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idlg34713's review against another edition
adventurous
slow-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? Plot
- Strong character development? No
- Loveable characters? No
- Diverse cast of characters? No
- Flaws of characters a main focus? No
1.0
Just as I said with The House of Many Ways, The Castle in the Air has a cast of mostly unlikeable characters, the book is mostly fluff, two thirds of which can be cut and the book would still make sense and that doesn't even account for the healthy dosage of orientalism in this work.
Content Warnings
Minor: Racism and Xenophobia
minzzi's review against another edition
adventurous
lighthearted
medium-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? Plot
- Strong character development? No
- Loveable characters? It's complicated
- Diverse cast of characters? Yes
- Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes
2.0
This book was a big desapointement, specially coming out of Howl's Moving Castle.
The plot was mildly entertaining and I liked some of the new side characters and the ones from the previous book that showed up. Beyond that, I don't have much nice to say.
Basically all the non-white characters were racist stereotypes written by a white woman. The people from Zanzib are described as all being greedy scammers who will do all matter of horrible things for money and power and the one asian princess is described as small, frail, quiet and the only one who doesn't speak the language that all the other characters seen to speak, even thou they are all from different places in the world. And that line were the main character says that Ingary (a place clearly inspired by England were most of not all people are white) was sooo much better and more beautiful than his homeland really bothered me.
Also, for some reason the men in this book are very misogynistic. In the previous book there was no such thing, or at least it wasn't part of the story. Woman worked and owned their own shops, they maried who they wanted and were over all independent and powerful, but in this book there is multiple instances were they are controlled or shamed for their apparence. The only time the main characters thinks the way a female character is being treated is wrong is only because he thinks "she is to beutiful to be treated like that". Big eyeroll moment. And most os the misogyny coming from the POC in the story didn't help either.
To close if of, the romance on this book sucks. I reeeeally don't like storys were the characters know each other for 5 minutes and are already in love, specially in cases like this were the male main character is obsessed with a woman only for her looks, without knowing nothing about her and for some reason the female love interest loves him back and that is seen as a completely normal thing.
<Spoiler> I was going to give this book 2.5 stars, but that scene near the end were the soldier coerces one of the princesses into marriage or else he is going to help the villain keep then captive really upset me. So just 2 stars it is. <Spoiler>
The plot was mildly entertaining and I liked some of the new side characters and the ones from the previous book that showed up. Beyond that, I don't have much nice to say.
Basically all the non-white characters were racist stereotypes written by a white woman. The people from Zanzib are described as all being greedy scammers who will do all matter of horrible things for money and power and the one asian princess is described as small, frail, quiet and the only one who doesn't speak the language that all the other characters seen to speak, even thou they are all from different places in the world. And that line were the main character says that Ingary (a place clearly inspired by England were most of not all people are white) was sooo much better and more beautiful than his homeland really bothered me.
Also, for some reason the men in this book are very misogynistic. In the previous book there was no such thing, or at least it wasn't part of the story. Woman worked and owned their own shops, they maried who they wanted and were over all independent and powerful, but in this book there is multiple instances were they are controlled or shamed for their apparence. The only time the main characters thinks the way a female character is being treated is wrong is only because he thinks "she is to beutiful to be treated like that". Big eyeroll moment. And most os the misogyny coming from the POC in the story didn't help either.
To close if of, the romance on this book sucks. I reeeeally don't like storys were the characters know each other for 5 minutes and are already in love, specially in cases like this were the male main character is obsessed with a woman only for her looks, without knowing nothing about her and for some reason the female love interest loves him back and that is seen as a completely normal thing.
<Spoiler> I was going to give this book 2.5 stars, but that scene near the end were the soldier coerces one of the princesses into marriage or else he is going to help the villain keep then captive really upset me. So just 2 stars it is. <Spoiler>
Content Warnings
Moderate: Body shaming, Fatphobia, Misogyny, Racism, Sexism, and Kidnapping
cecilia_branco's review against another edition
adventurous
funny
lighthearted
medium-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? Plot
- Strong character development? No
- Loveable characters? No
- Diverse cast of characters? Yes
- Flaws of characters a main focus? No
3.0
Content Warnings
Graphic: Fatphobia and Racism
merin_aran's review against another edition
adventurous
funny
lighthearted
medium-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? Plot
- Strong character development? Yes
- Loveable characters? Yes
- Diverse cast of characters? Yes
- Flaws of characters a main focus? No
2.0
- Enchanting, whimsical and fun (mostly). Has much of the same wit and humour that I really enjoyed in the first book, however...
