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solar_power'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: Murder, Blood, and Violence
Moderate: Homophobia, Abandonment, Child death, Bullying, Death of parent, War, Cursing, Religious bigotry, Sexism, Lesbophobia, Kidnapping, Body horror, Death, and Classism
Minor: War, Slavery, Genocide, Incest, and Miscarriage
corallydeer'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? Yes
3.75
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.
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 Abusetigger89'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
4.0
The dual-PoV was done very well. I found the two voices to be distinct, and the characters were believable. Sometimes they did foolish things — very foolish things — but those mistakes seemed natural. The supporting characters were also excellent(Maior was my favorite, by the end). I'm not sure what I think about Javier. I feel like I know where the author is taking his arc, and I think it's going to annoy me. I'd say he's honestly the biggest weakness of the entire book for me, because he leans on tropes — the sick boy, the jerk, the master manipulator — that I'm not a huge fan of, and yet he's so central. Fortunately he's not the only relationship present, so that softens the annoyance a bit, and the fact that Maior exists almost cancels his unpleasantness out.
The author is also an illustrator and has drawn her five primary characters. They appear in the book, some at the start of part 1 and some at part 2, and can also be viewed on her website. If you're a visual reader like me, I recommend checking all five portraits before you start reading so your brain performance of the book doesn't do any odd recasting. There is sapphic rep here, though in this first book at least it's predominantly incessant longing with some small payoff near the very end. The author claims that the next book will be spicier, so I imagine it will get more development later.
The book has frequent action sequences, mixing physical combat with spellcasting. This is going to be a weird comparison, because the settings and plots are nothing alike — not to mention I trust this author more than I trust Cassandra Clare — but whenever the characters were fighting I kept getting Shadowhunters vibes. In a good way. Don't @ me, I said it was weird.
Moderate: Death, Toxic relationship, Kidnapping, Racism, Child death, Colonisation, Alcohol, Emotional abuse, Blood, Violence, Body horror, and Cursing
Minor: Death of parent, Genocide, Incest, Homophobia, Injury/Injury detail, War, Infertility, and Slavery
yarisbooksandbevs's review against another edition
- Plot- or character-driven? A mix
- Strong character development? It's complicated
- Loveable characters? No
- Diverse cast of characters? Yes
- Flaws of characters a main focus? It's complicated
2.0
Honestly this book left me with so many questions on the world building front.
On a character front, many of them didn’t stick with me or make me love them or hate them. I didn’t have strong feelings for a lot of the characters other than annoyance at their dumb decisions. I did like Maior and her fiery personality.
I wanted more clarity in the world building and character development. There were a few characters I enjoyed and I thought the fighting scenes were well described. I don’t think I will be picking up the rest of the series but I am glad I gave it a chance and someone who isn’t as nit picky about world building may enjoy this more than I did.
Graphic: Grief, Kidnapping, Violence, Racism, Colonisation, Death, and Emotional abuse
Moderate: Gore, Toxic friendship, Murder, Racial slurs, Slavery, Blood, Classism, and Homophobia
Minor: Pregnancy, Rape, Incest, Infertility, Cursing, Death of parent, Alcohol, Genocide, Self harm, and Child death
gen_wolfhailstorm'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
4.5
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.
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
krisalexcole's review against another edition
- 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
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