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ssjd411's review
Graphic: Bullying, Death, Death of parent, Abandonment, Addiction, Body shaming, Classism, Domestic abuse, Injury/Injury detail, Drug abuse, Drug use, Emotional abuse, Fatphobia, and Hate crime
Moderate: Police brutality, Slavery, Violence, Racism, Physical abuse, Torture, Toxic friendship, and Toxic relationship
mj_86'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
4.25
Graphic: Drug abuse, Drug use, Addiction, Death, and Violence
Moderate: Child abuse, Blood, and Slavery
Minor: Sexual content and Confinement
kayberlyn's review
- Plot- or character-driven? Character
- Strong character development? Yes
- Loveable characters? Yes
- Diverse cast of characters? Yes
- Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes
4.75
Graphic: Violence
Moderate: Drug abuse, Addiction, Slavery, Hate crime, Genocide, Blood, Racial slurs, Murder, Grief, Drug use, Child death, Alcohol, Child abuse, Death of parent, Chronic illness, and Racism
fairyollie's review
- Plot- or character-driven? A mix
- Strong character development? Yes
- Loveable characters? It's complicated
- Diverse cast of characters? Yes
- Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes
5.0
what I especially love about this book, as a queer disabled adult who uses sign language, is that disability, sexuality, gender, alternate/augmented means of communication, etc., are all simply facets of life. never do I see a book in which a main character - or so many characters - are disabled and it is not a "pity, shame, how sad, I could never, this is gonna advance so-and-so's character arc!", plot point or traumatic backstory. it simply is. there is so much more I wish I could say, but for fear of my big mouth and I spoiling a thing, let me leave you with this: I cannot recommend this book more; it is simply impossible. I beg you, please join me in this raw, open-hearted, desperate, vengeful quest for adventure and justice and give this series a try.
Graphic: Drug use, Genocide, Grief, Gore, Self harm, Slavery, Racial slurs, Racism, Addiction, Emotional abuse, Ableism, Classism, Drug abuse, Xenophobia, Blood, Child abuse, and Violence
Moderate: Alcohol, Panic attacks/disorders, Confinement, Body shaming, Forced institutionalization, Murder, Abandonment, and Kidnapping
ambitiousnalgene's review
- Plot- or character-driven? A mix
- Strong character development? Yes
- Loveable characters? It's complicated
- Diverse cast of characters? Yes
- Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes
4.0
Graphic: Slavery and Addiction
Moderate: Violence and Death
kaitrates's review against another edition
- Plot- or character-driven? A mix
- Strong character development? Yes
- Loveable characters? Yes
- Diverse cast of characters? Yes
4.5
WHEW Y'allll what is there to say about this stunning novel that hasn't already been said? I'm so glad I buddy read this and we could collectively lose our mind together on page 545 aka 95% .
This one admittedly took me a bit to get into—as is common with new fantasy worlds where you spend the first 100 pages confused about what's what and who's who and so on—but once I had my proverbial feet on the ground, I was hooked.
This has some of the best character development I've ever read with a plot that was paced perfectly to match it. And the world gets so much bigger at the end! I fell in love with this world and these characters and cannot wait to continue their journey in book 2 and beyond.
Graphic: Child abuse, Slavery, and Addiction
Moderate: Body horror and Violence
salemander's review
5.0
Graphic: Addiction, Blood, Gaslighting, Colonisation, Emotional abuse, Gore, Racism, Genocide, Grief, Injury/Injury detail, Confinement, Death, Physical abuse, Slavery, Torture, Child abuse, Classism, Violence, and Drug abuse
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
musebeliever's review
1.0
I really liked the idea of the two protagonists being swapped at birth and was curious about how it would play out in their lives. However, I was not at all on board with the magic system relying on a biological element. This has big chosen one and essentialism vibes, which I just could not deal with.
I also struggled with the writing style and the characterisation. The fact that we are privy to every single thought created, in my opinion, very unidimensional characters. Despite this shower of information, some of Sylah's actions just do not make sense to me, and too much of the plot relies on Sylah's poor choice or negligence. I can understand this happening once or twice, but how am I to believe that we are in the presence of the person who will overthrow an empire. This did not work for me.
I found everything very bleak, which makes sense for a dystopia, but also extremely heavy-handed. This read like YA to me, which is not my favourite writing style. The clues as to where the plot is going are underlined and surrounded by blinking lights.
I was also taken aback by the inconsistence in tone. There is a moment in the book when Sylah reminisces her tragic past while she watches the new tyrants of the Empire being chosen. She looks at one of them and thinks, "68 never looked so good." This sounded taken out of a gossip instagram reel commenting the Met gala. It felt really out of place. There were many moments like this when I was thrown off by sudden tone changes that did not match the atmosphere of a chapter. It feels like the book has not been edited.
Finally, fatphobia and foodshaming are frankly painful to read and so unnecessary. Sylah calls Anoor the lump, foodshames her, finds her dresses ridiculous because they are big. She seems to justify her fatphobia because she thinks that Anoor is fat because she is rich and privileged. This does not seem to be coherent as Anoor is mocked by her peers. The author also depicts her as a bit silly. Someone who chooses her seat in a room to have a better view on the dishes that are being served. We are clearly supposed to find that funny. Let's be serious one minute.
Graphic: Physical abuse, Rape, Toxic friendship, Drug use, Body horror, Gore, Bullying, Ableism, Addiction, Body shaming, Murder, Slavery, Fatphobia, Genocide, Death, Drug abuse, Eating disorder, Torture, Blood, Hate crime, and Violence
chrisb913'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 absolutely loved this book. At first, it was a bit slow-paced as there are some major themes that just throw you right into the mix (including drug abuse, graphic scenes of torture, elitism/caste system) that can really take you a minute to catch your bearings. On top of this, the author slowly builds out the world and magic system as the story progresses so it took me a minute to find a good rhythm. Once the pace picks up (maybe 10-15% in) I did not want to put the book down. The story follows three main characters (Sylah, Hassa, and Anoor) as they try to make it through life on an island amongst the last known civilization. I found the blood magic system to be incredibly unique while also mesmerizing and terrifying at the same time. The author has done a truly remarkable job providing us with an incredible world to learn about and I truly cannot wait to read the two other books in this trilogy
Graphic: Blood, Classism, Addiction, Sexual content, Slavery, Drug abuse, Toxic friendship, and Death