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saracat's review against another edition
- Plot- or character-driven? Plot
- Strong character development? It's complicated
- Loveable characters? Yes
- Diverse cast of characters? Yes
- Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes
4.25
Now to the review. I became so invested in the main characters. And the world Dean created felt so fresh and unique to me. While I never quite got my head around understanding the knights and dragons completely, it doesn’t really bother me.
I love characters and books that are riddled with morally grey - which this book is full of. Though, the farther I got into the book, the more I hesitated to keep picking it up because after everything the characters had been through I wanted them to at least have ‘better’ and I just couldn’t get a sense if Dean had written a book that would have an ultimately happy ending, tragic ending, something in between, etc. And I didn’t want to reach the end. But I finally did, and I think the ending fits everything that proceeds it in the book.
Moderate: Bullying, Murder, Alcoholism, Death, Body horror, Emotional abuse, Abandonment, and Blood
Minor: Gore, Rape, Confinement, Kidnapping, Acephobia/Arophobia, and Child abuse
hazel_oat's review against another edition
- 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
2.0
Graphic: Cannibalism, Death, Religious bigotry, Toxic relationship, Violence, Child abuse, Child death, Injury/Injury detail, Confinement, Murder, and Gun violence
Moderate: Addiction, Alcoholism, Alcohol, Rape, Torture, Gore, Body horror, Kidnapping, and Sexual assault
Minor: Acephobia/Arophobia, Fire/Fire injury, Suicidal thoughts, and Pedophilia
talonsontypewriters's review against another edition
- Plot- or character-driven? A mix
- Strong character development? Yes
- Loveable characters? It's complicated
- Diverse cast of characters? It's complicated
- Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes
4.0
Graphic: Body horror, Death, Misogyny, Murder, Physical abuse, Grief, Sexism, Violence, Gore, Domestic abuse, Emotional abuse, Child abuse, Cannibalism, Abandonment, and Gun violence
Moderate: Pregnancy, Rape, Alcoholism, Medical content, Alcohol, Car accident, Torture, Drug use, Addiction, and Infertility
Minor: Racism, Pedophilia, Acephobia/Arophobia, Homophobia, Vomit, Child death, and Trafficking
esme_may's review against another edition
- Plot- or character-driven? Plot
4.0
Graphic: Death, Injury/Injury detail, Murder, Body horror, Sexism, Alcohol, Gore, Violence, Misogyny, Domestic abuse, Abandonment, Vomit, Pregnancy, and Blood
Moderate: Physical abuse, Infertility, Sexual content, Sexual assault, Confinement, Death of parent, Fire/Fire injury, Grief, Child abuse, Acephobia/Arophobia, Gun violence, and Rape
Minor: Trafficking, Homophobia, and Incest
looseleafellie's review against another edition
- Plot- or character-driven? A mix
- Strong character development? Yes
5.0
This is a relatively short read that packs a wildly imaginative premise into its pages. The Book Eater concept is so WEIRD, but I happily ate it up.
The point isn’t the biology or abilities of the Book Eaters, but rather how their society is set up. Just like real oppressive systems, there are any number of “logical” reasons for Book Eater society to function the way it does, but no amount of logic can justify the way the system strips its marginalized members (in this case, women and mind-eaters) of their agency.
Devon is a sharp and savvy character hardened by her circumstances. I guess she’s a classically “unlikeable” protagonist, but even before I learned about her past that made her that way, I couldn’t help sympathizing with her motivations for doing questionable things.
The story is told in both the present day and flashbacks, which propelled the plot along while revealing more about Devon’s backstory and the Book Eater world. Toward the end, when the flashbacks got close to the present day, I felt like they slowed things down, but I generally liked the dual timelines.
Overall, I would recommend this book to those who want a dark, imaginative, compelling fantasy read. Also if you like books. But if you’re reading this, that’s probably a given.
Spice level: None.
CWs: Violence (inc. toward children), gore, murder, domestic abuse, misogyny, forced marriage, forced parent/child separation, childbirth, and mentions of human trafficking, SA, and acephobia.
Graphic: Violence, Misogyny, Murder, and Domestic abuse
Moderate: Pregnancy
Minor: Acephobia/Arophobia, Sexual assault, and Trafficking
sydresnik'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? N/A
4.0
Moderate: Sexual assault, Acephobia/Arophobia, Confinement, Death, Violence, Blood, Cannibalism, Infertility, Sexual violence, Slavery, Toxic friendship, and Alcoholism
isaaah's review against another edition
- 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
This story is about a woman trying to escape the system she is born in and envision a different future.
The book also talks about love, and the lengths we go for it, which is a theme I'm also always happy to explore. I especially enjoyed the notion that love is not inherently good, it is just something we make choices for. A lot of it focuses on Devons relationship with her children, which I thought well done. However, I'm not a parent, nor do not I wish to be, so some of the emotional layers might have been lost on me.
I was more so interested in the development of her friendships with Jarrow and Hester. Devon grew up isolated and sheltered and only rarely met strangers. Later she is made to fend for herself in a world full of a people unknown to her, and that are functionally prey for her son. I thought this made for an interesting perspective to the process of trusting new people and making friends, and I'd have liked to see more of it. I personally would have preferred her relationship with Hester to stay platonic, as right now, the romance seemed underdeveloped to me. It seemed more like something to be explored in a potential sequel (or just leave up to the imagination). But then again, my verdict for 90% of romance plots is that it goes too fast; at this point it might be a me-problem.
At the end I also felt like the flashbacks slowed down the pace a bit, but none of these things kept me from thoroughly enjoying this book!
Graphic: Emotional abuse, Forced institutionalization, Gore, Physical abuse, Sexism, Injury/Injury detail, Body horror, Death, Domestic abuse, Gun violence, Child abuse, Murder, Violence, Blood, Child death, Death of parent, and Toxic relationship
Moderate: Confinement, Grief, and Slavery
Minor: Sexual content, Trafficking, Alcohol, Vomit, Acephobia/Arophobia, Fire/Fire injury, Infertility, Pregnancy, and Rape
hazelsnoot'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: Injury/Injury detail, Sexual violence, Stalking, Trafficking, Abandonment, Drug use, Murder, Rape, Sexism, Emotional abuse, Infertility, Physical abuse, Violence, Cannibalism, Child abuse, Confinement, Death of parent, Gaslighting, Gore, Gun violence, Alcoholism, Blood, Body horror, Child death, Death, Domestic abuse, Kidnapping, Medical content, Pregnancy, Religious bigotry, and Toxic relationship
Minor: Acephobia/Arophobia
imds's review against another edition
- Strong character development? Yes
- Loveable characters? Yes
- Diverse cast of characters? It's complicated
- Flaws of characters a main focus? It's complicated
4.0
Graphic: Kidnapping, Acephobia/Arophobia, Cannibalism, Child abuse, Domestic abuse, Infertility, Misogyny, Emotional abuse, Fire/Fire injury, Gore, Death, Gun violence, Blood, Murder, Xenophobia, Violence, Vomit, Abandonment, Body horror, Grief, Body shaming, Confinement, Pregnancy, Physical abuse, Police brutality, Rape, Sexism, Sexual violence, Religious bigotry, Schizophrenia/Psychosis , Slavery, and Trafficking
idontlovejessica's review against another edition
Graphic: Infertility, Injury/Injury detail, Sexual content, Sexual harassment, Grief, Kidnapping, Misogyny, Sexism, Abandonment, Cannibalism, Acephobia/Arophobia, Addiction, Emotional abuse, Gaslighting, Violence, Incest, Rape, Sexual violence, Trafficking, Murder, Pregnancy, and Sexual assault