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arsenelouppain's review
adventurous
mysterious
slow-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? Character
- Strong character development? No
- Loveable characters? No
- Diverse cast of characters? Yes
- Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes
2.75
I wanted to like this book so bad! It's got a great premise, and I loved the writing style. I also think the author is really cool!
My main complaint is about the protagonist, Iris. I found her largely unlikeable and her behavior was downright erratic at times. I lost it whenshe decided to make out with a dude in the middle of a mission where lives hung in the balance. It took me five months to get through this just because I hated Iris so, so much.
I was also not a fan of the love triangle (love square? Love pentagon? Maybe even a hexagon.) It was unnecessary and annoying to read through. Perhaps just Jinn and Adam would have been fine. But Max? They barely even knew each other! I understand that it's possible to fall in love at first sight, but there was way too much going on between all the fighting and mysteries and drama for them to form any kind of connection. Especially after he abandonned her and Jinn in the first round of the tournament.
One thing that also bothered me was whenall of the Fanciful Freaks acted like the apocalypse was somehow impossible. Like, you went to a fair in South Kensington and can now breathe fire, but you don't think it's possible that the world might end one day? Seriously?
I liked the ending. I was actually surprised whenMax was revealed to have betrayed them. In hindsight, it's painfully obvious, but please remember that I read this book over the course of five months. It was a nice set up for the sequel.
I also approve of the way Raughley addressed the issues of race, class, gender, and sexuality.
In the end, this book was not for me, but if you're interested, I recommend giving it a go!
My main complaint is about the protagonist, Iris. I found her largely unlikeable and her behavior was downright erratic at times. I lost it when
I was also not a fan of the love triangle (love square? Love pentagon? Maybe even a hexagon.) It was unnecessary and annoying to read through. Perhaps just Jinn and Adam would have been fine. But
One thing that also bothered me was when
I liked the ending. I was actually surprised when
I also approve of the way Raughley addressed the issues of race, class, gender, and sexuality.
In the end, this book was not for me, but if you're interested, I recommend giving it a go!
Content Warnings
Graphic: Gore, Racism, Murder, Violence, Slavery, Medical trauma, Kidnapping, and Death
foreverinastory's review against another edition
adventurous
dark
mysterious
fast-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? Yes
4.5
Read with the B2 Weird book club on Discord as our February book pick!
This was amazing!! Also so bloody and violent, lived for it all.
Rep: African cishet female MC, BIPOC cishet male side character, BIPOC female side character, MLM side pairing.
CWs: Violence, murder, death, racism, mentions of eugenics, torture, non-consensual medical experimentation, cannibalism, blood, gore, gun violence, injury/injury detail, fire, medical trauma. Moderate: sexism, misogyny, slavery, trafficking, mentions of sex work. Minor: suicide attempt, xenophobia, sexual harassment.
This was amazing!! Also so bloody and violent, lived for it all.
Rep: African cishet female MC, BIPOC cishet male side character, BIPOC female side character, MLM side pairing.
CWs: Violence, murder, death, racism, mentions of eugenics, torture, non-consensual medical experimentation, cannibalism, blood, gore, gun violence, injury/injury detail, fire, medical trauma. Moderate: sexism, misogyny, slavery, trafficking, mentions of sex work. Minor: suicide attempt, xenophobia, sexual harassment.
Content Warnings
Graphic: Blood, Gun violence, Racism, Torture, Injury/Injury detail, Medical trauma, Cannibalism, Gore, Fire/Fire injury, Violence, Murder, and Death
Moderate: Sexism, Misogyny, Slavery, and Trafficking
Minor: Sexual harassment, Suicide attempt, and Xenophobia
redthistle's review
adventurous
dark
mysterious
tense
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? Yes
2.0
Content Warnings
Graphic: Racism, Violence, Blood, Cannibalism, Trafficking, Torture, Sexism, Murder, Gun violence, Gore, and Medical trauma
Moderate: Child death, Child abuse, and Slavery
jenny_librarian's review
I received a copy of this book from the publisher through NetGalley, in exchange for an honest review.
4 days in of 3+ hours reading and I'm still not halfway through despite everything going on. Hell, the "tournament" hasn't even started yet.
It's a good idea, but there's just way too many characters and way too much worldbuilding that doesn't ultimately give us anything. It's all so complicated that you get lost in between what is historical and what's fantasy. And it just keeps building up. Every time you think you'll get an answer, it's just more questions popping up that left me unsatisfied as a reader. I wanted to keep going, but after reading other reviews it doesn't seem to get any better and I have too many books to read to spend another 4-5 days on this one.
This is prime example of why the first book in a series should NOT be 500+ pages...
4 days in of 3+ hours reading and I'm still not halfway through despite everything going on. Hell, the "tournament" hasn't even started yet.
It's a good idea, but there's just way too many characters and way too much worldbuilding that doesn't ultimately give us anything. It's all so complicated that you get lost in between what is historical and what's fantasy. And it just keeps building up. Every time you think you'll get an answer, it's just more questions popping up that left me unsatisfied as a reader. I wanted to keep going, but after reading other reviews it doesn't seem to get any better and I have too many books to read to spend another 4-5 days on this one.
This is prime example of why the first book in a series should NOT be 500+ pages...
Content Warnings
Graphic: Violence
Moderate: Racism, Racial slurs, Colonisation, Murder, Sexism, Torture, and Trafficking
Minor: Child abuse, Child death, Death, Gore, Medical trauma, Sexual harassment, and Slavery
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