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stephaniemcuervo's review
adventurous
mysterious
tense
slow-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? A mix
- Strong character development? Yes
- Loveable characters? Yes
- Diverse cast of characters? N/A
- Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes
5.0
Content Warnings
Graphic: Classism
Moderate: Pregnancy and Police brutality
Minor: Miscarriage, Murder, and Death of parent
lokes's review against another edition
adventurous
mysterious
slow-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? Plot
- Strong character development? It's complicated
- Loveable characters? No
- Diverse cast of characters? No
- Flaws of characters a main focus? It's complicated
1.25
This was… well, is was something.
The worldbuilding was a bit sloppy, but interesting, but plot and characters? Icky. Like, really bad.
Not only did it have tropes such as forced marriage and hints of pedophilia (as soon as the guy was always called a “man with his big hands; like a father; etc” and the woman described as “girl with small hands; being generally very young and clueless and in need of constant help”) I had a bad feeling and boy wasn’t I wrong.
I don’t know why so many people like a book which is filled with sexism, weird stereotypes, classism, racism and basically everything you don’t want to read about when it is normalized (or rather being glorified, because you just couldn’t catch a break when reading. It just kept coming)
I do feel like I need to apologize to the person I am now that I read this book because it wasn’t pleasant and I feel like I need to unlearn all of the very harmful stuff I just read about.
The writing style’s not bad though, I could have liked it without the weird content.
The worldbuilding was a bit sloppy, but interesting, but plot and characters? Icky. Like, really bad.
Not only did it have tropes such as forced marriage and hints of pedophilia (as soon as the guy was always called a “man with his big hands; like a father; etc” and the woman described as “girl with small hands; being generally very young and clueless and in need of constant help”) I had a bad feeling and boy wasn’t I wrong.
I don’t know why so many people like a book which is filled with sexism, weird stereotypes, classism, racism and basically everything you don’t want to read about when it is normalized (or rather being glorified, because you just couldn’t catch a break when reading. It just kept coming)
I do feel like I need to apologize to the person I am now that I read this book because it wasn’t pleasant and I feel like I need to unlearn all of the very harmful stuff I just read about.
The writing style’s not bad though, I could have liked it without the weird content.
Content Warnings
Graphic: Physical abuse, Sexism, Suicide, Torture, Incest, Miscarriage, Sexual harassment, Body shaming, Toxic relationship, Misogyny, Toxic friendship, and Violence
Moderate: Drug use, Blood, Child abuse, Body shaming, Bullying, Classism, Death of parent, and Confinement
kindredkayjay's review
adventurous
dark
emotional
mysterious
tense
medium-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? A mix
- Strong character development? Yes
- Loveable characters? It's complicated
- Diverse cast of characters? No
- Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes
4.5
Warning for spoilers.
I've seen the reviews of people disliking this book because of the way Ophelia is hardly treated like a person the entire time, and I understand it. Believe me, I was infuriated for Ophelia 95% of the time, but also? I'm hoping that she'll get herself to a place where she's proven herself and overcomes what she's faced with in the sequels. The tension between nearly all of the characters and the mystery and learning about the different magic systems with Ophelia was so interesting that I couldn't stop reading. I love a genuinely good hearted character, but what I love even more is a character so terrible that you want nothing more than to see their downfall. It's even more interesting when it's a small handful of decent (questionably decent anyway) characters entering a space full of the most vile people. If you don't enjoy being infuriated for the main character the entire time and hating just about everyone else, this book probably isnt for you. But if you do? Absolutely read it. I really liked it, and I'm reading the sequel soon.
