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3.63 AVERAGE
3.63 AVERAGE
Cool ideas and some engaging narration, and an interesting way to talk about trauma and how people manage it, balanced against a rushed and imo clunky third act. Worth a read though!
Charm demonstrates how difficult it can be to put yourself back together after extreme mental and physical trauma -- the pieces don't always want to go back together.
Major Nathair needs a novel of their own (if only to explain how psychic ability leads to invulnerability).
The pieces of plot involving political intrigue and murder mystery didn't entirely work for me -- too many clues didn't turn up until near the end of the story. However, that part of the plot was less interesting than the camaraderie and conflict between Charm and her boneghosts, so I didn't mind too much.
Major Nathair needs a novel of their own (if only to explain how psychic ability leads to invulnerability).
The pieces of plot involving political intrigue and murder mystery didn't entirely work for me -- too many clues didn't turn up until near the end of the story. However, that part of the plot was less interesting than the camaraderie and conflict between Charm and her boneghosts, so I didn't mind too much.
challenging
emotional
mysterious
sad
slow-paced
Plot or Character Driven:
A mix
Strong character development:
No
Loveable characters:
No
Diverse cast of characters:
No
Flaws of characters a main focus:
Yes
Content Warnings
Moderate: Ableism, Animal death, Body horror, Body shaming, Child abuse, Child death, Confinement, Death, Domestic abuse, Fatphobia, Genocide, Incest, Infidelity, Misogyny, Pedophilia, Physical abuse, Rape, Sexual assault, Slavery, Violence, Police brutality, Medical content, Kidnapping, Suicide attempt, Murder, Alcohol, Colonisation, War, Injury/Injury detail, Classism
adventurous
dark
emotional
sad
tense
medium-paced
emotional
hopeful
mysterious
reflective
medium-paced
Plot or Character Driven:
Character
Strong character development:
Complicated
Loveable characters:
Yes
Diverse cast of characters:
No
Flaws of characters a main focus:
Yes
Intriguing story and interesting look at the human psyche
Content Warnings
Moderate: Death, Suicide, War
challenging
dark
mysterious
tense
slow-paced
Plot or Character Driven:
A mix
Strong character development:
Complicated
Loveable characters:
Complicated
Diverse cast of characters:
No
Flaws of characters a main focus:
Yes
There is so much good concept here. The magic system where those with powers eventually break them down physically/mentally so they need to be mentally controlled to live. The bone ghosts that are peeled off emotions from the center character as a coping mechanism. However, this was hard to read. So much was obscured for so long. Maybe needed to get half way through to really understand what was happening and the weight of certain characters or interactions. There were many characters that were "ghosts" of other characters or characters who had control over their physical features or would appear in one way under one name but also appear another way with another name. Like... every character pretty much had an alter ego. Which was again, kinda cool, but was so so confusing as a casual reader. The most confusing was the political pieces and history of Borgen. Pay off to the mystery was ok but not worth the drag to get there.
Content Warnings
Minor: Domestic abuse, Incest, Pedophilia, Suicide, Torture, War
Such a unique and creative idea. Took me a good while to catch on to the premise but really an incredibly well written book
Continuity errors, so many unanswered questions and events happening without reasoning, little to no world building
I'm giving it a 2.5 because the premise is fascinating and I really loved the whole idea behind this book but I struggled with the execution
I'm giving it a 2.5 because the premise is fascinating and I really loved the whole idea behind this book but I struggled with the execution
I loved the fantasy world building. You had me at bone trees. But something was missing in the story.