Reviews with content warning for Physical abuse - The Sun and the Void

"The Sun and The Void" was one of my most anticipated books this year and I'm really glad that I was able to read an ARC of it!
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

"a curse"

for that seemed to take the responsibility for their actions.

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!!

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sovner736's review against another edition

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adventurous challenging dark medium-paced

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

This book had a solid premise however, the plot was let down by major pacing issues with weird time skips fron chapter to chapter and characters randomly appearing in the same location when they were previously miles apart. The povs also felt unbalanced with more time spent with Reina meaning that Eva feels like more of a side character than a second protag. The magic system was also overly complicated and not very well explored.

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kat__z8's review against another edition

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adventurous challenging tense medium-paced

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

4.25

This book was such a delightful fantasy read! It's set in a fantasy world inspired by Venezuelan myths and folklores, with twists by the author that created this immersive and refreshing world, magic system, and backgrounds for the adventures. The world building, including the descriptions of food, landscape, and atmospheres were captivating.

Speaking of, I like that every characters were crafted with care, and each one kept me second-guessing their roles and intentions. The antagonists are like like that for a reason, not just because they are an evil villain. I can't say for sure that I wholeheartedly support a certain character, but I don't hate any of them, either, and I can't pick a side because honestly I still want to see each character reaching their full potential.

The conflicts and actions were well written. Usually fantasy books always follow a certain blueprint, but the author executed it nicely so there were not a dull or wasted moment in the book, and there were even twists and turns that added depth to the characters. The ending was especially wrapped-up in a way that won't leave you frustrated in a way cliffhangers do, but will definitely hype you up for the sequel.

The few things I didn't really like:
- some words used by the authors are a bit... interesting.
The majority of the writing really shines through and you can tell the author is really passionate about her craft, but there were sentences where it made me hesitate whether it was a typo or intentional. There were some interesting choice of words such as "amalgamated" that I felt was overused, as if the author was trying too hard to avoid generic words. There was one case where a character asked another character to "troubleshoot" something. In an epic fantasy world. With no technology.

- the love-triangle
Reina was in love with Celeste for the majority of the book, until she met Maior. I won't spoil who Reina ended up with, the love-triangle was frustrating for just one particular side, and honestly this character deserved better. It was a realistic portrayal, but I am allowed to have my own biases.

Overall, I really recommend if you like adult fantasy books with complex characters and a refreshing take on its worldbuilding.

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