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karenschlesser's review against another edition
- Plot- or character-driven? Character
- Strong character development? Yes
- Loveable characters? Yes
- Diverse cast of characters? No
- Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes
3.5
Moderate: Ableism
Minor: Abandonment
maggies's review against another edition
- Plot- or character-driven? A mix
- Strong character development? Yes
- Loveable characters? Yes
- Diverse cast of characters? No
- Flaws of characters a main focus? It's complicated
3.0
Moderate: Trafficking, Grief, Abandonment, and Slavery
a_libra_library's review against another edition
- Plot- or character-driven? A mix
- Strong character development? Yes
- Loveable characters? Yes
- Diverse cast of characters? N/A
- Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes
5.0
Moderate: Suicidal thoughts, Abandonment, Injury/Injury detail, Child abuse, Death, Classism, Death of parent, Lesbophobia, Trafficking, Blood, Ableism, Child death, Chronic illness, and Cursing
kelleykamanda's review
- Plot- or character-driven? A mix
- Strong character development? Yes
- Loveable characters? Yes
- Diverse cast of characters? No
- Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes
4.5
Graphic: Abandonment, Classism, and Confinement
Moderate: Terminal illness, Bullying, Child abuse, and Ableism
Minor: War, Violence, Blood, Child death, and Death of parent
sophiesmallhands's review against another edition
- Plot- or character-driven? A mix
- Strong character development? Yes
- Loveable characters? Yes
- Diverse cast of characters? No
- Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes
4.5
Moderate: Trafficking, Injury/Injury detail, Classism, and Child abuse
Minor: Child death, Physical abuse, Gore, Emotional abuse, Ableism, Abandonment, War, Violence, Slavery, Death of parent, and Blood
lizgriffinwords's review against another edition
- Plot- or character-driven? A mix
- Strong character development? Yes
- Loveable characters? Yes
- Diverse cast of characters? No
- Flaws of characters a main focus? It's complicated
5.0
Minor: Misogyny, Violence, and Abandonment
chrisljm's review
- Plot- or character-driven? A mix
- Strong character development? Yes
- Loveable characters? Yes
- Diverse cast of characters? No
- Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes
5.0
Graphic: Classism, Death, Injury/Injury detail, Kidnapping, Murder, Slavery, Trafficking, and Blood
Moderate: Death of parent, Medical content, Pregnancy, Sexism, Torture, Toxic relationship, War, Emotional abuse, Fire/Fire injury, Ableism, Abandonment, Bullying, and Confinement
theespressoedition's review against another edition
- Plot- or character-driven? A mix
- Strong character development? No
- Loveable characters? Yes
- Diverse cast of characters? No
- Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes
5.0
The characters are wonderfully well-rounded. From the very beginning of the book, you have a soft spot for Dora, whose soul was severed by a wicked faerie when she was a child. Her emotions are dulled and therefore she doesn't have the proper reactions in social settings and is frowned upon by most of society. It's easy to take pity on her at first and as the story moves forward, it's a thrill to find yourself feeling empowered by her lack of fear and determination to help those around her. She's the epitome of a badass female character and I loved her for it.
Elias is a grump in every sense of the word, but he also has a surprisingly big heart. While he has magic at his fingertips, he doesn't use it frivolously. Instead, he's an incredibly intelligent person who has worked hard to achieve his goals and uses his powers only for good. Having Albert as a friend gave great perspective because it's easy to think Elias is just a stuck-up prick, but you realize as you read that he's actually quite tender and good. His quotes were my favorite in the entire book. One, in particular, stood out to me:
"There is such a thing as eveil in this world," Elias told her quietly. "It does not help to look away from it. It does not even help necessarily to look at it." His fingers brushed through her hair, and she shivered. "But sometimes, when you cannot force the world to come to its senses, you must settle only for wiping away some of the small evils in front of you."
As I read, I fell in love. I fell in love with the characters - however major or minor their role was. I fell in love with the sweeping dialogue. I fell in love with the mystery behind Dora's split soul. I fell in love with the romance and the way that it was subtle and sweet and everything I needed. I had a tough time putting the book down, which is an indicator of how much I enjoyed reading it. The moment I had finished it, I proceeded to add the next two novels in the series to my TBR. I can only hope they live up to how magnificent this one was!
If you're looking for a fantasy novel that doesn't feel like every other fantasy novel out there right now (in particular, the faerie ones), you'll want to read Half a Soul. It landed itself on my favorites list for the year without any questions asked!
Graphic: Abandonment and Bullying
Moderate: Blood, Death, Child abuse, and Murder
Minor: Death of parent
friendly_neighborhood_grandma's review
- Plot- or character-driven? Character
- Strong character development? Yes
- Loveable characters? Yes
- Diverse cast of characters? No
- Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes
5.0
It's very interesting how much society at those times affected one. It’s all about
the ^unsaid^, be very careful of what you do and what other people think of you out of worry for your reputation. Get a husband in time. Be polite, neat and pretty. Do not dare atract attention with anything other than light flirting, politeness and charm, do not dare be different, rumors about you will affect you and your family.
Graphic: Misogyny, Classism, Infidelity, Emotional abuse, and Sexism
Moderate: Abandonment, Blood, Bullying, Child abuse, Grief, Injury/Injury detail, Medical content, Murder, Violence, and War
Minor: Ableism, Child death, Slavery, Medical trauma, Kidnapping, Gore, Fire/Fire injury, Domestic abuse, Death of parent, and Death
nebraskanwriter's review
- Plot- or character-driven? Character
- Strong character development? Yes
- Loveable characters? Yes
3.0
Graphic: Abandonment, Blood, Bullying, Classism, Confinement, Death, Death of parent, Emotional abuse, Kidnapping, Medical content, Physical abuse, Pregnancy, and Sexism