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chaoticbookgoblin'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
4.25
I loved the main characters and anguished when they anguished, rejoiced when they rejoiced. The ending was exactly what I expected and I loved every second of it. I felt so much reading this book. It is worth every page of the 900 pages.
Moderate: Rape, Violence, and Xenophobia
Minor: Adult/minor relationship
lanid's review against another edition
- Plot- or character-driven? A mix
- Strong character development? Yes
- Diverse cast of characters? Yes
- Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes
4.25
Graphic: Physical abuse, Sexual violence, Rape, Death, Body horror, War, and Sexual content
Minor: Slavery, Confinement, Xenophobia, Adult/minor relationship, Torture, Religious bigotry, Animal death, Blood, and Classism
zone_a3'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: Sexual content, War, Death of parent, and Torture
Moderate: Trafficking, Sexual assault, Slavery, and Rape
Minor: Adult/minor relationship and Abandonment
strawberrypinch's review
- Plot- or character-driven? Character
- Strong character development? Yes
- Loveable characters? Yes
- Diverse cast of characters? Yes
- Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes
3.75
Graphic: Trafficking, Alcohol, Sexual content, Slavery, Torture, Sexual violence, Adult/minor relationship, Blood, Murder, and Violence
Moderate: Gore, Death, Injury/Injury detail, Rape, Body horror, and Sexual assault
Minor: Vomit and Pregnancy
storykeeper_saga's review
- 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
3.5
Though this is not an erotica, sex, sexuality, and BDSM themes are integral to the story. Our main character is a sex worker, a religious sex worker at that.
Phaedra is now one of my favorite characters. She has a realistic character arc and is interesting. She makes changes in the story. Starting off as a bratty child, she grows into a clever and cunning woman.
My main issue is the sheer amount of characters and things that happen. Carey has extremely purple prose on top of it. There’s a lot of characters who matter to the story, but a lot of them blend together and are hard to keep track of. This may have been because I listened to the audio book.
All in all, interesting but an excess of characters and a romance that I am not fully a big fan of is not my favorite. Purple prose is on every page but the story is engaging and the world is so rich and three dimensional. I am excited to read the rest of the books in this world.
Graphic: Sexual content
Minor: Rape and Violence
carolibrary's review against another edition
3.0
Graphic: Physical abuse, Sexual violence, Torture, Death, Sexual content, Slavery, War, and Rape
Moderate: Self harm, Emotional abuse, and Toxic relationship
btrz7's review against another edition
- Plot- or character-driven? A mix
- Diverse cast of characters? No
3.25
Graphic: Adult/minor relationship, Blood, Rape, Sexual violence, Confinement, Death, Slavery, Torture, Violence, War, and Sexual content
Moderate: Animal death
massivepizzacrust's review against another edition
- Plot- or character-driven? Plot
- Strong character development? Yes
- Loveable characters? Yes
- Diverse cast of characters? Yes
- Flaws of characters a main focus? No
3.5
I think for what the content of this book is, I didn't love the "narrating from the future" writing choice. It felt detached and I've never been a fan of explicit foreshadowing. All the emotionally important raunchy scenes happened off screen or were only summarized in a couple of sentences, while the "just what work looks like" scenes were the ones highlighted. That's just not what I personally enjoy. But I liked the world building, where the wider plot went and how the main character interacted with the diplomatic challenges around her given her skills...
Phedre's boys were my favorite part, I love them. Also, if Joscelin could unbutton about two more buttons on his shirt, he would be so much better than Melisande could ever be. That's just my two cents.
Graphic: Confinement, Emotional abuse, Gore, Sexual violence, Torture, Violence, Murder, Physical abuse, Sexual content, Rape, Sexual assault, Blood, Cursing, Death, Injury/Injury detail, Kidnapping, and War
reading_rainbows's review against another edition
- Plot- or character-driven? Plot
- Strong character development? No
- Loveable characters? It's complicated
- Diverse cast of characters? Yes
- Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes
3.0
Graphic: Forced institutionalization, Gore, Sexual violence, Trafficking, War, Physical abuse, Rape, Slavery, Violence, and Xenophobia
laura_mcloughlin's review against another edition
- Plot- or character-driven? Plot
- Strong character development? Yes
- Loveable characters? Yes
- Diverse cast of characters? Yes
- Flaws of characters a main focus? No
5.0
Fair warning - it takes awhile for the Plot to get started. The first 40% of the book is world building. It is (mostly) interesting world building but you may (like me the first time I read it) start wondering when things will really get moving. But once the Plot starts it is hard to put down.
I would recommend these books to anyone who enjoys epic fantasy (especially those set in what is clearly our world, with just a few tweak). Phedre is an amazing heroine and Jacqueline Carey is an auto-read for me.
Graphic: Sexual content, Sexual violence, War, Torture, and Injury/Injury detail
Moderate: Death, Death of parent, and Violence
Minor: Rape