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nevermoregothic'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
4.0
Graphic: Bullying, Emotional abuse, Murder, Physical abuse, and Sexual content
Moderate: Misogyny, Sexism, and Death
Minor: Homophobia and Death of parent
califrey99's review against another edition
- 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
Edit 2023: after reading the sequel this definitely gets 5 stars compared to that mess.
Minor: Racism and Misogyny
the_book_bee's review against another edition
- 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
5.0
Graphic: Sexual content
Moderate: Violence, Homophobia, Death of parent, Bullying, Classism, Misogyny, and Outing
Minor: Grief
anna_wa's review against another edition
- Plot- or character-driven? Plot
- Strong character development? Yes
- Loveable characters? Yes
4.0
Graphic: Sexual content, Misogyny, Violence, Injury/Injury detail, Emotional abuse, Blood, and Sexism
Moderate: Classism and Death of parent
Minor: Suicide and Racism
marina_michelle'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: Misogyny, Murder, Torture, Violence, Bullying, Homophobia, Sexual content, Classism, Death of parent, Kidnapping, and Sexism
Minor: Alcohol, Colonisation, Chronic illness, Blood, and Child abuse
kayladaila's review against another edition
- Plot- or character-driven? A mix
- Strong character development? Yes
- Loveable characters? Yes
- Diverse cast of characters? No
- Flaws of characters a main focus? No
3.5
Graphic: Death, Emotional abuse, and Sexual content
Moderate: Death of parent, Body horror, Blood, Bullying, Gore, Homophobia, Outing, Kidnapping, Misogyny, and Murder
kaitlinnoodles's review against another edition
- Plot- or character-driven? Plot
- Strong character development? Yes
- Loveable characters? Yes
- Diverse cast of characters? It's complicated
- Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes
5.0
Graphic: Injury/Injury detail, Sexual content, and Violence
Moderate: Emotional abuse, Misogyny, Sexism, Cursing, Death, Death of parent, Murder, and Bullying
Minor: Abandonment, Blood, Chronic illness, Classism, Animal cruelty, Homophobia, and Panic attacks/disorders
onthesamepage'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? No
5.0
There are a couple of steamy, sexy scenes in here, some of which involve magic and very explicit consent (to which I say, yes, more please).
Robin managed to hold his tongue on something truly unwise like You look like a Turner painting and I want to learn your textures with my fingertips. You are the most fascinating thing in this beautiful house. I'd like to introduce my fists to whoever taught you to stop talking about the things that interest you. Those were not things one blurted out to a friend. They were their own cradles of magic, an expression of the desire to transform one thing into another. And what if the magic went awry?
The magic system was fascinating, if a bit hard to picture. I liked that Edwin, as the main character with magic, isn't considered a powerful magician by most standards. Where most magicians can perform magic using hand gestures called cradling, Edwin relies on a piece of string as a crutch to help him perform similar spells. And it's not something he really overcomes during this story, either.
Robin isn't a magic user, so we get introduced to that aspect of the world alongside him. There's no infodumping, just a steady exploration and broadening of what we know about the world, and I thought this was really well done.
"And we are but feeble women," said Miss Morrissey. "Woe."
"Your sister is a magician," Robin said, pointing out what seemed the largest hole in this story.
"Woe," said Mrs. Kaur firmly, and Robin recalled what Miss Morrissey had said about the assumptions made by men.
The writing was really good, and I particularly enjoyed the banter. There is a lot of humor in the conversations, and the dialogue is snappy, clever, and amusing. It made me really like the characters, even a couple that didn't have a very big role to play, which makes me very excited for the other books in the series. I also just liked the way the relationships developed, and how a moment from earlier in the book would lead to an inside joke between Edwin and Robin later on. These are small details, but they made everyone feel so wonderfully real to me.
Graphic: Bullying, Misogyny, and Torture
Moderate: Child abuse
breadbees's review against another edition
- Plot- or character-driven? Character
- Strong character development? Yes
- Loveable characters? Yes
- Diverse cast of characters? Yes
- Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes
5.0
Graphic: Homophobia, Death, Emotional abuse, and Sexual content
Moderate: Murder, Violence, Injury/Injury detail, Misogyny, and Torture
Minor: Abandonment, Outing, Death of parent, Kidnapping, Suicidal thoughts, and Confinement
callikat's review against another edition
- 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
Graphic: Sexual content
Moderate: Misogyny
Minor: Homophobia