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ford_defect's review against another edition
- Plot- or character-driven? Plot
- Strong character development? Yes
- Loveable characters? It's complicated
- Diverse cast of characters? Yes
- Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes
3.0
But anyway, now I'll talk about what I really liked about the book. The blood magic system was super cool. At first, I wasn't sure how much I liked needing to draw runes to fire a gun (since that would be pretty inefficient if you were slow at writing). Though, the longer I thought about it, the more it grew on me. Bloodwerk requires skill and dexterity, so not everyone would be good at it, which is a good challenge for the MCs that didn't know how to bloodwerk before. Secondly, the atmosphere was quite unique and immersive. Especially since the author wrote about the history of the world, too. The character development was also well done (with the exception of what I said about a part of Sylah's progress). I initially hated Anoor and Sylah, but they evolved so much. I was a little disappointed we didn't see more romance between them.
So 3/5
Graphic: Death of parent, Drug use, Genocide, Injury/Injury detail, Bullying, Child abuse, Death, Gaslighting, Child death, Classism, Colonisation, Violence, Body horror, Self harm, Ableism, Domestic abuse, Xenophobia, Blood, Sexual content, Gore, Hate crime, Slavery, Addiction, Body shaming, Cultural appropriation, and Panic attacks/disorders
Moderate: Toxic relationship, Fatphobia, Toxic friendship, Kidnapping, Torture, and Alcohol
Minor: Dysphoria, Suicidal thoughts, Pregnancy, and Racial slurs
ssjd411's review against another edition
Graphic: Bullying, Death, Death of parent, Abandonment, Addiction, Body shaming, Classism, Domestic abuse, Injury/Injury detail, Drug abuse, Drug use, Emotional abuse, Fatphobia, and Hate crime
Moderate: Police brutality, Slavery, Violence, Racism, Physical abuse, Torture, Toxic friendship, and Toxic relationship
mj_86'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
4.25
Graphic: Drug abuse, Drug use, Addiction, Death, and Violence
Moderate: Child abuse, Blood, and Slavery
Minor: Sexual content and Confinement
kayberlyn's review against another edition
- Plot- or character-driven? Character
- Strong character development? Yes
- Loveable characters? Yes
- Diverse cast of characters? Yes
- Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes
4.75
Graphic: Violence
Moderate: Drug abuse, Addiction, Slavery, Hate crime, Genocide, Blood, Racial slurs, Murder, Grief, Drug use, Child death, Alcohol, Child abuse, Death of parent, Chronic illness, and Racism
fairyollie'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
5.0
what I especially love about this book, as a queer disabled adult who uses sign language, is that disability, sexuality, gender, alternate/augmented means of communication, etc., are all simply facets of life. never do I see a book in which a main character - or so many characters - are disabled and it is not a "pity, shame, how sad, I could never, this is gonna advance so-and-so's character arc!", plot point or traumatic backstory. it simply is. there is so much more I wish I could say, but for fear of my big mouth and I spoiling a thing, let me leave you with this: I cannot recommend this book more; it is simply impossible. I beg you, please join me in this raw, open-hearted, desperate, vengeful quest for adventure and justice and give this series a try.
Graphic: Drug use, Genocide, Grief, Gore, Self harm, Slavery, Racial slurs, Racism, Addiction, Emotional abuse, Ableism, Classism, Drug abuse, Xenophobia, Blood, Child abuse, and Violence
Moderate: Alcohol, Panic attacks/disorders, Confinement, Body shaming, Forced institutionalization, Murder, Abandonment, and Kidnapping
ambitiousnalgene'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
4.0
Graphic: Slavery and Addiction
Moderate: Violence and Death
kaitrates's review against another edition
- Plot- or character-driven? A mix
- Strong character development? Yes
- Loveable characters? Yes
- Diverse cast of characters? Yes
4.5
WHEW Y'allll what is there to say about this stunning novel that hasn't already been said? I'm so glad I buddy read this and we could collectively lose our mind together on page 545 aka 95% .
This one admittedly took me a bit to get into—as is common with new fantasy worlds where you spend the first 100 pages confused about what's what and who's who and so on—but once I had my proverbial feet on the ground, I was hooked.
This has some of the best character development I've ever read with a plot that was paced perfectly to match it. And the world gets so much bigger at the end! I fell in love with this world and these characters and cannot wait to continue their journey in book 2 and beyond.
Graphic: Child abuse, Slavery, and Addiction
Moderate: Body horror and Violence
salemander's review against another edition
5.0
Graphic: Addiction, Blood, Gaslighting, Colonisation, Emotional abuse, Gore, Racism, Genocide, Grief, Injury/Injury detail, Confinement, Death, Physical abuse, Slavery, Torture, Child abuse, Classism, Violence, and Drug abuse
porcupine_girl's review against another edition
- Plot- or character-driven? Character
- Strong character development? Yes
- Loveable characters? Yes
- Diverse cast of characters? Yes
- Flaws of characters a main focus? It's complicated
5.0
Graphic: Gore, Grief, Toxic relationship, Colonisation, Drug abuse, War, Addiction, Blood, Abandonment, Alcoholism, Death of parent, Genocide, Violence, Body horror, Alcohol, Classism, Cursing, Death, Drug use, Slavery, Hate crime, Physical abuse, Police brutality, Sexual content, Child death, Child abuse, Confinement, Injury/Injury detail, Murder, Emotional abuse, and Religious bigotry
Moderate: Medical content, Self harm, Body shaming, Fatphobia, Kidnapping, Ableism, Blood, Gun violence, Gaslighting, Toxic friendship, and Dysphoria
Minor: Bullying, Cancer, Chronic illness, and Fire/Fire injury
musebeliever's review against another edition
1.0
I really liked the idea of the two protagonists being swapped at birth and was curious about how it would play out in their lives. However, I was not at all on board with the magic system relying on a biological element. This has big chosen one and essentialism vibes, which I just could not deal with.
I also struggled with the writing style and the characterisation. The fact that we are privy to every single thought created, in my opinion, very unidimensional characters. Despite this shower of information, some of Sylah's actions just do not make sense to me, and too much of the plot relies on Sylah's poor choice or negligence. I can understand this happening once or twice, but how am I to believe that we are in the presence of the person who will overthrow an empire. This did not work for me.
I found everything very bleak, which makes sense for a dystopia, but also extremely heavy-handed. This read like YA to me, which is not my favourite writing style. The clues as to where the plot is going are underlined and surrounded by blinking lights.
I was also taken aback by the inconsistence in tone. There is a moment in the book when Sylah reminisces her tragic past while she watches the new tyrants of the Empire being chosen. She looks at one of them and thinks, "68 never looked so good." This sounded taken out of a gossip instagram reel commenting the Met gala. It felt really out of place. There were many moments like this when I was thrown off by sudden tone changes that did not match the atmosphere of a chapter. It feels like the book has not been edited.
Finally, fatphobia and foodshaming are frankly painful to read and so unnecessary. Sylah calls Anoor the lump, foodshames her, finds her dresses ridiculous because they are big. She seems to justify her fatphobia because she thinks that Anoor is fat because she is rich and privileged. This does not seem to be coherent as Anoor is mocked by her peers. The author also depicts her as a bit silly. Someone who chooses her seat in a room to have a better view on the dishes that are being served. We are clearly supposed to find that funny. Let's be serious one minute.
Graphic: Physical abuse, Rape, Toxic friendship, Drug use, Body horror, Gore, Bullying, Ableism, Addiction, Body shaming, Murder, Slavery, Fatphobia, Genocide, Death, Drug abuse, Eating disorder, Torture, Blood, Hate crime, and Violence