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kiwij96's review against another edition
adventurous
challenging
dark
emotional
funny
lighthearted
mysterious
sad
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
Good, solid worldbuilding alongside character development. From the first page, you know exactly who the main character is and why she does the things she does. Sometimes heavy on the symbolism, but I cannot fault the pacing, the twists, the characters, the romance and friendships that seemingly blossom naturally. Nothing in this story feels forced. Poldi and Ragne honestly have my whole heard, and Barthl is on track to be up there as one of my favourites if he appears in the next book. It was genuinely such a delight to read, but it was also so genuinely heartbreaking at the same time.
Content Warnings
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
adventurous
emotional
funny
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
📖
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.
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.
Content Warnings
Graphic: Abandonment, Emotional abuse, and Child abuse
Moderate: Sexual assault, Violence, and Physical abuse
Minor: Animal death
amyteurhour's review against another edition
3.5
Content warning: abandonment, child abuse, neglect, rape, classism, toxic relationship, panic attack
The pacing felt a bit slow and dragged out for me, but overall a decent amount of angst. I wish the friendship between the Goose Girl/main character and the bird girl were more developed. The bird girl's relationship felt kind of instalove. I did check out Book 2, but haven't gotten around to it/made it a priority to read, make of that what you will.
The pacing felt a bit slow and dragged out for me, but overall a decent amount of angst. I wish the friendship between the Goose Girl/main character and the bird girl were more developed. The bird girl's relationship felt kind of instalove. I did check out Book 2, but haven't gotten around to it/made it a priority to read, make of that what you will.
Content Warnings
Graphic: Classism, Panic attacks/disorders, Rape, Toxic relationship, Abandonment, Child abuse, and Toxic friendship
zannayo's review against another edition
adventurous
emotional
hopeful
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
4.5
Content Warnings
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
kourteb's review against another edition
adventurous
dark
emotional
funny
inspiring
sad
medium-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? A mix
- Strong character development? Yes
- Loveable characters? Yes
- Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes
5.0
“Little thieves steal gold, and great ones steal Kingdoms, but only one goes to the gallows.”
Easily 5 stars. Officially my favorite book. Vanja I will defend you WITH MY LIFE. If Vanja has no supports I AM DECEASED. The queerness is this world is so incredibly beautiful, words cannot describe how seen these romances make me feel. Vanja’s hurt is so heartbreaking but her strength and character development is such a heartwarming experience.
Easily 5 stars. Officially my favorite book. Vanja I will defend you WITH MY LIFE. If Vanja has no supports I AM DECEASED. The queerness is this world is so incredibly beautiful, words cannot describe how seen these romances make me feel. Vanja’s hurt is so heartbreaking but her strength and character development is such a heartwarming experience.
Content Warnings
Moderate: Sexual assault, Child abuse, Grief, Body shaming, and Abandonment
bequavious's review against another edition
adventurous
emotional
hopeful
- Plot- or character-driven? Character
- Strong character development? Yes
- Loveable characters? Yes
- Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes
5.0
Content Warnings
Minor: Abandonment, Drug abuse, Child abuse, Animal death, and Sexual assault
alexiatormen's review against another edition
adventurous
challenging
emotional
funny
hopeful
reflective
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
The humor wasnt always for me, sometimes it broke the imersivo but still its a great book.
Content Warnings
Graphic: Death, Animal death, Child abuse, and Abandonment
Moderate: Alcohol, Drug use, and Sexual assault
Minor: Adult/minor relationship, Vomit, Toxic friendship, and Death
kemikemi's review against another edition
adventurous
dark
emotional
fast-paced
- 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
It’s a book you finish and just have to sit there in silence reeling and thinking about everything that happened, because there was so much happening at every single point and it was a really fucking good book. I loved the prose and how storytelling and fairytales were weaved into the writing with the presentation of the story and individual chapters. It was playful, and I enjoyed how the narration played games with us and had us guessing and went back for the wild reveal towards the climax. I loved the characters; Vanja was written so well as a morally grey antihero protagonist, and everything about her story hurts so much. She and Emeric have the most complete and best enemies to lovers loveline that I’ve ever seen in a story. Her relationship with Gisele was also so interesting and painful, and I thought the development throughout the book was so good. Ragne became a favorite character of mine, she was so funny and fascinating and the best fucking friend ever. I’m sad I couldn’t get tooooo into her loveline with Gisele just bc we barely saw it develop since it all happened offscreen, but lesbian rep!!!! I loved Ragne’s role in the final plan and their scenes together toward the end, bless them. Despite being so long, this book managed to hold my attention well throughout my listening experience, and I had fun trying to crack the case and problem solve with them despite always being wrong! I think I enjoyed the twists and gotcha moments more because I went into this book not actually knowing the Goose Girl tale; things continuously caught me by surprise and it was a fun ride!!
**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.
**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.
Content Warnings
Graphic: Bullying, Injury/Injury detail, and Classism
Moderate: Emotional abuse, Misogyny, Sexual harassment, Violence, Eating disorder, Sexual assault, Abandonment, Alcohol, and Animal death
blewballoon's review against another edition
adventurous
dark
funny
hopeful
mysterious
reflective
tense
medium-paced
- 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
5.0
Normally I struggle with books where the main character, especially if you're in their perspective, is unlikable. I found Vanja compelling despite her severe flaws, and I had a feeling I'd enjoy following her character journey. I was right. I also found myself getting very immersed in the setting and growing mystery. I loved the group of characters that came along for the ride and pushed Vanja to grow. I felt like the ending was rewarding as it brought different plot points together. I enjoyed the portrayal of the gods. I found myself giddy to read more, and it's that excitement to get back to the book that made me rate it 5 stars. I listened on audiobook and the narrator was great. I was a little worried because the only other book I had listened to narrated by Saskia Maarleveld was one I didn't enjoy, but the problem clearly wasn't the narration. This book is technically the start of a series, but it can be enjoyed as a standalone in my opinion.
Content Warnings
Moderate: Child abuse, Murder, Blood, Abandonment, Physical abuse, Violence, Death, and Body horror
Minor: Vomit, Sexual violence, Animal death, and Sexual assault
amelianotthepilot's review against another edition
adventurous
medium-paced
4.5
A mother gives her 13th daughter to Death and Fortune rather than raise her. Instead of killing her Death and Fortune take the girl as their goddaughter and find her a place in a castle as a servant. She becomes close to the Princess of the castle eventually swapping places with her and stealing her place. She will do anything to survive and cares about no one because no one cares about her but eventually her past and lies will catch up to her.
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!).
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!).
Content Warnings
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