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ghostlyprince's review against another edition
- Plot- or character-driven? Character
- Strong character development? Yes
- Loveable characters? It's complicated
- Diverse cast of characters? No
- Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes
5.0
Graphic: Violence, Child abuse, Death, Emotional abuse, Blood, Child death, Gore, Grief, Injury/Injury detail, Murder, and Physical abuse
Moderate: Addiction, Alcohol, Alcoholism, Bullying, Fire/Fire injury, and Classism
Minor: Suicidal thoughts, Confinement, Abandonment, and Vomit
jessy4550's review against another edition
- Plot- or character-driven? Character
- Strong character development? Yes
- Loveable characters? It's complicated
- Diverse cast of characters? Yes
- Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes
5.0
Graphic: Death of parent, Grief, Injury/Injury detail, Murder, Violence, Blood, Death, Body horror, Child death, and Emotional abuse
Moderate: Cursing, Torture, Toxic relationship, Bullying, Medical trauma, and Self harm
Minor: Alcohol, Confinement, Alcoholism, and Kidnapping
norwegianforestreader'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: Alcoholism, Blood, Abandonment, Body horror, Child abuse, Confinement, Injury/Injury detail, Murder, Violence, Vomit, Child death, Cursing, Fire/Fire injury, Gore, Self harm, Alcohol, Death, Emotional abuse, and Grief
marareading's review against another edition
- 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
4.75
There is a curse, and every 20 years seven champions (one from each family) come forward to compete in the tournament. The winner gets to control the high magic until the next tournament. This time is different. Some families will change forever.
I am HOOKED. This story is dirty, gruesome, treacherous, and you never know what is going to happen. I am going to make it a new mission to make sure people read this book immediately!
Graphic: Grief, Injury/Injury detail, Abandonment, Blood, Bullying, Child death, Fire/Fire injury, and Murder
Moderate: War, Violence, Alcoholism, Toxic friendship, and Torture
Minor: Confinement
andromeda_1998's review against another edition
- Plot- or character-driven? A mix
- Strong character development? Yes
- Loveable characters? It's complicated
- Diverse cast of characters? It's complicated
- Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes
5.0
Characters
I love that the writers choose to use multiple pov’s. You will find yourself rooting for multiple characters eventhough you know just one of them can survive.
All characters have reasons that they have to win and some of them deserve to win. There is a champion for every reader, which also means that there will be characters you like less.
Story
The story is about a group of teenagers that have to fight a magical contest to win a great power for their families. This contest happens every 20 years and used to be fought in secrecy. Now the secret is out in the open. May the best champion win.
Writing
The writing is done very well. The chapters link together flawlessly. The differences in writingstyles are really hard to spot.
Worldbuilding
The magic system in this world is interesting and different to what I’m used to. I liked it but it isn’t for everyone. I feel like the world is very detailed but that we didn’t get enough to really understand it.
Recommendations
I would recommend this one-off almost everyone. It’s a good steppingstone into fantasy, especially for science fiction lovers.
Graphic: Blood, Body horror, Confinement, Gaslighting, Suicidal thoughts, Grief, Gore, Injury/Injury detail, Murder, and Violence
betweentheshelves's review against another edition
- Plot- or character-driven? A mix
- Strong character development? Yes
- Loveable characters? It's complicated
- Diverse cast of characters? No
- Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes
4.0
The magic system is probably one of the best aspects of this story. It felt really unique and interesting. However, some of the overall world building in the book felt a bit disjointed and it became a little confusing overall. With that cliffhanger, though, I might be interested enough to pick up the rest of the series!
Graphic: Blood, Death, and Violence
Moderate: Grief, Child abuse, and Murder
Minor: Confinement and Suicide
librariangeorgia'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? No
- Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes
3.5
Graphic: Death, Violence, and Blood
Moderate: Grief, Murder, and Cursing
Minor: Suicide, Body horror, and Confinement
bookstorebinge's review against another edition
- Plot- or character-driven? A mix
- Strong character development? Yes
- Loveable characters? It's complicated
- Diverse cast of characters? It's complicated
- Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes
4.0
Graphic: Blood and Violence
Moderate: Alcohol, Alcoholism, Self harm, Murder, Injury/Injury detail, Grief, and Death
Minor: Confinement, Domestic abuse, Fire/Fire injury, Toxic friendship, and Vomit
honeyreads1066's review
- Plot- or character-driven? A mix
- Strong character development? Yes
- Loveable characters? It's complicated
- Diverse cast of characters? It's complicated
- Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes
4.25
The book follows 4 of 7 champions, chosen by their families and mostly born and bred to be part of a competition that has been going on for generations. To determine which of these champions families has access to a finite source of powerful magic until the next tournament.
In the past, the Lowe family often win the tournament but this time each family has something to gain and so much to lose that the sole winner is not so clear.
The characters in this we're easily it's the strongest aspect. With multiple POV's it's often that some characters are more interesting than others but here I got something from everyone's story even from the characters I wasn't exactly fond of. (If the title is anything to go by that's the majority of the characters).
The plot was also strong, not as much as the characters but gripping. I loved the setting and the modern world as the background for this tournament as usually anything involving magic is set during medieval times.
My only issue was with the pacing, I found the beginning to be quite slow which is probably what took me so long to finish it but once I got to the competition I couldn't stop. Despite this, the bits before the competition reveal so much about the characters going in that I'm glad that it wasn't the focus of the whole book.
Overall I enjoyed myself and with that incredible ending, I am 1000% waiting eagerly for the next one.
Graphic: Violence and Murder
Moderate: Torture, Child abuse, and Suicidal thoughts
Minor: Confinement and Body horror