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holiday7's review
- 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? Yes
5.0
Graphic: Animal death, Body horror, Bullying, Death, Emotional abuse, Homophobia, Misogyny, Sexism, Blood, and Murder
Moderate: Adult/minor relationship, Domestic abuse, Gore, Physical abuse, Sexual assault, Violence, Grief, and Death of parent
Minor: Kidnapping
bzliz's review against another edition
- 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? No
3.75
The world is pretty vivid in how horrible it is. Abuse of all kinds apparently runs rampant and people truly just ignore it in hopes that they won’t get executed for speaking out. Obviously some people aren’t chill with what’s going on but they keep to themselves for the most part because they’re punished if they do speak out. I liked Sophia’s connection with Luke but I wish it was more substantial- like they’d been friends for a while and he really had a reason to stick his neck out for her- because when he came to save her at the ball, it felt unnatural. Like he’s been protecting himself for so long but after a few sassy interactions he feels compelled to protect her so they can both be secretly gay together but still stuck in this horrible place. I’m also confused by Erin’s characterization. She breaks Sophia’s heart by refusing to run away out of her own sense of self preservation and wants to follow the King’s terrible laws, but she already broke rules and norms by having a relationship with Sophia. Someone that set on keeping themself safe doesn’t seem like they’d ever admit or act on any gay feelings.
I enjoyed the dynamic between Sophia and Constance, and I really liked Amina’s murky morality. Even though it was easy to guess at the “plot twist” of the prince’s secret to youth, I did not see Amina’s plot twist coming. Constance wasn’t a knight in shining armor; she was a solid foundation on which Sophia was able to build her own feelings of rebellion against tyranny and I think the message of “we can stand up to things that are wrong and also girls can save themselves” is a pretty good one to put out in the world.
Mind the content warnings, especially if you can’t stomach descriptions or discussions of misogyny, sexual assault, physical abuse and domestic violence, and implications of pedophilia.
Graphic: Animal death, Body horror, Death, Domestic abuse, Misogyny, Physical abuse, Rape, Sexism, Sexual assault, Sexual violence, Violence, Blood, Murder, and Sexual harassment
Moderate: Child abuse, Emotional abuse, Homophobia, Slavery, Trafficking, Grief, Death of parent, and Classism
Minor: Adult/minor relationship and Pedophilia
megdough's review
- Plot- or character-driven? A mix
- Strong character development? No
- Loveable characters? Yes
- Diverse cast of characters? Yes
- Flaws of characters a main focus? No
3.75
Graphic: Domestic abuse, Homophobia, Misogyny, Pedophilia, Physical abuse, Lesbophobia, and Sexual harassment
Moderate: Death, Hate crime, Murder, and Gaslighting
Minor: Animal death, Body horror, Gore, Trafficking, and Death of parent
maybeimali'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? It's complicated
4.5
Graphic: Animal death, Child abuse, Child death, Chronic illness, Death, Domestic abuse, Emotional abuse, Gore, Misogyny, Physical abuse, Sexism, Slavery, Torture, Violence, Forced institutionalization, Blood, Police brutality, Grief, Death of parent, Murder, Fire/Fire injury, Gaslighting, Sexual harassment, Injury/Injury detail, and Classism
Moderate: Homophobia and Lesbophobia
paigereitz's review
- Plot- or character-driven? A mix
- Strong character development? It's complicated
- Loveable characters? It's complicated
- Diverse cast of characters? Yes
3.5
Moderate: Child abuse, Domestic abuse, Homophobia, Misogyny, and Lesbophobia
Minor: Sexual violence and Death of parent
laineydunne'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
5.0
Moderate: Adult/minor relationship, Animal death, Child abuse, Child death, Death, Domestic abuse, Emotional abuse, Genocide, Hate crime, Homophobia, Physical abuse, Sexual assault, Torture, Toxic relationship, Violence, Blood, Grief, Death of parent, Murder, Lesbophobia, Sexual harassment, War, and Injury/Injury detail
pkc'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
5.0
Holy crap I LOVED this story.
The protagonist was so engaging, so strong but proudly showed her vulnerabilities. The villain made my skin crawl. The love interests were fully formed characters in their own right who didn’t just serve to enhance the protagonists story. Representation was incredible (a POC MC, very queer).
Around the tail end of last year, I saw someone do a list of reading icks that they’d hope might be left in 2022. One of them was adults reading young adult books, as if it was somehow a lower class of read that shouldn’t be indulged. It really rankled me when I saw it as a 33 year old lover of YA and books like this beautifully explain why.
This a story, aimed at young adults, that is absolutely about using your voice to speak out against oppression. It’s not the manic pixie dreamgirl or feelingsy guy that you find in the stereotypes that the genre is wrongly thought to comprise of exclusively.
Sophia is a strong, ferocious human being who is guided by and intently focused on the right thing to do.
Graphic: Animal cruelty, Animal death, Biphobia, Body horror, Bullying, Child abuse, Child death, Confinement, Death, Domestic abuse, Emotional abuse, Genocide, Gore, Hate crime, Homophobia, Sexism, Torture, Toxic relationship, Violence, Forced institutionalization, Blood, Grief, Death of parent, Murder, Outing, Gaslighting, Injury/Injury detail, and Classism
saskiahill's review against another edition
3.5
Moderate: Animal cruelty, Animal death, Child death, Death, Emotional abuse, Homophobia, Misogyny, Physical abuse, Torture, Violence, Trafficking, Kidnapping, Grief, Death of parent, Murder, Lesbophobia, Fire/Fire injury, Abandonment, and Injury/Injury detail
luzies'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? It's complicated
3.75
Graphic: Adult/minor relationship, Domestic abuse, Homophobia, Misogyny, Sexism, Torture, Violence, Murder, and Abandonment
Moderate: Adult/minor relationship, Death, Homophobia, Torture, Violence, Kidnapping, Death of parent, Murder, and Deportation
a_libra_library's review against another edition
- Plot- or character-driven? A mix
- Strong character development? No
- Loveable characters? No
- Diverse cast of characters? Yes
- Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes
3.5
However the addition of magic and history and plot twists were too many and muddled the story. Too many lines that kind of lead nowhere.
I loved the sapphic, black romances and our main character staying true to herself and her people- Sophia is a strong lead and I wish I could read more about her and her love interest after the story was over.
Kalynn is such an amazing author and building a world or a scene I'm excited for her other works. She's so good at writing gore and haunting moments!
Moderate: Adult/minor relationship, Body horror, Bullying, Child abuse, Child death, Cursing, Death, Domestic abuse, Emotional abuse, Gore, Misogyny, Violence, Police brutality, Grief, Death of parent, Lesbophobia, Fire/Fire injury, Abandonment, Sexual harassment, Colonisation, Injury/Injury detail, and Classism