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invaderday's review
adventurous
dark
tense
medium-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? Plot
- Strong character development? Yes
- Loveable characters? Yes
- Diverse cast of characters? Yes
- Flaws of characters a main focus? No
4.0
it took me a while to get into this book. it can be a bit dense in places, but eventually i did really get into it and i ended up having a lot of fun, especially with the second half of the book!
i LOVE the gay/lesbian hostility of csorwe and tal. they have such a unique relationship that i really really enjoyed seeing. i love lesbian novels but so many of them tend to ignore or underplay the existence of men (which can be fine! i understand not always wanting to have men in ur escapism) but it was refreshing to see not just a lesbian main character and love interest but a gay man supporting character, and several other gay and bisexual characters of varying importance. it made it a lot more fun for me- some of it was pretty standard fantasy stakes, but the fact that almost every single relevant character was gay just added that extra flavor that i really needed so thank u ak larkwood!!
i LOVE the gay/lesbian hostility of csorwe and tal. they have such a unique relationship that i really really enjoyed seeing. i love lesbian novels but so many of them tend to ignore or underplay the existence of men (which can be fine! i understand not always wanting to have men in ur escapism) but it was refreshing to see not just a lesbian main character and love interest but a gay man supporting character, and several other gay and bisexual characters of varying importance. it made it a lot more fun for me- some of it was pretty standard fantasy stakes, but the fact that almost every single relevant character was gay just added that extra flavor that i really needed so thank u ak larkwood!!
Content Warnings
Moderate: Blood, Torture, Self harm, Violence, and Death
Minor: Body horror and Child death
cgcunard's review against another edition
adventurous
dark
emotional
medium-paced
- 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? It's complicated
Got this book as a gift from a friend for xmas 2020 - and man, I have good friends! I loved reading this, even though it is not something I think I would have picked up for myself. Most of the critiques or doubts I had about the plot and/or character development in parts 1 and 2 became explicitly addressed as central themes of the text in later parts. I love that it feels like it can stand alone, even as I'm excited to see that there is a sequel in the works!
Larkwood writes beautiful prose, spare when it needs to be and incredibly evocative almost always. The worldbuilding is strong, and is delivered in a way that feels very natural. There are many things that I don't know about how some of the stuff in this world works, yes, but that actually feels realistic in itself--we get as much of an understanding of it as the characters do. It means I know a lot about what people are eating and wearing, and less about the mechanics of the (super incredibly fascinating I'm jealous I didn't think this one up) magical transit system that links a variety of worlds.
Also, it has complex, messy, significant queer relationships (yes, plural!) - which are not even necessarily what the story's about. Or rather, yes, one of them becomes a thing the story is about, but there's no context of homophobia or forbiddenness around it so it's just. A relationship! Almost as though queer people are just. People??? Maybe I've just been reading too much YA lately, but even as a major romance junkie, it was so refreshing to read a fantasy plot where romance was important while also nowhere near all-consuming driver of plot. (I say all this as a queer woman; worth noting the author is as well.)
Larkwood writes beautiful prose, spare when it needs to be and incredibly evocative almost always. The worldbuilding is strong, and is delivered in a way that feels very natural. There are many things that I don't know about how some of the stuff in this world works, yes, but that actually feels realistic in itself--we get as much of an understanding of it as the characters do. It means I know a lot about what people are eating and wearing, and less about the mechanics of the (super incredibly fascinating I'm jealous I didn't think this one up) magical transit system that links a variety of worlds.
Also, it has complex, messy, significant queer relationships (yes, plural!) - which are not even necessarily what the story's about. Or rather, yes, one of them becomes a thing the story is about, but there's no context of homophobia or forbiddenness around it so it's just. A relationship! Almost as though queer people are just. People??? Maybe I've just been reading too much YA lately, but even as a major romance junkie, it was so refreshing to read a fantasy plot where romance was important while also nowhere near all-consuming driver of plot. (I say all this as a queer woman; worth noting the author is as well.)
Content Warnings
Graphic: Blood, Death, Gore, Murder, Torture, and Violence
Minor: Adult/minor relationship
Low-key emotionally manipulative/abusive relationships between minors and non-minorslibrarianmage's review against another edition
adventurous
emotional
hopeful
tense
medium-paced
- 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
The breadth and depth of the book was a lot bigger than I had anticipated
Content Warnings
Moderate: Violence and Blood
chessakat's review against another edition
adventurous
funny
hopeful
mysterious
tense
slow-paced
- 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
Content Warnings
Graphic: Torture, Blood, and Body horror
Moderate: Confinement and Toxic relationship
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