Reviews with content warning for Violence - The Alloy of Law

Oh boy... Okay, let's start with the positives. The plot was fun! It wasn't super deep or complex, a bit predictable, but it was fun. I was interested in the mystery, and I wanted to see where it would go. The setting was a cool blend of Western and fantasy. It would have been neat to see more of the roughs Wax went on about, but the city was cool too. And a lot of the side characters were fun and interesting. The characters were all a bit stereotypical archetypes, but in something fun like this, I don't mind that so much.
But - and it's quite a big one - wtf was with the weird misogynistic interactions?? Very mild spoiler from the prologue

Spoiler
we start the book with the girlfriend of the MC getting killed, which is an event which colors 90% of his thoughts and decisions for the rest of the book.

And half the interactions Wax and Wayne have with Merise, the female lead, revolve around them overtly sexualizing her. And not just in their thoughts; they say it all out loud, to her, and she just blushes and accepts it. There even seems to be an implication that she enjoys it? It was all very unnecessary and quite gross and I hope the next book does better.

Characters: 6
Plot: 8
Setting: 8
General appeal: 6
Writing style: 4
Originality: 6
Ending: 5

Content Warnings

jamieleepilk's review

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adventurous dark funny mysterious tense fast-paced

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

4.0

Content Warnings

redreading_hood's review

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adventurous funny mysterious fast-paced

Plot- or character-driven? A mix
Strong character development? Yes
Loveable characters? Yes
Diverse cast of characters? N/A
Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes

5.0

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