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tahsintries's review against another edition
5.0
Graphic: Drug abuse, Drug use, Addiction, and Torture
Moderate: Grief, Slavery, Genocide, Blood, Child abuse, Classism, Colonisation, Confinement, Death of parent, Xenophobia, Gore, and Racism
dreyy's review against another edition
- Plot- or character-driven? Character
- Strong character development? Yes
- Loveable characters? It's complicated
- Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes
3.75
Graphic: Domestic abuse, Drug abuse, Child death, Colonisation, Addiction, Confinement, Abandonment, Blood, Death, and Death of parent
Moderate: Drug use, Kidnapping, Physical abuse, Police brutality, Emotional abuse, Mental illness, Miscarriage, Rape, Fire/Fire injury, Genocide, Gore, Racism, Self harm, Sexual content, Slavery, Drug abuse, Suicide attempt, Violence, and Xenophobia
beldaran1224'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
One thing I loved about this book is that the setting - which is otherwise brutal and filled with oppression, is completely queernormative & gender equal. Additionally, though the world is highly stratified according to a blood-based caste system that is an allegory for racial inequities in our own world, there is no anti-blackness in this book. All of the characters are Black, and you'll find no negative language about features associated with Black-ness at all. It just goes to show that you can engage with real-life oppression without re-traumatizing those suffering from those systems of oppression - I have a lot of respect for el-Arifi for managing this.
The characters are fascinating, and we continue to learn more about them and their pasts, while exploring the ways in which they are changing and responding to the events of the book. You'll find multi-faceted characters here. Both of our main characters have their flaws, but I was invested in them from the beginning. There's a surprising amount of mystery in the book, which I think is handled better than average for an epic fantasy book.
I think el-Arifi manages to juggle the personal stories extremely well with the epic, sweeping political events taking place, and this reinforces the book's core message about inequities - that the personal IS political. The setting is fascinating - we don't get to see much in the first book, which takes place almost exclusively in the city we start in, and I'm excited to (hopefully) see more in the second book.
In short, the moment I finished this book, I decided I couldn't wait for my library to receive the recently published second installment and went out and bought it myself. (And I'll still check it out when my library gets it, because this author deserves the circulation!)
Graphic: Grief, Confinement, Death, Drug abuse, Violence, Child death, Classism, Colonisation, Death of parent, Drug use, Genocide, Physical abuse, Police brutality, Child abuse, Addiction, and Blood
Moderate: Alcohol
Minor: Vomit
moonchild_cos'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: Classism, Drug use, Addiction, Blood, and Drug abuse
Moderate: Cursing, Injury/Injury detail, Slavery, Death, Physical abuse, Violence, Confinement, Death of parent, Emotional abuse, Genocide, Ableism, Alcohol, Child abuse, and Child death
Minor: Body shaming, Bullying, Grief, Sexual content, Vomit, and War
bookcaptivated'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: Body horror, Child death, Drug use, Emotional abuse, Classism, Death, Death of parent, Gore, Grief, Kidnapping, Confinement, Addiction, Blood, Child abuse, Injury/Injury detail, Drug abuse, Murder, Torture, and Violence
Moderate: Body shaming, Colonisation, Slavery, Ableism, and Alcohol
Minor: Medical content and Stalking
_james_'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? It's complicated
5.0
Graphic: Drug use, Gaslighting, Gore, Violence, Confinement, Panic attacks/disorders, Grief, Addiction, Alcohol, Blood, Bullying, Classism, Colonisation, Drug abuse, Emotional abuse, Physical abuse, Slavery, and Torture
Moderate: Child death, Confinement, Hate crime, Medical trauma, Death of parent, and Suicidal thoughts
Minor: Cursing, Religious bigotry, Kidnapping, Excrement, and Toxic friendship
forget_full's review against another edition
- 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
4.25
Graphic: Drug abuse, Drug use, and Addiction
booksalacarte's review against another edition
- 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
3.5
Slow burn
It was slow going for the first half of the book. The plot finally getting traction didn’t make up for the lulls, in my opinion.
Graphic: Gore, Violence, Addiction, Blood, Colonisation, Confinement, Drug abuse, Drug use, Emotional abuse, Excrement, Fatphobia, Gaslighting, Genocide, Grief, Hate crime, Murder, Physical abuse, Sexual content, Slavery, Toxic friendship, and Toxic relationship
third_bookworm's review against another edition
- Plot- or character-driven? Plot
- Strong character development? It's complicated
- Loveable characters? No
- Diverse cast of characters? Yes
- Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes
2.0
Graphic: Drug use, Addiction, Child abuse, and Drug abuse
Moderate: Blood, Racism, Police brutality, Racial slurs, and Slavery
eh1736'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
5.0
Graphic: Addiction, Torture, Drug use, Drug abuse, and Colonisation