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corallydeer's review against another edition
adventurous
dark
emotional
hopeful
mysterious
tense
medium-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? Plot
- Strong character development? Yes
- Loveable characters? Yes
- Diverse cast of characters? Yes
- Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes
3.75
Although the beginning was kind of slow for me I enjoyed this book by the end. The fantasy elements were unique and explored in a racial way that I don't see too often. The extent of the portrayals for racism and religious bigotry was often quite sobering and a bit tough to get through, but it felt worthwhile by the end. It was also a bit tough, at first, to sympathize or relate to the characters since many of their situations felt so dire and the choices they had to make so manipulated, but by the end of the book I really rooted for the main group. They all grew in really great ways and I wanted so many of them to achieve real happiness and freedom from their abusive origins.
I will say, as someone who doesn't speak/know a lick of Spanish, that I made sure to pair the book with the audiobook so that I could hear how words and names were pronounced and I definitely think that was a 10/10 decision.
I will say, as someone who doesn't speak/know a lick of Spanish, that I made sure to pair the book with the audiobook so that I could hear how words and names were pronounced and I definitely think that was a 10/10 decision.
Content Warnings
Graphic: Child abuse, Pregnancy, Racism, Violence, Child death, Death, Death of parent, Domestic abuse, Religious bigotry, and Gore
Moderate: Racial slurs, Kidnapping, Cursing, Murder, Grief, and Blood
Minor: Misogyny, Slavery, Gun violence, Homophobia, Incest, and Colonisation
Child Abusejuan_adhd_reading's review against another edition
adventurous
dark
medium-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? Yes
3.5
There are a lot of things I want to say about this book, but I think they have all been said already and more eloquently by other people. Mainly, I would recommend @mynameismarines two-part review of the book on TikTok, as I share a lot of the same thoughts.
I hope this review won’t be too long, so I’ll start with the positive, which is Gabriela’s amazing world building skills. The world of Venazia and Fedria felt so vivid and it was incredibly detailed. The remarkable amount of effort she put in developing everything from politics, to mythology, to the familial and inter species relationships that we witnessed. You can just tell everything came from a place of love, and I greatly appreciate that. The fact that the world is latine inspired really helped me visualize everything, as it came really close to my own home. I would definitely read the second book in the series as the story was intriguing and original.
I also want to praise her realistic portrayal of colonization, and how its effects are felt even generations after “liberation”. Eva’s journey and perspective is really valuable, showing the efforts needed to decolonize one self, and the trauma it can carry.
My main issues with this book were the pacing and the characters. Firstly, the first third or I would even say half of this book can be really slow and challenging to read. This is because it focuses mainly on the world building and developing character’s relationships and goals, rather than advancing the plot. That being said, after it picks up, it does so wonderfully, as the rest of the book is full of action, adventure, tension, magic, and drama.
As for the characters, it was incredibly hard for me to love them. For the majority of the book, the goals of most of the characters are selfish, naive and stupid; their actions, despicable (sometimes even downright evil). However, the place from which they make these terrible decisions is one of desperation, lack of autonomy and grief. So while I don’t agree with their actions, most of the times I do understand them.
Here’s a rundown of what I think of each character:
Javier is by far the most unforgivable of all the main characters. To me, having him be possessed by a Tiniebla does feel like a cop-out to justify his terrible behavior. Only because of this, he’s not a downright villain, but still mostly irredeemable. I hope the story follows suit with the very well deserved punishments that await him.
Reina follows suit, and while I do agree her character is way more understandable and redeemable than Javier, she should’ve faced more consequences for her actions. It’s because of her that seven women were brutally murdered, and undoubtedly even more of the ones initially mistaken as Damas del Vacío, without even mentioning the countless infanticides. Yet she gets to be Ches’ hero, the one who stopped Ramaghut, so she doesn’t face any repercussions.
Eva didn’t do anything as dastardly, but she definitely had her flaws, including her incredible naïveté, and lack of action when it’s needed the most (think, when she didn’t defend Doña Rosa).
Maior is by far the most likable, lovable character of the bunch. Although it is acknowledged that initially she was racist to Reina (and called her a duskling, which would be a slur in this world) at the time she was also kidnapped by her, so... And it is pretty obvious that she grows by the end, and does not hold these views any longer (which were mostly forced on her by the hyper religious, racist culture of the Apartaderos).
I have nothing to say of Celeste, except the way she treated Reina with an air of superiority all the time, even when she calls her a friend, annoyed me to no end. I was really glad this was also acknowledged in the last chapter.
Though at the end all characters grew, it was definitely an effort to enjoy the story because of them. At the end of the book, I would say they are at a place where I would enjoy their continuing growth if I read the next book.
