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porcupine_girl's review against another edition
- Plot- or character-driven? Character
- Strong character development? Yes
- Loveable characters? Yes
- Diverse cast of characters? Yes
- Flaws of characters a main focus? It's complicated
5.0
Graphic: Gore, Grief, Toxic relationship, Colonisation, Drug abuse, War, Addiction, Blood, Abandonment, Alcoholism, Death of parent, Genocide, Violence, Body horror, Alcohol, Classism, Cursing, Death, Drug use, Slavery, Hate crime, Physical abuse, Police brutality, Sexual content, Child death, Child abuse, Confinement, Injury/Injury detail, Murder, Emotional abuse, and Religious bigotry
Moderate: Medical content, Self harm, Body shaming, Fatphobia, Kidnapping, Ableism, Blood, Gun violence, Gaslighting, Toxic friendship, and Dysphoria
Minor: Bullying, Cancer, Chronic illness, and Fire/Fire injury
sophiesmallhands's review against another edition
- Plot- or character-driven? Plot
- Strong character development? Yes
- Loveable characters? Yes
- Diverse cast of characters? Yes
- Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes
3.5
Graphic: Violence, Body shaming, Drug abuse, Drug use, Emotional abuse, Fatphobia, Gun violence, Injury/Injury detail, Murder, Police brutality, Blood, Colonisation, Genocide, Classism, Death, Addiction, Child abuse, Racial slurs, Racism, and Child death
Moderate: Alcohol, Confinement, Kidnapping, Sexual content, Vomit, and War
Minor: Bullying
kylosten'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
5.0
Graphic: Addiction, Xenophobia, and Classism
Moderate: Child abuse, Slavery, Racial slurs, Emotional abuse, Mental illness, Sexual content, and Violence
Minor: Suicidal thoughts, Genocide, Gun violence, Injury/Injury detail, and Grief
caseythereader's review against another edition
- Plot- or character-driven? Plot
- Strong character development? Yes
- Loveable characters? It's complicated
- Diverse cast of characters? Yes
- Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes
4.0
Graphic: Grief, Gun violence, Death, Drug use, Abandonment, Ableism, Child abuse, Classism, Gore, Vomit, Cursing, Injury/Injury detail, Police brutality, Violence, Blood, Colonisation, Death of parent, Murder, Drug abuse, Addiction, Child death, Medical content, and Slavery
Moderate: Sexual content
jashanac's review
- 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
I started the book and I immediately felt like I could see this world. And I immediately appreciated that we were following Sylah, one of the main characters, who has a drug addiction. In the first bit of the book, Sylah's entire existence is focused on getting more of the drug she is addicted to.
However, for the first bit of the book, I was considering dnf-ing. But I already dnf-ed a different anticipated release from NetGalley and I really didn't want to do that again. So I told myself I'd give it to 50%. Around 30%, it started to pick up for me, and then by 40-50% I was pretty much hooked.
These characters are flawed and their relationships with each other become complicated, but I became SO invested in them. They felt so incredibly well-fleshed-out. They felt like real people! And I love that the romance was complex and didn't necessarily end up in a neat & tidy way. Also... without spoiling anything I'll just say that there was a bit of a love triangle situation happening that genuinely made sense and worked well (in my opinion, obviously)... ?!?!?!
AND -- one of my most haaaated tropes is The Big Lie. This book used that but once again, in a way that made sense to me and literally not for one second did it frustrate me or annoy me. TRULY SHOCKING.
And this world is so interesting and complex and MYSTERIOUS! THAT ENDING?!?!?!?! HELLO?!?!?!?!
I just think this is one of the most solid debuts I have read in a good long while, and I can't wait for the rest of the series... !
THEMES I SAW: Caste system. Oppression (& suppression) of a group of people. Lost/hidden true history of an empire. Long competition (over a couple of months) to determine new leadership (upper caste). Lack of education used as a tool to keep people down.
Graphic: Drug use, Classism, Blood, Drug abuse, Suicide attempt, and Torture
Moderate: Gun violence, Violence, and Child abuse
Minor: Child death