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variavale's review against another edition
adventurous
tense
slow-paced
- 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
3.5
As I read with other reviews, the first half of the book is bogged down by way too much exposition to the point it was consistently happening throughout dialogue. It made for a difficult time getting into it despite a stellar opening chapter. However, halfway through the book the pace picks up and the story really shines. The setting was beautiful and a nice change from the typical medieval England based setting. The side characters were the most interesting ones, IMO. I would have loved a book based on Kali or with the prince as the LI instead of Cavas. Overall, HBTS is an enjoyable read once the author breaks away from the heavy world-building. I loved the diversity of the cast and hope to see more from her in the future.
Content Warnings
Minor: Child abuse, Classism, and Rape
nitya's review
adventurous
dark
tense
medium-paced
- 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
4.0
Give me ALL the desi fantasy books written by desi people (and NOT white anthropologists/white saviors) please!!!!
The pacing was a little rough, especially at the beginning, but the ending scenes definitely made up for it. And the instalove might not appeal to everyone but I didn't mind it here. The use of Hindi and Urdu worked so well (even for the words I didn't know - thankfully there's a glossary).
I can't WAIT to dive into the ARC for the sequel!
The pacing was a little rough, especially at the beginning, but the ending scenes definitely made up for it. And the instalove might not appeal to everyone but I didn't mind it here. The use of Hindi and Urdu worked so well (even for the words I didn't know - thankfully there's a glossary).
I can't WAIT to dive into the ARC for the sequel!
Content Warnings
Graphic: Animal death, Blood, Death, Death of parent, Grief, Murder, and Violence
Moderate: Chronic illness, Confinement, Genocide, and Slavery
Minor: Rape, Sexual assault, and Suicide attempt
readswithcocktails's review
adventurous
medium-paced
- Strong character development? No
- Loveable characters? No
- Diverse cast of characters? Yes
- Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes
4.0
I would 100% recommend this book to a seventh/eighth grader who is into fantasy novels! It is a little slow in the beginning because of all of the world building (basically, it suffers from what the first book in many fantasy trilogies suffer from). I don't know if I loved the two POV structure.
For me, this book is somewhere in the 3-4 range , but I'm rounding it up to 4 because most of the things I didn't enjoy about it were because I'm an adult reading a YA novel and <sigh> teens are exhausting. But this book isn't for me, and I can think of a number of 6-9th graders in my life who would enjoy it.
For me, this book is somewhere in the 3-4 range , but I'm rounding it up to 4 because most of the things I didn't enjoy about it were because I'm an adult reading a YA novel and <sigh> teens are exhausting. But this book isn't for me, and I can think of a number of 6-9th graders in my life who would enjoy it.
Content Warnings
Minor: Rape, Sexual assault, Slavery, and Trafficking
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