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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
4.5
Graphic: Bullying, Child abuse, Panic attacks/disorders, Sexual violence, Slavery, Adult/minor relationship, Sexual assault, Abandonment, Gaslighting, Toxic friendship, Classism, Grief, and Body horror
Moderate: Animal death, Blood, Emotional abuse, Alcohol, Fire/Fire injury, Animal cruelty, Body shaming, and Injury/Injury detail
abby_can_read'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 book lived up to my expectations. I had a wonderful time reading it. The characters were well-developed and I liked the various relationships. I liked the relationship between Vanja and Emeric. The worldbuilding was good. The plot was a little predictable, there were a few twists that I didn't see, and the writing style was good.
Graphic: Abandonment, Emotional abuse, and Child abuse
Moderate: Sexual assault, Violence, and Physical abuse
Minor: Animal death
zannayo'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: Murder, Bullying, Child abuse, Physical abuse, Abandonment, and Classism
Moderate: Sexual harassment, Gaslighting, Terminal illness, and Toxic friendship
Minor: Emotional abuse and Body shaming
speterson47's review against another edition
5.0
Minor: Animal cruelty, Death of parent, Eating disorder, Emotional abuse, Injury/Injury detail, Sexual assault, and Violence
kemikemi's review against another edition
- Plot- or character-driven? A mix
- Strong character development? Yes
- Loveable characters? Yes
- Diverse cast of characters? No
- Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes
4.5
**To note, I think it would’ve been better to have the main character group be about 20 rather than 16 and have the legal adult age (referenced throughout the book) be 21. They all read as young adults rather than midteens, and the child marriage was really unsettling whenever I was reminded what the girls’ actual ages were.
Graphic: Bullying, Injury/Injury detail, and Classism
Moderate: Emotional abuse, Misogyny, Sexual harassment, Violence, Eating disorder, Sexual assault, Abandonment, Alcohol, and Animal death
peskilanim'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: Classism
Moderate: Rape, Physical abuse, Emotional abuse, and Child abuse
Minor: Misogyny, Body shaming, and Animal death
nars246'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
Moderate: Emotional abuse, Child abuse, and Sexual assault
amelianotthepilot's review against another edition
4.5
I really enjoyed this story it's a very spooky and intricate tale of female rage. All the characters were very complex and interesting and I enjoyed the multiple deadlines rushing our characters to the end. However, I didn't really love the beginning. It wasn't until I was about halfway into the story that I was finally invested. I also didn't love the ending. It almost seemed like the author realized she backed herself into too much of a corner and just reversed it. But I did like the little interludes that were told as tales before each section and I think the end section interlude is my favorite. I also like what she did at the end but not how we got there. The germanic words and culture were interesting but not well explained so I spent most of the book skipping over the words I didn't know since they weren't really explained. I loved the gods aspect and I love a good enemies to lovers and a good morally grey main character. I also loved the casual lgbt+ representation (including lesbians, gays, and a demi character!).
Graphic: Emotional abuse, Bullying, Adult/minor relationship, Alcohol, Blood, Physical abuse, Fire/Fire injury, Abandonment, Chronic illness, Drug use, Injury/Injury detail, Violence, Toxic friendship, Toxic relationship, Terminal illness, Child abuse, Classism, Gaslighting, Misogyny, Murder, Sexism, and Sexual harassment
justinekorson's review against another edition
- Plot- or character-driven? Plot
- Strong character development? Yes
- Loveable characters? Yes
- Diverse cast of characters? No
- Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes
5.0
Vanja wasn't a perfect person by any means but she was funny and resourceful and she cared so damn much for the people around her. Her love story with Emeric was perfect. The deceptions and betrayals in the novel were timed fantastically. It was overall a very wonderful story and I can't wait to read the second/third novels.
There is one gripe I do have with the novel. I had read maybe a third of the book before it's revealed that Giselle is a lesbian and while I found no problem with this, I did feel like all the queer representation was pushed to the back end of the novel. I could be entirely wrong about this but it felt like all the mentions of trans people, lesbians, gay people, etc were all mentioned in the last third of the book and was mentioned nowhere in the first two thirds. Maybe I wasn't paying close enough attention but I usually do for books that I like so I doubt I would've missed anything. If anyone has an instance where queer people were mentioned before Giselle tells Vanja she likes women then please let me know.
Moderate: Abandonment, Murder, Toxic friendship, Adult/minor relationship, Alcohol, Death, Emotional abuse, Grief, and Sexual assault
Minor: War, Animal death, and Vomit
jordandotcom'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
Moderate: Child abuse and Emotional abuse
Minor: Sexual harassment