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gillianw's review against another edition
4.0
4.5 stars
A wonderful second book in The Cemeteries of Amalo series that has me hoping there will soon be a third. I do love a cozy mystery, even if - especially if - the detective in this case is a goblin with a gift for hearing the dead. I’m hopeful that Thara has come to terms with his grief, and will forge a new and interesting path forward. It will be intriguing to see what this new assignment will bring.
A wonderful second book in The Cemeteries of Amalo series that has me hoping there will soon be a third. I do love a cozy mystery, even if - especially if - the detective in this case is a goblin with a gift for hearing the dead. I’m hopeful that Thara has come to terms with his grief, and will forge a new and interesting path forward. It will be intriguing to see what this new assignment will bring.
emibutton's review against another edition
adventurous
hopeful
mysterious
fast-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? A mix
- Strong character development? No
- Loveable characters? Yes
- Diverse cast of characters? Yes
- Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes
4.5
The most original fantasy book I’ve read all year. While many traditional fantasy and mystery elements were utilised, Addison’s characters and storytelling make this book a unique experience.
mamoru's review against another edition
1.0
I gave this book more than a fair chance. I gave this author more than a fair chance. This is my third book by her and it seems to me that she absolutely hates women. Her books are built on women being killed, used, raped, destroyed and discarded.
They appear when someone needs to get killed or when the author needs to prove just how awesome the male characters are. Except they’re not. They suck. Especially Maia.
All female characters are here to further the men’s cause. They're all victims who need saving. They're either beautiful and vapid, or ugly but somewhat intelligent. The ugly ones resent the pretty ones while also masking a thinly veiled “at least I’m not stupid” smirk. The pretty ones use their charms to get shit from men but have no other thoughts or aspirations. They're all moody, hysterical and mere shadows that happen to cross the men’s path.
You could argue that it's okay for a book or an entire series to focus on men. To that, I say, Absolutely! But if you're going to add female characters, then you owe it to them (and us, the readers) to give them some substance and purpose outside of being there as victims.
This entire series is an ugly palimpsest of trigger warnings and toxic tropes that should be retired. Gold diggers, virgins versus whores, women in the fridge X a billion, gossiping women, the bimbo, the nagging wife bitch, the hysterical screaming ladies etc. The MC’s love interest literally murders his wife in order to be with the MC. We don’t know anything about the wife, not even a name. She's there to build character and explain why Thara is such a sadboi.
On top of that steaming pile of shit tropes, the author generously invites you to dine on an abundance of trigger warnings (for this book): Child pornography, child murder, suicide (a girl kills herself and her unborn baby after being raped by her boss), stillborn, parental abuse/neglect, mental illness, homophobia, misogyny, blackmail,
For the rest of the series: serial killer killing his wives (some pregnant), graphic suicide, ritual suicide, mention of suicide and suicidal ideation, attempted murder, murder, violent death, graphic death, body horror, homophobia, hinted sexual assault, infanticide, child abuse, abusive relationships, explicit racism etc.
Absolutely no substance. Triggers used for shock value. Pedantic writing. Female characters are worth less than dog shit.
They appear when someone needs to get killed or when the author needs to prove just how awesome the male characters are. Except they’re not. They suck. Especially Maia.
All female characters are here to further the men’s cause. They're all victims who need saving. They're either beautiful and vapid, or ugly but somewhat intelligent. The ugly ones resent the pretty ones while also masking a thinly veiled “at least I’m not stupid” smirk. The pretty ones use their charms to get shit from men but have no other thoughts or aspirations. They're all moody, hysterical and mere shadows that happen to cross the men’s path.
You could argue that it's okay for a book or an entire series to focus on men. To that, I say, Absolutely! But if you're going to add female characters, then you owe it to them (and us, the readers) to give them some substance and purpose outside of being there as victims.
This entire series is an ugly palimpsest of trigger warnings and toxic tropes that should be retired. Gold diggers, virgins versus whores, women in the fridge X a billion, gossiping women, the bimbo, the nagging wife bitch, the hysterical screaming ladies etc. The MC’s love interest literally murders his wife in order to be with the MC. We don’t know anything about the wife, not even a name. She's there to build character and explain why Thara is such a sadboi.
On top of that steaming pile of shit tropes, the author generously invites you to dine on an abundance of trigger warnings (for this book): Child pornography, child murder, suicide (a girl kills herself and her unborn baby after being raped by her boss), stillborn, parental abuse/neglect, mental illness, homophobia, misogyny, blackmail,
For the rest of the series: serial killer killing his wives (some pregnant), graphic suicide, ritual suicide, mention of suicide and suicidal ideation, attempted murder, murder, violent death, graphic death, body horror, homophobia, hinted sexual assault, infanticide, child abuse, abusive relationships, explicit racism etc.
Absolutely no substance. Triggers used for shock value. Pedantic writing. Female characters are worth less than dog shit.
abbyminzer's review
dark
hopeful
mysterious
reflective
medium-paced
- 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? It's complicated
3.0
celinbean's review against another edition
inspiring
mysterious
reflective
sad
slow-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? Character
- Strong character development? Yes
- Loveable characters? Yes
- Diverse cast of characters? Yes
- Flaws of characters a main focus? No
4.5
I just love celhara so much like what do you mean you don’t understand why so many people like you and would like you to stay when you literally dedicate your whole life to giving them justice and helping them even when its not your job. Fighting against scary beings like ghouls or other creatures that everyone thinks are just fables.
