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redheadsuperpowers's review
adventurous
emotional
mysterious
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
5.0
This is a debut novel from an author I found via a Tiktok someone sent me. I actually started with her Blackwing novella series and quickly fell in love with her writing style. I managed to consume this book in about 3 1/2 hours, and loved every minute of it.
I was deeply appreciative of the writing style in this novel, making it feel very natural when I read. The non-verbal main character was written with sensitivity, and depth. A cast amount of diversity was offered among the cast, and all the relationships were very well thought out and felt so real. The world building was woven throughout the entire novel, and didn't feel like stage directions like so many novels do. I love the depth of description we get of the setting, and I could clearly imagine what the flooded forest looked like, and how crowded Citadel itself must be. We see a lot of connections between the cast, but I appreciate that it doesn't veer into romance, leaving us to walk Olivia's grief with her. As a prolific reader, I will be recommending this to people.
Olivia is a non-verbal autistic teen who just lost her boyfriend, Elias, on a hunt against the demons that keep their people confined to the Citadel. They have been fighting these demons for generations and slowly outgrowing their walls, as food shortages abound. They also follow a very strict religion that has no space for doubt, and regularly culls heretics for questioning the teachings. Olivia just wants to know why. Why did the demons kill Elias? Why do they attack humans on site? Why do they keep them from leaving the Citadel? So she sneaks away and enters the forest alone, and finds out more than she bargained for.
I was deeply appreciative of the writing style in this novel, making it feel very natural when I read. The non-verbal main character was written with sensitivity, and depth. A cast amount of diversity was offered among the cast, and all the relationships were very well thought out and felt so real. The world building was woven throughout the entire novel, and didn't feel like stage directions like so many novels do. I love the depth of description we get of the setting, and I could clearly imagine what the flooded forest looked like, and how crowded Citadel itself must be. We see a lot of connections between the cast, but I appreciate that it doesn't veer into romance, leaving us to walk Olivia's grief with her. As a prolific reader, I will be recommending this to people.
Olivia is a non-verbal autistic teen who just lost her boyfriend, Elias, on a hunt against the demons that keep their people confined to the Citadel. They have been fighting these demons for generations and slowly outgrowing their walls, as food shortages abound. They also follow a very strict religion that has no space for doubt, and regularly culls heretics for questioning the teachings. Olivia just wants to know why. Why did the demons kill Elias? Why do they attack humans on site? Why do they keep them from leaving the Citadel? So she sneaks away and enters the forest alone, and finds out more than she bargained for.
Content Warnings
Graphic: War, Ableism, Gaslighting, Xenophobia, Animal cruelty, Domestic abuse, Classism, Colonisation, Death of parent, Religious bigotry, Animal death, Panic attacks/disorders, Emotional abuse, Genocide, Sexism, and Toxic relationship
Moderate: Alcoholism, Grief, Bullying, Alcohol, Injury/Injury detail, Child death, Addiction, Confinement, and Gaslighting
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