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khakipantsofsex's review
adventurous
dark
fast-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? Plot
- Strong character development? It's complicated
- Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes
3.5
Content Warnings
Graphic: Injury/Injury detail, Death, Death of parent, and Emotional abuse
Minor: Suicide attempt
unfiltered_fiction's review against another edition
dark
tense
medium-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? Character
- Strong character development? It's complicated
- Loveable characters? It's complicated
- Diverse cast of characters? Yes
- Flaws of characters a main focus? It's complicated
2.75
I am genuinely sad about giving this book a low star rating, because In A Garden Burning Gold is so utterly brilliant, but unfortunately this second book does not live up to its original. It feels almost like a different story with a different set of characters; I read this one immediately after a re-read of IAGBG and the disconnect just felt wild.
I think there's some genuinely excellent work that's gone into this book - beautiful prose and a real unflinching fascination with the darker parts of interpersonal relationships (both within families and the wider world) would be the two key things that I'd praise.
However, the sense of unravelling which I think is the aim for the overall plot and the twins, Rhea and Lexos, comes across more as sloppy than suspenseful. The scene between the two of them on the bridge was the only one that truly captured, for me, any real depth in either character's arc.
There were so many threads that were pulled apart to create a sense of mayhem and dissolution that it honestly felt more like an undoing of the first book rather than a continuation of it. Leaving loose ends is part of showing the built world to be a messy, cruel, and complex thing, but for me, the sheer lack of logic made the reading experience much less convincing; it felt like a disordered story rather than a disordered world.
I think there's some genuinely excellent work that's gone into this book - beautiful prose and a real unflinching fascination with the darker parts of interpersonal relationships (both within families and the wider world) would be the two key things that I'd praise.
However, the sense of unravelling which I think is the aim for the overall plot and the twins, Rhea and Lexos, comes across more as sloppy than suspenseful. The scene between the two of them on the bridge was the only one that truly captured, for me, any real depth in either character's arc.
There were so many threads that were pulled apart to create a sense of mayhem and dissolution that it honestly felt more like an undoing of the first book rather than a continuation of it. Leaving loose ends is part of showing the built world to be a messy, cruel, and complex thing, but for me, the sheer lack of logic made the reading experience much less convincing; it felt like a disordered story rather than a disordered world.
Content Warnings
Graphic: Violence, Death, and Injury/Injury detail
Moderate: Suicidal thoughts, Suicide, Suicide attempt, and Murder
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