Scan barcode
solar_power'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: Violence, Blood, and Murder
Moderate: Body horror, Bullying, Child death, Cursing, Death, Homophobia, Sexism, Kidnapping, Religious bigotry, Death of parent, Lesbophobia, Abandonment, War, and Classism
Minor: Genocide, Incest, Miscarriage, Slavery, and War
liliths_dreamworld's review against another edition
- Plot- or character-driven? N/A
- Strong character development? It's complicated
- Loveable characters? No
- Diverse cast of characters? Yes
- Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes
4.5
Many also complain about Eva and Reina
Graphic: Bullying, Toxic relationship, and Xenophobia
Moderate: Death and Blood
gen_wolfhailstorm's review against another edition
- Plot- or character-driven? Character
- Strong character development? Yes
- Loveable characters? Yes
- Diverse cast of characters? Yes
- Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes
4.5
Buddy read with Sharron Joy Reads.
I loved the depth of this tale. It was slow for the first 3rd or so with world building but once I pushed through, I found it to be worthwhile.
The setting was lush, tense and atmospheric, all at the appropriate times.
I appreciated all the contextual terminology being at the front. I find nothing more tedious than trailing through the end of the book, looking for what something means, with the fear of seeing a spoiler hanging over me like a black cloud.
The conversation of oppression, classim and the mistreatment of other species due to being who they are was so on point to how society still is in the real world.
The sapphic romance threaded through was great. I felt like there was a lot of manipulation in the romance though (as well as the platonic relationships) and it was hurtful to see characters I began to care about being strung along on the whims of others.
The magic system felt unique and unusual to me and though at times it went over my head a little, I was excited to see powers being mastered by various characters.
Overall, I really enjoyed this book and can see how it can set up for a sequel, but equally would feel complete enough as a stand a lone.
Graphic: Addiction, Body horror, Body shaming, Bullying, Child abuse, Child death, Chronic illness, Confinement, Cursing, Death, Domestic abuse, Emotional abuse, Fatphobia, Gore, Hate crime, Homophobia, Incest, Infertility, Misogyny, Racial slurs, Racism, Self harm, Sexism, Sexual content, Slavery, Suicidal thoughts, Torture, Toxic relationship, Violence, Forced institutionalization, Xenophobia, Blood, Medical content, Trafficking, Kidnapping, Grief, Suicide attempt, Death of parent, Murder, Lesbophobia, Gaslighting, Toxic friendship, Abandonment, Colonisation, War, Injury/Injury detail, and Classism
ladynavalon's review against another edition
- Plot- or character-driven? Plot
- Strong character development? No
- Loveable characters? It's complicated
- Diverse cast of characters? Yes
- Flaws of characters a main focus? It's complicated
3.0
Graphic: Body shaming, Bullying, Child death, Death, Domestic abuse, Genocide, Hate crime, Homophobia, Incest, Mental illness, Miscarriage, Racial slurs, Racism, Sexual assault, Slavery, Terminal illness, Xenophobia, Blood, Kidnapping, Religious bigotry, Abortion, Death of parent, Murder, Lesbophobia, Gaslighting, Toxic friendship, Abandonment, Colonisation, Dysphoria, and Injury/Injury detail
hailstorm3812'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: Ableism, Body horror, Blood, and Injury/Injury detail
Moderate: Bullying, Child abuse, Chronic illness, Death, Emotional abuse, Miscarriage, Misogyny, and Colonisation
Minor: Genocide, Homophobia, Rape, Suicide, Toxic relationship, Xenophobia, Death of parent, Pregnancy, Toxic friendship, and War
_teoeo's review against another edition
- Plot- or character-driven? A mix
- Strong character development? Yes
- Loveable characters? No
- Diverse cast of characters? Yes
- Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes
2.0
The blurb was really promising but after reading the book I have to say that even with good plot ideas the execution wasn't as satisfying.
Let's start with the things I enjoyed:
- The woldbuilding happened through the eyes of the protagonist
- The arc of suspense at the end was quite good and I enjoyed reading the last chapters.
But the biggest issue I had with the book was the timeline. The story expanded over a view years and because of that it feld like the author wanted to put too many plot points in this book. There was too little focus on different events and they fell a bit flat. Also, the characters seemed kinda inconsistent and some of their actions didn't made sense.
Another thing I didn't like were the love interests. They were either racist (at least in the beginning) or abusive and still, the protagonists fall for them. I really didn't like that the abusive behaviour was explained with
All in all I would say that the ideas for the plot are could be good but it needs a little more balance between booklength and events in the story as well as more comprehensible character building.
Thank you NetGalley for providing an e-ARC of this book!
Edit: changed my review to 2 stars, for the more I thought about this book, the more problematic aspects I've found. Especially the ableism, ugh!!
Graphic: Ableism
Moderate: Bullying, Child death, Death, Emotional abuse, Incest, Miscarriage, Physical abuse, Racial slurs, Racism, Violence, Blood, Medical content, Kidnapping, Death of parent, Pregnancy, Cultural appropriation, Gaslighting, Toxic friendship, and Colonisation
Minor: Rape, Suicide, and Abandonment