Reviews tagging 'War'

The Marble Queen by Anna Kopp

4 reviews

wolafinch's review

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lighthearted fast-paced
  • Plot- or character-driven? Character
  • Strong character development? No
  • Loveable characters? Yes
  • Diverse cast of characters? It's complicated
  • Flaws of characters a main focus? It's complicated

2.0

expected a cute lesbian romance with a focus on anxiety, got one princess who is anxious but gets medicated 1/2 thru and that seems to solve all her problems, and then the queen who I guess is technically anxious? but more like she has trouble expressing emotions, sometimes, i guess

there are other characters too but they are: "dopey wife guy", "dopey wife guy wife", "child", "lady with sword who is not the cooler lady with sword", "guy who is definitely evil", "guy who is definitely evil 2", and "other characters who are usually mean to the princess, for various reasons but sometimes no reason at all, these kingdoms are populated with dicks",

and also a large side plot of poorly developed political drama, and there's magic for 3 pages

idk if its at a library sure spend a half hour to read it but wouldn't buy it
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whitneymouse's review

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adventurous dark hopeful tense medium-paced
  • Plot- or character-driven? Plot
  • Strong character development? It's complicated
  • Loveable characters? Yes
  • Diverse cast of characters? Yes
  • Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes

3.0

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itsnotalakeitsanocean's review

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adventurous emotional medium-paced
  • Plot- or character-driven? A mix
  • Strong character development? No
  • Loveable characters? It's complicated
  • Diverse cast of characters? Yes
  • Flaws of characters a main focus? No

2.5

I feel really bad giving this such a low rating but there were several things that didn't do it for me.

Things I liked:
  • The main couple were cute together. Their dynamic is heavily inspired by Anthy and Utena's relationship from Revolutionary Girl Utena so if you're a fan of that series, you're probably going to enjoy it (though their dynamic is a lot lighter than what even a fraction of what happens to Anthy and Utena in their home series).
  • The colour palettes and character designs were very soft and pleasing to the eye. The artists had a very good grasp on colour theory and character design, and used it to convey different cultures and class statuses well.
  • I liked the depiction of Amelia's anxiety as thorns trying to grab onto her and consume her alive. It was a very creative way to depict it.

Things I didn't like:
  • Disclaimer that I am white so I might be seeing a problem where there isn't one but something about Amelia being portrayed as very dainty and having her anxiety (and later nightmares) graphically depicted compared to Salira who shows very few signs of weakness and anxiety (there are a few scenes but they're few and far between) and is always the strong one in the relationship didn't entirely sit right with me. If you've watched Shanspeare's video about Lana Del Ray, some of the stuff she mentions about race and femininity are at play here. That said I don't think it was intentional, I just think they simply switched the races of their Anthy and Utena expy leads without considering the connotations of race. I think this could be fixed if they did a sequel story where Amelia gets to fight too.
  • The art got progressively stiff and flat as the book went on. Another review on here said that the book had to be delayed by a year, so that might factor into it a little. I was also confused by the inclusion of actions being described like Japanese onomatopoeia in manga - especially for things that were extremely obvious like ships sailing or disembarking a ship. It felt like the artist forgot to erase the storyboard instructions and added to the amateurish feeling of the art.
  • On a related note, the plot in the last few chapters felt like they were desperately sprinting to the finish and had so much going on that ironically it felt like nothing of substance was happening.
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devynreadsnovels's review

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adventurous dark emotional mysterious reflective fast-paced
  • Plot- or character-driven? Plot
  • Strong character development? Yes
  • Loveable characters? N/A
  • Diverse cast of characters? Yes
  • Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes

3.0

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