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anarmandameg's review
dark
medium-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? Character
- Strong character development? It's complicated
- Loveable characters? No
- Diverse cast of characters? Yes
- Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes
4.0
How are they all so horny in life-or-death situations??
Content Warnings
Graphic: Abandonment, Drug abuse, Drug use, Gore, Grief, Kidnapping, Medical content, Alcohol, Alcoholism, Animal death, Colonisation, Death, Deportation, Mental illness, Child abuse, Dementia, Murder, Violence, War, Confinement, Chronic illness, Injury/Injury detail, Sexual content, Torture, Toxic relationship, and Xenophobia
asahome's review
adventurous
emotional
mysterious
tense
medium-paced
5.0
TL;DR: A woman discovers a new path forward when she can no longer serve in her nation’s army. Her sister and friend join her in exile to bring her back when they are captured by a group thought to be fairy tales.
I love how they handled the relationships. The way they respected the established relationship at the beginning and the new relationships were respectful and realistic. The relationships weren't one size fits all either. While the main characters didn't necessarily indulge in multiple partners, there was no judgement on those who did. The society built was accepting of all relationships including the ones around gender. "Like many elves, Motogo's gender was as flexible as the weather..."
There were a couple things I guessed before they happened, but it’s better that way in my opinion so it doesn’t feel like it’s coming out of nowhere. There were one or two things that surprised me as well.
The way the book handled war was also powerful. It put the politicians at the center and I respect that. People forget why wars are fought and this was a stark reminder. It didn’t shy away from classism either. All in all, I thought it was a fantastic book.
I love how they handled the relationships. The way they respected the established relationship at the beginning and the new relationships were respectful and realistic. The relationships weren't one size fits all either. While the main characters didn't necessarily indulge in multiple partners, there was no judgement on those who did. The society built was accepting of all relationships including the ones around gender. "Like many elves, Motogo's gender was as flexible as the weather..."
There were a couple things I guessed before they happened, but it’s better that way in my opinion so it doesn’t feel like it’s coming out of nowhere. There were one or two things that surprised me as well.
The way the book handled war was also powerful. It put the politicians at the center and I respect that. People forget why wars are fought and this was a stark reminder. It didn’t shy away from classism either. All in all, I thought it was a fantastic book.
Content Warnings
Graphic: Sexual content, Murder, Violence, Abandonment, Classism, Grief, Animal death, and War
Moderate: Child abuse, Genocide, Toxic relationship, Dementia, Racial slurs, Child death, and Death of parent
Minor: Kidnapping, Slavery, and Trafficking
Racial Slurs: the fae referred to those unbound as "lightless" as a condition Slavery/Kidnapping/Trafficking: refers to child soldiers that could be found or sold into service by family members Classism: refers to the way the fae treat those unboundsteen19's review against another edition
adventurous
funny
mysterious
slow-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? Plot
- Diverse cast of characters? Yes
- Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes
4.25
Yeeran makes a deadly mistake on her first day as a colonel in the elven army, getting herself exiled. Lettle (her sister) and Rayan (her friend from the army) go into the woods after her. The three of them encounter a group of fae, thought to be extinct, and get captured.
It’s dual POV, switching between the two sisters. It’s firmly fantasy, with a teeny tiny romance subplot for both sisters, towards the end.
This took a minute to get going. The first 10% is Yeeran’s mistake and exile, followed by another 10% of Lettle and Rayan walking through the woods to find Yeeran. Overall, it didn't really get going until about 40% in. There’s a lot of lore being established early on.
As prophesies begin to come together, the story gets interesting. I stayed up for hours reading once I reached the second half. I’m super interested to see what happens in book 2.
Thank you to the author, publisher, & NetGalley for my advanced digital copy!
It’s dual POV, switching between the two sisters. It’s firmly fantasy, with a teeny tiny romance subplot for both sisters, towards the end.
This took a minute to get going. The first 10% is Yeeran’s mistake and exile, followed by another 10% of Lettle and Rayan walking through the woods to find Yeeran. Overall, it didn't really get going until about 40% in. There’s a lot of lore being established early on.
As prophesies begin to come together, the story gets interesting. I stayed up for hours reading once I reached the second half. I’m super interested to see what happens in book 2.
Thank you to the author, publisher, & NetGalley for my advanced digital copy!
Content Warnings
Moderate: War and Injury/Injury detail
Minor: Animal death, Death of parent, Grief, Sexual content, Abandonment, and Kidnapping
cbrodley's review against another edition
adventurous
emotional
slow-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? N/A
- Strong character development? No
- Loveable characters? It's complicated
- Diverse cast of characters? Yes
- Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes
3.0
I thought this novel started very strong and ended very strong, however the story plateaued for me around the halfway mark. I thought there were parts that needed to be fleshed out a bit more as things in this story tend to happen quickly with little build up. This, to me, lessens the emotional investment I had with the story and the characters. The storytelling is very matter of fact and straight to the point. The strengths of the book: the unique world, the character of fae familiar Pila, the gender fluid and queer normalizing, the divination aspect was interesting to me as well as the twists that helped tie up the story at the end. The pitfalls were the rushed plot lines, lack of explanation in some parts while over-repeating other points, the writing was simplistic and the characters had little depth and I was unable to emotionally connect to any of them. I found myself questioning the main character Yeeran a lot during the entire story as I could not understand her motives or loyalties after a blatant misunderstanding and betrayal.
Overall I’m giving this 3 stars as I wasn’t overwhelmingly engaged with this story, however I did think it had some strengths overall and potential for more growth in sequels.
Overall I’m giving this 3 stars as I wasn’t overwhelmingly engaged with this story, however I did think it had some strengths overall and potential for more growth in sequels.
Content Warnings
Graphic: Violence, Kidnapping, Domestic abuse, Death of parent, and Murder
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