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sokkaspoon's review against another edition
adventurous
challenging
dark
emotional
sad
slow-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? A mix
- Strong character development? No
- Loveable characters? It's complicated
- Flaws of characters a main focus? It's complicated
2.75
I went into this book really expecting this to be a 5 star read for me. It's basically ATLA in feudal Japan so I should have loved it However, it really missed the mark for me. It has some impressive world building and some very moving emotional scenes and great action scenes, but it has some massive pacing and info dumping problems.
There were so many moments where I was just so bored, either because there was a section of info dumping or the characters are doing the most boring stuff like talking about cleaning (and not in an engaging way tbh). Along the lines of pacing, there would be some great/moving/exciting scenes and then the next scene is the characters moving on and talking about boring stuff. Not only is that a pacing problem, but it made me feel like the characters actually don't react to these tramutic things that are happening.For example, after Marmoru dies, they basically just move onto another scene. His death obviously effects the other characters when they find out, but I feel as a reader that I didnt get to sit woth that death really at all before the autor moved on. Also I felt like I was being told how Misaki felt all the time, i.e. being told that she's sad about Marmoru, but I'm not being shown how she feels. I know she lives in a more reserved society, but her lack of response made me feel like she didn't actually care a ton about her son's death, even though that's what Wang is telling me.
Everything after Misaki and Takeru's duel was sooo slow and boring. (Speaking of the duel, it was cool as hell, but felt like it came out of nowhere. I had to go back to the previous chapter to see if I missed something. Also felt like Wang was trying ro get me to like Takeru with this dual, but there was no way in hell that was gonna happen). Why is Robin there? Hello?? Also Misaki should have absolutely taken her kids and left Takeru and Kaigen behind.
Going back to the world building: it's rather impressive, especially all the elemental magic(Hell yeah, ice dragon!) , but this book really gets bogged down in the details. Hense the info dumping. Wang clearly did a lot of work on the world, but we didn't need all of it on the page. It also is part of why the pacing is so off. If she wanted to include this info, I think she could have added an appendix for readers who were interested in the history, etc. However, the info dumpy world building as it is honestly often gets in the way of the plot moving forward. Also, again, this is Samurai ATLA, which I think on a baseline the audience for this book would already be familiar with those two things, so it feels like some of the details could have really been left out.
This is also a very nitpicky thing, but I hated how Wang used diffent terms for time. Like I get it, they're on a different planet. Time isn't the same. But it felt so arbitrary and made it unessarily confusing when reading. Just use seconds, minutes, hours, etc.
I started out reading the physical book and about 100 pages in i ended up switching to the audio book because I was quite bored and having a hard time engaging with the book. I think I probably would have DNFd the book had i not switched over to audio. And even then, there were a few times that I thought about not finishing, but the emotional and action scenes kept me going and interested. So if you want to read this book, I will would just recommend the audio.
I think this book could have really been about 300-400 pages long and told the same story more efficiently and effectively.
Another thing. Despite what the other has said, this absolutely not a standalone. The story is not remotely complete in this book.
Overall, I think this book has some really good parts, but is overall a mess. If this every moves into trad publishing, I hope it gets a major editing pass.
I feel like I'm being gaslit by all the 5 star reviews lol
There were so many moments where I was just so bored, either because there was a section of info dumping or the characters are doing the most boring stuff like talking about cleaning (and not in an engaging way tbh). Along the lines of pacing, there would be some great/moving/exciting scenes and then the next scene is the characters moving on and talking about boring stuff. Not only is that a pacing problem, but it made me feel like the characters actually don't react to these tramutic things that are happening.
Everything after Misaki and Takeru's duel was sooo slow and boring. (Speaking of the duel, it was cool as hell, but felt like it came out of nowhere. I had to go back to the previous chapter to see if I missed something. Also felt like Wang was trying ro get me to like Takeru with this dual, but there was no way in hell that was gonna happen). Why is Robin there? Hello?? Also Misaki should have absolutely taken her kids and left Takeru and Kaigen behind.
