Reviews

In this book she is a 54 year old vampire in a 7 or 8 year old body being intimate with a grown as man. As an sa surviver myself, this did not sit well with me.

francisj's review against another edition

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medium-paced

3.0

alec_armitage's review against another edition

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challenging dark mysterious reflective 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

2.0

abocanegra89's review against another edition

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fast-paced

Strong character development? It's complicated
Loveable characters? It's complicated
Diverse cast of characters? Yes
Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes

4.0

genmajay's review against another edition

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adventurous emotional hopeful slow-paced

Plot- or character-driven? Plot
Strong character development? N/A
Loveable characters? Yes
Diverse cast of characters? Yes
Flaws of characters a main focus? N/A

4.0

Butler’s writing is flawless, as always, but I’ve found her protagonists get under my skin because of their self-possession, which is a personal failure of mine. In this one the confidence makes sense because she’s an immortal-ish vampire. I like that this was one of the last books she ever wrote. What a high to leave a career on.

toolittletime's review against another edition

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adventurous dark mysterious tense fast-paced

Plot- or character-driven? Plot
Strong character development? Yes
Loveable characters? Yes
Diverse cast of characters? Yes
Flaws of characters a main focus? No

4.5

Bulter as always is creating a wonderful, immersive world that I wish I could have explored more (I did see online she had been planning a sequel to this!). The way this explored race and racism and different ways to build a family was really fascinating.

I found it interesting how the Ina considered themselves "above" being racist, since they're not human. But still being so symbiotic with humans, of course the best and worst of human society would affect them!

I will admit the first time I read this, the sexual relationships Shuri engages in with adult humans made me incredibly uncomfortable, so that is good to keep in mind before starting.

By the end of the book, I really did grow to love Shuri and the little family she was creating. Except Wright, I hated him the whole book.

villainofcircumstance's review against another edition

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4.75

I really enjoyed this book. This would have been 5 stars if not for the sexual experiences of the main character - who is not human or a child, but who we are often told looks like a ten year old girl. If it were just detailing her sexuality or among her own fantasy kind it wouldn’t have been so bad, but adult human characters routinely have sex with her or express sexual interest - including before she or he knew she wasn’t a human girl.

I tried to read this book as a teen when it first came out and felt so sickened by this I couldn’t get far - but I am SO GLAD I gave it another chance as an adult. I loved this book and am only sorry there can’t be more as the author sadly passed after its publication. You may love this too - but be warned about the content above.

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