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faerietale_princess's review against another edition
- Plot- or character-driven? Plot
- Strong character development? Yes
- Loveable characters? Yes
- Diverse cast of characters? Yes
- Flaws of characters a main focus? It's complicated
4.5
A few things keep this from being a 5-star read, however.
The author uses the “as you know” trope quite a bit. It took me out of the story— if someone knows something, why tell them again? It’s for the audience.
The romance seemed a bit sudden to me.
The characters have amazing character journeys and arcs, especially Niclays and Loth. But for some reason, they seemed a bit generic? Despite this, I really enjoyed their personal journeys.
It’s not secret that this is quite a tome. There were some slower-moving parts, but even those parts are incredibly compelling.
I love how the politics are laid out. This is a dense and fully-packed book, but each story intertwines in a very logical way.
I loved the themes of this book. There’s a lot of discussion of faith and legends, how they intertwine, how they link to culture, and having to confront false beliefs and beliefs you’ve been raised to have since birth. It’s incredibly thought-provoking, and makes me think of parallels to the real world.
I want more from this world and can’t wait to read A Day of Fallen Night.
Moderate: Miscarriage
awkwardimagination'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
3.5
I will say i have 3 favourite characters (Meg, Nayimathun, and Aralaq) and only one of those is a human. I truly didnt care for one of the main storytellers, but it did provide some good information. The first hundred or so pages of this book is mostly exposition and world building , which isnt a horrible thing but it can be a lot to get through.
I dont know how much a look forward to the daunting task of reading the sequel but i will do it, hopefully in less time than it took me to read this one.
Graphic: Violence, Blood, Miscarriage, Death, Fire/Fire injury, and Injury/Injury detail
Moderate: War, Mental illness, Religious bigotry, Pregnancy, Confinement, Grief, Medical content, Sexual content, and Torture
Minor: Death of parent and Classism
maur_damar'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? No
4.0
Graphic: Violence and Miscarriage
Minor: Cursing
abookorten'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
Moderate: Torture, Miscarriage, Violence, and Death
Minor: Death of parent
libraryghostie's review against another edition
4.5
Moderate: Miscarriage
bucketsjen'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? Yes
4.25
It was thankfully clear of the casual misogyny, sexism, and sexual assault that tends to plague a lot of high fantasy these days (looking at you, ASOIAF/GOT).
Queer people exist and them being queer is not part of the scandal or drama. Men and women both exist as guards and combatants and it's not a big deal - you'll just be reading and there is a guard at the door and the novel uses she/her pronouns. There is a religion that is virtue/purity-focused and a clear riff off Christianity. There is not racism based on appearance (in fact, people with different skin colors are described in the country that has the aforementioned religion) - although there IS nationalism.
There is romance and some light spice in the book, but it's not the focus or the driver of events.
Moderate: Miscarriage, Death, and Violence
Minor: Incest
one instance offluffy_comet'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? No
3.5
Graphic: Injury/Injury detail, Medical content, Torture, Toxic friendship, Toxic relationship, Trafficking, Vomit, Death of parent, Mental illness, Blood, Murder, Pregnancy, Self harm, Miscarriage, Sexism, Sexual content, Slavery, Death, Gore, Grief, Infertility, Abandonment, Religious bigotry, Child death, Confinement, Fire/Fire injury, Infidelity, Emotional abuse, Violence, Misogyny, Physical abuse, and War
kappafrog'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
There is a wide variety of characters here of different shades of moral greyness. At first I really didn't like Sabran, but she grew on me over time; and as the book went on, I felt more mixed about Ead. Tané grew on me some as the story went on too. All of the characters in the book, including the many queer and female characters, were complex and multi-layered. Loth, Margret and Chassar were the most consistently likable, while Roos was the hardest to like but still sympathetic at times. Even the disgusting Kalyba was not a one-dimensional villain. The Priory was not what I expected, and I loved the evocation of different landscapes and cultures with clear inspirations from our world. The book's length felt merited since there were a lot of different political, magical, and character aspects to explore. I felt like my investment in the story and its characters really paid off. Shannon is not afraid to kill her characters, so there were real stakes at every point in the book. The finale was epic and also gave us enough time to spend with each character in the aftermath of the climax.
All in all, this was a great re-introduction to epic fantasy for me. I'd definitely recommend it to anyone who enjoys high fantasy.
Graphic: Blood, Infidelity, Violence, War, Death, Religious bigotry, Pregnancy, Infertility, Deportation, Injury/Injury detail, Grief, Death of parent, Fire/Fire injury, Miscarriage, and Murder
Moderate: Pandemic/Epidemic, Suicidal thoughts, Sexual content, Alcohol, Animal cruelty, Incest, Medical content, Classism, Gore, Gun violence, Torture, and Animal death
Minor: Addiction, Alcoholism, and Child death
reeeeedmg_123's review against another edition
- Plot- or character-driven? A mix
- Strong character development? Yes
- Loveable characters? It's complicated
- Diverse cast of characters? Yes
- Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes
4.75
Graphic: Injury/Injury detail, Death, Animal death, Gore, Fire/Fire injury, War, and Blood
Moderate: Death of parent, Cursing, Murder, Pandemic/Epidemic, Animal cruelty, Torture, Religious bigotry, Medical trauma, and Grief
Minor: Vomit, Miscarriage, Sexual content, Pregnancy, and Child death
mice_are_nice's review against another edition
- Plot- or character-driven? A mix
- Strong character development? Yes
- Loveable characters? It's complicated
- Diverse cast of characters? Yes
4.0
Graphic: Miscarriage, Pregnancy, Religious bigotry, Violence, and Medical content
Moderate: Torture, Blood, Pandemic/Epidemic, Sexual content, War, Injury/Injury detail, and Fire/Fire injury
Minor: Alcoholism, Infidelity, Vomit, and Dementia