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bookishspy'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
4.5
I had a lot of people recommend this story to me over the past year, and after finally reading it, I'm actually regretting not getting around to it sooner!
Bree is such a perfect main character. She is fun, smart, and has such a deep and real personality. She's not perfect and also had a temper when it was called for. She didn't just always let things slide right off her back as some mightβve. Her strength was the standout here.
Nick is such a sweet guy and always had Bree's back. I love that he had a little rebellious streak, but he knew when it was time to put that aside. He did surprise me with one of the fights where he hit someone who he knew was not allowed to hit him back, and that left me wondering if he might be a bit darker than he seems. The romance with him was perfect, just a little flirty and cheeky. It was super cute, but he clearly has a jealous streak.
Sel seems endgame to me. He has the dark and mysterious thing going on, plus a bit of that forbidden charm. He's also deeper than he first appears to be, and he seems to have a bit of a cheeky streak as well. I really want more of him.
While it is not heavy on romance and is more fantasy with a side of romance, the love triangle is certainly triangling, and it is hitting the spot. The jealous moments and then working together despite it, just perfect.
Now, if we get to the actual story, I will say this wasn't a perfect score for me, but it was close! The only thing that dragged down this story was how confusing the names and places got at times. We were thrown a lot of names and expected to remember who was who and where was where. I was winging it a lot of the time, and because of that, the bad guy reveal just didn't hit as hard as it should have.
Despite that, this was so unique and exciting! It was also heartbreaking and hard to read at times that involved heavy doses of racism and sexism. Sometimes, I wanted to climb in this book and yell at some of these characters for their bigotry, which is a testimony to how well written this story was. I was enthralled and binged this as fast as I could, and I think I'll move immediately to the next book in the series.
I would highly recommend this fantasy book!
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Graphic: Racial slurs, Death, Racism, and Violence
Moderate: Sexism, Mental illness, Death of parent, Slavery, Panic attacks/disorders, Colonisation, and Car accident
Minor: Kidnapping, Alcoholism, Misogyny, Sexism, Cultural appropriation, Abandonment, Bullying, Car accident, Racial slurs, and Cursing
halem13'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? Yes
5.0
Graphic: Slavery, Blood, Bullying, Death of parent, War, Death, Grief, and Racism
Moderate: Emotional abuse, Gore, and Torture
Minor: Sexual assault, Infidelity, Pregnancy, Car accident, and Rape
ohhhhhh_jessica's review
- 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
2.5
Graphic: Bullying, Racism, and Slavery
Moderate: Adult/minor relationship and Death of parent
knockoffrainbow's review against another edition
- Plot- or character-driven? Character
- Strong character development? Yes
- Loveable characters? Yes
- Diverse cast of characters? It's complicated
- Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes
5.0
Graphic: Car accident, Classism, Cursing, Bullying, Blood, Mental illness, Sexism, Slavery, Colonisation, Death, Death of parent, Injury/Injury detail, Gore, Grief, Medical content, Panic attacks/disorders, Pregnancy, Violence, War, Racial slurs, Child death, Misogyny, Racism, and Body horror
Moderate: Child abuse, Confinement, Physical abuse, Rape, Murder, Sexual assault, Sexual violence, Vomit, Slavery, Torture, Alcohol, and Transphobia
Minor: Infidelity
ebp's review against another edition
- 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
4.0
Graphic: Sexism, Racism, Slavery, Grief, Violence, Classism, and Death of parent
Moderate: Sexual violence, Injury/Injury detail, War, Rape, Death, Violence, Car accident, Bullying, Kidnapping, and Sexual assault
Minor: Infidelity and Alcohol
chrisb913'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
5.0
At the end of the day, while the beginning was slightly clunky for me, the ending more than made up for any grievance I had with the book. This story is such an interesting and unique take on the Arthruian lore and the characters are so incredibly realistic. I cannot wait to continue reading in this world and this will be one of my go to recommendations.
Graphic: Racism, Sexism, Xenophobia, Death, Death of parent, Misogyny, Murder, Slavery, Bullying, and Child death
Minor: Rape, Sexual assault, Homophobia, and Transphobia
spess'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
3.5
Graphic: Death, Violence, Death of parent, and Grief
Moderate: Colonisation, Slavery, Racism, and Bullying
Minor: Abandonment, Child abuse, Car accident, and Rape
tetrootz's review against another edition
- 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
Graphic: Gore, Death, Blood, Death of parent, and Racial slurs
Moderate: Grief, Homophobia, Medical content, Physical abuse, Slavery, Classism, War, Abandonment, Colonisation, Medical trauma, Panic attacks/disorders, Body horror, Mental illness, Torture, Bullying, Car accident, Gaslighting, Racism, Sexism, Sexual assault, and Xenophobia
Minor: Homophobia, Suicidal thoughts, Acephobia/Arophobia, Police brutality, and Rape
some_random_person_hi'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? Yes
5.0
All in all, very gripping once past the first 50 pages -> I binged this. I love the characters so much + the exploration of how historical institutions are hostile to POC (esp in USA) stood out to me.
Had some flaws (
Graphic: Violence and Grief
Moderate: Abandonment, Blood, Death of parent, Gore, Forced institutionalization, Death, Slavery, Bullying, Medical content, Injury/Injury detail, Murder, War, and Racism
Minor: Misogyny, Murder, Kidnapping, Rape, Alcohol, Car accident, Colonisation, Stalking, Transphobia, Self harm, Confinement, and Torture
Self harm is not in the mental health issues way but the for blood way.midnightverde's review
- 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
Graphic: Car accident, Pregnancy, Death of parent, Injury/Injury detail, Physical abuse, Blood, Gaslighting, Murder, Racism, Slavery, Colonisation, Emotional abuse, Grief, Classism, Gore, Bullying, Violence, Death, Forced institutionalization, Medical content, Mental illness, and Misogyny
Moderate: Infidelity and Rape