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tinysierra's review against another edition
- Diverse cast of characters? Yes
- Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes
3.5
-Friends to lovers
-polyamory (side characters)
-As other reviews saidโฆ it was kind of bland and there was no real build up. It was a decent story but the plot and the romance in it were not really strong.
I recommend Of Fire and Stars over Ruinsong because it still has a sapphic couple, elemental magic, royalty/court politics, a similar scene to one in this book
Graphic: Animal death, Emotional abuse, Fire/Fire injury, and Violence
Moderate: Homophobia and Vomit
Minor: Abortion and Miscarriage
sarah984's review against another edition
- Plot- or character-driven? Character
- Strong character development? It's complicated
- Loveable characters? No
- Diverse cast of characters? It's complicated
- Flaws of characters a main focus? No
3.0
However, the characters we spend our time focused on are probably the least interesting of the bunch. They spend a lot of time complaining and making impulsive decisions (and then complaining that people don't trust them not to make impulsive decisions) and you only kind of hear about other characters doing cool things in the background. The ending wraps up extremely fast so a lot of the victories don't really feel earned. I get the idea of noting every characterโs skintone instead of making special note of who wasn't white, but it really drove home how white the core cast still was so I don't know if it helped.
Also this is a nitpick but if you're retelling Phantom of the Opera and you drop ZERO chandeliers? You're doing it wrong.
Graphic: Torture
Moderate: Animal death, Animal cruelty, Blood, Body horror, Body shaming, Child abuse, Child death, Confinement, Death, Emotional abuse, Gore, Homophobia, Injury/Injury detail, Medical content, Physical abuse, Violence, and Vomit
Minor: Abortion, Death of parent, Excrement, Fire/Fire injury, Police brutality, and Sexual content
starccato'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
3.25
Graphic: Animal death, Animal cruelty, Blood, Child abuse, Child death, Death, Medical content, Murder, Physical abuse, Torture, Violence, Gore, Emotional abuse, Fire/Fire injury, Gaslighting, and Grief
Moderate: Stalking
Minor: Abortion, Confinement, Death of parent, Alcohol, Alcoholism, Vomit, Lesbophobia, Body shaming, Religious bigotry, and Sexual content
booksthatburn's review against another edition
- Plot- or character-driven? Character
- Strong character development? Yes
- Loveable characters? It's complicated
- Diverse cast of characters? It's complicated
- Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes
4.0
The worldbuilding is fine, it's not very complicated because the story invests its detail in the Queen and the two girls, and the people around them. One thing this portrays very well is emotional abuse and manipulation, and the way that a combination of threats plus unpredictable enforcement can be used to break someone down and make everything feel pointless. The story is about whether Cadence will finally have something that it's worth standing up for, and I appreciate how the story shows why she didn't fight for things before. Even if her reasons seem silly or you can imagine yourself doing more in her shoes (some of her fellow characters think they might have done more), the characterization is so well done to explain why she hadn't before, but without excusing what she's done and continues to do.
Graphic: Animal death, Blood, Child death, Death, Emotional abuse, Grief, Medical content, Murder, Torture, and Violence
Moderate: Alcohol, Alcoholism, Child abuse, Confinement, Homophobia, and Vomit
Minor: Abortion and Death of parent
alliewithbooks's review against another edition
- Plot- or character-driven? N/A
- Strong character development? No
- Loveable characters? No
- Diverse cast of characters? No
- Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes
1.0
Moderate: Animal death and Violence
Minor: Homophobia
alacuesta's review against another edition
- Plot- or character-driven? A mix
- Strong character development? It's complicated
- Loveable characters? It's complicated
- Diverse cast of characters? It's complicated
- Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes
3.0
Graphic: Animal death and Violence
Minor: Homophobia
valpuri's review against another edition
- Strong character development? No
- Loveable characters? Yes
- Diverse cast of characters? It's complicated
- Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes
2.0
The concept of magic that is sung and a romance between two women that are on opposite sides of a rebellion are what convinced me to pick up this book, but it just didn't really deliver on either of those. There is very little world-building or character development, and the latter half of the book feels very rushed. :( The first half of the book is pretty good and promising... I just wish that there was something more to the end.
Moderate: Animal death, Blood, Confinement, Death, Emotional abuse, Homophobia, Medical content, Physical abuse, Torture, and Violence
Minor: Chronic illness, Grief, and Vomit
coophone's review against another edition
- Strong character development? No
- Loveable characters? It's complicated
2.75
Graphic: Animal death, Torture, and Violence
Minor: Homophobia
caseythereader's review against another edition
- Strong character development? Yes
- Loveable characters? Yes
- Diverse cast of characters? No
- Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes
3.5
โข
What I liked:
๐ Queer PHANTOM OF THE OPERA retelling? Yes, please!
๐ I loved the magic system here. I loved the idea of singing to marshal your magic, and that you could tell a lot about the mage by their voice.
๐ Such wonderful imagery, from the beauty of the Queen's stronghold to the horrors of the region where those expelled from the court are sent.
๐ The tension between the protagonists felt real - it wasn't insta-love, but also the barriers they faced weren't just pointless roadblocks. ๐
โข
What I didn't like:
๐ It's a pretty basic YA dystopia setup. This isn't necessarily a knock on the book, just something to know going in.
๐ I do wish some pieces of the world's history and nuances of the magic system were more detailed - I could tell there was more in the author's brain that didn't make it into the book. ๐
โข
Content warnings: alcoholism, blood, death, homophobia (mild), physical abuse, torture, violence, and vomit.
Graphic: Alcoholism, Blood, Death, Homophobia, Physical abuse, Torture, Violence, and Vomit