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sarahbythebook's review
4.5
The loss of half a star is from wanting there to be about 50 more pages tying up the ending. It felt very rushed and even some parts were left unexplained. <spoilers>I wanted to know so much more about him seeing the ghosts. Why him? Why not Jehan if she survived the plague? Why could Izaro see a ghost he couldn't? So many loose threads with that one specific plot line. Still a fantastic read, and I can't wait to dig into more by this author!
Graphic: Death and Animal death
Moderate: Grief and Medical trauma
Minor: Vomit and War
Don't read this if stuff about widespread illness is upsetting to you at this timeteifrank'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? No
4.5
Graphic: Death, Violence, Slavery, and Torture
mirificmoxie'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
Moderate: Animal death, Injury/Injury detail, Grief, Death, Medical trauma, and Blood
Minor: Infertility, Child death, Death of parent, Fire/Fire injury, Kidnapping, Confinement, and Drug use
bookfan1414's review against another edition
- Plot- or character-driven? Character
- Strong character development? Yes
- Loveable characters? Yes
- Diverse cast of characters? It's complicated
- Flaws of characters a main focus? It's complicated
5.0
Moderate: Confinement, Gore, Infertility, Trafficking, Death, Grief, Injury/Injury detail, Medical trauma, Abandonment, Torture, and Violence
moni8's review against another edition
- Plot- or character-driven? Character
- Strong character development? It's complicated
- Loveable characters? It's complicated
- Diverse cast of characters? N/A
- Flaws of characters a main focus? No
1.5
Graphic: Death
Moderate: Injury/Injury detail and Vomit
plague, kinda ptsdbrimelick'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? It's complicated
5.0
Graphic: Child death, Death, and Death of parent
bookwormbullet'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
4.0
Moderate: Gore, Death, and Violence
Minor: Death of parent and Child death
andromeda_1998's review against another edition
- Plot- or character-driven? Character
- Strong character development? Yes
- Loveable characters? Yes
- Diverse cast of characters? It's complicated
- Flaws of characters a main focus? It's complicated
5.0
Characters
Cas/Cassia was a really sweet but broken character. I really liked him for a male lead. Throughout the book you get more glimpses of the past and well this boy deserved a better life. Reading about his trauma and the way he tries to find his own happiness is sad and hopeful ad the same time.
Luna is also a fun character. I love the scene in which they meet! There friendship feels very natural and I love the way it is written.
Worldbuilding
Makiia Lucier kept the world basic, understandable and she explained just enough for it to work. The story is short and more worldbuilding would not have worked for this book. It’s very well done.
Story
The story has some darker elements, which I like. I like it when fantasy books include these darker elements and I feel like they belong in this story. I have questions about the choice to give Cas the power or curse to see ghost. We don’t really get information that explains why he can see them and I feel like it wasn’t really necessary for the story. I liked the element but I would have preferred more of an explanation.
Writing
The storytelling is amazingly done. The writings is beautiful but not over complicated. It’s a book that most people can read without problems. Which is good!
I would recommend this book to ya readers and especially the readers that are just starting to read in English. This story works for everyone but remember to always check the triggerwarnings first.
Graphic: Child death, Abandonment, Confinement, Death, Animal death, Blood, Body horror, Physical abuse, Infertility, and Grief
proseandpurls'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? It's complicated
5.0
Graphic: Death and Violence
Deals with a plague (based loosely on some black plague events)elmewhy'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? No
4.25
I thoroughly enjoyed this book. I don't often read from a male perspective in YA books but I thought it was really well written. Although I don't mind, I'm glad that romance isn't the main theme here as it would have taken away from the basis of the plot.
The grief and death we saw through our tortured souled MC was heartbreaking and the character development was great. The twist was enjoyable, and the endings for the characters were wonderful - I'm sad its a standalone as I would like to be with the characters more but it felt finished.
Graphic: Grief and Death
Minor: Animal death