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obscurepages's review against another edition
- Plot- or character-driven? A mix
- Strong character development? Yes
- Loveable characters? Yes
- Diverse cast of characters? Yes
- Flaws of characters a main focus? No
4.75
I've only read middle grade from Kalyn Josephson, so while I was expecting something good, I also didn't know much yet about their writing style in YA. But wow wow wow wow.
<b>The world-building was complex and enchanting, the characters were all compelling, the political intrigue was just suspenseful, the plot was carefully woven and definitely stress-inducing </b> šš I was actually a little afraid I wouldn't really connect to this book because it's about horse-racing. But damn, how wrong was I. Because this was more than just horse-racing. It was about the bad and ugly sides of humanity, the immense power that the elites hold, about our own desires, and coming to terms with our own power and growing in confidence. <b> This was just brilliant, riveting, and breathtaking. </b>
(I also just loved seeing aroace/demi rep, as well as bi rep from the two main characters š„¹)
This took me in a rollercoaster ride I never really expected, and for that, this book is one of my favorites this year š
Full review in my blog soon!
(Received an e-arc from the author in exchange for an honest review.)
Graphic: Gun violence, Violence, War, Animal death, Animal cruelty, Blood, Death of parent, Antisemitism, Gore, Injury/Injury detail, and Torture
Moderate: Sexual content, Bullying, and Grief
btwnprintedpgs's review against another edition
- Plot- or character-driven? A mix
- Strong character development? Yes
- Loveable characters? Yes
- Diverse cast of characters? Yes
- Flaws of characters a main focus? It's complicated
3.5
Graphic: Death, Blood, and Injury/Injury detail
Moderate: Violence, Torture, and Gore
Minor: Animal death
natashaleighton_'s review against another edition
- 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
4.5
Graphic: Animal death, Violence, and Death
Moderate: Animal cruelty, Injury/Injury detail, and Torture
Minor: Murder, Death of parent, Bullying, and Suicidal thoughts
ezwolf's review against another edition
- Plot- or character-driven? A mix
- Strong character development? Yes
- Loveable characters? Yes
- Diverse cast of characters? Yes
- Flaws of characters a main focus? It's complicated
4.25
Arielle and Mikira were both great characters and I'm torn on which one was my favorite. I loved Ari for her connection (and disconnection) to the Jewish religion of this book. I loved Mikira for the love of her horses and her sisters and her desire to protect her family.
There was also a lot of casual queerness (and no homophobia) amongst the background characters and the implication of demisexuality and bisexuality/pansexuality with Ari and Mikira.
The thing I found most interesting about this book was its approach to Judaism. There are so many books that take Christianity and create a fantasy religion based on it, but I've never seen that done with Judaism. And even though this was fantasy Judaism, it was still implicitly Jewish, the way Ari and Damien talked about the foundations of it in their world and the different traditions, was so Jewish. The way golems were used was my favorite. I feel like often in media, golems are used to be scary, but golems are meant to protect and that's a big part of the golems that Ari makes.
Thank you to NetGalley for making this available in exchange for an honest review!
Graphic: Classism, Gun violence, Blood, Death, Grief, Violence, Animal death, Religious bigotry, Injury/Injury detail, Antisemitism, and Murder
Moderate: Panic attacks/disorders, Torture, and Animal cruelty
Minor: Death of parent, Suicidal thoughts, Xenophobia, Colonisation, Alcohol, and Bullying
chronicallybookish'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? Yes
- Flaws of characters a main focus? It's complicated
2.0
I can see the Scorpio Races comp, but the other twoā¦ not so much.
From the very first chapter, this books weaknesses were apparentānot enough development, not enough depth.
The inciting incident of this book happens during the second scene. This is the moment where Mikira makes the decision that sets the plot in motion, the moment of no return. She wagers everything she has to save her father. But because this happens so early on, it packs no emotional punch. Weāve had maybe 5 pages to get to know Mikira, and this scene is the first time weāve seen or even heard mention of her father. There hasnāt been any development to make the reader care about Mikira or her father, so I couldnāt connect with the emotion of that scene. I wasnāt convinced by Mikiraās supposed desperation to save him. The dramatics of the moment rang hollow to me. Not to mention the fact that the bargain that Mikira makesā¦doesnāt make sense. She makes a deal that she objectively knows that she cannot possibly win. If she wins, she gets her father back, but if she loses, she and all her siblings are as good as dead. If she wins, yes, sheās better off, but Mikira does not think she can win.
The weak start aside, for the next 30% of the book, I was enjoying myself. The reason why this was happening still didnāt make sense, but as long as I didnāt think about that aspect, I was able to get sucked into what was happening. I enjoyed getting to learn a little about the lore and getting to meet our cast of characters. I especially enjoyed Arielleās narration in these earlier chapters and getting to know her. I was interested in the race, the building of the golem-horse, and the plot surrounding that.
But at about 30-35%, several new plotlines were addedāpolitics, demonic possession, romantic subplots, war/antiwar, and more. None of it was fleshed out, and none of it meshed together. We jumped from plotline to plotline, nothing really progressing on page, never diving deep into any of them. There was suddenly so much going on, in so few pages, that the story only ever brushed across the surface of these events and aspects of the worldbuilding.
Itās about this point that the romances start to kick in. I really appreciated the LGBTQ+ representationāMikira is bi and Ari is demisexual/demiromantic. I love seeing rep like that in fantasy, and I really appreciated the inclusion of a discussion about demisexuality/demiromanticism, but the actual conversation was very dry to read. It was like reading the dictionary definition word for word.
I also found it kind of ironic how Ari was like, ānow that Iām really getting to know him and connect with him emotionally, Iām starting to be able to fall for him romantically!ā because my #1 complaint with the romance in this book is that we never see them interact, and when they do thereās no real depth to it. Itās emotionless. Damien says some pretty words, but theyāre just words and because thereās no accompanying depth to the actual interactions, actions, descriptions of feelings, etc, it rings hollow and the words just seem manipulative. There was not a single spark of chemistry between Ari and Damienāor between Mikira and either or her love interestsābut it was especially painful to read because Damien and Ari were constantly like, verbally professing their love for each other and I was so completely unconvinced.
It also drove me absolutely mad how this one character is like, so blatantly possessed and either no one cared or no one could figure it out. Sheās like āThereās this voice in my head and itās maybe influencing my thoughts and also Iām starting to lose time.ā But she doesnāt like, do anything about it. And neither does the person she tells. Like, THAT FEELS PRETTY FREAKING IMPORTANT TO ME!
Honestly, by the end of this book I could not stand a single one of these characters. They were annoying and their actions and thoughts constantly contradicted themselves and justā¦ made no sense.
The last thing I want to touch on is the worldbuilding. The book takes place in the empirical kingdom of Enderlain (or something like that), but Ari is Kinnish, and the Kinnish people are based on Jewish people. Their religion and magic (Kinnism) are based on Jewish folklore and myths. The development and representation of these people was beautiful. It was so clearly an ode to the authorās love of her religion and culture. The discussions had on this topic were phenomenal and real and had true resonance in a way thatā¦ pretty much nothing else in the book had. If everything in the book was executed to that level, it couldāve been a 5 star read. Unfortunately, I think that the level of care, development, and detail that the Kinnish aspects of worldbuilding had made the surface level, bare bones development of all the other aspects of worldbuilding and character even more obvious.
If it still interests you, give it a try, but I donāt personally recommend this book, and I wonāt be continuing with the series.
Graphic: Antisemitism, Xenophobia, Torture, Animal death, and Gore
Moderate: Death, Injury/Injury detail, and Murder
Minor: Death of parent and Grief