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morgiah'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? No
4.0
Graphic: Misogyny, Body horror, and Blood
Moderate: Rape and Religious bigotry
melsmagicalreads'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
2.5
Graphic: Medical trauma, Sexual assault, Sexism, Misogyny, Gore, Pregnancy, Religious bigotry, Fire/Fire injury, Adult/minor relationship, Animal death, Death, and Death of parent
This book contains multiple traumatic childbirth scenes.haileybones's review against another edition
- Plot- or character-driven? Plot
- Strong character development? No
- Loveable characters? Yes
- Diverse cast of characters? Yes
- Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes
4.25
The themes are in your face: religious fundamentalism, feminism, patriarchy, and duality with a sprinkling of personal and racial identity as a mixed race, adopted individual. There are obvious parallels with the FLDS Mormon cult and the book is littered with Biblical references. Despite all that ground covered, it rarely became too preachy for my taste.
That is a testament to the world building, which felt very organic. Lore can be difficult, especially if your fantasy religion is already centuries old when the story starts. Although it feels expansive, details are given at a manageable pace as Immanuelle and the reader learn together. Details on the very first page pay off in reveals and a second reading would uncover dozens of missed breadcrumbs - it's so well done.
Immanuelle herself is a strong lead, but her character arc isn't one of substantial growth. From the start she's smart, kind, and a good friend (if a bit of an outcast). She has strong moral convictions with the courage to back them up. That never changes and it got a little boring for me towards the end. Ezra, the romantic lead, suffers from similar virtuous characterization that becomes more wooden and boring as the story goes on.
The pacing was overall excellent for building tension, but the last quarter of the book fell flat. I think the author was trying to keep the reader guessing, but the "twists" in this section were mostly tedious double-crosses, discussed at length by the characters beforehand. The climax and final battle were predictable and heavily foreshadowed. Because Immanuelle is characterized as unfailingly good, there isn't much tension because you know she'll discover a solution to protect the most important characters.
I'd recommend it as a vacation read to someone who likes witchy fantasy, especially in the autumn. Something light you can get through in a weekend, entertaining, but not life changing. I look forward to what Alexis Henderson writes next.
Graphic: Animal death, Blood, Gore, Medical trauma, Misogyny, Murder, Pregnancy, Religious bigotry, and Violence
Moderate: Adult/minor relationship, Child death, Death, and Fire/Fire injury
Minor: Lesbophobia
literatigeek'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? It's complicated
5.0
Graphic: Animal death, Blood, Death, Death of parent, Gore, Religious bigotry, and Injury/Injury detail
Moderate: Confinement, Grief, Racism, Torture, and Physical abuse
Minor: Pregnancy, Fire/Fire injury, and Sexual assault
lisaeliza'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 of parent, Adult/minor relationship, Religious bigotry, Sexism, and Animal death
Moderate: Pedophilia, Rape, Pregnancy, Child death, Xenophobia, Violence, and Gun violence
sunsetcity's review against another edition
- Plot- or character-driven? Plot
- Strong character development? No
- Loveable characters? Yes
- Diverse cast of characters? Yes
- Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes
3.75
Graphic: Adult/minor relationship, Animal cruelty, Animal death, Blood, Child abuse, Child death, Chronic illness, Confinement, Death, Death of parent, Domestic abuse, Emotional abuse, Misogyny, Murder, Pedophilia, Racism, Religious bigotry, Sexism, Torture, Toxic relationship, and Violence
princess_azula'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? It's complicated
4.25
Graphic: Animal death, Blood, Body horror, Confinement, Death, Death of parent, Domestic abuse, Emotional abuse, Gaslighting, Grief, Homophobia, Misogyny, Pregnancy, Racism, Religious bigotry, Sexism, Torture, and Violence
sm_moon's review against another edition
- Plot- or character-driven? A mix
- Strong character development? No
- Loveable characters? Yes
- Diverse cast of characters? No
- Flaws of characters a main focus? It's complicated
3.5
Graphic: Death and Fire/Fire injury
Moderate: Pregnancy, Religious bigotry, and Adult/minor relationship
Minor: Lesbophobia, Sexism, Infertility, and Gore
tinana'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
5.0
Graphic: Adult/minor relationship, Blood, Emotional abuse, Fire/Fire injury, Misogyny, Physical abuse, Racism, Religious bigotry, Sexism, and Violence
Moderate: Animal death, Death of parent, Pregnancy, and Torture
lais's review against another edition
- Plot- or character-driven? A mix
- Strong character development? Yes
- Loveable characters? No
- Diverse cast of characters? Yes
- Flaws of characters a main focus? It's complicated
3.0
Moderate: Religious bigotry and Sexism
Minor: Sexual assault, Pedophilia, and Rape