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thebetterstory's review against another edition
adventurous
fast-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
4.25
This was just pure fun. If "fantasy warrior nun boarding school" sounds like something you'd enjoy, I don't think you even need to read reviews. Just drop everything and go pick the book up instead.
The writing is a lively mixture of classic tropes and new twists on the formula. The worldbuilding is doled out my preferred way, in tiny bursts and only when it's directly relevant to the characters lives' in some way. The prose is also pleasantly unpretentious, focusing on imparting clear information rather than dazzling with elaborate descriptions or turns of phrase. It makes this eminently readable, which is great for the tightly-paced plot and action sequences.
Nona, the protagonist, leans into being a power fantasy, which I suppose might annoy people who for some reason do not enjoy watching little girls behead grown men in vengeance, but as she's also being constantly beset by horrible circumstances I'd say she's still quite easy to root for, as is the motley cast of friends she gathers around herself as the novel progresses.
There was one particular bit I found annoying, which had to do with the girls (who do at least have the excuse of being very young) refusing to disclose important information to the adults in their lives because they're scared of the consequences, even when it becomes obvious those consequences could be dire. Luckily, nobody's holding onto the idiot ball for longer than a plot-essential arc or so before it's dropped.
By the time I was a quarter of the way through the book, I was already reserving the rest of the series from the library and settling in to marathon as much as I could. This was my first book by this author, and I'm certain I'll be digging back through his previous trilogies to see if they're as delightful as this one is so far.
The writing is a lively mixture of classic tropes and new twists on the formula. The worldbuilding is doled out my preferred way, in tiny bursts and only when it's directly relevant to the characters lives' in some way. The prose is also pleasantly unpretentious, focusing on imparting clear information rather than dazzling with elaborate descriptions or turns of phrase. It makes this eminently readable, which is great for the tightly-paced plot and action sequences.
Nona, the protagonist, leans into being a power fantasy, which I suppose might annoy people who for some reason do not enjoy watching little girls behead grown men in vengeance, but as she's also being constantly beset by horrible circumstances I'd say she's still quite easy to root for, as is the motley cast of friends she gathers around herself as the novel progresses.
There was one particular bit I found annoying, which had to do with the girls (who do at least have the excuse of being very young) refusing to disclose important information to the adults in their lives because they're scared of the consequences, even when it becomes obvious those consequences could be dire. Luckily, nobody's holding onto the idiot ball for longer than a plot-essential arc or so before it's dropped.
By the time I was a quarter of the way through the book, I was already reserving the rest of the series from the library and settling in to marathon as much as I could. This was my first book by this author, and I'm certain I'll be digging back through his previous trilogies to see if they're as delightful as this one is so far.
Content Warnings
Graphic: Animal cruelty and Animal death
Moderate: Child abuse, Child death, and Violence
Minor: Ableism and Bullying
miolla's review against another edition
adventurous
dark
emotional
sad
- Plot- or character-driven? A mix
- Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes
3.25
It was an enjoyable enough listen (Helen Duff as narrator). I do struggle with the age of the main characters and found it a lot more believable to imagine them as teens instead. Can't decide on its target audience either, young adult probably most fitting. This came up in my search for a book without the prevailing misogynist tropes and settings and as such it was a nice change. To me this was too much of an YA/ coming of age story in a world full of violence and injustice, with somewhat predictable plot turns in a Harry Potter/ Hunger Games/ Divergent-esque manner.
Content Warnings
Graphic: Animal cruelty and Animal death
the_rainydayreader's review against another edition
adventurous
slow-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? Plot
- Strong character development? Yes
- Loveable characters? No
- Diverse cast of characters? Yes
- Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes
4.0
Content Warnings
Graphic: Violence
Moderate: Animal cruelty and Animal death
azaliz's review against another edition
adventurous
dark
mysterious
reflective
tense
medium-paced
- Strong character development? Yes
- Loveable characters? Yes
- Diverse cast of characters? Yes
- Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes
4.5
Such a good book! Almost all the characters are women, there's sapphic love in the corners (the MC is all about friendship and rage though), all sorts of skin color, lots of badassery and heavy fighting. There's also one disabled secondary character but her disability feels like a token, it's never addressed (but people are all accommodating to her, nobody is *too* nice, so I guess that's good).
I also love the lore and the universe of the story, it's fascinating! Plus the author is very good at explaining the way his world works, and at the beginning of Book Two he summarizes neatly what happened in the previous book, which is a nice touch.
The book contains some flash-forward and flashbacks that are very well done; we are often lead to believe certain things then discover ourselves that we were mistaken, without the characters explicitly explaining what the truth is. It feels very clever.
I also love the lore and the universe of the story, it's fascinating! Plus the author is very good at explaining the way his world works, and at the beginning of Book Two he summarizes neatly what happened in the previous book, which is a nice touch.
The book contains some flash-forward and flashbacks that are very well done; we are often lead to believe certain things then discover ourselves that we were mistaken, without the characters explicitly explaining what the truth is. It feels very clever.
Content Warnings
Graphic: Animal death, Blood, Death, Gore, Physical abuse, and Violence
Moderate: Bullying and Religious bigotry
Minor: Body shaming and Chronic illness
Lots of heavy and gory fighting. Some characters are treacherous (it's often the case in such books) but that's all the negative emotions the book contains: no sexism, no homophobia…littlestbiscuit's review against another edition
dark
emotional
tense
medium-paced
- Strong character development? Yes
- Diverse cast of characters? Yes
- Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes
5.0
Content Warnings
Graphic: Animal cruelty, Animal death, Blood, Child abuse, Death, Domestic abuse, Violence, Torture, Physical abuse, and Gore
Moderate: Pedophilia
Pedophilia is fairly heavily implied but doesn't happen explicitly in the text. Fairly graphic descriptions of gore, I've got a strong threshold and the
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