Anyway i love that grief stricken man so much and i’m a little devastated that the next book doesn’t have a release date let alone a premise on here 🥲
Anyway i love that grief stricken man so much and i’m a little devastated that the next book doesn’t have a release date let alone a premise on here 🥲
nonesensed's review against another edition
4.25
Thara Celehar continues his work as a Witness for the Dead, now with an unexpected, adult apprentice to teach along with all the new deaths he needs to solve or simply follow up on. It's rough being a Witness, but would it be even worse to not be one? Food for thought.
I'd like to start out saying I enjoyed this book. I love Thara Celehar as a character, he is just the kind of loyal, self-sacrificing dumbass I enjoy reading about. The mysteries Thara deals with engaged me, for the most part. The characters are interesting, and I love the subtle signs of a bit of a found family forming around Thara. Please keep this in mind while I now spend the rest of my review whining.
I've finally put my finger on why this book and the one before it haven't grabbed me as much as The Goblin Emperor: The plot and the character development rarely overlap.
In The Goblin Emperor the plot is finding out who killed the former emperor and if our dear main character Maia can survive long enough on the throne to find that out. The character development and emotional stakes are Maia finding allies and friends in a beyond rough and hostile environment. These two things go hand in hand and build on each other.
When we follow Thara Celehar, the plot is a constant string of minor death-related mysteries with the main focus on one such major mystery. In this book, it's the death of a noble woman that turns out to not be as natural as it first seemed and how that eventually puts Thara on the scent of a questionable foundling school. The character development is about Thara letting go of his grief over his executed lover and maybe one day opening up to the many people around him who want to be his friends, family and also a potential love interest. These two things rarely overlap. Also, the focus of the book is clearly on the mysteries, not so much on scenes where characters just bond or talk about their own conflicts. This makes most of the dialog feel very utilitarian. The characters focus mainly on discussing the mysteries they're trying to untangle, pausing briefly to ask rare personal questions, and then "going back to" the plot. This is not so different from The Goblin Emperor, but since the plot and characters went well together there, it wasn't as irksome.
I will admit to outright groaning in frustration at points in the book, especially towards the end, where I thought I finally was going to get Thara seeking true comfort from his love interest Iäna, only for the two of them to Mostly Talk Plot, with few non-dialogue cues that there was anything else going on subtext-wise, only twenty pages from the end of the story. I feel like I'm missing scenes of character interaction and feelings. There's a lot of subtext going on, but we're now on book two with Thara as its main character, and things about him revealed all the way back in The Goblin Emperor - like the fact that he caused the death of his lover by following his calling as a Witness and getting said lover executed for murder - has only ever been adress by Thara dwelling on it. When they're not talking about the plot, the characters default to long walks in silence together or brief moments that could be building to something (like sudden hand-holding near the end of this book) that's not followed up on. The difference in pace and focus between plot and character development is, in short, jarring.
I am holding out hope for Thara getting to just talk to people, should there be a next book, but that hope is growing fainter.
I'd like to start out saying I enjoyed this book. I love Thara Celehar as a character, he is just the kind of loyal, self-sacrificing dumbass I enjoy reading about. The mysteries Thara deals with engaged me, for the most part. The characters are interesting, and I love the subtle signs of a bit of a found family forming around Thara. Please keep this in mind while I now spend the rest of my review whining.
I've finally put my finger on why this book and the one before it haven't grabbed me as much as The Goblin Emperor: The plot and the character development rarely overlap.
In The Goblin Emperor the plot is finding out who killed the former emperor and if our dear main character Maia can survive long enough on the throne to find that out. The character development and emotional stakes are Maia finding allies and friends in a beyond rough and hostile environment. These two things go hand in hand and build on each other.
When we follow Thara Celehar, the plot is a constant string of minor death-related mysteries with the main focus on one such major mystery. In this book, it's the death of a noble woman that turns out to not be as natural as it first seemed and how that eventually puts Thara on the scent of a questionable foundling school. The character development is about Thara letting go of his grief over his executed lover and maybe one day opening up to the many people around him who want to be his friends, family and also a potential love interest. These two things rarely overlap. Also, the focus of the book is clearly on the mysteries, not so much on scenes where characters just bond or talk about their own conflicts. This makes most of the dialog feel very utilitarian. The characters focus mainly on discussing the mysteries they're trying to untangle, pausing briefly to ask rare personal questions, and then "going back to" the plot. This is not so different from The Goblin Emperor, but since the plot and characters went well together there, it wasn't as irksome.
I will admit to outright groaning in frustration at points in the book, especially towards the end, where I thought I finally was going to get Thara seeking true comfort from his love interest Iäna, only for the two of them to Mostly Talk Plot, with few non-dialogue cues that there was anything else going on subtext-wise, only twenty pages from the end of the story. I feel like I'm missing scenes of character interaction and feelings. There's a lot of subtext going on, but we're now on book two with Thara as its main character, and things about him revealed all the way back in The Goblin Emperor - like the fact that he caused the death of his lover by following his calling as a Witness and getting said lover executed for murder - has only ever been adress by Thara dwelling on it. When they're not talking about the plot, the characters default to long walks in silence together or brief moments that could be building to something (like sudden hand-holding near the end of this book) that's not followed up on. The difference in pace and focus between plot and character development is, in short, jarring.
I am holding out hope for Thara getting to just talk to people, should there be a next book, but that hope is growing fainter.
brooks_books's review against another edition
mysterious
relaxing
sad
slow-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? Plot
- Strong character development? No
- Loveable characters? Yes
- Diverse cast of characters? Yes
- Flaws of characters a main focus? No
2.5
read_bransdon's review against another edition
adventurous
emotional
inspiring
mysterious
reflective
medium-paced
- 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