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honeycupreads's review against another edition
adventurous
medium-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? N/A
- Strong character development? No
- Loveable characters? No
- Diverse cast of characters? No
- Flaws of characters a main focus? It's complicated
0.25
I honestly don’t know where to start with this review, I hated this book so much. There are so many things about this book that pissed me off that I genuinely lost count. I originally was going to DNF it but then it got so bad that I knew I needed to finish it so I could write this review tearing it to shreds.
Starting, I just want to say as a cis white woman I won’t be going into much detail about how race or transphobia were handled in this book because I don’t believe it is my place. However, what I will say is that I feel like both topics were handled pretty poorly. Within the first chapter, we meet our MMC, Arjun, and immediately Boyden chooses to use food to describe his eye color and I knew it would be downhill from there. It’s pretty well known that when writing poc, you shouldn’t use food as descriptive words, but even if Boyden was unaware when starting this novel, one quick Google search would tell you that. As for transphobia, I cannot say much seeing as Boyden is trans so I don’t feel as though I should critique the way she chooses to write about the trans experience. What I can talk about, however, is how incredibly useless and vile the male characters were in this book.
Arjun is one of the most horribly written male characters I have come across and I was reading Wattpad fanfiction in 2013. In the very beginning of this book when he finds out that Razia is the heir to the throne of Nizam and promises that he will keep her and her secret safe, he then chooses to spend the rest of the book doing the exact opposite. Over the next two days, he says nothing while his father repeatedly makes vile transphobic comments about her and then he lets her identity become the knowledge of not only his father and his court but the man who sexually assaulted Razia when she was eleven. Her identity is revealed several more times throughout the book and every time he stands there without even attempting to protect her. One particular moment of Arjun’s that made me want to light this book on fire is when he and Razia are discussing the attack on the Firangi ships and she expresses the grief she feels for the zahhaks that were killed and he says “I think you made the right choice becoming a hijra, Razia.” as if being trans was just a choice she decided to make one day.
I honestly don’t know if I fully want to get into how much Karim and Udai suck but in the hopes that someone who is contemplating reading this book comes across this review and decides to not pick it up, I will continue. I will start with Udai because I think I will be able to keep his shorter (this is not a promise). We meet Udai shortly after meeting Arjun and immediately he is horrible, repeatedly making transphobic comments and treating Razia as if she is weak and not worthy of basic respect. Any time he begins to show the smallest, most basic signs of respecting Razia he says something disgusting about her to follow it up or it’s just the most backhanded compliment of all time. The thing that pissed me off the most about his character progression is that the closer we get to the end of the book the “nicer” he becomes, even hugging her when they make it back from stealing the thunder zahhaks. None of this respect came for free though, he couldn't be kind to her until she “proved” herself repeatedly before almost dying by scaling a 200-foot cliff.
Shockingly enough as terrible as he is Karim is so much worse somehow. We meet Karim in chapter 9 right after we find out that he SA’d Razia when she was younger and unfortunately, he is there like a parasite for the rest of the book (and no he doesn't get killed off, although that might’ve bumped this from .25 stars to .5 stars). I think I could find a million different things to hate about him and his role in this book but I will try and keep this as short as possible. After he finds out Razia's identity the first thing he says is that “the breasts are a nice touch.” and she “was a pretty little thing even then, and I knew you wanted it.” The next day they go to his home and he then reveals her secret to his father and a dozen of his father's guards (being utterly useless again, Arjun says nothing. I mean if nothing else at least he’s consistent). After a meeting with their fathers, where Karim deadnames her for probably the 20th time, he asks Arjun to accompany him for some wine knowing that Razia will have to come along. It is in this scene that Karim's blatant disrespect and transphobia are boiled down to JEALOUSY. If you think you read that wrong I am here to clarify that you most certainly did not, the big reason that Karim is being gross and transphobic isn't because he is simply a piece of shit, no, it’s because he is jealous, and wants Razia for himself. As if everything I’ve already said about him wasn’t bad enough it seems as though Boyden was trying to redeem him in the last half of this book. When they are stealing the thunder zahhaks there are at least two times where Razia talks about helping her friends get into the palace, not “my friends and Karim” no, just “my friends” as if she simply no longer cared about what Karim did to her. There are also two additional scenes where it becomes pretty obvious that we are supposed to see a “change” in Karim, the first being when they are flying into battle and he says “You’ve already proved me wrong,” which is then followed up by Razia's inner monologue where she says “which was a more generous gesture than I’d ever expected from him. I still hated him for what he’d done to me, but I supposed maybe he’d done the growing up my cousin Rashid hadn’t." as if sexually assaulting someone is a result of being young and that rapist’s simply “grow out of it”. The second scene also shows again how useless Arjun is and how no one in this book shows Razia basic human respect until she has “proven herself worthy.” When the battle has ended and they are speaking with Razia’s father, he states that he plans to kill her, who comes to her defense you ask? Not Arjun, not even Udai, it’s Karim who starts singing her praises as if he hasn’t been horrible to her throughout this entire book, and even before that.
