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juan_adhd_reading'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
3.5
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.
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
tigger89'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
_annika__'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
4.25
Moderate: Xenophobia, Blood, Kidnapping, Abandonment, Colonisation, Death, Slavery, Classism, Death of parent, Domestic abuse, Emotional abuse, Murder, Genocide, Gore, Grief, Infertility, Physical abuse, Racism, Toxic relationship, Violence, and War
manicpixl's review
- Plot- or character-driven? Character
- Strong character development? No
- Loveable characters? No
- Diverse cast of characters? Yes
- Flaws of characters a main focus? It's complicated
Graphic: Toxic relationship, Racism, and Domestic abuse
Minor: Homophobia
blacksphinx's review
- Plot- or character-driven? A mix
- Strong character development? It's complicated
- Loveable characters? It's complicated
- Diverse cast of characters? Yes
- Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes
4.0
This is a book about people making bad decisions under duress, and by the end I think it may be fair to say one of our PoVs is a villain protagonist. The story set into motion by these events is fascinating, and I want to watch these girls become both better and worse.
(I wanted to give this book five stars, but people constantly keeping secrets from each other + a really annoying love triangle dragged it down.)
Graphic: Violence, Xenophobia, Colonisation, Death, Emotional abuse, Grief, Death of parent, Injury/Injury detail, Racism, and Incest
Moderate: Toxic relationship, Sexual assault, Classism, Religious bigotry, and Slavery
Minor: War, Fire/Fire injury, Homophobia, Infidelity, Child death, Infertility, Kidnapping, and Pregnancy
liliths_dreamworld's review against another edition
- Plot- or character-driven? N/A
- Strong character development? It's complicated
- Loveable characters? No
- Diverse cast of characters? Yes
- Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes
4.5
Many also complain about Eva and Reina
Graphic: Toxic relationship, Bullying, and Xenophobia
Moderate: Blood and Death
persephonefoxx's review
- 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, Miscarriage, Violence, Racism, and Child death
Moderate: Racism, War, Religious bigotry, and Slavery
Minor: Domestic abuse, Sexual violence, Toxic relationship, and Incest
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
hailstorm3812's review
- 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
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
- 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