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prashiie's review against another edition
adventurous
dark
emotional
hopeful
mysterious
tense
fast-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? A mix
- Strong character development? Yes
- Loveable characters? Yes
- Diverse cast of characters? No
- Flaws of characters a main focus? It's complicated
4.5
"I am a weapon made of flesh, a sword covered in skin. I was born to kill a king, to end a reign of terror before it can truly begin. Fire and lightning raised Maven up, and fire and lightning will bring him down."
The book starts with Mare and Cal running away with the Scarlet Guard. She is ready to go on a quest to find others like her before Maven hunts them all down. There are so many newbloods out there with amazing abilities.
"I could control it if I wanted. I could shut this whole thing down. I could drown us all."
In this book, Mare is very confident of herself and her powers. She realises that she is very powerful and dangerous.
"Lightning has no mercy."
But she is also very angry at the world, especially at the Silvers for the injustice that they bring upon Reds and the newbloods. She didn’t deem them worthy of her mercy which scared and infuriated Cal.
"Anyone can betray anyone."
Maven’s betrayals have really hurt her and now Mare finds it very difficult to trust the people around her. This very sentence haunts her throughout the story.
I did expect Mare and Call to renew their romantic interest in each other, but they are both so traumatised by recent events that this didn’t happen. Mare’s relationship with Kilorn also changed. She realises that they have both grown much since their time in the Stilts. He is a great friend to her!
And at the end, she managed to kill Queen Elara. I expected more of a fight between them - it seemed quite abrupt. At the same time, she also loses her beloved brother Shade. I really liked Shade and his powers, so his death was quite shocking. Unfortunately, Mare ends up in Maven’s hands again to save the people she cares about and he is not happy about his mother’s death.
Very excited to see how the next book plays out!
The book starts with Mare and Cal running away with the Scarlet Guard. She is ready to go on a quest to find others like her before Maven hunts them all down. There are so many newbloods out there with amazing abilities.
"I could control it if I wanted. I could shut this whole thing down. I could drown us all."
In this book, Mare is very confident of herself and her powers. She realises that she is very powerful and dangerous.
"Lightning has no mercy."
But she is also very angry at the world, especially at the Silvers for the injustice that they bring upon Reds and the newbloods. She didn’t deem them worthy of her mercy which scared and infuriated Cal.
"Anyone can betray anyone."
Maven’s betrayals have really hurt her and now Mare finds it very difficult to trust the people around her. This very sentence haunts her throughout the story.
And at the end, she managed to kill Queen Elara. I expected more of a fight between them - it seemed quite abrupt. At the same time, she also loses her beloved brother Shade. I really liked Shade and his powers, so his death was quite shocking. Unfortunately, Mare ends up in Maven’s hands again to save the people she cares about and he is not happy about his mother’s death.
Very excited to see how the next book plays out!
Content Warnings
Graphic: Blood, Torture, Xenophobia, Classism, and Fire/Fire injury
Moderate: Injury/Injury detail, Grief, Murder, Toxic relationship, Child death, and Death
Minor: Violence, Stalking, and War
amanda_reads13's review
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
3.0
Content Warnings
Graphic: Xenophobia, Violence, Blood, Injury/Injury detail, Child death, Grief, and Confinement
jadehusdanhicks's review against another edition
adventurous
dark
fast-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? Plot
- Strong character development? Yes
- Loveable characters? It's complicated
- Diverse cast of characters? N/A
- Flaws of characters a main focus? It's complicated
2.0
Antisemitic - had a part v reminiscent of the tattoos that Jews were forced to have and that character had just escaped from a prison where the “reds” and “silvers” are segregated.
Also used an ableist slur. I will not expand further.
Disgusting to see and a shame as I enjoyed the general story just for it to be ruined by such acts by the author
Also used an ableist slur. I will not expand further.
Disgusting to see and a shame as I enjoyed the general story just for it to be ruined by such acts by the author
Content Warnings
Graphic: Blood, Death of parent, Genocide, Grief, Gun violence, War, Antisemitism, Child death, Suicide, Toxic friendship, Xenophobia, Ableism, Toxic relationship, Violence, Confinement, Death, Fire/Fire injury, Injury/Injury detail, Murder, Abandonment, Emotional abuse, and Medical content
readwithde's review
adventurous
hopeful
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? It's complicated
4.5
This book was both exactly what I wanted and completely unexpected at the same time. It both holds up the tropes of the genre while subverting them in the best ways.
I honestly can't believe all that happened in this book; the writing is so immersive, but also very tight -- so much is conveyed in concise and simple lines. Every page packed a punch; every new chapter came with new conflict, new missions, new obstacles, but it never felt overdone or like too much was happening. The tension and pacing kept me obsessed and invested.
I was expecting someone to die, but my guess was wrong.I also expected Mare to end up in Maven's grasp again, but I was not prepared for how that happened. I thought there would be a bit more romance between Mare and Cal, but their relationship would have felt unnatural if it had been pushed anymore in the narrative; they are still both processing and dealing with a lot in a short amount of time.
I am so excited for the rest of this series; I am completely hooked!
I honestly can't believe all that happened in this book; the writing is so immersive, but also very tight -- so much is conveyed in concise and simple lines. Every page packed a punch; every new chapter came with new conflict, new missions, new obstacles, but it never felt overdone or like too much was happening. The tension and pacing kept me obsessed and invested.
I was expecting someone to die, but my guess was wrong.
I am so excited for the rest of this series; I am completely hooked!
Content Warnings
Graphic: Blood and Racism
Moderate: Confinement, Death, Fire/Fire injury, Grief, Murder, Violence, and Xenophobia
Minor: Child death, Gore, Gun violence, Panic attacks/disorders, Police brutality, and War
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