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readwithria's review
medium-paced
- Strong character development? No
- Loveable characters? No
- Diverse cast of characters? Yes
2.0
This book was 👏🏻 not 👏🏻 the 👏🏻 vibe 👏🏻
I have a few complaints that I can voice, and many that I can’t. Here’s my “I just finished this fucking book” review.
1. I don’t like Lovecraftian horror. That’s not the book’s fault
2. There are too many POV characters for a 435 page book, and while they (mostly) have distinct voices they don’t have actual personality traits because they’re the personification of places
3. What exactly is the plot? The characters don’t know what they’re doing for 75% of the book
4. Aislyn, even as an Americanization of Aislin, would not be pronounced anything like island. It’s ASH-lyn. Ais makes an ash sound in Gaelic.
5. Speaking of Aislyn, she’s so stupid. This woman is not in her 30s, there’s absolutely no way. She doesn’t feel like a complete adult (or a complete person)
6. There are some, I don’t know exactly what to call the parenthetical but maybe asides is the right word? Anyway there are asides in this book that made me really dislike the writing style. I also don’t like how vague the writing is. I think this book would have benefitted from being in third person instead of first person.
Okay, now on to the couple of things I did like. I really liked Aislyn’s mom. I think she was one of the most compelling characters in the whole book. Give me a piece of literary fiction about that entire family and I’d be happy. I also liked Veneza a lot, she was great.
Note: the characters I like are all secondary characters. I have exactly no thoughts about most of the boroughs. Bronca is fine though.
Anyway, I will not be reading the sequel. I will, however, be reading The Hundred Thousand Kingdoms later this month.
I have a few complaints that I can voice, and many that I can’t. Here’s my “I just finished this fucking book” review.
1. I don’t like Lovecraftian horror. That’s not the book’s fault
2. There are too many POV characters for a 435 page book, and while they (mostly) have distinct voices they don’t have actual personality traits because they’re the personification of places
3. What exactly is the plot? The characters don’t know what they’re doing for 75% of the book
4. Aislyn, even as an Americanization of Aislin, would not be pronounced anything like island. It’s ASH-lyn. Ais makes an ash sound in Gaelic.
5. Speaking of Aislyn, she’s so stupid. This woman is not in her 30s, there’s absolutely no way. She doesn’t feel like a complete adult (or a complete person)
6. There are some, I don’t know exactly what to call the parenthetical but maybe asides is the right word? Anyway there are asides in this book that made me really dislike the writing style. I also don’t like how vague the writing is. I think this book would have benefitted from being in third person instead of first person.
Okay, now on to the couple of things I did like. I really liked Aislyn’s mom. I think she was one of the most compelling characters in the whole book. Give me a piece of literary fiction about that entire family and I’d be happy. I also liked Veneza a lot, she was great.
Note: the characters I like are all secondary characters. I have exactly no thoughts about most of the boroughs. Bronca is fine though.
Anyway, I will not be reading the sequel. I will, however, be reading The Hundred Thousand Kingdoms later this month.
Content Warnings
Graphic: Emotional abuse, Misogyny, Racism, and Sexism
Moderate: Rape, Antisemitism, and Sexual harassment
voxelbee's review against another edition
adventurous
dark
emotional
funny
hopeful
mysterious
tense
fast-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? It's complicated
5.0
Content Warnings
Moderate: Body horror, Death, Emotional abuse, Hate crime, Misogyny, Racism, Sexism, Sexual assault, Sexual violence, Violence, Xenophobia, and Classism
Minor: Cancer, Panic attacks/disorders, Racial slurs, Transphobia, Blood, Police brutality, Antisemitism, Islamophobia, Kidnapping, Cannibalism, Religious bigotry, Alcohol, Sexual harassment, Colonisation, and Injury/Injury detail
franklola's review
adventurous
dark
mysterious
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
4.0
Content Warnings
Moderate: Bullying, Misogyny, Violence, Police brutality, Gaslighting, Sexual harassment, and Colonisation
sarah984's review against another edition
mysterious
slow-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? A mix
- Strong character development? No
- Loveable characters? No
- Diverse cast of characters? Yes
- Flaws of characters a main focus? It's complicated
1.0
I just can't see what seemingly everyone else saw in this book. Bland prose (everyone’s thoughts and motivations are listed like we might otherwise miss them, like "[character] thinks dark things are evil because she sees that in the media" is essentially an actual sentence in this novel) padded with pointless bickering and boring New York in-jokes. Every character is an ethnic stereotype and they all sound so similar to one another that I kept forgetting one of them was supposed to be 70 until she brought up Stonewall again. The antagonist’s minions are like cartoon villains and they're all written in the most cringe-inducing way possible.
