Strong character development? It's complicated
- Loveable characters? Yes
- Diverse cast of characters? Yes
- Flaws of characters a main focus? It's complicated
4.0
Graphic: Blood, Cursing, Emotional abuse, Fire/Fire injury, Gore, Homophobia, Sexual content, War, Xenophobia, Abandonment, Addiction, Classism, Death of parent, Genocide, Murder, Religious bigotry, Incest, and Pregnancy