Reviews tagging 'Gun violence'

The Infinity Courts by Akemi Dawn Bowman

15 reviews

kassidyreads's review

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adventurous challenging tense slow-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

3.5


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dannilmp's review

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adventurous emotional hopeful reflective tense medium-paced
  • 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

3.75

An interesting concept for a book to explore both AI and life beyond death and how these could possibly or impossibly interact. A good book to read if you're in the mood for thinking about life in general and what you would do when faced with the situation Nami found herself in at the very beginning of the book. 

While this book held promise I feel it didn't quite deliver on the execution side of things. Sometimes Nami's decisions or reasons felt a little flat and two dimmensional, but I appreciate that she stuck to her own set of morals and values throughout the book. The ending caught me off guard with enough plot twists to keep me busy for a week and I am looking forward to reading the sequel. 

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aspeights's review

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challenging dark emotional sad fast-paced
  • Plot- or character-driven? Plot
  • Strong character development? Yes
  • Loveable characters? Yes
  • Diverse cast of characters? Yes
  • Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes

4.25

interesting take on an afterlife, and a non traditional chosen one narrative. had a twist i didn’t see coming, all of the character relationships and development seemed a bit rushed though. 

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sunsetcity's review

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adventurous hopeful lighthearted slow-paced
  • Plot- or character-driven? Plot
  • Strong character development? No
  • Loveable characters? No
  • Diverse cast of characters? Yes
  • Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes

3.75


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elwirax's review against another edition

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adventurous dark medium-paced
  • Plot- or character-driven? A mix
  • Strong character development? No
  • Loveable characters? No
  • Diverse cast of characters? It's complicated
  • Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes

2.0

Rep- Asian MC, lesbians (briefly mentioned)

2.5/5* 

“May the stars watch over you. Because the saints abandoned us long ago.” 

"Infinity was never built for you; it was built for dreamers."

I'm so dissapointed this book didn't work out for me. I honestly thought I was going to love it, I mean a group of human rebels fighting evil AI who have taken over the afterlife to destroy humans. What's there not to anticipate? The idea was so intriguing, the execution anything but.

Firstly, The Infinity Courts was extremely tropey (the chosen one, random girl catches the eye of the prince, love triangle, bad boy with a tragic past, royal courts etc etc). I don't necessarily hate these tropes but they made the book seem predictable because so many of them were used in one story. I though the writing was good but overly flowery at times and oversaturated with metaphors.

I did enjoy some of the worldbuilding. The concept of AI taking over the afterlife was quite interesting. However, for an almost 500 page book it wasn't all there and left much to be questioned. Granted this is the first book in a trilogy so I'm guessing it will be developed in future instalments.

I liked the commentary on advancing technology and its impact as well as conversations on morality and who gets to decide which people deserve second chances. However, Nami, spent the vast majority of the book ruminating over the same questions and trying to naively convince herself of humanities inherent good. By the 30% mark it was getting tedious to read about. She kept saying she wanted peace and co-existance, imposing her own views and completely disregarding the views of the people who had been fighting in infinity longer than she has. While, I understood Nami's motives, she only ever considered her opinion as the right one, I couldn't help but think her selfish. I can't say that I felt connected to Nami's struggles either. She died at the very beginning of the book and the relationship with her family wasn't developed. It made it difficult for me to see the reason in her constant worrying over them when there was no established bonds.

I felt that the romance in this book didn't really serve a purpose and was just thrown in for a plot twist. It seemed forced and I just didn't care for it. As for the ending, I think it would've had a bigger impact on me had I not suspected a part of it from the beginning
(no one escapes War but somehow he did? It didn't take much to suspect that Gil wasn't telling the whole truth)
. The concluding scene in particular was quite rushed and slightly comical.

Overall, I'm dissapointed in myself for not liking The Infinity Courts
as much as I wanted to. I'm not sure if I'll continue with the trilogy but as of yet it's most likely a no.

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haley49's review

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adventurous challenging dark emotional hopeful inspiring reflective sad tense slow-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

4.0

I really liked the premise of the book. It had a really strong beginning and end but it definitely lagged on and off for the majority of the book. I really enjoyed all the existential questions Nami had and how her perspective of her life and purpose framed the narrative. The world building was really cool, but there were a few instances of confusion where it felt more like a fantasy world than an afterlife and it left me wondering if rules were broken. I’m giving this book 4 stars for the moments that really got me invested in the plot and had me rooting for Nami to finally get the good life she deserved. 

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janvpals's review

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adventurous hopeful mysterious tense medium-paced
  • Plot- or character-driven? Plot
  • Strong character development? It's complicated
  • Loveable characters? Yes
  • Diverse cast of characters? It's complicated
  • Flaws of characters a main focus? It's complicated

3.25


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ju_shi's review against another edition

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adventurous dark emotional medium-paced
  • 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

3.0


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kaseybereading's review

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Not sure if it’s me or the book but I didn’t find myself reaching for this, at all. Maybe I’ll try again some day! 

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mfieldshalva's review against another edition

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adventurous hopeful reflective sad tense 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


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