Scan barcode
martinatan's review against another edition
- Plot- or character-driven? Character
- Strong character development? Yes
- Loveable characters? Yes
- Diverse cast of characters? Yes
- Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes
4.75
My favorite character coming out of this was Tes though I’m a long-time Lila stan. I really enjoyed her personality and the choices she made that felt true to her background. There were so many intriguing hooks for the next installment to build on and I am really interested to see where everyone ends up—hopefully coming together to overcome
Some things I’d really like to see developed in the next book:
Also, something I was a little dissatisfied with at no real fault of the author is the “disabled guy gets healed” plot that played out with Kell’s arc this book. I am much more satisfied these days by stories that don’t post the potentially forever-injured hero as someone who needs to be cured. It felt wrong to see Kell sort of revert to his normal power at the end—even if he went through such undeserved and intense pain throughout the book. More to the point of what disability could look like in this amazing world Schwab has created, what does it look like for an Antari to never be quite physically recovered from a traumatic event? I hope we explore more of the consequences and changes to Kell’s outlook, since it would also feel wrong for him to not have learned anything about himself or how he thinks about magic from having lost his own powers.
That kind of leads me to one last thing I liked along the lines of disability/neurodivergence in this book: Tes! She really resonated with me as a character because of how neurodivergent-coded she was. It hit me so hard when I read one line about her devising techniques over the years to mask her own power—and then to have her suddenly recognized for that gift, albeit by very powerful and ambitious people who perhaps are reluctant to release or distribute their power (royalty kind of sucks that way). I am interested to see if Schwab picks up on any of these narrative themes that interest me because they hold so much space in my head in the real world. I don’t need to see a complete replication of all the power dynamics in my world in this one, but it is a really fun thought exercise for me to imagine how social justice and disability representation would play out.
Anyway great book! I love fantasy dawg
Moderate: Murder, Violence, Ableism, and Fire/Fire injury
Minor: Medical content, Cursing, Adult/minor relationship, Torture, Confinement, Injury/Injury detail, Sexual content, Grief, Biphobia, Classism, Alcohol, Blood, Child abuse, Death, and Death of parent
guessgreenleaf's review against another edition
- Plot- or character-driven? Character
- Strong character development? Yes
- Loveable characters? Yes
- Diverse cast of characters? Yes
- Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes
5.0
Moderate: Domestic abuse, Self harm, Alcohol, Blood, Violence, Chronic illness, Death, and Kidnapping
itsbrianascall'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: Injury/Injury detail
Moderate: Death, Classism, Murder, Sexism, Emotional abuse, Violence, Death of parent, and Physical abuse
Minor: War
theintrovertsbooks's review against another edition
- Plot- or character-driven? Character
- Strong character development? Yes
- Loveable characters? It's complicated
- Diverse cast of characters? Yes
- Flaws of characters a main focus? It's complicated
5.0
Graphic: Death, Blood, Violence, Physical abuse, Self harm, Murder, Injury/Injury detail, and Cursing
Moderate: Hate crime, Domestic abuse, Confinement, Sexual content, Kidnapping, and Gore
Minor: Stalking, Fire/Fire injury, Torture, Death of parent, Vomit, Child abuse, Infertility, Infidelity, Emotional abuse, and Alcohol
blueberry0531'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: Death, Blood, and Kidnapping
Minor: Sexual content
softwindflower'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: Injury/Injury detail, Violence, and Blood
Moderate: Torture and Death
Minor: Child abuse, Alcohol, and Sexual content
bootrat's review against another edition
- Plot- or character-driven? N/A
- Strong character development? Yes
- Loveable characters? Yes
- Diverse cast of characters? Yes
- Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes
5.0
I loved Tes and Kosika so much, their characterisations and their storylines really helped to draw me back into the world. I also really loved seeing where the original characters have ended up 7 years later, and how that time has helped them change and grow. The story and the mystery itself wasn't too complex, and didn't feel particularly sinister or pressing, but I expect that will develop more in the next book.
Overall I just really loved this book.
Graphic: Blood, Violence, and Injury/Injury detail
Moderate: Death and Child abuse
leedolee'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
5.0
Graphic: Confinement, Violence, Injury/Injury detail, Blood, Body horror, Cursing, Death, Gore, and Murder
Moderate: Alcohol, Torture, and Physical abuse
achay91'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? No
5.0
Graphic: Cursing, Blood, and Body horror
Moderate: Death
Minor: Alcohol and Kidnapping
nukie19'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: Alcohol, Blood, Violence, Murder, and Death
Moderate: Cursing