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amandalorianxo's review against another edition
adventurous
dark
emotional
sad
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
3.75
I love that this took on Japanese mythology in a manner I have never read before. As much as I like Greek myths, it’s wonderful to see and learn about other countries myths even if it’s through the lens of a fictional novel. This is definitely a mix of plot and character based with a vast amount of world building during the first 1/4 of the book. Ren and her brother come to life, whether you are reading and listening to the audiobook or simply just reading on your own. She is not your typical heroine, more of a grey spectrum but I definitely felt for her when it came to the raw feelings of not being good enough or wanted. I’m excited for the second book. I think my only concern is it felt slow but the pace picked up once the duo were safely in Japan.
Content Warnings
Graphic: Gore, Violence, Blood, Murder, and Injury/Injury detail
Moderate: Racial slurs and Racism
Minor: Grief
lynneliu's review against another edition
adventurous
dark
medium-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? A mix
- Strong character development? No
- Loveable characters? No
- Diverse cast of characters? Yes
- Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes
1.0
Content Warnings
Graphic: Animal death, Body horror, Bullying, Death, Gore, Hate crime, Racism, Toxic relationship, Violence, Xenophobia, Blood, Murder, and Injury/Injury detail
Moderate: Emotional abuse, Fire/Fire injury, and Abandonment
Minor: Cannibalism and Death of parent
guime's review against another edition
adventurous
challenging
dark
mysterious
tense
fast-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? Plot
- Strong character development? Yes
- Loveable characters? It's complicated
- Diverse cast of characters? Yes
- Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes
5.0
Content Warnings
Graphic: Body horror, Death, Violence, and Blood
ozshark's review against another edition
dark
emotional
medium-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? Character
- Strong character development? No
- Loveable characters? No
- Diverse cast of characters? Yes
- Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes
2.5
Thank you to NetGalley and Inkyard Press for the e-arc.
I am unsure about this one. I love books that explore & personify Death (particularly the Scythe trilogy and Pratchett's Discworld novels), so the premise of this one was interesting. It also kept me engaged enough throughout to finish the book. However, too much just grated for me to rate it highly.
The very start sees 200 year-old Reapers, beings with the power over time and life & death itself, having petty fights and struggles like any teenager. And there were consistency problems throughout, some of which come with any aspect of fiddling with time. Sometimes the author has Ren freeze time to slip by someone unnoticed, or to gather/steal supplies, but other times she seems to forget she has this ability which could solve her problems. "I looked longingly at the kimonos that all the women wore. I wanted their floral fabrics and wooden sandals...instead of the corset and heavy skirts I was wearing. Just like in England, I was a spectacle." Another example, early on the author often makes a big point of Ren's (literal) cold-bloodedness compared to humans, but later "My face birthed with a sudden fever, my heart beating too fast to be healthy, pushing hot blood to my fingers that felt like white hot stars in my hands." This new hot-bloodedness was then referenced several times throughout the novel.
Despite these inconsistencies, which kept taking me out of the story, some aspects were extremely interesting. I liked the exploration of Japanese folklore, which I know very little about. The idea of the power of Death itself was also really well done. Being in the presence of personifications of Death had a physical weight to it, speaking the language of Death had physical consequences too (however, they were then often ignored by the next paragraph).
In the end, there were some too predictable bertayals and the character of Ren was too selfish to care about for me to enjoy the novel more.
I am unsure about this one. I love books that explore & personify Death (particularly the Scythe trilogy and Pratchett's Discworld novels), so the premise of this one was interesting. It also kept me engaged enough throughout to finish the book. However, too much just grated for me to rate it highly.
The very start sees 200 year-old Reapers, beings with the power over time and life & death itself, having petty fights and struggles like any teenager. And there were consistency problems throughout, some of which come with any aspect of fiddling with time. Sometimes the author has Ren freeze time to slip by someone unnoticed, or to gather/steal supplies, but other times she seems to forget she has this ability which could solve her problems. "I looked longingly at the kimonos that all the women wore. I wanted their floral fabrics and wooden sandals...instead of the corset and heavy skirts I was wearing. Just like in England, I was a spectacle." Another example, early on the author often makes a big point of Ren's (literal) cold-bloodedness compared to humans, but later "My face birthed with a sudden fever, my heart beating too fast to be healthy, pushing hot blood to my fingers that felt like white hot stars in my hands." This new hot-bloodedness was then referenced several times throughout the novel.
Despite these inconsistencies, which kept taking me out of the story, some aspects were extremely interesting. I liked the exploration of Japanese folklore, which I know very little about. The idea of the power of Death itself was also really well done. Being in the presence of personifications of Death had a physical weight to it, speaking the language of Death had physical consequences too (however, they were then often ignored by the next paragraph).
In the end, there were some too predictable bertayals and the character of Ren was too selfish to care about for me to enjoy the novel more.
Content Warnings
Graphic: Violence
Moderate: Body horror