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kassidyreads's review against another edition
adventurous
slow-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? Plot
- Strong character development? It's complicated
- Loveable characters? No
- Diverse cast of characters? No
- Flaws of characters a main focus? It's complicated
2.5
Content Warnings
Graphic: Violence and Death
Moderate: Torture
Minor: Child abuse, Child death, Grief, and Ableism
booksthatburn's review against another edition
Content Warnings
Graphic: Gore, Death, Blood, Violence, and Murder
Moderate: Body horror, Torture, Suicide, Cursing, Grief, and Child death
Minor: Vomit, Rape, Ableism, Excrement, and Cannibalism
jrlittlejohn97's review
adventurous
dark
funny
tense
medium-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? Character
- Strong character development? Yes
- Loveable characters? Yes
- Diverse cast of characters? Yes
- Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes
4.5
This is by no means a perfect book, but I LOVED it. I think the blurbs oversell how central the romance is, and the "heist" aspects are more a) Tomb Raider style puzzle based murderous escape rooms and b) desperate last second rescue. The comparisons to Six of Crows are apt in that it's an ensemble character-driven medium fantasy, but it handles the diversity much better and really isn't a heist book. Rather, it's a set up for a revolution which I WAY prefer. I would compare it to Crier's War, with a bit of that Voltron-type magic super robot with a mystical bond to a person flavor. So if you want a heist book, you won't find it here. It's a revolution set-up, and it's delicious.
As a physically disabled person, I really liked how this book handed disability, and the authors did a really good job at making the world building itself feel diverse. I loved the characters, really really liked the story and the prose, and the end was an absolute banger. I enjoyed the audiobook, though it was a bit robot in the first few chapters.
As a physically disabled person, I really liked how this book handed disability, and the authors did a really good job at making the world building itself feel diverse. I loved the characters, really really liked the story and the prose, and the end was an absolute banger. I enjoyed the audiobook, though it was a bit robot in the first few chapters.
Content Warnings
Graphic: Violence
Moderate: Blood, Ableism, Death, Torture, and Grief
Minor: Child death
magpi3's review against another edition
adventurous
hopeful
inspiring
mysterious
medium-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
5.0
This is such a fun read, I loved every chapter of it.
The worldbuilding was excellent and revealed such a rich and complex world which is matched by the character development and the descriptions used to make them even better. There was an extended break during my reading but I was able to pick it back up easily and was able to return to the story without hesitation.
I'm baffled that this book hasn't gotten more attention and praise as it is deserving of both.
The worldbuilding was excellent and revealed such a rich and complex world which is matched by the character development and the descriptions used to make them even better. There was an extended break during my reading but I was able to pick it back up easily and was able to return to the story without hesitation.
I'm baffled that this book hasn't gotten more attention and praise as it is deserving of both.
Content Warnings
Moderate: Death, Blood, Body horror, Chronic illness, Grief, Torture, War, and Classism
Minor: Death of parent
therainbowshelf's review against another edition
adventurous
tense
slow-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? It's complicated
4.0
I picked this up because of Rainbowcrate Book Box and I enjoyed it quite a bit (Rainbowcrate included a silverware set for this book and a silverware set in the book is an actual character!). I love the chosen ones trope, and it was fun seeing everything start off with a theif forced to break into an ancient ruin. There's some unaddressed ableism in here related to one of the main characters, which I was hoping to see more discussion about but that didn't come up. I don't think I enjoyed the audiobook as much as I would have enjoyed reading this one for myself.
📘The Gist 📘: A thief under duress by a wizard breaks into an ancient ruin and wakes a sleeping fae who starts them on a quest to find 6 chosen ones linked to a powerful weapon.
📒Representation📒: BIPOC mc, disabled mc, mlm mc, mtf sc
💕 For readers looking for 💕: adventure, chosen one trope, fun dialogue, entertaining situations between layers of tension, quirky metal animal companions
📘The Gist 📘: A thief under duress by a wizard breaks into an ancient ruin and wakes a sleeping fae who starts them on a quest to find 6 chosen ones linked to a powerful weapon.
📒Representation📒: BIPOC mc, disabled mc, mlm mc, mtf sc
💕 For readers looking for 💕: adventure, chosen one trope, fun dialogue, entertaining situations between layers of tension, quirky metal animal companions
Content Warnings
Graphic: Violence, Blood, Injury/Injury detail, Ableism, Torture, Police brutality, Murder, Genocide, and Confinement
Moderate: Grief, Death, Death of parent, and Child death
Sibling deathemily_mh's review against another edition
adventurous
mysterious
medium-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? Plot
- Strong character development? No
- Loveable characters? Yes
- Diverse cast of characters? Yes
- Flaws of characters a main focus? No
4.0
There are lots of things I liked about this one. The plot got going right away - by the literal 60th page I was deep in an Indian Jones type mission along with the main character, Rags. I liked the writing style and loved the concept of the Great Parable and the direction this gave the story. The magic - mirrorcraft - was unique and fascinating and was deeply intwined in the plot. Finally, for the most part, the main romance was written well.
