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alexalily's review against another edition
adventurous
emotional
mysterious
tense
medium-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? A mix
- Strong character development? Yes
- Loveable characters? Yes
- Diverse cast of characters? It's complicated
- Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes
4.0
Content Warnings
Moderate: Blood, Confinement, Gore, Violence, Grief, Body horror, Injury/Injury detail, and War
Minor: Kidnapping and Racism
caspian_the_pauper's review against another edition
adventurous
mysterious
tense
medium-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? Plot
- Strong character development? No
- Loveable characters? Yes
- Diverse cast of characters? Yes
- Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes
3.75
Content Warnings
Graphic: Body horror
Moderate: War, Violence, Xenophobia, and Genocide
gardens_and_dragons's review against another edition
adventurous
mysterious
tense
medium-paced
- 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
This was a great follow up to the first book. It expands on the magic, politics and mystery of the series.
Loved having the main character Lin Sukai becoming emperor and feeling the constraints of becoming a leader after being constrained by her father for so long. The lack of privacy, her every act being scrutinised, of having the weight of the nation on her shoulders - it’s a lot but she shoulders it well.
I enjoyed Jovis and his internal struggles with will he won’t he help Lin with her empire. Plus the budding romance was actually fairly sweet.
It’s not a perfect book, I’d say the side characters do not get as much page time and therefore stay less important to me, but that’s ok. They contributed to the story and were not intrusive enough to be bothersome.
Loved having the main character Lin Sukai becoming emperor and feeling the constraints of becoming a leader after being constrained by her father for so long. The lack of privacy, her every act being scrutinised, of having the weight of the nation on her shoulders - it’s a lot but she shoulders it well.
I enjoyed Jovis and his internal struggles with will he won’t he help Lin with her empire. Plus the budding romance was actually fairly sweet.
It’s not a perfect book, I’d say the side characters do not get as much page time and therefore stay less important to me, but that’s ok. They contributed to the story and were not intrusive enough to be bothersome.
Content Warnings
Graphic: Violence, Death, and War
Moderate: Death of parent and Body horror
Minor: Xenophobia
bisexualwentworth'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
I felt like this book was better than book one in some ways and worse in others.
The expansions of the lore were fascinating, and I can't wait to see where things go with the Alanga in book three. The animal companions were just as wonderful and charming. Jovis and Lin's dynamic was compelling and complicated. Phalue and Ranami were wonderful, and I liked the overall development of their relationship and storyline a lot. And all of the politics felt very realistic, especially the disputes over natural resources and such. And overall, I'm really glad that the different plots were properly interconnected in this one.
But a lot of things just didn't quite work. I have conflicted feelings about Ranami's whole "suspicious of other orphans" thing. The main plot with the construct army felt weirdly underdeveloped because Nisong got so few POV chapters while also taking up far too much of the book. And there were quite a few plotholes. Also, I know I said the politics felt realistic, but what is up with the political messaging of this book? Are we just cool with inherited wealth and power now because we like Lin and Phalue? Not sure. Book three is going to need to spend a lot of time working through that particular issue.
The expansions of the lore were fascinating, and I can't wait to see where things go with the Alanga in book three. The animal companions were just as wonderful and charming. Jovis and Lin's dynamic was compelling and complicated. Phalue and Ranami were wonderful, and I liked the overall development of their relationship and storyline a lot. And all of the politics felt very realistic, especially the disputes over natural resources and such. And overall, I'm really glad that the different plots were properly interconnected in this one.
But a lot of things just didn't quite work. I have conflicted feelings about Ranami's whole "suspicious of other orphans" thing. The main plot with the construct army felt weirdly underdeveloped because Nisong got so few POV chapters while also taking up far too much of the book. And there were quite a few plotholes. Also, I know I said the politics felt realistic, but what is up with the political messaging of this book? Are we just cool with inherited wealth and power now because we like Lin and Phalue? Not sure. Book three is going to need to spend a lot of time working through that particular issue.
Content Warnings
Graphic: Violence, War, and Death
Moderate: Body horror, Blood, and Murder
Minor: Grief, Animal cruelty, Child death, and Death of parent
gayghostprince's review against another edition
adventurous
dark
inspiring
tense
medium-paced
- 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
5.0
Content Warnings
Graphic: Murder, Blood, Gore, War, Death, and Violence
Moderate: Body horror
Minor: Infertility, Animal cruelty, and Sexual harassment
totallyshelfaware's review against another edition
adventurous
dark
emotional
funny
tense
medium-paced
- 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
4.5
Content Warnings
Graphic: Violence, Death, and War
Moderate: Body horror
Minor: Animal cruelty
ok7a's review against another edition
adventurous
emotional
tense
medium-paced
- 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
Content Warnings
Graphic: Xenophobia and Classism
Moderate: War
Minor: Body horror and Child abuse
almost_literate's review against another edition
adventurous
challenging
dark
emotional
funny
hopeful
inspiring
mysterious
tense
medium-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? A mix
- Strong character development? Yes
- Loveable characters? Yes
- Diverse cast of characters? Yes
- Flaws of characters a main focus? It's complicated
5.0
Content Warnings
Graphic: War
Moderate: Body horror
pvbobrien's review against another edition
adventurous
emotional
mysterious
medium-paced
- 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
Content Warnings
Moderate: Body horror, Death, and Violence
Minor: Animal cruelty and Ableism
aardwyrm's review against another edition
adventurous
dark
emotional
mysterious
tense
slow-paced
- 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
Everything I loved about the first book is here, and when the narrative flow gets going, it's every bit as good. There are a few quibbles on the storytelling level. The whole thrust and theme is bound up in protecting your people, but whole swaths of innocents get cut down in nameless silence all the time with little reaction. (Hard to avoid on an epic scale, but egregious.) It makes the often petty behavior of even the most interesting characters and ruthless antagonists feel a little like super powered teenagers playing action figures with people. But the world is still fascinating, and that really is terribly common in the genre.
I had trouble pinning down why I liked the book less than the first one. There's a forced, chemistry-free romance that doesn't suit either character. There's some real book-two-of-a-trilogy bloat, and a lot of the 500+ pages feel like wheel spinning. There's less about the more interesting POV characters from the first book and the secondary weirdos who have a lot of potential.
I finally realized that this just comes down to having way too much Jovis. He's always been the most boring man in the world, to be tolerated only because Mephi is there, and everything he does is dumb and wrong. Cut him and the pacing and plotting and trope use would tidy right up.
I had trouble pinning down why I liked the book less than the first one. There's a forced, chemistry-free romance that doesn't suit either character. There's some real book-two-of-a-trilogy bloat, and a lot of the 500+ pages feel like wheel spinning. There's less about the more interesting POV characters from the first book and the secondary weirdos who have a lot of potential.
I finally realized that this just comes down to having way too much Jovis. He's always been the most boring man in the world, to be tolerated only because Mephi is there, and everything he does is dumb and wrong. Cut him and the pacing and plotting and trope use would tidy right up.
Content Warnings
Graphic: Abandonment, Alcohol, Animal cruelty, Animal death, Blood, Body horror, Child abuse, Confinement, Death, Gore, Grief, Injury/Injury detail, Kidnapping, Medical content, Murder, Sexual harassment, Violence, and War