I did like the idea behind how the antagonist’s plan worked, and using white and light colours as something dangerous. Unfortunately, the one interesting city formation concept is dropped almost immediately after it comes up and the ending didn't make any sense with what was already established.
I feel like the author could have saved me a few hours of reading time by just typing up a Tumblr post about how much she hates Staten Island and leaving it at that.
I did like the idea behind how the antagonist’s plan worked, and using white and light colours as something dangerous. Unfortunately, the one interesting city formation concept is dropped almost immediately after it comes up and the ending didn't make any sense with what was already established.
I feel like the author could have saved me a few hours of reading time by just typing up a Tumblr post about how much she hates Staten Island and leaving it at that.
Content Warnings
Graphic: Racism and Xenophobia
Moderate: Body horror, Death, Misogyny, Racial slurs, Antisemitism, Sexual harassment, and Injury/Injury detail
Minor: Cancer, Drug use, Fatphobia, Homophobia, Mental illness, Panic attacks/disorders, Rape, Police brutality, Islamophobia, Cannibalism, Stalking, Car accident, Colonisation, and Classism
brycestevenwilley's review
adventurous
dark
funny
hopeful
mysterious
tense
fast-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
4.5
Amazing concept, and really well fleshed out and thought through. Loved the characters and writing as well, genuinely enjoyable to read. The only downsides were that sometimes things came off as a bit cliche or stereotypical, even if they weren't too bad and still well researched, but I can't really see the concept working without those cliches.
Content Warnings
Graphic: Sexual harassment
Minor: Alcoholism, Genocide, Hate crime, Xenophobia, Antisemitism, Colonisation, and Classism
thepassivebookworm's review
adventurous
challenging
dark
funny
slow-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? Plot
- Strong character development? Yes
- Loveable characters? It's complicated
- Diverse cast of characters? Yes
- Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes
4.0
Content Warnings
Moderate: Racism, Xenophobia, Cultural appropriation, and Sexual harassment
marissasa's review against another edition
adventurous
challenging
dark
hopeful
mysterious
reflective
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
4.0
This wasn't a book I think I'd pick up on my own but I'm glad I did for the Read in Color Book Club's February pick and stepped out of my usual reading genres. I genuinely enjoyed the weirdness and creativity of the concept of cities in the world personified, despite the story being a little slow at the start. Once we got a look into each character and their personalities I started to enjoy the book and felt compelled to know what would happen once they all came together. I love "found family" tropes, especially ones where the characters have to work to trust each other and build relationships. It was also great to see a diverse range of protagonists not just in ethnicity, but sexuality, age, and general walk of life too. The enemy in this narrative is so fascinating that it can be so foreign and alien-like yet also all too familiar in the way it uses white-supremacist and colonizer language as weapons. Overall I'm intrigued and curious to see what happens in the next installments of the series, especially when the scope gets wider and we learn more about the summit what effects a city's birth or downfall have on the rest of the world. Also, the audiobook played a huge part in my enjoyment of this one and I don't think I would have been as immersed in the story without it. The narrators were great and did a lot for the overall characterizations of the main cast, as well as great world building with the sound effects and editing.
