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emily_journals's review against another edition
adventurous
challenging
emotional
inspiring
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? No
4.5
I really enjoyed this book and I'm very excited to see not only where this series goes, but where this author goes as well.
The characters are really the heart of this story, and I really loved that this was such a character driven story, especially for being a big space opera where I think the emphasis is usually put on the plot. I really loved both of our main characters and they both felt extremely complex and lifelike. All the side characters also very much felt like they were their own people and not just devices of the story which I found really impressive, especially for a debut author. I also think the overall plot was really satisfying, I did see most of the "twists" coming but I don't think the book was necessarily trying to hide the twists from you. It was more wanting to take you on the journey that the characters had to go through experiencing these things, so the plot still felt satisfying even seeing where the story was going. I also generally enjoyed the prose of this book, I think the author had a really beautiful way of selecting and composing the words in this book generally.
I do think there were some craft issues with this book, but most of them were easy for me to gloss over and didn't interrupt my reading experience. I also think all of the craft issues are ones that I would typically expect from a debut author, especially one who started writing this book as a teen. Sometimes there was quite a bit of over explaining and I think this book could have been trimmed down by getting rid of some of the repetition. Also, there were a couple of times that there was head jumping, but it didn't happen often enough or extreme enough to really interrupt my reading experience. There was only one time where I really stopped and was like "wait, who are we focusing on right now?", but all the other couple of times it would just be a brief second of confusion. Also, I really really wish there was a glossary in the back of this book and I'm hoping there will be one in the next book.
Overall, this was a good introduction to this world and a very good debut.
The characters are really the heart of this story, and I really loved that this was such a character driven story, especially for being a big space opera where I think the emphasis is usually put on the plot. I really loved both of our main characters and they both felt extremely complex and lifelike. All the side characters also very much felt like they were their own people and not just devices of the story which I found really impressive, especially for a debut author. I also think the overall plot was really satisfying, I did see most of the "twists" coming but I don't think the book was necessarily trying to hide the twists from you. It was more wanting to take you on the journey that the characters had to go through experiencing these things, so the plot still felt satisfying even seeing where the story was going. I also generally enjoyed the prose of this book, I think the author had a really beautiful way of selecting and composing the words in this book generally.
I do think there were some craft issues with this book, but most of them were easy for me to gloss over and didn't interrupt my reading experience. I also think all of the craft issues are ones that I would typically expect from a debut author, especially one who started writing this book as a teen. Sometimes there was quite a bit of over explaining and I think this book could have been trimmed down by getting rid of some of the repetition. Also, there were a couple of times that there was head jumping, but it didn't happen often enough or extreme enough to really interrupt my reading experience. There was only one time where I really stopped and was like "wait, who are we focusing on right now?", but all the other couple of times it would just be a brief second of confusion. Also, I really really wish there was a glossary in the back of this book and I'm hoping there will be one in the next book.
Overall, this was a good introduction to this world and a very good debut.
Content Warnings
Graphic: Drug use, Genocide, Chronic illness, Colonisation, Slavery, Racism, Addiction, and Drug abuse
Moderate: Body horror, Gun violence, Injury/Injury detail, Blood, Violence, Death, Gore, and Grief
Minor: Sexual assault, Child abuse, Alcohol, Abandonment, Pregnancy, Rape, and Sexual content
luckykosmos's review
emotional
funny
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? It's complicated
4.25
The book had an extremely solid start, which I found slowed slightly as we got into the meat of the actio and setting up the future of the series. I did find myself getting slightly confused on the details, but the author's prose and everyone's characterization ferried me through, because I was so fond of how these characters bounced off one another, Asha and Obi's friendship and found family. I'm deeply concerned for the future of the English royal family, but we'll get there when we get there!
Content Warnings
Graphic: Slavery, Violence, and Suicide
Moderate: Rape, Gun violence, and Body horror
Minor: Chronic illness
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