I hope this review won’t be too long, so I’ll start with the positive, which is Gabriela’s amazing world building skills. The world of Venazia and Fedria felt so vivid and it was incredibly detailed. The remarkable amount of effort she put in developing everything from politics, to mythology, to the familial and inter species relationships that we witnessed. You can just tell everything came from a place of love, and I greatly appreciate that. The fact that the world is latine inspired really helped me visualize everything, as it came really close to my own home. I would definitely read the second book in the series as the story was intriguing and original.
I also want to praise her realistic portrayal of colonization, and how its effects are felt even generations after “liberation”. Eva’s journey and perspective is really valuable, showing the efforts needed to decolonize one self, and the trauma it can carry.
My main issues with this book were the pacing and the characters. Firstly, the first third or I would even say half of this book can be really slow and challenging to read. This is because it focuses mainly on the world building and developing character’s relationships and goals, rather than advancing the plot. That being said, after it picks up, it does so wonderfully, as the rest of the book is full of action, adventure, tension, magic, and drama.
As for the characters, it was incredibly hard for me to love them. For the majority of the book, the goals of most of the characters are selfish, naive and stupid; their actions, despicable (sometimes even downright evil). However, the place from which they make these terrible decisions is one of desperation, lack of autonomy and grief. So while I don’t agree with their actions, most of the times I do understand them.
Here’s a rundown of what I think of each character:
Reina follows suit, and while I do agree her character is way more understandable and redeemable than Javier, she should’ve faced more consequences for her actions. It’s because of her that seven women were brutally murdered, and undoubtedly even more of the ones initially mistaken as Damas del Vacío, without even mentioning the countless infanticides. Yet she gets to be Ches’ hero, the one who stopped Ramaghut, so she doesn’t face any repercussions.
Eva didn’t do anything as dastardly, but she definitely had her flaws, including her incredible naïveté, and lack of action when it’s needed the most (think, when she didn’t defend Doña Rosa).
Maior is by far the most likable, lovable character of the bunch. Although it is acknowledged that initially she was racist to Reina (and called her a duskling, which would be a slur in this world) at the time she was also kidnapped by her, so... And it is pretty obvious that she grows by the end, and does not hold these views any longer (which were mostly forced on her by the hyper religious, racist culture of the Apartaderos).
I have nothing to say of Celeste, except the way she treated Reina with an air of superiority all the time, even when she calls her a friend, annoyed me to no end. I was really glad this was also acknowledged in the last chapter.
Though at the end all characters grew, it was definitely an effort to enjoy the story because of them. At the end of the book, I would say they are at a place where I would enjoy their continuing growth if I read the next book.
Content Warnings
Graphic: Body horror, Toxic relationship, Injury/Injury detail, Murder, Kidnapping, and Child death
Moderate: Religious bigotry, Racism, Colonisation, Ableism, Child abuse, Chronic illness, Car accident, Slavery, and Suicide
Minor: Emotional abuse, Incest, and Death of parent
sarrie's review against another edition
sad
tense
slow-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? N/A
- Strong character development? No
- Loveable characters? No
- Diverse cast of characters? Yes
- Flaws of characters a main focus? No
1.0
TL;DR: Absolutely not. I don't like baby murderers.
I really wish I could make a joke about this book and why I didn’t like it but I really can’t. This is going to be a quick and choppy review because for me this deserves nothing more. So here we go.
Clearly a debut, this book has a lot of familiar problems. Chunky prose, bad editing (I’m sorry, the descriptions and word choices were rough), and poor characters. I could have mostly ignored that, not actively disliked the book.
What got me was the casual murders of women and babies. As a person who has lost children. I find this deeply upsetting and the idea that at any point we’re supposed to like or even empathize with this character? Absolutely not. Nothing like having the trauma of holding your own deceased children in your arms and having to be reminded of it when it’s casually dropped as a plot device in a book.
A lot of people have liked this book, and a lot of people (probably even more than liked it) have pointed out a lot of flaws. I encourage you to read reviews if you have interest in it. Personally I do not recommend it and don’t even want to be reminded it exists.
1 pissed off parent out of 5
I really wish I could make a joke about this book and why I didn’t like it but I really can’t. This is going to be a quick and choppy review because for me this deserves nothing more. So here we go.
Clearly a debut, this book has a lot of familiar problems. Chunky prose, bad editing (I’m sorry, the descriptions and word choices were rough), and poor characters. I could have mostly ignored that, not actively disliked the book.
What got me was the casual murders of women and babies. As a person who has lost children. I find this deeply upsetting and the idea that at any point we’re supposed to like or even empathize with this character? Absolutely not. Nothing like having the trauma of holding your own deceased children in your arms and having to be reminded of it when it’s casually dropped as a plot device in a book.
A lot of people have liked this book, and a lot of people (probably even more than liked it) have pointed out a lot of flaws. I encourage you to read reviews if you have interest in it. Personally I do not recommend it and don’t even want to be reminded it exists.
