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onthesamepage's review against another edition
- Plot- or character-driven? A mix
- Strong character development? No
- Loveable characters? No
- Diverse cast of characters? Yes
- Flaws of characters a main focus? No
3.0
The Arabia-inspired setting was another highlight. The descriptions of the beautiful cities, the desert, but also the characters wearing keffiyahs gave me a lot of joy. Unfortunately, the (mis)use of the Arabic language didn't.
I'm a native Arab speaker, so of course I zoomed in on the Arabic. The way it's used comes across as someone who isn't a native speaker inserting Arabic words to add to the mood. It's not that the words were wrong, exactly, but they're not used quite right. Umm means mother, yes, but I would never refer to my mother as "umm" while addressing her. She would be "ummi"—my mother. The same applies to Okht, which should have been okhti, and also, why does this start with an O instead of a U like umm when the sound is the same? This annoyed me just as much as Leigh Bardugo's misuse of Dutch in Six of Crows. The Arabic felt clunky in some of the sentences, and the opposite of subtle. I didn't even need to know more about the island Sharr because its name told me exactly what its deal was.
Something I noticed in A Tempest of Tea was the excessive use of pet names. That happens here as well, although to a lesser degree, but I can't say I was all that happy to see "azizi" being used this often.
The last thing I'll mention is that there are parts where the author would chop up a sentence:
She fell
to her
knees.
Graphic: Misogyny
Moderate: Child abuse, Murder, and Torture
niclantsov'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
3.5
I had a hard time getting into this book. It was surely a different fantasy sub-genre to what I used to read. This was more of an Arabic-inspired myth(?) fantasy. Here we learn of the culture and the terms to it, which was a bit of a struggle for me in the first 20/25%. However the pace was kinda fast so it did do some justice. It started to catch up on the 30%ish I think, and from there the plot started to thickens.
I also liked that the romance in this book was merely a subplot, and it was sewn beautifully:
He pause and met her eyes. If a poet were to describe them, he would say to look into her eyes was to see the sea's first glimpse of the sun, drinking its reflection with endless ripples.
The characters were amazing, and their banter was literally what I lived for. The writing was also poetic and alluring. Overall a 3.5/5 it's a great start for a series, looking forward to read the second one!
Graphic: Death and Murder
Moderate: Child abuse
Minor: Child death
lupalionessa's review
- Plot- or character-driven? A mix
- Strong character development? Yes
- Loveable characters? Yes
- Diverse cast of characters? It's complicated
- Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes
5.0
Graphic: Violence and Blood
Moderate: Murder, Gore, Physical abuse, Child abuse, Injury/Injury detail, Mental illness, Death of parent, Panic attacks/disorders, and Grief
Minor: Child death
rafacolog's review against another edition
- Plot- or character-driven? A mix
- Strong character development? Yes
- Loveable characters? Yes
- Diverse cast of characters? Yes
5.0
Graphic: Torture, Blood, Death, Violence, Child abuse, and Misogyny
melani_e4's review
- Plot- or character-driven? A mix
- Strong character development? Yes
- Loveable characters? Yes
- Flaws of characters a main focus? It's complicated
3.75
Graphic: Child abuse, Misogyny, Death, Violence, Emotional abuse, and Murder
Moderate: Child death and Cursing
amandaplease50'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? Yes
4.0
I enjoyed all the characters throughly and I feel that some criticism of the flatness of supporting characters will change in the second book.
But there were parts where I felt so much was happening I missed something and ended up rereading certain sections. For a first novel though honestly it’s a great story to build off of so I’m really excited to read the second book.
Graphic: Death, Torture, and Violence
Moderate: Child abuse
cortanasreadingnook'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
5.0
Graphic: Child abuse and Domestic abuse
Moderate: Sexism
aas'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
Graphic: Child death, Death of parent, Animal death, Blood, Child abuse, Injury/Injury detail, Confinement, Death, Emotional abuse, Genocide, Grief, Kidnapping, Murder, Slavery, Physical abuse, and Violence
mattyb'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
4.75
Graphic: Injury/Injury detail, Murder, Grief, Blood, Body horror, Child abuse, Emotional abuse, and Toxic relationship
Moderate: Confinement, Fire/Fire injury, Stalking, Violence, War, Torture, Gore, Physical abuse, and Sexism
Minor: Abandonment, Death, Death of parent, and Kidnapping
izzysreading's review
Graphic: Classism
Minor: Violence and Child abuse