Going back to the world building: it's rather impressive, especially all the elemental magic
This is also a very nitpicky thing, but I hated how Wang used diffent terms for time. Like I get it, they're on a different planet. Time isn't the same. But it felt so arbitrary and made it unessarily confusing when reading. Just use seconds, minutes, hours, etc.
I started out reading the physical book and about 100 pages in i ended up switching to the audio book because I was quite bored and having a hard time engaging with the book. I think I probably would have DNFd the book had i not switched over to audio. And even then, there were a few times that I thought about not finishing, but the emotional and action scenes kept me going and interested. So if you want to read this book, I will would just recommend the audio.
I think this book could have really been about 300-400 pages long and told the same story more efficiently and effectively.
Another thing. Despite what the other has said, this absolutely not a standalone. The story is not remotely complete in this book.
Overall, I think this book has some really good parts, but is overall a mess. If this every moves into trad publishing, I hope it gets a major editing pass.
I feel like I'm being gaslit by all the 5 star reviews lol
Content Warnings
Graphic: Death, Violence, War, Child death, and Injury/Injury detail
Moderate: Sexism, Suicide, Misogyny, Sexual violence, Rape, Miscarriage, and Pregnancy
tayindago's review against another edition
adventurous
dark
emotional
inspiring
tense
medium-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? Character
- Strong character development? Yes
- Loveable characters? Yes
- Diverse cast of characters? Yes
- Flaws of characters a main focus? No
5.0
Content Warnings
Graphic: Child death, Suicide, Rape, War, Miscarriage, Sexual assault, Sexual violence, and Sexism
Minor: Grief
macwiththemic's review against another edition
challenging
dark
emotional
sad
tense
medium-paced
- Strong character development? Yes
- Loveable characters? It's complicated
- Diverse cast of characters? Yes
- Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes
5.0
This book broke me. One of the saddest books I’ve ever read. It kind of put me back together at the end but I’m not the same person I was. You should read it but also be prepared.
Content Warnings
Graphic: Violence, War, Blood, Physical abuse, Child death, Grief, and Death
Moderate: Domestic abuse, Sexism, Rape, Suicide, Pregnancy, Sexual violence, Sexual assault, and Misogyny
Minor: Colonisation and Miscarriage
ddnreads's review against another edition
adventurous
challenging
dark
emotional
tense
medium-paced
- 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
How am I going to continue my reading challenge without dreading the downhill experience bcs how am I going to TOP THIS BOOK HOWWWWW
It's always a high fantasy with the most intense family drama and romance. Gut-wrenching beautifully written plot. It's a story of valuing tradition and power, a griefing mother, and undoubtedly angst romance. Women empowerment and community care.
I love it so much. I cried with it. I healed with it. This is awesome end of the story.
It's always a high fantasy with the most intense family drama and romance. Gut-wrenching beautifully written plot. It's a story of valuing tradition and power, a griefing mother, and undoubtedly angst romance. Women empowerment and community care.
I love it so much. I cried with it. I healed with it. This is awesome end of the story.
Content Warnings
Graphic: Child death, Death of parent, Physical abuse, Misogyny, Rape, War, Fire/Fire injury, Suicidal thoughts, Violence, Pregnancy, Sexual violence, Genocide, Blood, Body horror, and Miscarriage
cwallace1005's review against another edition
adventurous
challenging
dark
emotional
sad
tense
- Plot- or character-driven? A mix
- Strong character development? Yes
- Loveable characters? It's complicated
3.0
This was a tough one to rate. The pacing of this book was... interesting. The first third was a little boring, to be honest. The middle third was exciting, but a little long and repetitive. The last third was emotionally interesting, but a definite drop in action. Definitely a unique structure for a book. This is also considered a standalone book, and while I agree that it does stand on its own, there are a lot of things set up that didn't feel complete by the end of the book. I believe this is sort of a prequel to another series from the author that she's stated she isn't going to continue. But the writing is mostly very good and the characterization is beautiful. I nearly rated this book 4 stars for Misaki alone, I love her story.
