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secondhandbookshelves'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? No
2.5
I read it over two days and could not tell you much about it except that there are five different types of mages, a war between monarchy vs libertarians, and that babies can be dragons.
The characters moods, tones & personalities wildly change throughout the story, but the main character did start and end with the same thought - making it home.
Also cows fight demons.
Minor: Classism, Physical abuse, Violence, Confinement, Deadnaming, Death, Death of parent, Emotional abuse, Forced institutionalization, Genocide, Injury/Injury detail, Kidnapping, Murder, Racism, Slavery, and War
booksthatburn's review against another edition
- Plot- or character-driven? Plot
- Strong character development? It's complicated
- Loveable characters? No
- Diverse cast of characters? Yes
- Flaws of characters a main focus? No
3.0
Fellian is an interesting and well-defined character, I like her a lot, and she's what got me through this book. She's a commoner chosen for a specific but not unique skill, being used by people with a particular political angle and strategic goal that has very little to do with her everyday life. Where this fell apart for me is that it tries to fit a novel and a half of worldbuilding into a novella, gradually turning into a confusing blur of names and motivations that left me unsure of the point until the very end. In the final third of the book, Fellian is still asking questions about who people are and why things matter, and at one point is rebuked for doing so. It’s especially frustrating because this means the author knows it’s unclear, teases with the possibility of an answer and then declines to offer it when it would be most useful.
Even though there were a lot of details, most of them weren't useful in terms of understanding the secondary characters and their motivations. They seemed to fit character archetypes pretty generically and I kept mixing up who was who.
I think it's supposed to be a slow burn reveal that actually
Graphic: Death, Blood, Child death, and Classism
Moderate: Terminal illness, Body horror, Child abuse, Fire/Fire injury, Violence, Excrement, and Grief
Minor: Death of parent, Slavery, Confinement, Forced institutionalization, and Sexual harassment
ceruleanseas's review
- Plot- or character-driven? Plot
- Strong character development? No
- Loveable characters? It's complicated
- Diverse cast of characters? It's complicated
- Flaws of characters a main focus? No
4.5
The world building here is spot on, giving just enough detail to keep the story moving but not so much that it bogs down the narrative with exposition. The characters have complex and competing motivations that make the ending interesting, if not entirely surprising.
Graphic: Classism
Moderate: Forced institutionalization
Minor: Death of parent, Sexual harassment, and Murder
lacee's review
- Plot- or character-driven? Plot
- Strong character development? It's complicated
- Loveable characters? No
- Diverse cast of characters? No
- Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes
2.0
Graphic: Injury/Injury detail, Murder, Death, War, Child death, Slavery, and Violence
Moderate: Medical content, Death of parent, Blood, Forced institutionalization, Grief, and Sexual harassment
Minor: Cursing, Emotional abuse, Physical abuse, and Sexual harassment