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fadingapple's review against another edition
adventurous
dark
emotional
informative
inspiring
mysterious
reflective
sad
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? No
4.75
4.75/5 stars
This was such a perfect historical fantasy. It broken my heart, it made me smile, it left me in wonder and awe - both in regards to magic and human cruelty. The writing was stunning, the plot held my attention from start to finish, and I adored the characters.
This is such an amazing story - and I love that it was set in WWI, an oft overlooked wartime. I know personally I've read several books about WWII, The Revolutionary War, and the Civil War...but I don't know I had ever read a book solo focused on WWI before this one. I especially appreciated Arden's note at the end about that, how WWI is often forgotten and all the research she did to write this book.
As much as I loved the story, the history, and the characters - it all paled in comparison to the writing. Arden's lyrical but down-to-earth writing will twist your heart and your soul, give you visions as if you were there, and leave you feeling as though you've read a symphony in story form. Truly one of my favorite writing styles I've encountered.
Highly highly recommend this one!
This was such a perfect historical fantasy. It broken my heart, it made me smile, it left me in wonder and awe - both in regards to magic and human cruelty. The writing was stunning, the plot held my attention from start to finish, and I adored the characters.
This is such an amazing story - and I love that it was set in WWI, an oft overlooked wartime. I know personally I've read several books about WWII, The Revolutionary War, and the Civil War...but I don't know I had ever read a book solo focused on WWI before this one. I especially appreciated Arden's note at the end about that, how WWI is often forgotten and all the research she did to write this book.
As much as I loved the story, the history, and the characters - it all paled in comparison to the writing. Arden's lyrical but down-to-earth writing will twist your heart and your soul, give you visions as if you were there, and leave you feeling as though you've read a symphony in story form. Truly one of my favorite writing styles I've encountered.
Highly highly recommend this one!
gwennolen's review against another edition
dark
emotional
mysterious
sad
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? It's complicated
shout out to katherine arden for doing the impossible and making me kick my feet and twirl my hair over a heterosexual romance subplot with a character introduced over halfway through the book
preciousbodle's review against another edition
challenging
dark
emotional
hopeful
mysterious
sad
tense
slow-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? Character
- Strong character development? Yes
- Loveable characters? Yes
- Diverse cast of characters? No
- Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes
4.25
monica_requejo's review against another edition
emotional
slow-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? A mix
- Strong character development? It's complicated
- Loveable characters? No
- Diverse cast of characters? No
- Flaws of characters a main focus? It's complicated
1.0
philly37898's review against another edition
challenging
dark
emotional
hopeful
mysterious
sad
tense
medium-paced
- 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
nimeneth's review against another edition
dark
tense
fast-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? A mix
- Strong character development? It's complicated
- Loveable characters? It's complicated
- Diverse cast of characters? Yes
- Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes
4.0
This is one of those books that I don't even think I can explain why I liked it. It was grim, and dark, and unsettling for the middle half, and yet it was fantastic at the same time. Maybe it's that it's almost madness given form. Maybe it's that Arden didn't shy away from just how ugly war can be, but did it in such a way that it didn't make it unpalatable, just stark and inescapable. Whatever it was, once Laura got to France I couldn't put it down and wound up plowing through the bulk of this in an afternoon.
Content Warnings
Graphic: Violence, War, Murder, Death, Death of parent, Mental illness, Medical content, and Medical trauma
alhina's review against another edition
dark
emotional
hopeful
informative
mysterious
reflective
sad
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? N/A
5.0
lyakimov's review against another edition
3.0
3.5 stars.
I was really excited for a new Katherine Arden book because the Winternight Trilogy is one of my favorite series. Historical fantasy is not really my favorite genre, especially with war, but I did enjoy this book! It was really short and quick, and I felt like we did get to know the characters, but not enough to actually care for them deeply. The plot didn't have that much substance but it was still entertaining - just slow. The cover is beautiful though!
I was really excited for a new Katherine Arden book because the Winternight Trilogy is one of my favorite series. Historical fantasy is not really my favorite genre, especially with war, but I did enjoy this book! It was really short and quick, and I felt like we did get to know the characters, but not enough to actually care for them deeply. The plot didn't have that much substance but it was still entertaining - just slow. The cover is beautiful though!
julesmae's review against another edition
dark
emotional
mysterious
slow-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
5.0
Another hauntingly composed work of mythology and history from Katherine Arden who is quickly cementing herself aiming my favorite authors of all time.
Content Warnings
Graphic: Death, Death of parent, Injury/Injury detail, War, and Body horror
Minor: Suicide