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calathean's review against another edition
- Plot- or character-driven? A mix
- Loveable characters? Yes
- Diverse cast of characters? Yes
4.25
Graphic: Alcohol, Child death, Medical content, and Violence
Moderate: Classism, Sexism, Blood, Murder, Xenophobia, Chronic illness, Death, and Injury/Injury detail
Minor: Death of parent, Physical abuse, Vomit, Sexual content, Drug use, and Rape
kymboh78'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
Spice: 🌶️
World building: 🏰🏰🏰🏰🏰
Slow burn: 🐢🐢🐢🐢
Violence: 🗡️🗡️🗡️
This is an interesting five star for me.
I didn’t rate it five stars because it was the most amazing book I’ve ever read or because I just couldn’t put it down. I normally rate books based on vibes and just how they make me feel overall.
And don’t get me wrong, this book was a good book. It made me feel good. I was happy with it.
Overall, this was a great read. Honestly, it felt good that I didn’t rush through it and could read it at my own speed. It was nice to not read something that wasn’t “trending” and feeling like I had to finish it super fast so I didn’t see spoilers. The world building was great, the character development was fantastic, although I do wish we saw a little more about Connor and his character development, the story was interesting and although there weren’t crazy omg plot twists, it was still fun.
The book is told from two different third person POV. One follows Lin and the other follows Kel. I enjoyed seeing both sides of the story and how they intertwined. I felt like Lin added a lot of dynamic to the story. I will say there are some things I wish we got more details about but if she gave us everything, it wouldn’t be a series, so I understand.
Some people might argue that it was too slow, I think it was just right. Because of the two intertwined stories (really three, but that third is so closely related to Kel that it’s not necessary for a third POV), the world had to be built up a little more. Clare had to build both sides of the world at once instead of doing one in one book and one in another. That adds a complexity to the writing that was really appreciated.
While it is classified as an adult fantasy, it doesn’t deal with crazy crazy topics. There’s some violence toward the end but not a ton. There’s some suggestive scenes, but nothing descriptive. And I’m pretty sure there was only one swear word, again toward the end of the book.
Have you read sword catcher? Let me know what you think!
Graphic: Alcohol
Moderate: War, Violence, and Murder
Minor: Child death
celery'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
5.0
Graphic: Terminal illness, Violence, Animal cruelty, Deportation, Fire/Fire injury, Grief, Hate crime, Kidnapping, Mental illness, Physical abuse, Racism, Religious bigotry, Torture, Toxic friendship, Blood, Sexism, Alcohol, Antisemitism, Colonisation, Cursing, Emotional abuse, Gore, Xenophobia, Animal death, Child abuse, Death of parent, Drug use, Murder, Sexual content, Abandonment, Bullying, Child death, Dementia, Genocide, Gaslighting, Medical content, Medical trauma, Misogyny, Panic attacks/disorders, Sexual harassment, Vomit, War, Chronic illness, Toxic relationship, Alcoholism, Classism, Death, Drug abuse, Injury/Injury detail, and Addiction
sissizc's review against another edition
- Plot- or character-driven? A mix
- Strong character development? It's complicated
- Loveable characters? Yes
- Diverse cast of characters? Yes
- Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes
4.0
Graphic: Murder, Death, Injury/Injury detail, Sexism, Fire/Fire injury, Blood, Child death, and Violence
Minor: Drug use
bethsreading's review against another edition
- Plot- or character-driven? A mix
- Strong character development? It's complicated
- Loveable characters? Yes
- Diverse cast of characters? Yes
- Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes
4.0
The main issue I had with this book is that sadly, the first half of it is far too bogged down by world building. I do love how Cassandra Clare can create such vivid and fantasy worlds, and it is really important in a politically focused story to have its history be fully fleshed out, but the level of detail felt unnecessary at times and too dense for the first half of the book. I personally think that the first half of the book needed to be edited down about 80 ish pages as it was quite slow going at first. However, once I hit the 300 page mark, the pace really picked up and I absolutely flew through the rest of book.
While I did find Lin’s character annoying at times, overall the character’s were interesting, nuanced, and likeable. I really enjoyed my time reading it and I look forward to seeing how the story progresses in future books.
Graphic: Injury/Injury detail, Misogyny, Racism, Alcohol, Murder, and Xenophobia
Moderate: Drug use, War, Animal death, and Vomit
susanatherly'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: Racism, Genocide, Drug use, Religious bigotry, Sexual content, Toxic friendship, Bullying, Death, Xenophobia, Antisemitism, Child death, Chronic illness, Classism, Emotional abuse, Gaslighting, Grief, Terminal illness, Violence, and Murder
Moderate: Injury/Injury detail, Blood, Sexual content, Vomit, and Physical abuse
s0litarybe3's review against another edition
- Plot- or character-driven? A mix
- Strong character development? N/A
- Loveable characters? Yes
- Diverse cast of characters? Yes
- Flaws of characters a main focus? N/A
4.5
Moderate: Violence, Alcohol, Murder, Chronic illness, Death, Death of parent, Grief, Medical content, Mental illness, and Misogyny
Minor: Sexual assault, Suicide attempt, Rape, Sexual violence, Alcohol, Blood, and Suicidal thoughts
bookish_hollyx's review against another edition
- Plot- or character-driven? A mix
- Strong character development? Yes
- Loveable characters? Yes
- Diverse cast of characters? Yes
4.0
Moderate: Chronic illness, Death, Physical abuse, Child death, Murder, Blood, and Injury/Injury detail
mel_muses's review against another edition
- Plot- or character-driven? Plot
- Strong character development? No
- Loveable characters? It's complicated
- Diverse cast of characters? Yes
- Flaws of characters a main focus? No
4.5
Graphic: Violence, Death, Injury/Injury detail, Child death, and Murder
Moderate: Sexual harassment, Sexism, Mental illness, and Classism
Minor: Vomit
madscientistcat'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
4.5
Graphic: Xenophobia, Murder, Death, and Violence
Moderate: War
Minor: Rape