Scan barcode
chelseanaylor's review against another edition
- Plot- or character-driven? A mix
- Strong character development? It's complicated
- Loveable characters? No
3.75
This book was a little slow and I was interested enough to finish it, but it wasn't until the last few chapters that I decided I wanted to continue the story.
I really enjoyed the way this story is propelled by themes of power, personal Identity and responsibility, and justice (and all the grey areas these themes create). The switching POVs are a little rough because the story feels fragmented and it took a loooong time to feel connected to any of the characters. In particular, I could have done without Ranami or Phalue's stories, as they didn't do much to the overall plot, except, when the time came, to propel another character's development. Maybe they'll have a more interesting role in the second book.
Aside from the pacing, the premise of the story is fascinating, though the plot twists were a little overt and lacking nuance for me, it's still an interesting world Stewart built; I hope book 2 has more action and a little less internal monologues about the respective characters woes.
Graphic: Blood
Moderate: Colonisation, Death, and Trafficking
Minor: Animal cruelty
thenexthing'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? No
4.0
Graphic: Body horror, Animal cruelty, Blood, Classism, Violence, and Gore
Moderate: Confinement, Injury/Injury detail, Animal death, Body horror, Child abuse, Death, Gaslighting, Mental illness, Slavery, Violence, Abandonment, and War
Minor: Suicidal thoughts, Medical content, Confinement, and Emotional abuse
srm'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
4.0
Moderate: Murder, Violence, and Blood
Minor: Confinement, Child death, Grief, Injury/Injury detail, Death of parent, and Animal cruelty
thoseoldcrows23'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
Graphic: Physical abuse, Death, Violence, Injury/Injury detail, Emotional abuse, Death of parent, Animal cruelty, Grief, Blood, Confinement, Child death, War, Kidnapping, and Murder
Moderate: Gore and Body horror
I'm not sure how to label it (I went ahead and tagged gore and body horror, but that's not exactly it), but the magic system here is bone magic so there's a lot of death-adjacent stuff going on with that. I didn't find it to be particularly graphic or icky, but you know...it's bone magic.alexijai98'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
4.25
Graphic: Blood, Body horror, Death, Kidnapping, Murder, Child death, Grief, Injury/Injury detail, Violence, Animal death, Animal cruelty, Gaslighting, and Gore
Moderate: Xenophobia
alexalily'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
Graphic: Terminal illness, Blood, Body horror, Confinement, and Kidnapping
Moderate: Animal cruelty, Death of parent, Domestic abuse, Emotional abuse, Injury/Injury detail, Classism, Death, Slavery, Xenophobia, Murder, Physical abuse, Trafficking, and Violence
Minor: Animal death, Child death, Stalking, Gaslighting, Torture, Child abuse, and Medical content
alphabetseeds'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
3.5
I'm intrigued by the "smaller" mysteries of
I think what brings this down closer to a 3 for me is that
Moderate: Animal cruelty and Murder
Minor: Blood
hapalyn'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
4.5
Graphic: Injury/Injury detail, Animal cruelty, Death, Death of parent, Animal death, Blood, Body horror, Kidnapping, Murder, and Physical abuse
alt05's review against another edition
- Plot- or character-driven? Plot
- Strong character development? It's complicated
- Loveable characters? Yes
- Diverse cast of characters? Yes
- Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes
4.0
Graphic: Child abuse, Animal cruelty, Colonisation, and Classism
kaziaroo'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
My only real criticism is that I felt the book would have been better without Ranami and Phalue's POV chapters. Their story had an interesting message and moral dilemma but it just didn't seem to fit and their chapters were quite dull to get through compared to the rest of the book. As a novella on their own, those chapters would have been fine, but I found myself skim-reading them to get back to Jovis, Lin and even Sand. Maybe more will come of Ranami and Phalue in the sequel, but I just couldn't get behind their relationship or find the point of their storyline or its impact of the overall plot.
Graphic: Confinement, Grief, Trafficking, Child death, Injury/Injury detail, Murder, Blood, Violence, Death, Gaslighting, Body horror, and Medical content
Moderate: Physical abuse, Racism, Animal cruelty, Panic attacks/disorders, Death of parent, Kidnapping, and Mental illness
Minor: War