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pernrider's review against another edition
adventurous
emotional
inspiring
tense
fast-paced
- 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? No
5.0
Content Warnings
Graphic: Genocide, Racism, Grief, Death of parent, Murder, Trafficking, Xenophobia, Violence, and Torture
Moderate: War, Physical abuse, Death, Trafficking, Torture, Slavery, Police brutality, and Injury/Injury detail
Minor: Sexual assault, Child death, and Pregnancy
roseleebooks's review against another edition
adventurous
tense
fast-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? Plot
- Strong character development? It's complicated
- Loveable characters? It's complicated
- Diverse cast of characters? Yes
- Flaws of characters a main focus? No
3.5
This book introduces us to a world on the verge of war, seen through the eyes of Dèmi, a young Oluso (magic user). The Oluso are in hiding, magic is forbidden in their world, and Dèmi is hiding secrets that would get her killed by the rulers of the kingdom.
I loved how strong a person Dèmi is in this story. She is powerful and holds to her identity and ideals. A really wonderful MC to follow and I'm looking forward to seeing how she grows in the next book.
The pace of this book is very fast, and I found myself wishing for some more internal dialogue or reflection to help me frame the information. There is one particular chapter in which there are several reveals about multiple characters and I had to reread it and review a previous chapter to understand what was going on. There was a little more explanation/review of that information later in the book which I appreciated, but it would have been helpful closer to the events as well. I also felt the relationship/love interest subplot could have been developed more, but suspect this will be explored in the next book.We see Dèmi receive some warnings about the love interest so this may contribute to the plot going forward.
Although there were some things I thought could have been developed more, the world building, main character, and setup for the next book were all well done and I'll be looking forward to reading the rest of the story.
I loved how strong a person Dèmi is in this story. She is powerful and holds to her identity and ideals. A really wonderful MC to follow and I'm looking forward to seeing how she grows in the next book.
The pace of this book is very fast, and I found myself wishing for some more internal dialogue or reflection to help me frame the information. There is one particular chapter in which there are several reveals about multiple characters and I had to reread it and review a previous chapter to understand what was going on. There was a little more explanation/review of that information later in the book which I appreciated, but it would have been helpful closer to the events as well. I also felt the relationship/love interest subplot could have been developed more, but suspect this will be explored in the next book.
Although there were some things I thought could have been developed more, the world building, main character, and setup for the next book were all well done and I'll be looking forward to reading the rest of the story.
Content Warnings
Graphic: Child death, Colonisation, Death of parent, Injury/Injury detail, Slavery, Xenophobia, Medical content, Grief, Death, Torture, Violence, and War
Minor: Rape
mj001's review against another edition
adventurous
tense
medium-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? Plot
- Strong character development? No
- Loveable characters? No
- Diverse cast of characters? Yes
- Flaws of characters a main focus? No
2.75
I find the premise of the book interesting. However, in the end, I don’t think I liked it. Colin was a man-child 90% of the time, Demi called her Mother “Mommy” even though she was an adult, which I’m sorry, but is an ick for me. Jonas was cool. There’s a lot happening at the same time, some of the dialogues at time make zero sense and there are so many gods and like separate magic species that I did get very confused at times. Not sure why water sprites exist to be honest. They bring nothing to the book. The part of the book when they were in the forest was completely unnecessary in my opinion. The fight with the King somehow gives me “a court of thorns and roses” vibe. And also Demi is like a holier than thou person which is very YA and that’s what this book is…YA that’s being marketed as Adult. Not sure if I will read book 2.
Content Warnings
Minor: Slavery, War, Suicide, Sexual assault, Racism, Violence, Xenophobia, Sexual violence, Torture, Hate crime, Rape, Police brutality, and Physical abuse
amandadevoursbooks's review against another edition
adventurous
funny
mysterious
tense
fast-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? It's complicated
4.0
Thank you Net Galley and Harper Collins for the advanced reader copy. This is a 3.75 rounded up to 4. I rounded it up because I'm old and not the target audience.
Demí is a magic user. After healing a colonialist's kid(Jonah), her mother is killed. Demí is betrayed by a new friend, and she is forced to take a life debt to live. Fast forward 9 years, Demí is forced to kidnap her betrayer and go on a quest to save her people and her family.
This reads like an entertaining YA. If you like love triangles, fated mates, inventive African worlds, interesting revenge plotlines, and magic, you might enjoy this book. It was a fun read, and I can't wait for book two.
It does cover colonialism, racism, xenophobia, slavery, child abuse, rand marginalization. Please check content warnings.
Demí is a magic user. After healing a colonialist's kid(Jonah), her mother is killed. Demí is betrayed by a new friend, and she is forced to take a life debt to live. Fast forward 9 years, Demí is forced to kidnap her betrayer and go on a quest to save her people and her family.
This reads like an entertaining YA. If you like love triangles, fated mates, inventive African worlds, interesting revenge plotlines, and magic, you might enjoy this book. It was a fun read, and I can't wait for book two.
It does cover colonialism, racism, xenophobia, slavery, child abuse, rand marginalization. Please check content warnings.
Content Warnings
Graphic: Child abuse, Colonisation, Death of parent, Genocide, and Grief
Moderate: Xenophobia, Violence, and Slavery
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