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victoriousbookworm's review against another edition
- Plot- or character-driven? A mix
- Strong character development? Yes
- Loveable characters? Yes
5.0
Graphic: War and Violence
Moderate: Blood and Confinement
Minor: Sexual assault
lavenderfrog's review against another edition
- Plot- or character-driven? Character
- Strong character development? Yes
- Loveable characters? It's complicated
- Diverse cast of characters? Yes
- Flaws of characters a main focus? No
4.5
Graphic: Suicide, Death, Misogyny, Violence, and War
Moderate: Alcoholism, Sexual assault, Rape, and Xenophobia
ailaw_'s review
- 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: Death, Misogyny, War, and Violence
Moderate: Death of parent, Adult/minor relationship, and Murder
Minor: Pregnancy, Lesbophobia, Sexual assault, Rape, and Homophobia
jessi21'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
4.5
Moderate: Sexism, Self harm, Death, Injury/Injury detail, Grief, Blood, Mental illness, War, and Violence
Minor: Rape and Sexual violence
ms_sarah621'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
4.5
Graphic: Death, Violence, Emotional abuse, Murder, Pregnancy, Rape, Sexual violence, War, Blood, Death of parent, Mental illness, and Torture
jellyfishym07'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: Death, Violence, and Gore
Moderate: Religious bigotry, Sexism, Sexual harassment, Pedophilia, Rape, Sexual violence, and Sexual assault
sammysamsam'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? No
4.0
Graphic: Murder, Violence, Racism, Kidnapping, Death, Injury/Injury detail, War, Suicide, Child death, Gore, Torture, Suicide attempt, Fire/Fire injury, Emotional abuse, Racial slurs, Grief, Gaslighting, and Blood
Moderate: Panic attacks/disorders, Rape, Sexual assault, Mental illness, Self harm, Medical content, Sexual violence, Toxic relationship, Sexual harassment, and Adult/minor relationship
Minor: Homophobia
ladygetslit's review
- 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
3.75
I am not as interested in the political intrigue or the wartime action scenes, although that's a personal preference. Mostly, though, I couldn't get into the writing with this one. The first and second book are both in 1st person present tense the whole time, and we're really immersed in Lei's thoughts and feelings. In the third book, Lei's perspective is mixed with Wren's; on the surface, I love the idea of including Wren's perspective, but the execution fell short for me. Wren's chapters are told in 3rd person and past tense, which really threw me for a loop every time the narrative switched. If they had both been 1st person and the same tense, I think I could've enjoyed Wren's perspective more. As it is, the writing made the book feel more disjointed than it needed to be, even though most of it is taking place with the girls separated and living out their own storylines.
And, finally, I wasn't satisfied with the ending. The second book seemed to imply that there was no good solution to the problems in this world, because when individuals get power, they use it terribly, regardless of intention. This series fell into the trap of well, we need to resolve everything and then spent several chapters walking us through what happens after the resolution so that we know for sure that everything is all fine and dandy.
That being said, I do think this is a fast-paced, action-packed fantasy series that was easy to get sucked into, and it's still worth reading. As a writer, I'm not even sure how I could've resolved the story any better than Ngan did, and I enjoyed getting to spend more time with these wonderful characters.
Graphic: Kidnapping, Misogyny, Violence, Confinement, Death, War, Blood, Gore, and Forced institutionalization
Moderate: Physical abuse and Injury/Injury detail
Minor: Sexual assault and Rape
dododenise'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
It deals with the topics it addresses well, yet somehow nothing really touches me. It’s a shame, really.
Graphic: Violence, Death, War, Chronic illness, Kidnapping, Slavery, Grief, and Confinement
Moderate: Fire/Fire injury, Pregnancy, Rape, and Sexual assault
wirt'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: War, Violence, and Murder
Moderate: Rape