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lindsaybethlyons'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
5.0
Graphic: Addiction, Violence, and Torture
Moderate: Trafficking, Death of parent, Suicidal thoughts, Classism, Alcohol, Murder, Blood, Child abuse, Death, Drug abuse, and Colonisation
Minor: Rape
musebeliever's review against another edition
1.0
I really liked the idea of the two protagonists being swapped at birth and was curious about how it would play out in their lives. However, I was not at all on board with the magic system relying on a biological element. This has big chosen one and essentialism vibes, which I just could not deal with.
I also struggled with the writing style and the characterisation. The fact that we are privy to every single thought created, in my opinion, very unidimensional characters. Despite this shower of information, some of Sylah's actions just do not make sense to me, and too much of the plot relies on Sylah's poor choice or negligence. I can understand this happening once or twice, but how am I to believe that we are in the presence of the person who will overthrow an empire. This did not work for me.
I found everything very bleak, which makes sense for a dystopia, but also extremely heavy-handed. This read like YA to me, which is not my favourite writing style. The clues as to where the plot is going are underlined and surrounded by blinking lights.
I was also taken aback by the inconsistence in tone. There is a moment in the book when Sylah reminisces her tragic past while she watches the new tyrants of the Empire being chosen. She looks at one of them and thinks, "68 never looked so good." This sounded taken out of a gossip instagram reel commenting the Met gala. It felt really out of place. There were many moments like this when I was thrown off by sudden tone changes that did not match the atmosphere of a chapter. It feels like the book has not been edited.
Finally, fatphobia and foodshaming are frankly painful to read and so unnecessary. Sylah calls Anoor the lump, foodshames her, finds her dresses ridiculous because they are big. She seems to justify her fatphobia because she thinks that Anoor is fat because she is rich and privileged. This does not seem to be coherent as Anoor is mocked by her peers. The author also depicts her as a bit silly. Someone who chooses her seat in a room to have a better view on the dishes that are being served. We are clearly supposed to find that funny. Let's be serious one minute.
Graphic: Physical abuse, Rape, Toxic friendship, Drug use, Body horror, Gore, Bullying, Ableism, Addiction, Body shaming, Murder, Slavery, Fatphobia, Genocide, Death, Drug abuse, Eating disorder, Torture, Blood, Hate crime, and Violence
alilbitofeveryth1ng'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
5.0
Graphic: Kidnapping, Toxic friendship, Drug abuse, Classism, Confinement, Murder, Slavery, and Toxic relationship
Minor: Rape
barda'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
3.75
I broadly liked the charactres, with Hassa being a standout in particular. I do wish she had more POV, but she was a delightfully mysterious character and her friendship with Sylah was heartwarming. The autocratic world that the author created was also very interesting, if not the most unique; I found that the twist regarding the map really opened up the world more and makes me eager to learn more in the next book.
In terms of what I didn't like, it's a pet peeve of mine when the author switches POV's multiple times in one chapter with no breaks in between characters, and this book has tons of it. It also had some random characters that had only one or two POV's in the whole book and these seemed unnecessary. The romance(s) also seemed very abrupt and tacked on, and I wonder if the book would actually do better by removing romance entirely (though the book was very good at developing the overall friendship between Anoor and Sylah, if not the romance aspect). I also found the tone at times to be a bit too grimdark for my tastes; I can completely understand why the author wanted to show the horrors of slavery and discrimination, but the inclusion of sometimes graphic descriptions of death and torture made the happier moments between characters seem incongruous.
Overall, it was an interesting book to read and will be reading the next one, but I do hope that the issues with multiple POV's in particular are fixed in the next instalment.
Graphic: Colonisation, Drug use, Slavery, Drug abuse, Addiction, Self harm, and Blood
Moderate: Violence, Cursing, Death, Injury/Injury detail, Confinement, and Death of parent
Minor: Suicidal thoughts, Murder, War, Vomit, Sexual content, and Rape
bookstarbri'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
2.75
Graphic: War, Slavery, Addiction, Blood, Drug abuse, Body horror, Confinement, Injury/Injury detail, Murder, and Violence
Moderate: Ableism, Body shaming, Child abuse, Kidnapping, and Self harm
Minor: Rape
dreyy's review against another edition
- Plot- or character-driven? Character
- Strong character development? Yes
- Loveable characters? It's complicated
- Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes
3.75
Graphic: Domestic abuse, Drug abuse, Child death, Colonisation, Addiction, Confinement, Abandonment, Blood, Death, and Death of parent
Moderate: Drug use, Kidnapping, Physical abuse, Police brutality, Emotional abuse, Mental illness, Miscarriage, Rape, Fire/Fire injury, Genocide, Gore, Racism, Self harm, Sexual content, Slavery, Drug abuse, Suicide attempt, Violence, and Xenophobia
nettleviolet'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
3.25
Graphic: Police brutality, Drug abuse, Alcohol, Torture, Slavery, Addiction, and Drug use
Moderate: Murder, Xenophobia, Violence, and Self harm
Minor: Rape
carochacord'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: Blood, Drug abuse, Drug use, Racism, Cursing, and Addiction
Moderate: Alcohol, Child abuse, Child death, Classism, Confinement, Excrement, Murder, Police brutality, War, Gore, Body shaming, Grief, Torture, Vomit, Cultural appropriation, and Slavery
Minor: Abandonment, Rape, Self harm, Stalking, Pregnancy, Suicidal thoughts, Bullying, Colonisation, and Death of parent