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Graphic: Child abuse, Child death, Death, Physical abuse, Torture, Violence, Blood, Kidnapping, Grief, Death of parent, Murder, Injury/Injury detail
Graphic: Animal cruelty, Body horror, Child death, Death, Genocide, Misogyny, Physical abuse, Racism, Sexism, Sexual content, Torture, Violence, Xenophobia, Blood, Medical content, Grief, Death of parent, Pregnancy, Abandonment, Injury/Injury detail, Classism, Pandemic/Epidemic
Graphic: Death, Gore, Panic attacks/disorders, Physical abuse, Sexism, Torture, Violence, Blood, Kidnapping, Grief, Death of parent, Abandonment, Injury/Injury detail
Moderate: Child abuse, Child death, Confinement, Cursing, Death, Drug use, Emotional abuse, Gore, Mental illness, Miscarriage, Panic attacks/disorders, Physical abuse, Sexism, Torture, Toxic relationship, Violence, Blood, Vomit, Grief, Stalking, Death of parent, Murder, Fire/Fire injury, Gaslighting, Abandonment, Injury/Injury detail, Classism
Graphic: Child death, Death, Violence, Blood, Death of parent, Fire/Fire injury, Injury/Injury detail
Moderate: Child abuse, Child death, Confinement, Cursing, Death, Emotional abuse, Panic attacks/disorders, Physical abuse, Suicidal thoughts, Torture, Violence, Blood, Medical content, Grief, Stalking, Death of parent, Murder, Fire/Fire injury, Alcohol, Injury/Injury detail, Classism
Graphic: Death, Blood, Death of parent, Injury/Injury detail
Moderate: Child abuse, Child death, Physical abuse, Grief
Graphic: Body horror, Child death, Confinement, Cursing, Death, Gore, Hate crime, Miscarriage, Physical abuse, Torture, Violence, Blood, Medical content, Kidnapping, Grief, Death of parent, Murder, Fire/Fire injury, War, Injury/Injury detail, Classism, Deportation
Graphic: Physical abuse, Violence, Blood
Minor: Death of parent
Graphic: Body shaming, Child abuse, Child death, Death, Emotional abuse, Violence, Blood, Kidnapping, Grief, Medical trauma, Death of parent, Murder, Fire/Fire injury, Injury/Injury detail, Classism
Moderate: Miscarriage, Suicidal thoughts
Minor: Panic attacks/disorders, Physical abuse, Torture, War
Here's what I did like:
1. There was much less use of the word 'laugh' or 'laughter' or 'huffed out a laugh' in this book. Because in Powerless I'm certain it was on almost every page with Paedyn and Kai interacting. There was still way too much use of those words (we need to get Roberts a thesaurus or something) but it was used much less this time around and I'll take whatever win I can get.
2. Also I feel like the stakes felt higher and since there weren't a ton of side characters sprinkled in, we had more time with our main characters. Which was both good and bad. Because I liked Paedyn for the most part in this book. She didn't feel bad for what she did in Powerless when she killed the king, but she also had a lot of trauma from losing those she cared about.
3. The action scenes were pretty good. I think they were well written and I liked how Paedyn wasn't constantly relying on Kai to use his magic to save her (which happened a lot in the first book).
4. The fact that this book was shorter that the first book so I didn't feel like I was walking through molasses trying to read through it.
Now onto the nitpicky and not-nitpicky things I didn't like about this book.
1. There were a lot of things that were repeated way too many times, to the point that it felt like I was being hit over the head with it. Examples being
2. The fact that the narrative tried to make Kai's and Paedyn's actions seem similar, particularly with how they killed each other's fathers. Paedyn killing Kai's dad was literally her killing a power-hungry king who orchestrated mass genocide of a group of people who he deemed weak because they didn't have powers, and she killed him because he was trying to kill her first! Kai killing Paedyn's dad was him killing a Healer who wasn't a classist and couldn't be bought like all the other Healers, and he did so because Kai's dad, the power-hungry king, told him too. Like Kai is a victim but trying to act like those two deaths were the same just wasn't it.
3. Kai's weird back and forth in this book. He flirted with her, true, but he also kept being like "I have a duty" as if that would make him blameless for his decisions to bring Paedyn in to presumably be imprisoned or executed. It was weird because it felt like he wanted to push Paedyn away and act like he didn't care, but then he'd flirt with her and try to get her to admit she cared for him. And normally I wouldn't mind that but the book never seems to mention how back and forth he is.
4. This is Kai-related, but the epilogue and how Kai acted in it.
Overall I can't say this book was great or anything. I don't even know if I'll call it good, but it wasn't as bad as the first book, so that's a win. Do I care enough to continue to the third book? Meh. Not really. But I might just to see what happens.
Graphic: Death, Mental illness, Panic attacks/disorders, Violence, Blood, Grief, Murder, Injury/Injury detail, Classism
Moderate: Physical abuse, Death of parent
Minor: Child abuse, Child death