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tahsintries's review against another edition
5.0
Graphic: Addiction, Drug abuse, Drug use, and Torture
Moderate: Child abuse, Confinement, Genocide, Gore, Racism, Slavery, Xenophobia, Blood, Grief, Death of parent, Colonisation, and Classism
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: Addiction, Child death, Confinement, Death, Domestic abuse, Drug abuse, Blood, Death of parent, Abandonment, and Colonisation
Moderate: Drug abuse, Drug use, Emotional abuse, Genocide, Gore, Mental illness, Miscarriage, Physical abuse, Racism, Rape, Self harm, Sexual content, Slavery, Violence, Xenophobia, Police brutality, Kidnapping, Suicide attempt, and Fire/Fire injury
ladybeldaran'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
4.75
One thing I loved about this book is that the setting - which is otherwise brutal and filled with oppression, is completely queernormative & gender equal. Additionally, though the world is highly stratified according to a blood-based caste system that is an allegory for racial inequities in our own world, there is no anti-blackness in this book. All of the characters are Black, and you'll find no negative language about features associated with Black-ness at all. It just goes to show that you can engage with real-life oppression without re-traumatizing those suffering from those systems of oppression - I have a lot of respect for el-Arifi for managing this.
The characters are fascinating, and we continue to learn more about them and their pasts, while exploring the ways in which they are changing and responding to the events of the book. You'll find multi-faceted characters here. Both of our main characters have their flaws, but I was invested in them from the beginning. There's a surprising amount of mystery in the book, which I think is handled better than average for an epic fantasy book.
I think el-Arifi manages to juggle the personal stories extremely well with the epic, sweeping political events taking place, and this reinforces the book's core message about inequities - that the personal IS political. The setting is fascinating - we don't get to see much in the first book, which takes place almost exclusively in the city we start in, and I'm excited to (hopefully) see more in the second book.
In short, the moment I finished this book, I decided I couldn't wait for my library to receive the recently published second installment and went out and bought it myself. (And I'll still check it out when my library gets it, because this author deserves the circulation!)
Graphic: Addiction, Child abuse, Child death, Confinement, Death, Drug abuse, Drug use, Genocide, Physical abuse, Violence, Blood, Police brutality, Grief, Death of parent, Colonisation, and Classism
Moderate: Alcohol
Minor: Vomit
vampire_burrito'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
4.0
Graphic: Addiction and Drug abuse
Moderate: Child abuse, Sexual content, and Colonisation
bookcaptivated'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
3.75
Graphic: Addiction, Body horror, Child abuse, Child death, Confinement, Death, Drug abuse, Drug use, Emotional abuse, Gore, Torture, Violence, Blood, Kidnapping, Grief, Death of parent, Murder, Injury/Injury detail, and Classism
Moderate: Ableism, Body shaming, Slavery, Alcohol, and Colonisation
Minor: Medical content and Stalking
just_one_more_paige'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
4.0
Graphic: Ableism, Addiction, Body shaming, Bullying, Child abuse, Child death, Confinement, Cursing, Death, Drug abuse, Emotional abuse, Physical abuse, Torture, Violence, Blood, Police brutality, Trafficking, Grief, Death of parent, Murder, Toxic friendship, Colonisation, Injury/Injury detail, and Classism
_james_'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? It's complicated
5.0
Graphic: Addiction, Bullying, Confinement, Drug abuse, Drug use, Emotional abuse, Gore, Panic attacks/disorders, Physical abuse, Slavery, Torture, Violence, Blood, Grief, Gaslighting, Alcohol, Colonisation, and Classism
Moderate: Child death, Confinement, Hate crime, Suicidal thoughts, Medical trauma, and Death of parent
Minor: Cursing, Excrement, Kidnapping, Religious bigotry, and Toxic friendship
booksalacarte'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
3.5
Slow burn
It was slow going for the first half of the book. The plot finally getting traction didn’t make up for the lulls, in my opinion.
Graphic: Addiction, Confinement, Drug abuse, Drug use, Emotional abuse, Fatphobia, Genocide, Gore, Hate crime, Physical abuse, Sexual content, Slavery, Toxic relationship, Violence, Blood, Excrement, Grief, Murder, Gaslighting, Toxic friendship, and Colonisation
eh1736'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, Drug abuse, Drug use, Torture, and Colonisation
gagereadsstuff's review against another edition
4.5
Graphic: Addiction, Body horror, Bullying, Child abuse, Child death, Confinement, Cursing, Death, Drug abuse, Drug use, Emotional abuse, Genocide, Hate crime, Physical abuse, Racism, Self harm, Sexual content, Violence, Blood, Police brutality, Death of parent, Murder, Cultural appropriation, Alcohol, Colonisation, Injury/Injury detail, and Classism
Moderate: Torture, Excrement, Vomit, Kidnapping, and Grief