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gabibooksit's review against another edition
adventurous
dark
emotional
mysterious
tense
fast-paced
- Strong character development? Yes
- Loveable characters? It's complicated
- Diverse cast of characters? Yes
- Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes
3.75
If Fire by Kristin Cashore and Studio Ghibli had a very dark and twisty offspring, it would be Night Shine by Tessa Gratton. A lush and dark Beauty and the Beast retelling, Night Shine has many story elements I love - gorgeous magic, LGBTQ+ characters abounding, darling side characters, and villainous love interests. For me though, it was missing something that kept me from full on loving it. A gorgeous story to be sure, and I will 100% put this in the hands of teens, but I wasn’t fully satisfied.
Content Warnings
Moderate: Emotional abuse
Minor: Toxic relationship, Violence, and Deadnaming
podanotherjessi's review against another edition
adventurous
emotional
hopeful
medium-paced
- Strong character development? Yes
- Loveable characters? Yes
- Diverse cast of characters? Yes
- Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes
4.5
The characters, setting, and themes of this book were brilliant. This is all about change and finding yourself and all those spaces between hard binaries that we impose on ourselves and others. This is Tessa Gratton, so of course she explores gender, but there's also a lot of talk about morality not just being black and white in this book as well. There's also just such a beautiful and deep exploration of relationships. I loved and hated the characters in turn, and I wanted to see them all happy.
But the book also had several shifts in the plot, and not all of them worked for me. And the ending itself was a huge let down. Spoilers below for details why, but it just didn't quite sit well.
For one, I didn't love the shift to Kirin being a more raditional villain. I think it was supposed to be more complex and nuanced than it ended up. As for the ending, it just ended up a little too happy. I think something a little more bitter would have been more fitting, and a lot of better endings (for my taste) presented themselves along the way Shine tied to the mountain and unable to leave, or banned from the palace by Moon and unable to return, or giving up her heart for Shadows. And I can't believe Sky just accepted Kirin after everything he did! I know their relationship wasn't the focus, but Kirin was a dick.
Characters: 10/10
Plot: 8/10
Setting: 10/10
General Appeal: 9/10
Writing Style: 10/10
Originality: 9/10
Ending: 5/10
But the book also had several shifts in the plot, and not all of them worked for me. And the ending itself was a huge let down. Spoilers below for details why, but it just didn't quite sit well.
Characters: 10/10
Plot: 8/10
Setting: 10/10
General Appeal: 9/10
Writing Style: 10/10
Originality: 9/10
Ending: 5/10
Content Warnings
Graphic: Deadnaming, Death, and Emotional abuse
Moderate: Suicidal thoughts and Torture
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