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wizardingwisteria's review against another edition
I tried to enjoy this so bad. The premise seems so entertaining and the characters felt interesting and unique. I started this book over about five times in an attempt to keep all of the details straight. I would normally reach around 50 pages, find myself confused, and just flip back to page one and start another attempt. I finally made it past page 70 but another character was introduced and I was lost all over again.
There are simply too many main characters and the book flips between them too often. I also feel like their goals/missions are too different to be constantly switching. The character that made me quit this final time, Ivan, felt so random. He had briefly appeared in a chapter about Nash, and then vanished. Then all of the sudden he has his own dedicated chapter? It would have been a much easier read if the author settled on two characters to flip between instead of four or five. Instead, they attempt to flesh out side characters way deeper than they need to be.
I recognize the learning curve that fantasy books often have at the start, but this curve felt pretty steep. A great introduction but beyond that the world feels like a jumbled mess. So many names are thrown out so fast its hard to keep them straight. I would like to give this book another try in the future. Maybe this is just the type that can't be read while also reading other books.
There are simply too many main characters and the book flips between them too often. I also feel like their goals/missions are too different to be constantly switching. The character that made me quit this final time, Ivan, felt so random. He had briefly appeared in a chapter about Nash, and then vanished. Then all of the sudden he has his own dedicated chapter? It would have been a much easier read if the author settled on two characters to flip between instead of four or five. Instead, they attempt to flesh out side characters way deeper than they need to be.
I recognize the learning curve that fantasy books often have at the start, but this curve felt pretty steep. A great introduction but beyond that the world feels like a jumbled mess. So many names are thrown out so fast its hard to keep them straight. I would like to give this book another try in the future. Maybe this is just the type that can't be read while also reading other books.
Content Warnings
Graphic: Slavery and Trafficking
emily_mh's review against another edition
adventurous
medium-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? A mix
- Strong character development? No
- Loveable characters? No
- Diverse cast of characters? Yes
- Flaws of characters a main focus? No
2.5
On the surface, this book was promising. The magic and political systems were both really interesting, and I liked how the five main characters all had such dynamic reasons for their involvement in the heist, connecting back to the worldbuilding in captivating ways. That’s kind of where my positives for this story run out. One of my main issues is that it was too short to give the plot, world, and characters a chance to develop properly. The worldbuilding in particular was pretty thin outside of the city of Carrowick. Nash and Ryia had the EXACT same voice (could not tell them apart), and the romances felt forced.
Aside from this, the dialogue was so cliché it was cringey (literally nearly every line of dialogue was cliched, I couldn’t believe it). And perhaps most importantly, the heist sucked. It was just straightforward, linear action with no surprises or subplots - and it was also, like, WAY too easy All in all, I’m not convinced I’m going to pick up the sequel, but who knows.
Content Warnings
Graphic: Slavery
Moderate: Murder, Torture, Domestic abuse, Alcohol, Death, Violence, Vomit, and Physical abuse
Minor: Blood, Cannibalism, Ableism, Alcoholism, Drug use, Emotional abuse, Fire/Fire injury, Sexism, Sexual content, Trafficking, War, Gore, Animal death, Body shaming, Cursing, Death of parent, Drug abuse, Misogyny, Suicide, Confinement, Excrement, Fatphobia, Injury/Injury detail, and Sexual harassment
Minor warnings for forced separation from family, illness, epidemic, capital punishment, sick parent.
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