Scan barcode
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
rorikae'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: Confinement, Death, Death of parent, Emotional abuse, Fire/Fire injury, Grief, Misogyny, Toxic friendship, and Violence
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
meaghanelizabook'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
4.5
Graphic: Death, Death of parent, Child death, and Fire/Fire injury
Moderate: Abandonment, Blood, Emotional abuse, Gaslighting, and Grief
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
smchoate'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
This book has such incredible things to say about different types of love, systems vs. individuals, admitting & fighting historical prejudice, found family, pride, empathy, the importance of names, cycles of abuse, gaslighting, and even gossip. There is asexual and queer representation, and it's unquestioningly accepted by the characters, which is so great for young people to read. The characters are racially diverse, and I didn't take issue with the clear real-life inspirations for the different lands. I loved learning about the magic as well as the religions of Aritsar, and as a government major, I loved the political aspect as well. READ THIS BOOK!! :)
Moderate: Blood, Child abuse, Confinement, Death, Death of parent, Emotional abuse, Grief, Misogyny, Murder, Rape, Sexism, Slavery, and Xenophobia
Minor: Bullying and Sexual content
outsidestar'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
I did not expect to like this book as much as I did. I wasn't even thinking about reading it to begin with. Yet here we are.
This is one of those books where you should know as little as possible going in, so I won't give you a synopsis. Instead, I'm gonna leave you with my messy it's-1am-and-i-just-finished-reading-a-5star-book thoughts.
I'm still amazed with the crafting of this book. Every fantasy requires a high dose of imagination from the writer, they're building up a whole new world out of thin air, after all. But this book. This book. It baffles me how someone can come up with a world so intricate as this one with this level of detail. It's not just the world-building, it's the magic system, the politics... The whole thing is chef's kiss perfection.
And the characters. Yes, there were some council members we didn't really get to see much of, but the characters we did get to know had layers to them, a backstory, I knew who they were and why they did what they did. Let's talk about The Lady and all the work that went into her as a character. Do I hate her? Do I feel sorry for her? Is she the villain? Aren't we not all villains in someone's story? The way she was crafted was so great I can't really say anything else because I don't have words.
Everything in this book was brilliant and unlike anything I have ever read. I think that's all I need to say.
Graphic: Confinement, Death, Emotional abuse, and Sexism
Moderate: Child abuse, Death of parent, Grief, and Misogyny
just_one_more_paige'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
Graphic: Death, Death of parent, Xenophobia, Violence, and Grief
Moderate: Confinement and Domestic abuse