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misswoodhouse24's review against another edition
- Plot- or character-driven? A mix
- Strong character development? It's complicated
- Loveable characters? Yes
- Diverse cast of characters? Yes
- Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes
4.75
Moderate: Death of parent, Kidnapping, Alcohol, Colonisation, Grief, Murder, Death, Cursing, and Violence
bowedbookshelves's review against another edition
- Plot- or character-driven? A mix
- Strong character development? Yes
- Loveable characters? Yes
- Diverse cast of characters? It's complicated
- Flaws of characters a main focus? No
3.75
Graphic: Emotional abuse, Alcohol, Death, Gaslighting, and Murder
bookie_515'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: Alcohol, Death, Blood, Death of parent, Injury/Injury detail, Physical abuse, Cursing, Grief, and Misogyny
Moderate: Abandonment
rafritz1's review against another edition
- Plot- or character-driven? Plot
- Strong character development? It's complicated
- Loveable characters? It's complicated
- Diverse cast of characters? Yes
- Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes
Graphic: Kidnapping, Gun violence, and Physical abuse
Moderate: Child death, Cultural appropriation, Death of parent, Colonisation, Alcohol, and Abandonment
Minor: Misogyny
kenny_2288'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
4.0
Graphic: Kidnapping
Moderate: Death of parent, Gun violence, Abandonment, Injury/Injury detail, Alcohol, Alcoholism, Death, Blood, and Cursing
Minor: Classism, Colonisation, War, and Racism
amandafitz's review against another edition
- Plot- or character-driven? A mix
- Strong character development? No
- Loveable characters? It's complicated
- Diverse cast of characters? Yes
- Flaws of characters a main focus? It's complicated
3.5
Graphic: Grief, Misogyny, Addiction, Cultural appropriation, Murder, Injury/Injury detail, Alcoholism, Death, Alcohol, Blood, Cursing, Death of parent, Toxic relationship, Gaslighting, Gun violence, Kidnapping, Sexism, Violence, Colonisation, Confinement, and Infidelity
vanessamariebooks'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: Death and Murder
Moderate: Alcohol, Toxic relationship, Abandonment, Colonisation, Cultural appropriation, Emotional abuse, Kidnapping, and Grief
Minor: Cursing
sandsing7's review against another edition
- Plot- or character-driven? A mix
- Strong character development? Yes
- Loveable characters? No
- Diverse cast of characters? Yes
- Flaws of characters a main focus? It's complicated
2.25
Graphic: Alcohol, Alcoholism, Colonisation, Death, and Grief
Moderate: Gun violence, Toxic relationship, and Violence
irenevh's review against another edition
- Plot- or character-driven? A mix
- Strong character development? It's complicated
- Loveable characters? Yes
- Diverse cast of characters? Yes
- Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes
3.75
I was absolutely sold on this book when I bought it, eager to read something taking place in early twentieth century Egypt, and focusing on archeology. It's a theme and setting which is criminally underused in books and movies. Combine that with a tagline indicating it is similar to The Mummy, and I was incredibly excited.
Sadly these expectations were also a bit of a downfall for this book.
Although it is in no means a bad story, it is really quite slow to start. And focuses more on background, myth, legend etc. than it does on action. Which doesn't vibe with the earlier comparison to the Mummy movies.
The characters are interesting enough and there are some interesting plot twists. But overall the story does still feel very Young Adult, using a lot of the typical tropes that go in there. Combining that with the lack of expected action, and the book fell a little short to me.
Although most of the book was quite slow, the final 50 to 80 pages were definite roller coaster. Providing a lot of plot twists and interesting cliffhanger, which was a welcome change after the rather slow start.
So overall, this book isn't perfect, but I did enjoy my time reading it. And with the cliffhangers at the end, I'll be sure to pick up the second book in the series when it comes out.
Moderate: Blood, Cursing, Alcohol, Death of parent, and Kidnapping
bibliomania_express's review against another edition
3.5
I'm conflicted about this book. On one hand, I absolutely enjoyed the atmosphere and the way Ibañez weaves history, politics, and culture into the narrative to make it feel very grounded. There are so many great details about the weather, the markets, the languages, and how people get around. I liked that Inez wasn't a push-over when it came to going after what she wanted.
On the other hand, this book relies a bit too much on twists and the magic system isn't very well explained. It's a little unclear how common magical items are or how it all works. I was also annoyed at Inez for a lot of the book. While she stubbornly pushes forward, she also doesn't have great instincts and is somehow both too suspicious and too trusting. There's one major twist that became more obvious as the story went on. But the whole things relies on a bunch of people straight up refusing to communicate and I was annoyed at the lot of them.
I'm also just mad at it for the cliffhanger ending. Of course I want to know what it's all about, which means waiting for the next book in the series. But the way these things go it's definitely more for shock factor than intrinsic truth
Graphic: Violence, Xenophobia, Misogyny, Kidnapping, Grief, Gaslighting, Death, and Toxic relationship
Moderate: Emotional abuse, Abandonment, Alcoholism, Sexism, and Alcohol