Content Warnings
Graphic: Alcoholism, Body horror, Cursing, Domestic abuse, Emotional abuse, Homophobia, Misogyny, Panic attacks/disorders, Physical abuse, Racial slurs, Racism, Rape, Sexism, Sexual assault, Violence, Xenophobia, Police brutality, Islamophobia, Lesbophobia, Sexual harassment, Colonisation, and Classism
Minor: Cancer, Drug abuse, and Drug use
gattolinos_nerdy_nook's review against another edition
adventurous
challenging
inspiring
tense
slow-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? Plot
- Strong character development? Yes
- Loveable characters? Yes
- Diverse cast of characters? Yes
- Flaws of characters a main focus? It's complicated
4.0
I will admit I wasn't sure I was going to like this book, and with the first couple of chapters leaving me lost and confused, I was really not confident. I am pleased to be wrong about this.
This book will catch you right away with such a rich and unique cast, not only in design, but also in personalities, goals, fears, and struggles. I love how each character has a unique power to fight the "Woman in White". Each of them embody not only the borough they represent but also different minorities that can be over looked and harassed as the book touches on with each character. Each of them the boroughs are funny and loveable (well mainly) to read, the car scene in chapter 14 made me laugh.
As I was reading I thought this was a standalone book, when I learnt it wasn't I was so relieved as I has way too many questions. I want to know more about this world and its lore, how does everything work?What happened to Stranton Island? Both the island and the avatar? Will we see a redemption arc? What are the other cities like? Do cities get a second chance? I just want to see more of these characters and I cannot wait.
I will say this book does take a couple of chapters to get into, so keep that in mind if you are wanting to read it. Once you do get past the confusing beginning, it is really easy to get sucked into the story and love the characters as they are introduced. You also get the appreciate how much the first couple of chapters have set up. I think the magical realism and soft sci-fi is also good for those readers that want to get into the sci-fi fantasy genres but are intimidated by what is out there already and are unsure if they will like it.
This book will catch you right away with such a rich and unique cast, not only in design, but also in personalities, goals, fears, and struggles. I love how each character has a unique power to fight the "Woman in White". Each of them embody not only the borough they represent but also different minorities that can be over looked and harassed as the book touches on with each character. Each of them the boroughs are funny and loveable (well mainly) to read, the car scene in chapter 14 made me laugh.
As I was reading I thought this was a standalone book, when I learnt it wasn't I was so relieved as I has way too many questions. I want to know more about this world and its lore, how does everything work?
I will say this book does take a couple of chapters to get into, so keep that in mind if you are wanting to read it. Once you do get past the confusing beginning, it is really easy to get sucked into the story and love the characters as they are introduced. You also get the appreciate how much the first couple of chapters have set up. I think the magical realism and soft sci-fi is also good for those readers that want to get into the sci-fi fantasy genres but are intimidated by what is out there already and are unsure if they will like it.
Content Warnings
Moderate: Hate crime, Racism, Xenophobia, and Injury/Injury detail
Minor: Alcoholism, Abortion, Alcohol, and Sexual harassment
macknificent's review against another edition
adventurous
funny
hopeful
medium-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? Plot
- Strong character development? No
- Loveable characters? Yes
- Diverse cast of characters? Yes
- Flaws of characters a main focus? No
3.0
It pains me to say it, but this was a 3 star read. There were issues with pacing and the author didn't trust the reader enough in some areas. I loved the concept, the characters, and what the story was speaking on; the execution was just a little off.
Still, Jemisin is like pizza, even when she's bad it's still pretty good.
Still, Jemisin is like pizza, even when she's bad it's still pretty good.
Content Warnings
Graphic: Cursing, Homophobia, Misogyny, Racial slurs, Racism, Sexism, Toxic relationship, Xenophobia, Religious bigotry, Cultural appropriation, Gaslighting, Sexual harassment, Colonisation, and Classism
alligrogan's review
adventurous
mysterious
- 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? No
4.0
Content Warnings
Moderate: Sexual harassment