Honestly, there is so much more I could say about this book but I simply feel as if what I have already said wasn’t enough to dissuade you from reading it nothing I say further will change your mind. The premise of this story had so much potential but it was executed in the worst way possible I feel bad for Razia because she deserved so much better in every sense of the word.
(Thank you to my friends Adi, Ani, and Marz [@starzreads] for proofreading this review for me!!)
Starting, I just want to say as a cis white woman I won’t be going into much detail about how race or transphobia were handled in this book because I don’t believe it is my place. However, what I will say is that I feel like both topics were handled pretty poorly. Within the first chapter, we meet our MMC, Arjun, and immediately Boyden chooses to use food to describe his eye color and I knew it would be downhill from there. It’s pretty well known that when writing poc, you shouldn’t use food as descriptive words, but even if Boyden was unaware when starting this novel, one quick Google search would tell you that. As for transphobia, I cannot say much seeing as Boyden is trans so I don’t feel as though I should critique the way she chooses to write about the trans experience. What I can talk about, however, is how incredibly useless and vile the male characters were in this book.
Arjun is one of the most horribly written male characters I have come across and I was reading Wattpad fanfiction in 2013. In the very beginning of this book when he finds out that Razia is the heir to the throne of Nizam and promises that he will keep her and her secret safe, he then chooses to spend the rest of the book doing the exact opposite. Over the next two days, he says nothing while his father repeatedly makes vile transphobic comments about her and then he lets her identity become the knowledge of not only his father and his court but the man who sexually assaulted Razia when she was eleven. Her identity is revealed several more times throughout the book and every time he stands there without even attempting to protect her. One particular moment of Arjun’s that made me want to light this book on fire is when he and Razia are discussing the attack on the Firangi ships and she expresses the grief she feels for the zahhaks that were killed and he says “I think you made the right choice becoming a hijra, Razia.” as if being trans was just a choice she decided to make one day.
I honestly don’t know if I fully want to get into how much Karim and Udai suck but in the hopes that someone who is contemplating reading this book comes across this review and decides to not pick it up, I will continue. I will start with Udai because I think I will be able to keep his shorter (this is not a promise). We meet Udai shortly after meeting Arjun and immediately he is horrible, repeatedly making transphobic comments and treating Razia as if she is weak and not worthy of basic respect. Any time he begins to show the smallest, most basic signs of respecting Razia he says something disgusting about her to follow it up or it’s just the most backhanded compliment of all time. The thing that pissed me off the most about his character progression is that the closer we get to the end of the book the “nicer” he becomes, even hugging her when they make it back from stealing the thunder zahhaks. None of this respect came for free though, he couldn't be kind to her until she “proved” herself repeatedly before almost dying by scaling a 200-foot cliff.
Shockingly enough as terrible as he is Karim is so much worse somehow. We meet Karim in chapter 9 right after we find out that he SA’d Razia when she was younger and unfortunately, he is there like a parasite for the rest of the book (and no he doesn't get killed off, although that might’ve bumped this from .25 stars to .5 stars). I think I could find a million different things to hate about him and his role in this book but I will try and keep this as short as possible. After he finds out Razia's identity the first thing he says is that “the breasts are a nice touch.” and she “was a pretty little thing even then, and I knew you wanted it.” The next day they go to his home and he then reveals her secret to his father and a dozen of his father's guards (being utterly useless again, Arjun says nothing. I mean if nothing else at least he’s consistent). After a meeting with their fathers, where Karim deadnames her for probably the 20th time, he asks Arjun to accompany him for some wine knowing that Razia will have to come along. It is in this scene that Karim's blatant disrespect and transphobia are boiled down to JEALOUSY. If you think you read that wrong I am here to clarify that you most certainly did not, the big reason that Karim is being gross and transphobic isn't because he is simply a piece of shit, no, it’s because he is jealous, and wants Razia for himself. As if everything I’ve already said about him wasn’t bad enough it seems as though Boyden was trying to redeem him in the last half of this book. When they are stealing the thunder zahhaks there are at least two times where Razia talks about helping her friends get into the palace, not “my friends and Karim” no, just “my friends” as if she simply no longer cared about what Karim did to her. There are also two additional scenes where it becomes pretty obvious that we are supposed to see a “change” in Karim, the first being when they are flying into battle and he says “You’ve already proved me wrong,” which is then followed up by Razia's inner monologue where she says “which was a more generous gesture than I’d ever expected from him. I still hated him for what he’d done to me, but I supposed maybe he’d done the growing up my cousin Rashid hadn’t." as if sexually assaulting someone is a result of being young and that rapist’s simply “grow out of it”. The second scene also shows again how useless Arjun is and how no one in this book shows Razia basic human respect until she has “proven herself worthy.” When the battle has ended and they are speaking with Razia’s father, he states that he plans to kill her, who comes to her defense you ask? Not Arjun, not even Udai, it’s Karim who starts singing her praises as if he hasn’t been horrible to her throughout this entire book, and even before that.
