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a_rash_read'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
4.25
Graphic: Pregnancy, Religious bigotry, Grief, Kidnapping, Death, Physical abuse, Torture, Emotional abuse, Domestic abuse, Child abuse, Fire/Fire injury, Miscarriage, Violence, Alcoholism, Bullying, Child death, and Death of parent
dcdc'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? Yes
4.0
Graphic: Antisemitism, Death of parent, and Domestic abuse
Moderate: Grief, Misogyny, and Alcoholism
Minor: Sexual violence
val_theburrowofstories'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
4.0
This is a young adult book with fantasy elements and magic! Which is perfect for me, but if you’re looking for romance this isn’t it (like AT ALL, and I’m okay with that but I know it’s a deal breaker for some people), also, the fantasy is very low in the beginning but after a few chapters is there.
I liked Miryem from the second we met her, I don’t care if she’s “cold” or “ambitious” for others, to me she was caring for her family, doing the job, she was organized, really wise, not afraid of anything and always with a plan, proud of her religion and loyal to the people she loves until the very end. I just love her.
I was rooting for Wanda all the time, I just wanted her to be okay in the end, be free from her father, find her way and have a good and happy life. She’s such a hardworking girl, smart and quick learner, but overall she has a lot of courage and is ready to protect her family from anyone (even if it’s a demon or a scary King!)
Then we have Irina who I also came to love by the end. She looked weak in the beginning but she quickly adapted to her new reality, she was protective of her people and so brave. I just love women plotting, taking action, involved in politics, always with a plan and one step ahead!
I loved these girls so much! I’m tired of reading about girls who just go and do whatever without thinking, no plans, making things worse and not caring about the others. But Miryem, Wanda and Irina? They have such different backgrounds and yet their main qualities were being hardworking, really smart, brave and protective over their love ones. Honestly? I feel like that’s just me, in each girl I saw myself reflected and maybe that’s part of why I loved them.
When you are reading this book, I understand why some people might find it boring, but to me it was as if I was enchanted by it, so focus on the story and the characters with this beautiful writing. Besides the audiobook helped and I knew when the POV changed from one girl to another (or sometimes another character), it was so addictive and interesting.
So yeah, I don’t think this book is for everyone but I still recommend you give it a try if the premise sounds interesting to you.
Graphic: Violence, Child abuse, Grief, Death of parent, and Domestic abuse
Moderate: Alcoholism, Misogyny, Sexism, and Child death
Minor: Sexual content
Here is a list of the content warnings and how is it that they’re present in the book, if you don’t want spoilers just skip this part:
Death of parent / Grief: Wanda lost her mother when she was eleven years old.
Child death: Wanda’s mother had a lot of babies but I think they died soon after being born or were stillborn.
Domestic abuse / Child abuse / Alcoholism / Violence: Wanda’s father was a really bad man, beating his three children for years and spending most of his money on alcohol.
Sexual content: There is just talk around the topic or slight mention of it, not explicit at all.
Misogyny / Sexism: Because Wanda’s father would just give her in exchange for a pig or alcohol. And there’s some other instances.
litliz'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? It's complicated
4.0
Graphic: Blood, Classism, Death of parent, Grief, Religious bigotry, Physical abuse, Toxic relationship, Body horror, Child abuse, Antisemitism, Murder, Injury/Injury detail, Kidnapping, Confinement, Death, Fire/Fire injury, and Violence
starlit_pathways's review
- 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
4.25
Graphic: Body horror, Sexism, Domestic abuse, Violence, Confinement, Injury/Injury detail, Torture, Antisemitism, Death of parent, and Death
Moderate: Alcohol, Alcoholism, and Grief
Minor: Sexual violence and Rape
bettysbookishworld'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
4.75
Graphic: Antisemitism, Physical abuse, Misogyny, Domestic abuse, and Death of parent
Moderate: Animal death, Fire/Fire injury, and Alcoholism
Minor: Miscarriage and Grief
mzynda'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
4.75
Graphic: Child abuse, Death of parent, and Grief
haley49's review against another edition
- Plot- or character-driven? Plot
- Strong character development? Yes
- Loveable characters? Yes
- Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes
4.25
Graphic: Antisemitism, Child abuse, Religious bigotry, Grief, and Domestic abuse
Moderate: Animal cruelty, Animal death, Dementia, Alcoholism, Injury/Injury detail, Physical abuse, Sexism, Sexual violence, Classism, Death of parent, Death, Emotional abuse, Alcohol, and Abandonment
Minor: Suicidal thoughts, Rape, Violence, and Torture
brie333's review against another edition
- Plot- or character-driven? Character
- Strong character development? Yes
- Loveable characters? It's complicated
- Diverse cast of characters? N/A
- Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes
4.0
- the book was a bit too long, but somehow the ending was too short. I wish we could’ve gotten a more fleshed out ending. I came to love these characters and it was hard walking away when they were so unsettled. I also feel like some of the lore or the whys behind actions was not discussed enough, but we have whole flashbacks or memories on the clothing everyone wore. Sometimes it felt like the author focused undue attention on building the setting/visuals.
- that being said I loved the set up to the overall story, the world building, and Miryems storyline in particular. Novik is brilliant at details and really bring everything to life for you. Her descriptions felt familiar and well explored. I just wish this wasn’t always at the expense of explanations of how things came to be.
- I purposely picked this book because it was a standalone but I’m now wishing for a sequel to flesh out the ending and explain some of the castoff plot lines.
- I can handle multi-povs but with nothing more than a page break, sometimes I would be deep in a paragraph before getting clarity on who was speaking. I think maybe the intention was to keep time moving and explain everything while keeping the reader a little on the outside of the story. But for me, it was a little dizzying. I understand that there was language choices and symbols that differentiated the povs but while each person had a distinct voice I will admit to being a little lost at some points of the story.
- Overall, a great story, one of the best I’ve read this year. Well crafted and complex. One I would read again but the pacing and abrupt ending to all but one plotlline took away a star. I don’t want to leave the impression that this is not a book to pickup. It absolutely is and I highly recommend it. Novik can write and write well. I just found myself wanting to walk in her cold winter woods a little longer and with a little more knowledge of how we got there.
- this has nothing to do with the author but I was told this was a fantasy with romance and I completely disagree. It’s a fantasy retelling that speaks on love, found family, and how far someone/anyone is willing to go when more is demanded of you. From any side. What little romance there is, and I do mean little, it’s serviceable to the story but not important enough to merit a claim
Graphic: Emotional abuse, Bullying, Child abuse, and Death of parent
Moderate: Alcoholism, Animal death, Physical abuse, Violence, War, Fire/Fire injury, and Grief
therainbowshelf'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
Graphic: Antisemitism, Child abuse, Classism, Confinement, Grief, Sexism, Misogyny, Alcoholism, Death, Death of parent, Emotional abuse, and Fire/Fire injury
Minor: Animal death