Content Warnings
Graphic: Pregnancy, Violence, Blood, Infertility, Sexism, Miscarriage, Death, Suicide, Child death, and Grief
Moderate: Rape, Sexual violence, Sexual assault, and Torture
Minor: Child abuse and Kidnapping
sofiadanielle's review against another edition
challenging
dark
emotional
medium-paced
- 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
An incredible read. And also very moving/emotional, having found myself crying at least three times because of it.
Sort of Avatar: The Last Airbender-esque, with characters who had powers relating to the elements. Though it didn’t strike me as fantasy in the sense of what I’ve grown to think of in the genre (magic, fae, with creatures of legends, etc.), I was still quite taken with the whole universe of it.
I do think the book focuses more on the topics of war, emotional processing, death, loss (of many things), and in that sense, was quite heavy, but Misaki’s character arc was so pushing in completing the story.
.5 stars taken away only for what I believe was slightly messy world building; as I was reading on a Kindle, I couldn’t easily traverse from where I was in the story to the glossary; and the world outside of Takayubi was.. Muddled. Additionally, I also have questions about the conflict added to the end that wasn’t resolved..
Still, both points don’t detract from the story all too badly, in my opinion, and I still so very much got involved in this story and the characters involved.
Sort of Avatar: The Last Airbender-esque, with characters who had powers relating to the elements. Though it didn’t strike me as fantasy in the sense of what I’ve grown to think of in the genre (magic, fae, with creatures of legends, etc.), I was still quite taken with the whole universe of it.
I do think the book focuses more on the topics of war, emotional processing, death, loss (of many things), and in that sense, was quite heavy, but Misaki’s character arc was so pushing in completing the story.
.5 stars taken away only for what I believe was slightly messy world building; as I was reading on a Kindle, I couldn’t easily traverse from where I was in the story to the glossary; and the world outside of Takayubi was.. Muddled. Additionally, I also have questions about the conflict added to the end that wasn’t resolved..
Still, both points don’t detract from the story all too badly, in my opinion, and I still so very much got involved in this story and the characters involved.
Content Warnings
Graphic: Blood, War, Death, Child death, Injury/Injury detail, Emotional abuse, Violence, Misogyny, Miscarriage, Grief, Suicide, Sexual violence, Sexism, Rape, and Murder
raelkeru's review against another edition
adventurous
emotional
inspiring
reflective
fast-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? A mix
- Strong character development? Yes
- Loveable characters? Yes
- Diverse cast of characters? It's complicated
- Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes
5.0
Content Warnings
Graphic: Violence
Minor: Rape and Sexual violence
ichinoot's review against another edition
adventurous
challenging
dark
emotional
hopeful
inspiring
mysterious
reflective
sad
tense
medium-paced
- 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
Beautifully written story about the tragedies and reality of war, in a world so different from our own, but still so grounded and human. An incredibly emotional story mixed with an amazing power system and very well written action, you will most definitely not want to put this book down.
Content Warnings
Graphic: Dysphoria, Domestic abuse, Mental illness, Kidnapping, Injury/Injury detail, Rape, Murder, Gore, Suicide, Death, War, Physical abuse, Miscarriage, Genocide, Sexual assault, Self harm, Medical trauma, Violence, Sexual violence, Misogyny, and Infertility
anazap's review against another edition
challenging
emotional
reflective
sad
tense
medium-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? Character
- Strong character development? Yes
- Loveable characters? It's complicated
- Diverse cast of characters? N/A
- Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes
4.5
Content Warnings
Graphic: Violence, Sexual violence, War, Suicide, Gore, and Child death
j_schley's review against another edition
adventurous
dark
emotional
sad
tense
fast-paced
- 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
Content Warnings
Graphic: Sexism, Mental illness, Child death, Violence, Miscarriage, Misogyny, Toxic relationship, Physical abuse, War, Injury/Injury detail, Grief, Death, and Child abuse
Moderate: Sexual violence, Rape, Suicide, Emotional abuse, Sexual assault, Gore, and Domestic abuse
Minor: Pregnancy