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hazybee's review
- Plot- or character-driven? Plot
- Strong character development? Yes
- Loveable characters? Yes
- Diverse cast of characters? Yes
- Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes
4.75
Graphic: Suicide attempt, Death, Self harm, Rape, Murder, Suicidal thoughts, and Homophobia
Moderate: Alcohol, Vomit, Animal death, Sexual content, Violence, Blood, and Sexism
purplepenning's review
- Plot- or character-driven? A mix
- Strong character development? Yes
- Loveable characters? Yes
- Diverse cast of characters? Yes
4.25
Graphic: Suicidal thoughts, Homophobia, Violence, Rape, Death of parent, Sexual violence, Blood, and Murder
Moderate: Sexism, Abandonment, Gaslighting, Body horror, Sexual content, Injury/Injury detail, Suicide attempt, Classism, Animal death, Grief, Panic attacks/disorders, Ableism, Alcohol, Animal cruelty, Fire/Fire injury, Emotional abuse, Infidelity, Misogyny, Outing, Self harm, Vomit, and Xenophobia
Though it's a well-handled journey of healing, a main point of view character experiences significant trauma early in and deals with trauma recovery for much of the book.s_l's review
- Plot- or character-driven? A mix
- Strong character development? Yes
- Loveable characters? Yes
- Diverse cast of characters? Yes
- Flaws of characters a main focus? No
3.5
But other than that it was good
Graphic: Grief, Confinement, Rape, Sexual assault, Suicide attempt, Ableism, Animal death, Sexism, Injury/Injury detail, Outing, Murder, Transphobia, and Religious bigotry
hades_hotline's review against another edition
4.25
Graphic: Death, Suicide attempt, Grief, Murder, Rape, Sexual assault, and Suicidal thoughts
Moderate: Animal death, Animal cruelty, Death of parent, Injury/Injury detail, Outing, Homophobia, Child death, Suicidal thoughts, and Blood
Minor: Transphobia, Toxic relationship, Sexism, and Fire/Fire injury
sammuraichan'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
5.0
Graphic: Blood, Emotional abuse, Self harm, Death, Gaslighting, Gore, Murder, Domestic abuse, Toxic relationship, Grief, Homophobia, Physical abuse, Rape, Sexual assault, Suicidal thoughts, Sexual content, Sexual harassment, and Suicide attempt
Minor: Alcohol, Fire/Fire injury, Classism, Cursing, Deadnaming, Homophobia, Kidnapping, Infidelity, Body shaming, Misogyny, Vomit, and Sexism
beetitnerds's review
- Plot- or character-driven? Plot
- Strong character development? No
- Loveable characters? Yes
- Diverse cast of characters? Yes
- Flaws of characters a main focus? No
3.0
However: The pacing made it difficult to enjoy either the romance or the mystery. All the characters are enjoyable, so I was happy to read them making friends and falling in love. But the 'falling in love' itself felt forced. Not that chemistry wasn't there, but that the bulk of the romance came from the fact the leads are in a queer romance, and therefore must be in love by the end of the book. It would have been nice to see their romance pushed off until the sequels. The mystery wasn't a real mystery as much as a series of things that happened over the course of a week that are solved when the main characters eventually- literally- accidentally stumble into the villain doing a full monologue. The reader doesn't have a chance to try and solve the mystery themself because we don't know anything about the world until specific details are told to us the moment they become relevant. The villain wasn't exactly a surprise, because it follows pretty standard story conventions, but the reveal wasn't satisfying enough to make the lead-up enjoyable. The villain essentially stares at the camera and explains every plot detail, with the heros occasionally popping in to remind us they're in the room. Even though I really liked each character, there's no actual character development for anyone. Everyone ends exactly where they started, with the exception of one of the main characters, who technically learns to be more open with his affections, but who also doesn't really have a problem with public affection except in occasional offhand remarks about how it would be scandalous in his home-country. I don't want to read about a main character who's homophobic or ableist or classist or sexist or any other version of bigot. But since we're told about how terrible his home-country is, and how every other person from that country is some degree of bigot almost without exception, AND the main character frequently apologizes on behalf of the culture he was raised in, it makes it really weird that he doesn't actually NEED to do any growing. Even the times he does 'mess up', which I'd argue are usually situations in which he thinks he's messed up because of miscommunication and really hasn't, he immediately realizes his mistakes, often as he's making them, and immediately apologizes and corrects himself. This is a book where all the characters assume he's a bigot and a third of his interactions are him explaining about how He's Actually An Ally.
All that being said: The action scenes were fun. I wish the action wasn't left to the last handful of pages, because it was thrilling. All of the characters, even the villains, were very fun to read, and likable. I really liked the focus on friendships, especially pre-existing friendships, ESPECIALLY subverting the Hot Jealous Ex trope. The casual inclusion and diversity of marginalized identities in the book was refreshing. No one felt like a stereotype or a token character. The dialogue always felt authentic, and character choices and motivations always felt realistic and understandable. The magic system and different cultures around it was also fun, though woefully underutilized. The mixed use of first and third person was fun and helped differentiate between the POV characters. The writing, itself, was beautiful. The plot twist at the VERY end-
Graphic: Rape, Self harm, Murder, and Homophobia
Moderate: Sexism
Minor: Transphobia
The book provides a clear content warning for most of its violence, and the sensitive topics are written thoughtfully, but they are nonetheless present and sometimes written in graphic detail.jessiereads98's review
- Plot- or character-driven? A mix
- Strong character development? It's complicated
- Loveable characters? Yes
- Diverse cast of characters? Yes
- Flaws of characters a main focus? It's complicated
2.75
Graphic: Animal death, Murder, Rape, Suicide attempt, Blood, Death, and Suicidal thoughts
Moderate: Violence, Panic attacks/disorders, Homophobia, Injury/Injury detail, and Confinement
Minor: Ableism, Alcoholism, Death of parent, Grief, Misogyny, Sexual content, Transphobia, Abandonment, Alcohol, Cursing, Fire/Fire injury, Medical content, Miscarriage, Sexism, Toxic relationship, and Vomit
angelbabe_cj's review against another edition
- Plot- or character-driven? A mix
- Strong character development? It's complicated
- Loveable characters? Yes
- Diverse cast of characters? Yes
- Flaws of characters a main focus? No
5.0
Graphic: Rape, Suicidal thoughts, and Violence
Moderate: Animal death, Death, Panic attacks/disorders, Torture, Suicide attempt, Blood, Xenophobia, and Sexual content
Minor: Kidnapping, Xenophobia, Ableism, Alcohol, Classism, Religious bigotry, Sexism, and Injury/Injury detail
20sidedbi'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
4.75
Graphic: Homophobia, Suicide attempt, Ableism, Sexual content, Panic attacks/disorders, Sexual violence, Gaslighting, Suicidal thoughts, Grief, Murder, Stalking, Outing, Sexual assault, Rape, and Self harm
Moderate: Classism, Violence, Transphobia, Religious bigotry, Emotional abuse, Blood, Torture, Sexism, Animal death, Misogyny, Fire/Fire injury, Death of parent, and Infidelity
There is ultimately healing in this story, but the author doesn't flinch away from full descriptions of all the traumatic events.kstrammel's review
- 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
Graphic: Murder, Suicidal thoughts, Suicide attempt, Sexual assault, Vomit, Animal death, Outing, and Panic attacks/disorders
Moderate: Transphobia, Homophobia, Sexism, Ableism, and Toxic relationship