Honestly, there is so much more I could say about this book but I simply feel as if what I have already said wasn’t enough to dissuade you from reading it nothing I say further will change your mind. The premise of this story had so much potential but it was executed in the worst way possible I feel bad for Razia because she deserved so much better in every sense of the word.
(Thank you to my friends Adi, Ani, and Marz [@starzreads] for proofreading this review for me!!)
Content Warnings
Graphic: Deadnaming, Rape, and Transphobia
Moderate: Adult/minor relationship, War, and Pedophilia
Minor: Death, Ableism, and Misogyny
bluejayreads's review
adventurous
hopeful
- Plot- or character-driven? A mix
- Strong character development? It's complicated
- Loveable characters? Yes
- Diverse cast of characters? Yes
4.0
I picked this up for fantasy in a fictional version of the Mughal Empire in India, not for romance. Yet despite there being dragon-like creatures and politics and the threat of war, the heart of this story is a romance with an almost-unrealistically perfect guy, but it was sweet and satisfying nonetheless. The point of this book seems to be "hey, trans girls, you can be loved," and it was an enjoyable story so I can't really complain. I feel no need to continue the series, though.
Content Warnings
Graphic: Deadnaming and Transphobia
Moderate: Sexual assault, Grief, Death, Pedophilia, Rape, and War
Minor: Blood and Sexual content
Survival sex workwyrmie's review against another edition
adventurous
emotional
hopeful
tense
fast-paced
- Strong character development? Yes
- Loveable characters? Yes
- Diverse cast of characters? Yes
- Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes
3.0
Few descriptions of rape, as well as a rapist character showing up and sort of becoming a main side character, not necessarily redeemed but barerly touched upon, perhaps will be addressed in sequel.
Content Warnings
Graphic: Child abuse, Deadnaming, Emotional abuse, Hate crime, Homophobia, Pedophilia, Rape, Sexual assault, and Transphobia
Minor: Sexism and Misogyny
roguebelle's review against another edition
tense
slow-paced
- Strong character development? No
- Loveable characters? No
- Flaws of characters a main focus? No
STEALING THUNDER seems to wander between fantasy romance, adventure story, and political intrigue. It lives somewhere between Jacqueline Carey's Kushiel's Legacy series and Naomi Novik's Temeraire series, though without the textual density, narrative nuance, or geopolitical complexity of either of those sagas. It could perhaps best be described as a riches-to-rags-to-riches Cinderella tale with a trans heroine. Razia begins life as a prince, runs away from her abusive father to live as her true self, a hijra, which in turn relegates her to life as a courtesan. Her keeper also forces her to steal, for reasons that are never quite clear, since the possible consequences would seem to outweigh the benefits. Razia meets a handsome prince, Arjun, who becomes immediately smitten with her and paves the way for her advancement in the world.
I say a Cinderella tale, but we might also see this as a trans woman's power fantasy. Razia rises above what she has suffered, and certainly in her backstory, she has suffered -- but within the narrative of the book, success is a fairly simple progression for her. Every decision she makes is correct. She wins over her detractors through cunning and a bit of martial prowess. When she makes a life-altering choice, any potential consequences are wiped away by her paramour's money. I kept waiting for her to make a mistake, to show an interesting character flaw, or at the very least for some threat seeded earlier in the text to pay off. But I waited in vain. Razia triumphs without setbacks along the way. The plot contains very little in the way of reversals, which I think may be what gives it that fairy-tale-esque feel. Good wins; evil dies or is converted.
That's not necessarily a bad thing. In some ways, it's great. More types of characters should get the chance to have that sort of power fantasy. But the story lacks the saturation and complexity that makes a novel compelling, to me as a reader, and Razia is almost too perfect of a heroine. (To compare to Kushiel's Legacy -- Phedre is a preternaturally talented heroine, to be sure, but she's a terrifically unreliable narrator and makes more mistakes than you can shake a stick at. And that keeps things interesting.) Once you realize there are never negative consequences, that her plot armor utterly shields her, and that no choice will ever come back to bite her, it lowers the stakes considerably.