1 pissed off parent out of 5
Content Warnings
Graphic: Emotional abuse, Colonisation, Murder, Child death, Racism, and Child abuse
gen_wolfhailstorm's review
adventurous
challenging
dark
emotional
hopeful
reflective
sad
tense
slow-paced
- 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
Thank you to Black Crow PR for granting me a physical uncorrected proof of this title. All opinions remain 100% genuine.
Buddy read with Sharron Joy Reads.
I loved the depth of this tale. It was slow for the first 3rd or so with world building but once I pushed through, I found it to be worthwhile.
The setting was lush, tense and atmospheric, all at the appropriate times.
I appreciated all the contextual terminology being at the front. I find nothing more tedious than trailing through the end of the book, looking for what something means, with the fear of seeing a spoiler hanging over me like a black cloud.
The conversation of oppression, classim and the mistreatment of other species due to being who they are was so on point to how society still is in the real world.
The sapphic romance threaded through was great. I felt like there was a lot of manipulation in the romance though (as well as the platonic relationships) and it was hurtful to see characters I began to care about being strung along on the whims of others.
The magic system felt unique and unusual to me and though at times it went over my head a little, I was excited to see powers being mastered by various characters.
this is the 2nd book in as many with some weird incest thread, oh dear... I mean I wasn't expecting that and I still don't really get the how... I guess Celeste and Reina would be 1st half cousins?
Overall, I really enjoyed this book and can see how it can set up for a sequel, but equally would feel complete enough as a stand a lone.
Buddy read with Sharron Joy Reads.
I loved the depth of this tale. It was slow for the first 3rd or so with world building but once I pushed through, I found it to be worthwhile.
The setting was lush, tense and atmospheric, all at the appropriate times.
I appreciated all the contextual terminology being at the front. I find nothing more tedious than trailing through the end of the book, looking for what something means, with the fear of seeing a spoiler hanging over me like a black cloud.
The conversation of oppression, classim and the mistreatment of other species due to being who they are was so on point to how society still is in the real world.
The sapphic romance threaded through was great. I felt like there was a lot of manipulation in the romance though (as well as the platonic relationships) and it was hurtful to see characters I began to care about being strung along on the whims of others.
The magic system felt unique and unusual to me and though at times it went over my head a little, I was excited to see powers being mastered by various characters.
Overall, I really enjoyed this book and can see how it can set up for a sequel, but equally would feel complete enough as a stand a lone.
Content Warnings
Graphic: Blood, Domestic abuse, Emotional abuse, Fatphobia, Sexual content, Addiction, Body shaming, Child death, Suicide attempt, Death, Abandonment, Confinement, Death of parent, Homophobia, Infertility, Injury/Injury detail, Murder, Racism, Colonisation, Cursing, Slavery, War, Chronic illness, Classism, Gore, Misogyny, Self harm, Xenophobia, Grief, Racial slurs, Sexism, Toxic friendship, Body horror, Bullying, Child abuse, Incest, Kidnapping, Medical content, Suicidal thoughts, Torture, Violence, Lesbophobia, Trafficking, Forced institutionalization, Gaslighting, Hate crime, and Toxic relationship
hailstorm3812's review
adventurous
dark
mysterious
medium-paced
- 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
3.75
I think my high hopes got the best of me with this one. I really liked the characters (especially Reina) and the world-building and that probably will entice me into reading the next one. I did have problems with the pacing and structure. It dragged in the middle for me and the fact that none of the characters even suspect the twist is baffling. I think my biggest issue is that Reina and Eva should be foils with a developing relationship and they just float around each other. The finale hinges upon the different yet same directions they wind up in but it lacks the emotional resonance since they don't care about each other. The only person it actually effects personally is Maior. My qualms aside I did still have fun and overall liked the book.
Content Warnings
Graphic: Ableism, Blood, Injury/Injury detail, and Body horror
Moderate: Emotional abuse, Child abuse, Death, Bullying, Chronic illness, Colonisation, Miscarriage, and Misogyny
Minor: War, Suicide, Homophobia, Genocide, Death of parent, Pregnancy, Rape, Toxic friendship, Toxic relationship, and Xenophobia
krisalexcole's review against another edition
adventurous
slow-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? A mix
- Strong character development? Yes
- Loveable characters? No
- Diverse cast of characters? Yes
- Flaws of characters a main focus? It's complicated
Content Warnings
Graphic: Racism, Sexism, Misogyny, Religious bigotry, Violence, Injury/Injury detail, Blood, Gore, Colonisation, Pregnancy, Death, Toxic relationship, and Murder
Moderate: Classism, Medical content, War, Medical trauma, Chronic illness, Body shaming, Panic attacks/disorders, Slavery, Genocide, Child death, Death of parent, Body horror, Kidnapping, and Grief
Minor: Homophobia, Fire/Fire injury, Fatphobia, Alcohol, Self harm, Domestic abuse, Cursing, Sexual content, Suicide, Confinement, Infertility, Incest, Torture, and Child abuse
Dismemberment, homelessness
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