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pand_books's review against another edition
- Plot- or character-driven? A mix
- Strong character development? It's complicated
- Loveable characters? Yes
- Diverse cast of characters? Yes
- Flaws of characters a main focus? It's complicated
4.0
Graphic: Violence, War, Death, Murder, Miscarriage, and Blood
Moderate: Gore, Fire/Fire injury, Religious bigotry, Medical content, Colonisation, and Grief
Minor: Incest and Pandemic/Epidemic
bionerdatgc's review
- 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? No
2.5
On pacing: it was very slow to start, which is OK when weaving lots of storylines together. However, the story's first POV character actually gets the least amount of "screen" time - which in my opinion is a tragedy, because she and the Eastern dragons are the most interesting part of the story yet seem more like afterthoughts. Everything builds so slowly that when any action happens, it's over too fast and feels unfulfilling. The climax is awesome at least. I felt like it was paced just right, but there wasn't enough of it compared to the buildup.
I think this was a very well-conceived story, and it was woven together well in the amount of space it had. It lives up to the scale of epic fantasies. That said, I think it fell flat of its potential. Seriously, DRAGONS! Why have hundreds of pages of court intrigue on one side of the world when there are DRAGON RIDERS on the other side? And a convent of DRAGON SLAYERS down in the south? Flashbacks from Ead's childhood in the Priory would have added action to slower stretches and provided a much richer backdrop. And I really wish Tané had been given more time with her dragon. I would have loved to see them patrolling together instead of just talking, for instance. I would have loved to see the Sea Guard in action. So many things that could have been developed were overlooked in favor of court intrigue.
As a writer, I'm glad I read this book because I've learned a lot about my own preferences and style from it. However, I did not enjoy it enough to read it again.
Graphic: Cursing, Incest, Injury/Injury detail, Suicidal thoughts, Miscarriage, Infidelity, Sexual content, and Religious bigotry
Moderate: Medical content, Murder, Infertility, Medical trauma, Injury/Injury detail, Grief, and Pregnancy
Minor: Emotional abuse, Pedophilia, Death, Confinement, Outing, Dementia, Death of parent, Blood, and Gore
kiwij96'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
4.0
This said, my main criticisms would be that after many chapters of build-up to a conflict, the conflict is over in 2 pages. This happens often and it feels a bit lacklustre for a story of this scale. As a result of this, it oftentimes felt like it was trying to achieve too much and that the conflicts were quickly solved to move onto the next one. Another criticism is that the romance felt massively out of place in the story and wouldn't have changed the plot any if it wasn't there at all. Every other character was fleshed out effectively in the sense that they all had things that made them independent but work well as a part of a team when needed, they each had ambitions and they felt real. I couldn't get a feel for Ead because of this. Of all the characters she was the one with the least development, despite the story following her the most.
Graphic: Fire/Fire injury, Grief, Classism, Death of parent, Infertility, Murder, Violence, Miscarriage, Death, Gore, Blood, Injury/Injury detail, and War
Moderate: Religious bigotry
Minor: Incest, Pregnancy, and Suicide
lemonyanne'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? It's complicated
5.0
Moderate: Infertility, Miscarriage, Injury/Injury detail, Child death, Death, Fire/Fire injury, War, Gore, Violence, and Blood
Minor: Suicidal thoughts, Torture, and Pandemic/Epidemic
Tender and loving lgbt relationshipscj13'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
4.75
Graphic: War, Death, Gore, Violence, Xenophobia, Fire/Fire injury, Injury/Injury detail, Religious bigotry, and Blood
Moderate: Grief, Medical trauma, Miscarriage, Sexual content, Classism, Pregnancy, Suicidal thoughts, Infertility, Dementia, Slavery, and Kidnapping
cozy_gremlin4's review
- 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
Graphic: Murder, Gore, Classism, Death, Sexual content, Violence, Abandonment, Body horror, Gaslighting, Grief, Injury/Injury detail, Pregnancy, Blood, and War
mscalls'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: Medical content, Murder, Violence, Infidelity, Gore, Vomit, Misogyny, Alcoholism, Xenophobia, Alcohol, Physical abuse, Pregnancy, Religious bigotry, Child death, Torture, Emotional abuse, Sexual content, Animal cruelty, Animal death, Blood, Bullying, Classism, Death, Death of parent, Fire/Fire injury, Grief, Injury/Injury detail, Miscarriage, Pandemic/Epidemic, Toxic relationship, and War
bookshelfhannah'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? It's complicated
5.0
Graphic: Gore, Blood, Child death, Fire/Fire injury, Pregnancy, Violence, War, Miscarriage, Body horror, Death, Injury/Injury detail, and Torture
_lazyreader_3565's review
- Plot- or character-driven? A mix
- Strong character development? It's complicated
- Loveable characters? Yes
- Diverse cast of characters? Yes
- Flaws of characters a main focus? It's complicated
5.0
Graphic: Miscarriage and Murder
Moderate: Violence and Gore
allymiranda's review
- 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
Graphic: Gore, War, Death, Fire/Fire injury, Violence, and Blood
Moderate: Miscarriage, Animal cruelty, and Animal death
Minor: Alcoholism
The only animal cruelty is dragons and (very minor) horses.