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probablytoolate's review against another edition
- Plot- or character-driven? Character
- Strong character development? Yes
- Loveable characters? Yes
- Diverse cast of characters? No
- Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes
5.0
Graphic: Alcoholism, Body shaming, Confinement, Emotional abuse, Fire/Fire injury, Grief, Infertility, Blood, Bullying, Injury/Injury detail, Islamophobia, Kidnapping, Misogyny, Panic attacks/disorders, Violence, Xenophobia, Religious bigotry, Torture, Murder, Antisemitism, Sexual content, Sexism, Body horror, Death, and Domestic abuse
shamaramill's review
- Plot- or character-driven? Character
- Strong character development? No
- Loveable characters? No
- Diverse cast of characters? No
- Flaws of characters a main focus? It's complicated
1.25
Graphic: Islamophobia, Infertility, Religious bigotry, Vomit, Antisemitism, Xenophobia, Death of parent, Torture, and Death
savvyrosereads'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? No
5.0
Luzia is a scullion in the home of Valentina and Marius Ordoño when her “small miracles” get her drawn into a dangerous tournament to become the king’s champion.
Leigh Bardugo is one of my favorite authors, and this book absolutely reminded me why. I’ll start with the writing: it is STUNNINGLY good, with so many witty and beautiful quotes throughout. If I was annotating this, I could use up entire highlighter collections noting my favorite passages and moments.
Secondly, the characters. Leigh Bardugo writes a morally grey man (and just morally grey people in general) better than almost anyone in the game, and I am OBSESSED with how well she did that here. Santángel is easily one of my new favorite all-time characters, and I also loved Luzia, and (maybe controversially?) Valentina. Even the characters I disliked were so delicately rendered and fascinating to read about, which is the mark of a truly great book in my opinion.
Finally, the level of detail and historical research here is INCREDIBLE and makes for a wonderfully immersive read. Highly HIGHLY recommend!
CW: Death/grief; sexual violence; physical violence/injury; torture
Graphic: Classism, Physical abuse, Religious bigotry, Sexism, Torture, Death, Death of parent, and Injury/Injury detail
Minor: Infertility
erudia'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? It's complicated
4.5
Moderate: Torture and Antisemitism
Minor: Infertility, Confinement, and Death of parent
lyraparledor'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
4.0
Moderate: Antisemitism and Slavery
Minor: Infidelity, Death of parent, Dementia, Domestic abuse, Torture, Vomit, Islamophobia, Animal cruelty, Infertility, Animal death, Death, Sexual content, Grief, and Rape
aileron'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
4.0
Graphic: Religious bigotry, Death, Antisemitism, Torture, and Violence
Moderate: Classism, Death of parent, Blood, Confinement, Gore, Injury/Injury detail, Murder, and Grief
Minor: Animal death, Colonisation, Fire/Fire injury, Infertility, and Mental illness
pewterwolf's review against another edition
- Plot- or character-driven? A mix
- Strong character development? It's complicated
- Loveable characters? No
- Diverse cast of characters? It's complicated
- Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes
3.25
Luzia seizes the chance to better her self, but as her notoriety grows, the danger of her Jewish blood grows as, if she gets found out, the Inquisition’s wrath will be unspeakable. She has to stay several steps ahead. But the rules are always changing in the Spanish court and not everyone gets out alive.
I think I have to finally admit to myself that historical fiction and me aren’t going to get along and I need to stop pushing this genre onto my TBR lists.
I struggle with them. This audiobook took me a month to get through. I started it the week of release, but I really struggled to connect with this. Plus, my brain was all over the place So I couldn’t really focus on this. But, when I did sit down and listen, I found myself bored and not connecting with the characters and the story.
The story felt very slow and quite heavy (at times) for me. I like stories to have some pace when it starts, but it felt as if it took an age for the plot to charge forward. If you are a fan of slower burn of a plot where you get to know the characters, this is for you. But I find I like to know characters when they are doing something or when the plot is moving.
While I wasn’t a fan of the story and the characters (they’re flawed characters, but not exactly likeable. I understood why they behaved the way they did, but I found it them frustrated and every time I found an element of them that I liked, something happened and I would be back at square one with this character), I am a fan of Leigh Bardugo’s writing and it fits so nicely with the audiobook’s narrator, Lauren Fortgang. I know she has read several other books by Bardugo, but this partnership works.
But this wasn’t for me. If you are a fan of historical fiction with an edge of magic, you should check it out. But be warned, it is a slow burn of a plot and can be heavy in places.
Graphic: Death, Fire/Fire injury, Forced institutionalization, Body horror, Violence, Vomit, Confinement, Religious bigotry, Alcohol, Blood, Physical abuse, Sexism, Torture, War, Antisemitism, Gore, and Misogyny
Moderate: Cursing and Infertility
Minor: Dementia and Death of parent
jazhandz's review
- Plot- or character-driven? A mix
- Strong character development? It's complicated
- Loveable characters? It's complicated
3.75
Graphic: Death, Religious bigotry, Antisemitism, Confinement, Torture, and Body horror
Moderate: Fire/Fire injury, Sexism, Injury/Injury detail, Gore, and Infertility
Minor: Sexual content, Pregnancy, Vomit, Infidelity, Animal cruelty, and Death of parent
persephonefoxx'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
But let it be my ambition and not my fear that seals my fate
Graphic: Antisemitism, Torture, and Injury/Injury detail
Moderate: Violence, Death, Death of parent, Physical abuse, and Religious bigotry
Minor: Sexual assault, Infertility, and War
becalexa's review against another edition
4.0
Moderate: Death of parent, Fire/Fire injury, Infertility, Mental illness, Religious bigotry, Injury/Injury detail, Torture, and Gore