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alicelalicon's review against another edition
- Plot- or character-driven? A mix
- Strong character development? Yes
- Diverse cast of characters? Yes
- Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes
3.75
Graphic: Toxic relationship, Alcohol, Colonisation, Grief, Self harm, and Death
bergha1998'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
3.75
Treasure Hunt, Romance Subplots, Diverse Characters, 1 🔥
“He wanted someone who would enter a room and look for him first, to behold him as though the secrets of the world lay somewhere in his gaze, to finish his sentences.”
“When a man cannot see a person as a person, then the devil has slipped into him and is peering out of his eyes.”
“I envy you because you can look at yourself. You can bear your own reflection, knowing you can shoulder the weight of every choice you made and regret you carry. That is a rare thing as one gets older.”
“Gods burned cities and spared a child. Gods put gold in the palms of the wicked and left that miserable currency of hope in the hearts of the good.”
Graphic: Child abuse, Death of parent, Emotional abuse, Kidnapping, Misogyny, Injury/Injury detail, Blood, Abandonment, Addiction, Alcohol, Alcoholism, Child death, Colonisation, Cursing, Death, Grief, Murder, Violence, and Xenophobia
aseel_reads's review against another edition
- Plot- or character-driven? Plot
- Strong character development? It's complicated
- Loveable characters? It's complicated
- Diverse cast of characters? Yes
- Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes
3.0
Moderate: Abandonment, Grief, Injury/Injury detail, Blood, Death of parent, Drug use, Child abuse, Colonisation, Death, and Xenophobia
moonlightreads007'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
4.75
Overall, I found this book to be much more action-packed compared with the previous one in the series - in the first book, the author was clearly providing background information and setting the stage for the events that would folllow. The beginning of this second book in the series was very engaging, and I found that the author was able to maintain suspense throughout. I love how the characters grow closer to one another, and their character development is readily observable (with the exception of Sévérin - I really didn't like his behaviour in this book tbh). The middle and ending parts were full of adventure, investigations, action and peril. The descriptions are exceptionally intricate and detailed; the story progression and plot are very well developed and organized. Be warned, the ending gets really dark (no spoilers this time though, I promise). Overall, I really enjoyed reading this book and I would highly recommend it to anyone who liked "The Gilded Wolves" and other similar books with themes of adventure, danger, friendships and mystery.
Graphic: Grief, Violence, Death, and Blood
Moderate: Antisemitism and Racism
Minor: Infertility and Miscarriage
freya_alex123'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
3.75
Graphic: Blood, Death, Antisemitism, Grief, and Colonisation
Moderate: Car accident, Misogyny, Violence, Injury/Injury detail, and Hate crime
Minor: Animal death, Bullying, Suicidal thoughts, Cursing, Drug use, and Xenophobia
hobbithopeful's review against another edition
- Plot- or character-driven? A mix
- Strong character development? No
- Loveable characters? Yes
- Diverse cast of characters? Yes
- Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes
4.5
Graphic: Injury/Injury detail and Blood
Moderate: Antisemitism, Colonisation, and Racism
Minor: Child abuse, Death, and Death of parent
jessicaludden'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
4.0
I continue to love this world, these characters, and Roshani’s writing. I loved getting to dive deeper into the magic and the backstories of these characters. Zofia really shined in this book. I love her so much and loved getting to see her build her confidence. I loved how intricate the heist/mystery of this book was. There were so many elaborate pieces that went into their search for The Divine Lyrics.
I do think it was a little slow at times and then suddenly picked up near the end, but I think it overall had a great build up even though it lagged a little bit in the middle. Now, I love these characters a lot, but man did some of them get on my nerves. Some of them being Séverin. I get it, he’s grieving and desperate to protect his loved ones, but jeez he was being so cold the whole book and hurting everyone (mostly Laila) in the process. I also expected so much more tension between Séverin and Laila and was left a little unsatisfied when that “tension” came to a breaking point. I did love getting more of Laila’s back story and learning more about her powers.
What I loved the most about this book was the overarching theme of powerlessness. It’s prevalent with every. single. character. Séverin’s desire to become a god to protect his loved ones, the expiration date on Laila’s life and the fact that she’s Forged, Zofia feeling like a burden for seeing the world differently than others, Enrique feeling like nobody sees him, and Hypnos feeling like an outsider within this group. I loved how feeling powerless motivated each character. It was also interesting to see each character’s perspective on love. This idea that love doesn’t always look the way you think it will. Overall, I love this series, I love these characters, and I loved the core ideas of this book in particular.
Minor: Death, Death of parent, Child death, Blood, Murder, Racism, Religious bigotry, and Child abuse
madamenovelist'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
4.0
Graphic: Torture, Religious bigotry, Murder, Medical trauma, Injury/Injury detail, Death of parent, Hate crime, Grief, Death, Misogyny, Sexual harassment, Sexism, Colonisation, Body horror, Antisemitism, Blood, Gore, Xenophobia, Physical abuse, Cultural appropriation, Alcohol, Genocide, and Sexual content
erins_bookshelf_'s review against another edition
5.0
I will say that this one was made me a little annoyed at times, because some of the characters were being insanely annoying (cough Séverin and Hypnos cough); I understand why they were acting the way they did but I still wanted to throw the book a few times.
Other than the annoying characters I really enjoyed this one, it was very twisty and fun when people weren’t dying/ having brushes with death
I don’t currently have the next book but I need it right now because that was one heck of a cliffhanger
Graphic: Death, Violence, Blood, and Grief
Moderate: Animal death and Antisemitism
Minor: Infertility
thebakerbookworm'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
4.0
This quote may not make sense out of context but it really got me at the end of this book... *cries*
This was a decent second book in this trilogy. It had a few slow parts but overall had me engaged and wanting to see what happens. I will say some of the plot still confused me and the world building didn't quite do what I'd hoped in this sequel, but I found myself forgiving all of that because these characters are just so good.
So yeah, I love the characters. We get four POVs again, each perfect. Each grieving in their own way. Each keeping secrets. Each showing their love for each other in different ways. I just want them all to be happy by the end of this trilogy, they deserve it!
Though I guessed the big *twist* at the end of this book, the ending was still a ride and had me reaching for book three immediately. (Thank you to my past self for getting the library book ahead of time!) Can't wait to see where it goes!
Graphic: Blood, Grief, and Violence
Moderate: Racism, Antisemitism, and Death