Too, every character who isn't Razia feels quite thin. Arjun is unquestioningly supportive and accepting, and those seem to be his only personality traits. It's gratifying to see a character like Razia enjoy that sort of romance, but it doesn't make Arjun interesting. Razia's fellow hijra are more sketched-out than fully-realized: this one's the jealous one, this one's the BFF, this one's the little sister. We hear a fair bit about Razia's desire to be a mother, but mothers in general are thin on the ground -- while the influence of fathers is omnipresent. If Razia ever thinks of her own mother, it went by so fast that I missed it. Nor do we hear about the mothers of the other hijra. Prince Arjun's mother appears in one scene, as a foil to Razia, and seems to exist mostly just to give Razia another chance to show how clever she is. Arjun's sister is also in that scene, wherein she mentions her desire to ride a zahhak -- and then she's never mentioned again. The various antagonists are all cut in the same mold: gruff, paternalistic men who like military things and being rude to women. They vary only in how willing they are to be won over by Razia -- and as I mentioned above, all the ones who survive are won over by the end of the book.
Overall, I could recommend this to a reader looking to see a trans heroine in a positive light. If that's what you need, then this certainly delivers -- though with a fair few content warning qualifications. I think Razia will resonate with readers desirous of a queer fairy tale, and perhaps be a comfort to some of them. To someone looking for a nuanced and complex fantasy novel, however, I would have to point elsewhere.
I say a Cinderella tale, but we might also see this as a trans woman's power fantasy. Razia rises above what she has suffered, and certainly in her backstory, she has suffered -- but within the narrative of the book, success is a fairly simple progression for her. Every decision she makes is correct. She wins over her detractors through cunning and a bit of martial prowess. When she makes a life-altering choice, any potential consequences are wiped away by her paramour's money. I kept waiting for her to make a mistake, to show an interesting character flaw, or at the very least for some threat seeded earlier in the text to pay off. But I waited in vain. Razia triumphs without setbacks along the way. The plot contains very little in the way of reversals, which I think may be what gives it that fairy-tale-esque feel. Good wins; evil dies or is converted.
That's not necessarily a bad thing. In some ways, it's great. More types of characters should get the chance to have that sort of power fantasy. But the story lacks the saturation and complexity that makes a novel compelling, to me as a reader, and Razia is almost too perfect of a heroine. (To compare to Kushiel's Legacy -- Phedre is a preternaturally talented heroine, to be sure, but she's a terrifically unreliable narrator and makes more mistakes than you can shake a stick at. And that keeps things interesting.) Once you realize there are never negative consequences, that her plot armor utterly shields her, and that no choice will ever come back to bite her, it lowers the stakes considerably.
Too, every character who isn't Razia feels quite thin. Arjun is unquestioningly supportive and accepting, and those seem to be his only personality traits. It's gratifying to see a character like Razia enjoy that sort of romance, but it doesn't make Arjun interesting. Razia's fellow hijra are more sketched-out than fully-realized: this one's the jealous one, this one's the BFF, this one's the little sister. We hear a fair bit about Razia's desire to be a mother, but mothers in general are thin on the ground -- while the influence of fathers is omnipresent. If Razia ever thinks of her own mother, it went by so fast that I missed it. Nor do we hear about the mothers of the other hijra. Prince Arjun's mother appears in one scene, as a foil to Razia, and seems to exist mostly just to give Razia another chance to show how clever she is. Arjun's sister is also in that scene, wherein she mentions her desire to ride a zahhak -- and then she's never mentioned again. The various antagonists are all cut in the same mold: gruff, paternalistic men who like military things and being rude to women. They vary only in how willing they are to be won over by Razia -- and as I mentioned above, all the ones who survive are won over by the end of the book.
Overall, I could recommend this to a reader looking to see a trans heroine in a positive light. If that's what you need, then this certainly delivers -- though with a fair few content warning qualifications. I think Razia will resonate with readers desirous of a queer fairy tale, and perhaps be a comfort to some of them. To someone looking for a nuanced and complex fantasy novel, however, I would have to point elsewhere.
Content Warnings
Graphic: Sexual violence and Transphobia
Moderate: Rape and Pedophilia
This book goes through a long stretch where Razia is constantly either under threat of sexual menace or remembering a past rape. It saturates the text so thoroughly, so relentlessly for many pages, that it put me, personally, in a very difficult headspace for a prolonged section of the text, to the point that I couldn't really appreciate or enjoy the other aspects of the story.
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