- The new main characters were a bit disappointing. I found Abdullah and the soldier a bit lacklustre and annoying at times and I didn't warm to them much.
- I really wanted more of the OG characters that I fell in love with previously - they are in it, but remain in disguise through most of the book, which was a shame because they were such a big part of why I loved the first book.
- There were also definitely some problems with exoticism and racial stereotyping that changed the vibe of the book - I don’t think it was malicious but rather outdated ignorance and you can tell that Jones is not writing about her own culture.
- There was also a fair bit of fat-shaming and misogyny from the main character too, which is probably why I really didn’t like him tbh
- Overall an ok book, but the characterisation and problematic writing let it down.
Content Warnings
Graphic: Kidnapping
Moderate: Fatphobia and Racism
Minor: Sexism
k_bb's review against another edition
1.0
This book was riddled with racist tropes. There were quite a few plot holes. A very disappointing sequel.
Content Warnings
Graphic: Fatphobia and Racism
soph22's review against another edition
funny
inspiring
lighthearted
fast-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? A mix
- Strong character development? It's complicated
- Loveable characters? It's complicated
- Diverse cast of characters? It's complicated
- Flaws of characters a main focus? No
3.75
Content Warnings
Moderate: Fatphobia and Racism
poirot's review against another edition
adventurous
lighthearted
medium-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? A mix
- Strong character development? No
- Loveable characters? Yes
- Diverse cast of characters? It's complicated
- Flaws of characters a main focus? No
4.0
Content Warnings
Graphic: Fatphobia, Misogyny, and Kidnapping
Moderate: Racism, Death of parent, and Pregnancy
Minor: Animal cruelty and Physical abuse
kccrewdson's review against another edition
adventurous
lighthearted
medium-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? Plot
- Strong character development? Yes
- Loveable characters? Yes
- Diverse cast of characters? Yes
- Flaws of characters a main focus? No
3.0
Fine, but not nearly as good as the first book and Jones’ veers into orientalism pretty frequently
Content Warnings
Moderate: Racism
Not necessarily a negative portrayal of POC or Muslims but definitely orientalist. Not surprising given the publishing date and the race of the author, but worth noting.labello's review against another edition
adventurous
funny
mysterious
medium-paced
- 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? Yes
1.75
review for the audible audiobook:
I really appreciated Kristin Atherton while I was massively disappointed in DW Jones. Kristin I already appreciated in the first audiobook of the series and she did another great job.
The writing is great, no questions asked DWJ knew how to write, but the story was just a massive letdown and Abdullah just came across as really unlikable.
Now to the story... It's quite racist. And fatphobic. Flower-in-the-Night who is the love interest of this book seems to be the only woman Abdullah, the protagonist, ever found worthy of respect. The arabic-esque Zanzib is filled to the brim with stereotypes that hearing in 2022 is just.. grotesque. The only thing Abdullah seems to actually like about Flower is her looks; he continuously points out how thin, pretty and *light-skinned* she is. Her personality is described as kind and smart, we barely see any examples of that now by the very end of the book she even goes completely against that established smartness by being upset that Abdullah didnt kiss her because of the other princesses, who were also abducted, told her if he'd like her he'd have already kissed her. They have met twice at that point. Twice. . Moreover, these characteristics seem to just be an afterthought, a bonus at best, for Abdullah since he is completely focussed on her looks. Her father going so far as to not even let her into the garden during the day lest she might get a tan. Before meeting Abdullah Flower has only ever met one single man in her entire life. That man being her father.
Shortly before Abdullah can rescue her, after meeting her exactly twice, from the prison that is her palace, he is being forced by his family to marry two of his relatives, cousins or something of the sort. These two cousins are the only overweight characters in the entirety of the book. The only way these two are described is as dumb and disgusting. It is literally pointed out when these two are just giggling Abdullah can see nothing but their fat wobbling and how he is appaled by that.
