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chrissycrow's review
- Plot- or character-driven? A mix
- Strong character development? Yes
- Loveable characters? Yes
- Diverse cast of characters? No
- Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes
4.0
Graphic: Body horror, Death of parent, Physical abuse, Excrement, and Murder
talonsontypewriters's review
- 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
2.5
Graphic: Injury/Injury detail, Murder, Grief, Classism, Death, and Violence
Moderate: Emotional abuse, Child death, Confinement, Death of parent, Gore, War, Fire/Fire injury, Animal death, and Child abuse
Minor: Drug use, Suicide, Vomit, Torture, Kidnapping, Alcohol, Infertility, Self harm, Addiction, Sexual content, Excrement, and Suicidal thoughts
Discrimination and derogatory terms between in-universe factions. Self-injury for magical purposes.sinaprst's review against another edition
- Plot- or character-driven? Character
- Strong character development? Yes
- Loveable characters? Yes
- Diverse cast of characters? It's complicated
- Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes
4.5
I literally physically could not put this down (I read the last 300 pages in a day), because it is that good.
The romance was just the perfect slow burn with all of my favorite tropes executed perfectly. Both Crier and Ayla felt so real to me and I fell in love with both of them.
But the story aside the romance was just as great. I loved the way both Crier and Ayla had their own arc and their own secrets and motives that they kept from each other and how both arcs came together in the end.
Also, the writing style was beautiful and the world was believable and nicely crafted.
recommended reading ambience: https://youtu.be/6nRFaOFcbpk?si=hOC2OB-O1xe-7xKH
Graphic: Blood, Death, Slavery, and Murder
Moderate: Alcohol, Grief, Sexual content, and Death of parent
sabrinalefebvre's review
Dnf on page 52
Graphic: Classism
Moderate: Death and Death of parent
nightshaderoots'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
4.75
Graphic: Abandonment, Genocide, Injury/Injury detail, Slavery, Body horror, Cursing, Grief, Torture, Physical abuse, Vomit, War, Blood, Death, Death of parent, Gaslighting, Gore, Misogyny, Murder, Sexual content, Suicidal thoughts, and Violence
Minor: Infertility
librariangeorgia'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: Grief, Death, Death of parent, Violence, Blood, and War
frantically'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: War, Classism, and Violence
Moderate: Abandonment, Murder, Death, Death of parent, and Child death
Minor: Mental illness and Child abuse
wet_towlette's review against another edition
- Plot- or character-driven? Plot
- Strong character development? It's complicated
- Loveable characters? Yes
- Diverse cast of characters? Yes
- Flaws of characters a main focus? It's complicated
4.5
Graphic: Grief, Child death, Blood, Fire/Fire injury, Injury/Injury detail, Death of parent, Murder, and Slavery
teaskate'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
4.5
Graphic: Death, Violence, and Physical abuse
Moderate: Grief, Death of parent, and War
bibliorama'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
3.5
I quite enjoyed this book. I don't really reach for sci fi often, but this struck a nice balance between the sci fi elements and the fantasy ones. With all the alchemy and clockwork mechanics, it felt like it had a dash of steampunk strewn in, which I don't read as much as I should. The story kept me intrigued and I liked the historical document pieces that came after Crier's chapters, it was a nice touch and helped build the world. This world did feel like it had a history behind it and that the characters are living with the past's decisions. It wasn't a story that completely sucked me in to were I could forget that I was reading, but it wasn't one that I kept putting down either.
Start - 4
This start was strong and the world around these characters was built up quite well. Nothing ever felt like an info dump and information was revealed in a natural way.
Characters - 3.75
Now here I have to say Ayla was the least interesting POV to me, and if this book were told from just her perspective I probably wouldn't have enjoyed it as much. She starts the book out by wanting revenge against the Automae ruler because humans are in the lower class. That's a completely understandable want/desire, but it's a pretty common one in stories today. So she felt more bland and like other characters I've read. She did still have a personality that was consistent though, so it wasn't like she was poorly written just not the special sauce in this book.
Crier on the other hand was my favorite. I liked getting to learn about the automae and how they lived and what their thought process was like. They were the unique part to this book and I thought they were well done. It also doesn't hurt that most of the tension comes from Kinok and Hesod because they always are a little unhinged, and Crier has a close proximity to them. That makes her scenes pretty interesting especially since Crier is technically one of them, but never is fully brought in to that Automae circle.
With Ayla and Crier together, they were cute and pretty wholesome really. I found they were easy to root for.
Atmosphere - 2.5
I did like the history of how the Automae were created and the characters that went along with it. They built the world, but as far as the actual setting, it wasn't super vibrant. It was enough to let the characters to their thing, but not a showstopper in itself.
Plot - 4
At the heart of this story is a romance, but ultimately the plot is way more complex and deep than many YA fantasy romances I've read. The side characters have a lot of their own motivations going on. I'm excited to see where the second book takes the story.
Ending - 4
Left me wondering how the next book would proceed, so I'm definitely continuing on.
Style - 3
The writing was good and didn't distract from the story. I could see some differences in the writing for each perspective which was nice. It just wasn't something distinct from other stories, but that's not necessarily a bad thing.
Overall - 3.5 rounded down
Minor: Blood, Death of parent, Mental illness, and Violence
Nothing super graphic or overly described that I noted.