Content Warnings
Moderate: Murder, Injury/Injury detail, Bullying, Classism, Violence, and Police brutality
Minor: Blood, Alcohol, Child death, Abandonment, and Infidelity
chloenrogers's review against another edition
adventurous
mysterious
medium-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
4.0
Whimsical fantasy with a side of tense forced marriage. I found the pacing to be slow in parts and wished we had more interactions with our main couple, but the writing was delightful and I can tell we’re gearing up for something much bigger
Content Warnings
Moderate: Classism
Minor: Emotional abuse and Child abuse
amazelan's review against another edition
adventurous
emotional
mysterious
tense
medium-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? A mix
- Strong character development? Yes
- Loveable characters? Yes
- Diverse cast of characters? No
- Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes
4.0
Content Warnings
Graphic: Injury/Injury detail, Misogyny, Pregnancy, Death, Sexism, Violence, Physical abuse, Police brutality, and Fatphobia
Moderate: Classism, Child abuse, Death of parent, Blood, Murder, Suicide attempt, Child death, Suicide, Grief, and Animal cruelty
Minor: Sexual content, Alcohol, Infidelity, Drug abuse, Abandonment, Vomit, Infertility, and Sexual assault
lilawsahar's review
adventurous
dark
mysterious
fast-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? No
4.5
I haven’t found a book that made me want to finish it immediately in a while. I love Ophelia and I can’t wait to read the next book!
This book has romance: sunshine grump troupe, no one can touch you but I troupe, unrequited love troupe, etc
Things to hopefully find out in the next book: Is Thorn a good person? Is Rosaline going home? Will Ophelia start reading the family book? Do thorn and Ophelia fall in love? What powers will the baby have? What’s the secret history of the book?
This book has romance: sunshine grump troupe, no one can touch you but I troupe, unrequited love troupe, etc
Things to hopefully find out in the next book: Is Thorn a good person? Is Rosaline going home? Will Ophelia start reading the family book? Do thorn and Ophelia fall in love? What powers will the baby have? What’s the secret history of the book?
Content Warnings
Graphic: Violence, Body horror, and Classism
joisaddler's review
medium-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? A mix
- Strong character development? No
- Loveable characters? It's complicated
- Diverse cast of characters? No
- Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes
3.0
Content Warnings
Graphic: Confinement, Violence, Emotional abuse, Classism, Incest, and Physical abuse
skudiklier's review against another edition
dark
mysterious
tense
slow-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? A mix
- Loveable characters? It's complicated
3.0
Honestly, I just couldn't get into this one. I might have even DNF'd it if it hadn't been an audiobook. It was interesting enough on some levels, and I cared about what happened to Ophelia, but in some ways it just felt like a bunch of sad/frustrating/confusing things happening over and over. Like every once in a while the situation would change but it never got better, and I just didn't feel very engaged on most levels. It's well-written I think but it's just not for me.
Content Warnings
Graphic: Violence, Sexism, Misogyny, Child death, Murder, Police brutality, Physical abuse, Ableism, Classism, and Death
Moderate: Sexual assault, Alcohol, Blood, Infidelity, Injury/Injury detail, and Pregnancy
Minor: Suicide
bialves's review
adventurous
challenging
dark
mysterious
tense
fast-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? A mix
- Strong character development? No
- Loveable characters? No
- Diverse cast of characters? No
- Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes
4.5
Content Warnings
Graphic: Blood, Child abuse, Death, Infidelity, Murder, Pregnancy, Toxic relationship, Suicide, Slavery, Violence, Child death, Death of parent, Domestic abuse, Misogyny, Sexism, Torture, Alcohol, Classism, Hate crime, and Miscarriage
frern's review against another edition
adventurous
challenging
mysterious
medium-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? Plot
- Strong character development? Yes
- Loveable characters? Yes
- Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes
4.5
Das Buch hat mir außerordentlich gut gefallen, für Fantasy dennoch sehr realistisch.
Alle Charaktere sind authentisch und einzigartig. Ihr Persönlichkeiten kommen sehr gut durch die Seiten durch.
Ophelia ist mir von Grund aus sehr sympathisch, man merkt wie ihr Charakter wächst, wie sie durch all diese "Prüfungen" geht und sie mehr oder minder meistert, wie sie selbst den Dingen auf die Schliche kommt, wie das Vertrauen zwischen ihr und Thorn immer wieder schwankt, aber letztendlich doch zunimmt. Thorn hingegen ist etwas undurchsichtiger.