If you hope to continue to follow Howl and Sophie in this book, you will be disappointed. The insertion of those two feels like an afterthought, the story being pretty much the same if their parts had been played by new characters. Their pre-established personalities almost don't play a part whatsoever, some parts of it going directly against what'd you'd expect them to do if you read this right after reading/hearing Howls Moving Castle. It feels like this was just something to get the fans who kept asking for a sequel to calm down and be quiet. Abdullah even goes on about how Sophie's strong character is entirely unattractive.
Where the first book basically showed that Howl and Sophie fell for each other for their personalities, for the faults that made them the person they are. This book seems to do the complete opposite, Howl fell in love with Sophie despite her looking like a 90year old woman, Abdullah falls for Flowers looks only. Where Howl grows and learns that being "pinned down" isn't always bad and he can actually genuinely love, Abdullah never faces any repercussions for only being interested in Flowers looks. Where Sophie grows to be more confident, self-assured and learns to speak up for herself, we only see a step back for Flower at the very end and no real growth at all since we barely had any time with her. The first book took its time to show Howl and Sophie getting closer and more comfortable with each other showing that falling in love is a process and more than the crush Howl had on the girls he was courting before, Abdullah and Flower meet like 4 times in the entirety of this book. The fourth time being when they finally reunite after finding the kidnapped Flower.
I really appreciated Kristin Atherton while I was massively disappointed in DW Jones. Kristin I already appreciated in the first audiobook of the series and she did another great job.
The writing is great, no questions asked DWJ knew how to write, but the story was just a massive letdown and Abdullah just came across as really unlikable.
Now to the story... It's quite racist. And fatphobic. Flower-in-the-Night who is the love interest of this book seems to be the only woman Abdullah, the protagonist, ever found worthy of respect. The arabic-esque Zanzib is filled to the brim with stereotypes that hearing in 2022 is just.. grotesque. The only thing Abdullah seems to actually like about Flower is her looks; he continuously points out how thin, pretty and *light-skinned* she is. Her personality is described as kind and smart, we barely see any examples of that
Shortly before Abdullah can rescue her, after meeting her exactly twice, from the prison that is her palace, he is being forced by his family to marry two of his relatives, cousins or something of the sort. These two cousins are the only overweight characters in the entirety of the book. The only way these two are described is as dumb and disgusting. It is literally pointed out when these two are just giggling Abdullah can see nothing but their fat wobbling and how he is appaled by that.
If you hope to continue to follow Howl and Sophie in this book, you will be disappointed. The insertion of those two feels like an afterthought, the story being pretty much the same if their parts had been played by new characters. Their pre-established personalities almost don't play a part whatsoever, some parts of it going directly against what'd you'd expect them to do if you read this right after reading/hearing Howls Moving Castle. It feels like this was just something to get the fans who kept asking for a sequel to calm down and be quiet. Abdullah even goes on about how Sophie's strong character is entirely unattractive.
Where the first book basically showed that Howl and Sophie fell for each other for their personalities, for the faults that made them the person they are. This book seems to do the complete opposite, Howl fell in love with Sophie despite her looking like a 90year old woman, Abdullah falls for Flowers looks only. Where Howl grows and learns that being "pinned down" isn't always bad and he can actually genuinely love, Abdullah never faces any repercussions for only being interested in Flowers looks. Where Sophie grows to be more confident, self-assured and learns to speak up for herself, we only see a step back for Flower at the very end and no real growth at all since we barely had any time with her. The first book took its time to show Howl and Sophie getting closer and more comfortable with each other showing that falling in love is a process and more than the crush Howl had on the girls he was courting before, Abdullah and Flower meet like 4 times in the entirety of this book. The fourth time being when they finally reunite after finding the kidnapped Flower.
Content Warnings
Graphic: Body shaming, Fatphobia, and Misogyny
Moderate: Racism
Minor: Emotional abuse and Death of parent
bpop's review against another edition
adventurous
fast-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? Plot
- Strong character development? No
- Loveable characters? No
- Diverse cast of characters? It's complicated
- Flaws of characters a main focus? No
2.0
Content Warnings
Graphic: Kidnapping
Moderate: Racism and Sexism