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readwithsophsx'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
Graphic: Deportation, War, Blood, Physical abuse, Violence, Gun violence, Hate crime, Medical content, Death of parent, Abandonment, Cancer, Child abuse, Child death, Kidnapping, Torture, Drug use, Murder, Addiction, Body horror, Confinement, Grief, Death, Drug abuse, Fire/Fire injury, Forced institutionalization, Genocide, Injury/Injury detail, Domestic abuse, Gore, and Medical trauma
thewickermage'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
Graphic: War, Violence, Addiction, Colonisation, Murder, Death, Drug abuse, and Genocide
bree_h_reads's review against another edition
- Plot- or character-driven? Character
- Strong character development? No
- Loveable characters? No
- Diverse cast of characters? Yes
- Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes
2.0
Graphic: Hate crime, Injury/Injury detail, Misogyny, Sexism, Child death, Death of parent, Murder, Drug abuse, Grief, Kidnapping, Toxic relationship, Confinement, Gun violence, Violence, Medical content, Vomit, Addiction, Death, Racism, Colonisation, and Drug use
Moderate: Child abuse, Police brutality, Sexual harassment, Blood, and Emotional abuse
Minor: Sexual assault, Sexual content, Physical abuse, Rape, and Sexual violence
kbairbooks's review against another edition
Graphic: Blood, Child death, Colonisation, Death of parent, Terminal illness, Misogyny, Murder, Torture, Classism, Cursing, Toxic relationship, Violence, Grief, Gun violence, Addiction, Confinement, Death, Drug abuse, Police brutality, Vomit, Emotional abuse, Genocide, Kidnapping, War, and Injury/Injury detail
knlipke's review against another edition
- Plot- or character-driven? Character
- Strong character development? Yes
- Loveable characters? No
3.5
Is there a colonizer romance? Yes
Is this book a lovers-to-enemies trope? Also yes
Do with that information what you will
[Side note: this better stay an enemies to lovers trope or else I’m giving this review 0 stars]
Graphic: Death, Drug use, Drug abuse, Toxic relationship, and Colonisation
Moderate: War and Torture
kaylurzz's review against another edition
- 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
2.5
I'm so conflicted on this! There were parts and ideas I liked, and then parts not so much...
- I thought the world and magic system were interesting but why make the other world Rome? Why not another fictional place?
- The prose while beautiful at times just talked in circles and made it hard to follow.
- The time jumps were jarring and I wish we spent more time with Ruying AND Antony to see their "relationship" develop more.
Also
Graphic: Death, Drug abuse, Torture, Drug use, Genocide, Medical trauma, Colonisation, Violence, and Addiction
Moderate: Gun violence
alliallialli's review
- Plot- or character-driven? A mix
- Strong character development? No
- Loveable characters? No
- Diverse cast of characters? No
- Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes
2.25
Graphic: Murder, Drug abuse, Racism, Colonisation, and Violence
Minor: Child death and Child abuse
bookboxbabe's review against another edition
Graphic: Drug abuse, Fire/Fire injury, Colonisation, Classism, War, Death, Drug use, Murder, and Racism
booksalacarte's review against another edition
- Plot- or character-driven? Character
- Strong character development? No
- Loveable characters? No
- Diverse cast of characters? Yes
- Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes
3.5
Graphic: Kidnapping, Grief, Addiction, Classism, Colonisation, Drug use, Emotional abuse, Racism, Confinement, Gaslighting, Genocide, Death, Drug abuse, Gun violence, Misogyny, War, and Murder
apersonfromflorida's review against another edition
the more i thought about the world and the potential the worldbuilding had, the angrier i got. you can't have a dichotomy of magic and science and fail to intertwine the two aspects to make a coherent magic/science system. is there something about diminishing magic that's affecting how scientific discoveries are made? are there new magic systems now that pangu is exposed to the science of the west? does pangu have it's own version of "science" via alchemy/divination? so much was thought about so little it makes me genuinely angry. so many books handle the magic vs science aspect so much better, even in books like The Poppy War by R. F. Kuang or The Vorrh by B. Catling.
even with how the "inspiration" for unit 731 was handled without grace and used to shock readers before even going into the meat of the story. if you want a better handling, read "The Man Who Ended History: A Documentary" by Ken Liu in his short story collection The Paper Menagerie.
and that doesn't even cover the gross orientalism and colonizer romance that this entire book devolves into. It left a bad taste in my mouth. One Star.
Graphic: Death, Toxic relationship, and Colonisation
Moderate: Death of parent and Drug abuse
Minor: War