Wie es bei vielen Protagonisten in vielen anderen Büchern der Fall, gehen mir ihre Mängel und Fehler auch nicht auf die Nerven. Nichts, wobei ich mir innerlich denken würde: "wie kann man so d**f sein?"
Den Cliffhänger fand ich nicht so gut, hätte mir ein vollendeteres Ende gewünscht, irgendwie kam da nichts mehr.
Auch wenn mir diese Art des Endes missfällt, wird das in Fantasyreihen wohl kaum verschwinden, wenn bereits im Vorfeld feststeht, es solle einen weiteren Teil geben.
Das Buch ist an sich leicht zu lesen, manchmal gibt es unangekündigte Ausstecher, wo man sich fragt, wo man gerade überhaupt ist, aber wenn man nochmal langsam nachliest, ergibt es durchaus Sinn oder es macht im Laufe der Erzählung Sinn. Wenn man neben seinem Fokus auf die Handelnden, auch die "alte Welt" im Hinterkopf behalten, klappt es auch.
Was einen vielleicht enttäuscht lassen könnte, ist, dass dieses Buch nicht der typischen Spannungskurve folgt. Zumindest ist es ungewohnt.
Eigentlich ist es durchwegs spannend, es passiert was, aber irgendwie auch ruhig.
Ich möchte meinen, diese Ruhe wird von Ophelia ausgestrahlt.
Jedenfalls ist diese Schreibweise definitiv mein Fall.
Persönlich fand ich das sehr angenehm, ich werde mir beim nächsten Büchereibesuch direkt den nächsten Teil besorgen.
Fazit:
Tolle Protagonistin, interessante Charaktere, ereignisreiche aber nicht überschwingliche Handlung, ruhige Erzählweise.
Alle Charaktere sind authentisch und einzigartig. Ihr Persönlichkeiten kommen sehr gut durch die Seiten durch.
Ophelia ist mir von Grund aus sehr sympathisch, man merkt wie ihr Charakter wächst, wie sie durch all diese "Prüfungen" geht und sie mehr oder minder meistert, wie sie selbst den Dingen auf die Schliche kommt, wie das Vertrauen zwischen ihr und Thorn immer wieder schwankt, aber letztendlich doch zunimmt. Thorn hingegen ist etwas undurchsichtiger.
Wie es bei vielen Protagonisten in vielen anderen Büchern der Fall, gehen mir ihre Mängel und Fehler auch nicht auf die Nerven. Nichts, wobei ich mir innerlich denken würde: "wie kann man so d**f sein?"
Den Cliffhänger fand ich nicht so gut, hätte mir ein vollendeteres Ende gewünscht, irgendwie kam da nichts mehr.
Auch wenn mir diese Art des Endes missfällt, wird das in Fantasyreihen wohl kaum verschwinden, wenn bereits im Vorfeld feststeht, es solle einen weiteren Teil geben.
Das Buch ist an sich leicht zu lesen, manchmal gibt es unangekündigte Ausstecher, wo man sich fragt, wo man gerade überhaupt ist, aber wenn man nochmal langsam nachliest, ergibt es durchaus Sinn oder es macht im Laufe der Erzählung Sinn. Wenn man neben seinem Fokus auf die Handelnden, auch die "alte Welt" im Hinterkopf behalten, klappt es auch.
Was einen vielleicht enttäuscht lassen könnte, ist, dass dieses Buch nicht der typischen Spannungskurve folgt. Zumindest ist es ungewohnt.
Eigentlich ist es durchwegs spannend, es passiert was, aber irgendwie auch ruhig.
Ich möchte meinen, diese Ruhe wird von Ophelia ausgestrahlt.
Jedenfalls ist diese Schreibweise definitiv mein Fall.
Persönlich fand ich das sehr angenehm, ich werde mir beim nächsten Büchereibesuch direkt den nächsten Teil besorgen.
Fazit:
Tolle Protagonistin, interessante Charaktere, ereignisreiche aber nicht überschwingliche Handlung, ruhige Erzählweise.
Content Warnings
Moderate: Classism