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brnineworms's review
- Plot- or character-driven? Plot
- Strong character development? It's complicated
- Loveable characters? No
- Diverse cast of characters? Yes
- Flaws of characters a main focus? It's complicated
3.0
There are so many issues I could pick apart but I think I’ll stop here. Between the flat characters, the lack of follow-through on interesting concepts, and the inconsistencies throughout, Phoenix Extravagant is hard to recommend. That said, it’s largely inoffensive. I appreciate what the author was going for, at least, even if it feels half-baked. I don’t think it’s bad but I’m glad I’m done with it.
Graphic: Blood, Confinement, Cursing, Death, Murder, Sexual content, Violence, Panic attacks/disorders, War, and Xenophobia
Moderate: Animal death, Colonisation, Injury/Injury detail, Sexism, Stalking, Torture, Vomit, Excrement, Gun violence, Misogyny, Police brutality, Racism, Alcohol, Animal cruelty, Fire/Fire injury, and Grief
Minor: Suicidal thoughts, Ableism, Drug use, Gore, Infidelity, Cannibalism, Kidnapping, Medical content, Suicide, Terminal illness, Abandonment, and Death of parent
talonsontypewriters's review against another edition
- Plot- or character-driven? A mix
- Strong character development? It's complicated
- Loveable characters? It's complicated
- Diverse cast of characters? Yes
- Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes
3.0
Graphic: Death, Gun violence, Violence, War, and Confinement
Moderate: Grief, Injury/Injury detail, Racism, Sexual content, Colonisation, Fire/Fire injury, Gore, Torture, Xenophobia, Genocide, and Medical content
Minor: Alcohol, Animal death, and Vomit
booksthatburn'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
The worldbuilding is very focused on what Jebi thinks about and specifically what affects them. This means there are a lot of discussions of their interpersonal ties, and what they think about art in the context of occupation and conquest. I like the tight focus, it means that whatever's brought up is detailed, well-constructed, and either emotionally or factually important to the narrative. What Jebi thinks is important enough to explain tells as much about their world as what they slowly realize they'd never thought of before.
The romantic relationship is well-conveyed, fitting naturally into the narrative and then slowly forming a new emotional goal, as Jebi moves from simply trying to have enough money to survive, to having a person they want to live with and for. Arazi fills some of this emotional space, but its ties to Jebi are of a very different (but very important) nature.
I wish there were a sequel in this world (the ending certainly leaves just enough room for it), but it does feel complete enough to be a stopping point.
Graphic: Grief, Blood, Violence, Gun violence, and Death
Moderate: Cursing, Sexual content, Colonisation, Confinement, Medical content, Vomit, Torture, and Animal death
martinatan's review
Overall I found the non-Western-centric culture and history of Hwaguk and Razan as well as the main characters’ profiles to be interesting and a breath of fresh air in contemporary fantasy. I also appreciated how integrated queer characters and relationships were in the story although, since so much else of the world in the book reflected our current society—namely some conventions that characters held about love, ancestry, and family—I wondered whether it was appropriate to have such a lack of in-universe discrimination towards LGBT characters. I still like the book for the representation it offered but there were too many things that did not sit right with me for me to rave about the reading experience.
Moderate: Death, Violence, War, Xenophobia, Torture, Murder, Colonisation, and Confinement
Minor: Gun violence, Sexual content, Vomit, Medical content, Injury/Injury detail, Grief, Genocide, Cannibalism, and Alcohol
lucystolethesky's review
- 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? No
4.0
Graphic: Violence, Confinement, Xenophobia, War, and Torture
Moderate: Sexual content, Death, and Colonisation
Minor: Fire/Fire injury and Grief
foreverinastory'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
4.0
Rep: Nonbinary queer BIPOC MC (asian coded), biracial queer love interest, bisexual female side character, BIPOC cast of characters, queer-normative world.
CWs: Blood, confinement (to rooms/cell), death, murder, sexual content, torture, violence, grief, xenophobia.
Graphic: Blood, Confinement, Death, Murder, Sexual content, Torture, and Violence
Moderate: Grief and Xenophobia
ofbooksandechos'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
Graphic: Confinement, Death, Grief, and Torture
Moderate: Racism
ellisdex's review
- Plot- or character-driven? A mix
- Strong character development? It's complicated
- Loveable characters? Yes
- Diverse cast of characters? Yes
- Flaws of characters a main focus? It's complicated
4.0
Moderate: Confinement, Death, Violence, Xenophobia, and Sexual content
Minor: Grief
benediction's review
- Plot- or character-driven? Plot
- Loveable characters? It's complicated
- Diverse cast of characters? Yes
- Flaws of characters a main focus? No
5.0
Moderate: Blood, Death, Grief, Murder, and Violence
Minor: Torture
puttingwingsonwords'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: Death, Grief, Confinement, and Violence
Moderate: Blood, Cursing, Murder, Physical abuse, Torture, Xenophobia, and Sexual content
Minor: Death of parent