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lady_valhella'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
Graphic: Death, Emotional abuse, Misogyny, Violence, Grief, Religious bigotry, Murder, Fire/Fire injury, Colonisation, and War
Minor: Torture
le_mur's review against another edition
- Plot- or character-driven? Plot
- Strong character development? Yes
- Loveable characters? It's complicated
- Diverse cast of characters? Yes
- Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes
3.5
Graphic: Death, Violence, Murder, War, and Injury/Injury detail
Moderate: Sexism, Torture, Xenophobia, and Grief
sayhar13'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? It's complicated
4.0
Graphic: Body horror, Suicide, Murder, Fire/Fire injury, and War
scrubsandbooks'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
Much like the first book, there were a number of different POVs but the quantity of different people were scaled down in comparison to the first. As a matter of fact, I think going back and rereading the first might make more sense now after reading this one and knowing who are or were the key players, either those who make it into this book or died in book one. I'm completely invested in seeing this through to the end.
Graphic: Body horror, Death, Violence, Murder, Fire/Fire injury, War, and Injury/Injury detail
Moderate: Child death and Suicide
Minor: Confinement and Alcohol
jessiereads98'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
4.0
Overall, I enjoyed this. It’s a complex story with complex characters. I really enjoy the unique magic system with multiple gods coming into play and in conflict with each other. I also appreciate the feminist themes woven beautifully into the story.
I did find the pacing in the first half of the book to be a bit slow and like it took a little long to get to things. It felt at times like the story was meandering and dragging its feet on getting where it was going. The pacing did pick up for a much more satisfying final half-third of the book.
I don’t fully enjoy Priya and Malini’s relationship. The power imbalance and Malini’s constant use of Priya and expecting Priya to always do what is best for her makes me somewhat uncomfortable. While I enjoy the relationship as one that is toxic and compelling and narratively interesting, I am not sure if that is the author’s intention or if I as a reader am meant to simply root for them as star crossed lovers. I understand the idea is for there to be a lot of moral greyness and none of these characters are perfect, nor would I want them to be. However, there are times where I find Malini’s treatment of Priya going past moral greyness to this is just an imbalanced power dynamic of a woman from a lower class being expected to serve one of a higher class and I don’t find it romantic.
Graphic: Body horror, Death, Gore, Violence, Blood, Murder, Fire/Fire injury, War, and Injury/Injury detail
Moderate: Misogyny, Sexism, Grief, and Religious bigotry
Minor: Addiction, Child abuse, Child death, Cursing, Drug abuse, Drug use, Homophobia, Sexual content, Suicide, Torture, Kidnapping, Death of parent, Abandonment, Alcohol, Colonisation, and Classism
reading_for_pluto'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: War
Minor: Death, Homophobia, Misogyny, Sexual content, Xenophobia, Suicide attempt, Murder, and Fire/Fire injury
karcitis'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: Body horror, Death, Gore, Violence, Blood, Grief, Murder, Fire/Fire injury, War, and Injury/Injury detail
Moderate: Child abuse, Chronic illness, Confinement, Emotional abuse, Physical abuse, Sexism, Terminal illness, Xenophobia, Alcohol, and Colonisation
Minor: Torture and Classism
rat_girly's review against another edition
- Plot- or character-driven? Plot
- Strong character development? Yes
- Loveable characters? It's complicated
- Diverse cast of characters? Yes
- Flaws of characters a main focus? It's complicated
4.5
I loved the development of most of the relationships: Priya & Sima, Bhumika & Jeevan, Ahiranyi vs others, and most of all - Rao & Aditya. Queer, boyhood crush vibes. I found Malini and Priya’s relationship to be heavily out of balance, especially given the coloniser/colonised dynamic, but I think that is the point and will hopefully be rectified in book 3.
Graphic: Death, Misogyny, Sexism, Violence, Religious bigotry, Murder, Fire/Fire injury, Colonisation, and War
Moderate: Sexual content, Suicidal thoughts, Torture, Kidnapping, Sexual harassment, and Injury/Injury detail
Minor: Animal death and Confinement
cardanrry's review against another edition
- Plot- or character-driven? A mix
- Strong character development? It's complicated
- Loveable characters? Yes
- Diverse cast of characters? Yes
4.0
Graphic: Death, Violence, Murder, Fire/Fire injury, and War
Moderate: Misogyny
Minor: Torture
wordwilderness'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
Plot & Story Focus
Writing Style
Characters
Series Flow
You’ll Like This Book if You Enjoy…
- Epic fantasy
- Multi-POV books
- A large cast of characters
- Compelling and conflicted relationships
Graphic: Misogyny, Sexism, Suicide, Violence, Religious bigotry, Murder, Abandonment, and War
Moderate: Body horror, Domestic abuse, and Self harm
Minor: Homophobia and Racism