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bluberrybooks's review against another edition
- Plot- or character-driven? A mix
- Strong character development? N/A
- Loveable characters? No
- Diverse cast of characters? Yes
2.0
Graphic: Murder, Sexual content, Body horror, Death, Fire/Fire injury, Injury/Injury detail, and Violence
Moderate: Medical content, Fatphobia, Miscarriage, and Torture
deb_is_reading's review against another edition
- Plot- or character-driven? Plot
- Strong character development? It's complicated
- Loveable characters? It's complicated
- Diverse cast of characters? Yes
- Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes
3.5
Negative: So there were a lot of time jumps that weren't chronological. We'd jump from the 2060s to the 2040s to the 2060s again then to the 2050s and references to other time periods within those time jumps. It felt like I should have had a scrap piece of paper to keep track of things. It was a little bit of work to follow. The writing is fine and digestible though.
Sexual moments were also very jarring at times. Romantic moments between Kaaro and Aminat were fine but there were also moments of random erections and sudden moments of sex/sexual assaults. I try to give the author the benefit of the doubt but I felt that a lot of random bouts of sexuality were straight up not needed. It's so strange because our main character is a stated misogynist and we do see him grow a bit, but the random sexual bits kinda ruin it.
Further thoughts: I might be more interested by the next installment because I think we follow more perspectives.
Graphic: Sexual assault, Sexual content, and Body horror
Moderate: Injury/Injury detail, Death, Miscarriage, and Medical trauma
Minor: Sexism, Homophobia, and Torture
zias's review against another edition
- Plot- or character-driven? Plot
- Strong character development? Yes
- Loveable characters? Yes
- Diverse cast of characters? Yes
4.5
Moderate: Violence, Vomit, Body horror, and Torture
cassie7e's review against another edition
- Plot- or character-driven? A mix
- Diverse cast of characters? Yes
4.0
The writing has a tone that feels very masculine and unrelatable to me (similar to how I felt about American Gods, though less offputting in this book), but books do not have to be relatable to be enjoyable! The weirdness kept me interested. Also I enjoy a nonlinear narrative.
Graphic: Injury/Injury detail, Murder, Colonisation, and Violence
Moderate: Torture and Body horror
Minor: Fatphobia, Miscarriage, Suicidal thoughts, Vomit, Alcohol, Sexual content, Forced institutionalization, Homophobia, Medical content, Pregnancy, and Racial slurs
mine_gerber's review against another edition
- Plot- or character-driven? Plot
- Strong character development? It's complicated
- Loveable characters? No
- Diverse cast of characters? Yes
- Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes
4.5
Graphic: Cursing, Sexual content, and Violence
Moderate: Police brutality, Blood, Murder, Injury/Injury detail, Torture, and Infidelity
Minor: Homophobia and Stalking
maricasement's review against another edition
- Plot- or character-driven? A mix
- Strong character development? It's complicated
- Loveable characters? It's complicated
- Diverse cast of characters? Yes
- Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes
3.75
Because of my dislike for Kaaro, the first half of the book dragged. There was a lot being set up at the start as well, and this meant that the book took a while to grip me. Once the book revealed an awareness of Kaaro's faults and the mystery started to take shape, I started enjoying the book a bit more. Don't get me wrong, Kaaro is still a character I dislike, but the other (female) characters, the plot and the world building now have me hooked.
I will probably read the next in the series, as it seems to be told from a different character's perspective and I would love to learn more about the world Tade Thompson has crafted.
Graphic: Cursing, Death, Gaslighting, Terminal illness, Blood, Body horror, Murder, Excrement, Gore, Kidnapping, Body shaming, Confinement, Fire/Fire injury, Infidelity, Injury/Injury detail, Sexual content, Torture, Violence, and Misogyny
Moderate: Miscarriage, War, Vomit, and Emotional abuse
librarianmage'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
5.0
Graphic: Sexual content, Violence, and Body horror
Moderate: Torture and Blood
Minor: Homophobia
gattolinos_nerdy_nook's review against another edition
- Plot- or character-driven? Character
- Strong character development? It's complicated
- Loveable characters? It's complicated
- Diverse cast of characters? Yes
- Flaws of characters a main focus? It's complicated
4.0
The characters and the plot worked so well together that it felt like you were observing someone's life. There were moments of lull and intensity but it all felt realistic. It felt like someone was telling me their life story and not reading a book for entertainment.
With this being the first book in the trilogy I'm curious to see what the other two books will be about.
Moderate: Death, Torture, War, and Blood
Minor: Sexual content
mar's review
- Plot- or character-driven? A mix
- Strong character development? No
- Loveable characters? No
- Diverse cast of characters? Yes
- Flaws of characters a main focus? No
3.5
Graphic: Gore, Medical content, Sexism, Sexual content, Violence, Blood, Death, and Vomit
Moderate: Excrement, Fire/Fire injury, Kidnapping, Miscarriage, Body horror, Child death, Homophobia, and Torture
Minor: Islamophobia, Rape, and Sexual harassment
oceanwriter's review against another edition
- Plot- or character-driven? A mix
- Strong character development? It's complicated
- Loveable characters? No
- Diverse cast of characters? Yes
- Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes
1.0
Graphic: Violence, Sexual content, and Body horror
Moderate: Medical content, Torture, and Death