There were, however, some kind of important things I didn't like. The middle section of this book was BLOATED. The pacing was incredibly slow, which was a huge disappointment after the firecracker start. This book really didn't need 500+ pages to tell its story. I would have liked the characters to feel a little more rounded, especially given the time we spend with them. The side romances felt a little contrived. Finally, and perhaps most jarringly, this was written as a standalone but does not feel like one. Everything felt so unfinished by the end that I felt like I had another two books to go. I understand that the authors have more ideas for more books in this world, but I think this should have been the first in a planned series from the get go.
Overall though the book was fine and I look forward to what the two authors bring out in the future.
There were, however, some kind of important things I didn't like. The middle section of this book was BLOATED. The pacing was incredibly slow, which was a huge disappointment after the firecracker start. This book really didn't need 500+ pages to tell its story. I would have liked the characters to feel a little more rounded, especially given the time we spend with them. The side romances felt a little contrived. Finally, and perhaps most jarringly, this was written as a standalone but does not feel like one. Everything felt so unfinished by the end that I felt like I had another two books to go. I understand that the authors have more ideas for more books in this world, but I think this should have been the first in a planned series from the get go.
Overall though the book was fine and I look forward to what the two authors bring out in the future.
Content Warnings
Graphic: Suicide, Death, Violence, Murder, Blood, Cursing, Child death, Physical abuse, and Injury/Injury detail
Moderate: Infertility, Ableism, Body shaming, Torture, Death of parent, Gore, Body horror, Grief, Domestic abuse, Child abuse, and Slavery
Minor: Fire/Fire injury, Rape, Confinement, Alcoholism, Vomit, Cannibalism, Excrement, Drug use, Animal death, War, Pregnancy, Chronic illness, Alcohol, Suicidal thoughts, Kidnapping, Sexual content, and Sexual harassment
aromarrie's review against another edition
adventurous
dark
tense
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
Content Warnings
Graphic: Blood, Injury/Injury detail, Murder, and Violence
Moderate: Death, Grief, and Torture
Minor: Child death
jmross10's review
adventurous
mysterious
medium-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? A mix
- Strong character development? It's complicated
- Loveable characters? Yes
- Diverse cast of characters? Yes
- Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes
3.5
Content Warnings
Graphic: Body horror, Child abuse, Child death, Death, Grief, Kidnapping, Murder, Physical abuse, Suicidal thoughts, Torture, and Violence
Lots of swearing. It makes sense for the character but it’s something to be aware of if you’re a young reader or considering it for a younger audience.paigemandia's review
adventurous
dark
emotional
funny
hopeful
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
4.0
if i do not get a sequel to this book i will scream!!!! please i am manifesting it so intensely i need more of this motley crew ðŸ˜ðŸ˜ðŸ˜ðŸ˜ i really really enjoyed this one!! the syntax and writing style took a while for me to get used to because it was a lot of fragmented sentences and super short sentences so i wasn’t quite vibing with that. but i loved the main characters so much—especially rags, tal, and inis. ugh inis is so powerful i adore her. HOWEVER why TF did i not get a tal pov PLEASE i am begging you give me a tal pov as a little treat. i deserve it. anyways this is literally not a review i finished this book 3 seconds ago and im just emotional and rambling. but yes i loved the plot, it was VERY fast paced so if you don’t like down-time in books, this is a perfect one for you. the chapters are also insanely short. um yeah id die for rags and tal in about a millisecond i love them so much and i need more of them!!!!!! i wanna see rags find his little beastie friend and there’s just so many loose ends that are perfect for a sequel. so please. also CHECK THE PRONUNCIATION GUIDE IN THE BACK BEFORE READING bc i was saying literally every single name wrong in my head and it was too late to turn back when i saw the pronunciation guide 😪😪
Content Warnings
Minor: Blood, Cursing, Death, Death of parent, Gore, Grief, Suicidal thoughts, and Violence
pauliina_thebookaholicdreamer's review against another edition
adventurous
funny
hopeful
inspiring
lighthearted
fast-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? Character
- Strong character development? Yes
- Loveable characters? Yes
- Diverse cast of characters? Yes
- Flaws of characters a main focus? It's complicated
4.0
Content Warnings
Graphic: Death of parent and Violence
Moderate: Grief