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freyleong'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
3.5
Minor: Child abuse, Domestic abuse, Emotional abuse, Physical abuse, Xenophobia, Sexism, and Rape
anni_swanilda'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: Death, Death of parent, Abandonment, Blood, Confinement, Emotional abuse, Sexism, Fire/Fire injury, Gaslighting, Vomit, Misogyny, and Toxic relationship
Moderate: Child death
rhm04'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: Abandonment, Blood, Child abuse, Fire/Fire injury, Gaslighting, Genocide, Murder, Grief, Misogyny, Sexism, Violence, Confinement, Death, and Emotional abuse
Moderate: Medical content, Vomit, Rape, and Sexual content
Minor: Kidnapping
maregred'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
4.0
Moderate: Colonisation, Death, Sexism, Toxic relationship, Death of parent, Physical abuse, Abandonment, Fire/Fire injury, Injury/Injury detail, and Misogyny
Minor: Child death
kaziaroo'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? No
5.0
Graphic: Fire/Fire injury, Abandonment, Blood, Death, Emotional abuse, Gaslighting, and Grief
Moderate: Child death, Death of parent, Xenophobia, Violence, Sexism, Misogyny, Genocide, Domestic abuse, Child abuse, and Racism
Minor: Sexual content, War, and Violence
nutmegandpumpkin'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
The cast of characters is not only diverse in skin color / ethnicity but also in sexualities, religion, and physical appearance. For instance, there is a character that is asexual, characters that have crushed on both female and male characters, a blind character, and a character that wears a headscarf.
Only thing about the book that was meh: sometimes it was a bit frustrating and had me rolling my eyes and yelling at the characters at some points for not noticing certain things that felt very obvious (however this happened only a couple of times and wasn’t enough for me to doc the rating).
Would definitely recommend!!
Graphic: Gaslighting, Genocide, Grief, Injury/Injury detail, Misogyny, Murder, Sexism, Toxic relationship, Abandonment, Blood, Child abuse, Confinement, Death, Emotional abuse, and Fire/Fire injury
Moderate: Injury/Injury detail, Vomit, and War
Minor: Sexual content
puttingwingsonwords'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: Abandonment, Child abuse, Death, Death of parent, Fire/Fire injury, Misogyny, Sexism, and Xenophobia
Moderate: Blood, Confinement, Emotional abuse, Gaslighting, Grief, Murder, Religious bigotry, and Violence
Minor: Rape and Sexual content
wrenxavier'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
4.5
Moderate: Abandonment, Alcohol, Blood, Child abuse, Child death, Death, Emotional abuse, Fire/Fire injury, Forced institutionalization, Gaslighting, Genocide, Grief, Injury/Injury detail, Misogyny, Murder, Physical abuse, Religious bigotry, Sexism, and Violence
Minor: Confinement, Death of parent, Domestic abuse, Mental illness, Pregnancy, Rape, Self harm, Sexual content, Toxic relationship, Vomit, and War
thebakerbookworm'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
Tarisai is instantly likable, and the story follows her as an eleven-year-old to sixteen, so we see a lot of her growth. I loved her development, and her relationships with the other characters, particularly Dayo and Woo In. None of these characters are black and white, and I just love a book that explores those gray complexities. My one complaint was that there is a Council of 11 and we really only get to know four of them…but maybe the sequel will include the other seven more! (And it didn’t end up bothering me that much lol)
The setting was so vividly magical, and I just couldn’t put the book down. If you want a quick-read fantasy that explores themes of fate, identity, gender roles, with a side of found family, then this is the book for you! It’s also only a duology (and the second book is already out) so you don’t have to worry about a series commitment!
And how can you say no to that cover?? 😍😍😍
Graphic: Death of parent and Fire/Fire injury
Moderate: Child abuse, Emotional abuse, and Sexism
looking4thedr'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
4.5
All of the characters in this book are so unique and complex and written in such a way that I can envision them standing before me. A lot of the characters are definitely lovable and even those who may not be are given reasons for their negative traits, but these are never presented as excuses for their bad behaviour.
I found myself relating the themes of this book and the societal issues within the story to our real world, such as sexism and equality. Can people who have been pushed down for so long rise up against the system? I’ll let you read and find out.
While there were these positive things, I was confused by the lodestones (idk if this is the right spelling), because I couldn’t quite imagine what they looked like, which brought me out of my immersion a bit.
Overall, a great story with a brilliant cast of characters and can’t wait to get my hands on the second book.
Graphic: Blood
Moderate: Abandonment, Fire/Fire injury, Sexism, Sexual content, Death, and Xenophobia
Minor: Death of parent, Gaslighting, and Grief