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wondereads13's review against another edition
adventurous
dark
tense
medium-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? A mix
- Strong character development? It's complicated
- Loveable characters? It's complicated
- Diverse cast of characters? It's complicated
- Flaws of characters a main focus? No
3.75
The premise of this book is very interesting, and the plot, while a little typical, is pretty engaging. Mare is surprisingly realistic for a YA protagonist, and there’s a wonderful twist at the end that will really take you by surprise. Unfortunately, it does drag a little at some points, and the ending feels too…settled (?) to make me immediately want to read the next one.
Content Warnings
Moderate: Violence
Minor: Slavery
ravenclawincabin13's review
adventurous
challenging
funny
mysterious
tense
medium-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? It's complicated
4.5
It was an amazing book with a lot, A LOT of plot twists and it kept me on my toes don’t know who to love and who to hate.
Really like the plot idea and the premise of the book, some things were a little predictable and cliche but super worth it! Can’t wait to read the rest of the series
Really like the plot idea and the premise of the book, some things were a little predictable and cliche but super worth it! Can’t wait to read the rest of the series
Content Warnings
Moderate: Death, Death of parent, and Violence
Minor: Blood, Fire/Fire injury, Murder, Police brutality, Slavery, and Torture
mfieldshalva's review
adventurous
emotional
mysterious
reflective
tense
fast-paced
- 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? Yes
5.0
Content Warnings
Graphic: Death, Xenophobia, and Torture
Moderate: Child death, Death of parent, and Slavery
Minor: Police brutality
mariareviews's review
adventurous
medium-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? It's complicated
3.0
I’m not aware if I’m the only one, but I’d rather gouge my eyes out just so I don’t have to read this book again. Personally, not my cup of tea. Although I must say that it had quite a decent plot twist, an easy narrative, and mildly interesting characters; it’s not something I’ll read again in the future.
For the sake of showing that I did enjoy certain parts, here is my favourite quotes/interactions:
“Sometimes I forget you have the legs of a child.”
“Better than the brain of one.”
“Dear family. I’m alive. Obviously.”
“My ignorance is becoming a theme.”
“You’re a lot like Maven,”
“You mean engaged to a stranger? We do have that in common.”
“I thought the Queenstrial girls would band together and kill her, but they didn’t, to my annoyance.”
For the sake of showing that I did enjoy certain parts, here is my favourite quotes/interactions:
“Sometimes I forget you have the legs of a child.”
“Better than the brain of one.”
“Dear family. I’m alive. Obviously.”
“My ignorance is becoming a theme.”
“You’re a lot like Maven,”
“You mean engaged to a stranger? We do have that in common.”
“I thought the Queenstrial girls would band together and kill her, but they didn’t, to my annoyance.”
Content Warnings
Graphic: Violence
Moderate: Slavery and Death
sofiya's review
adventurous
dark
mysterious
medium-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? A mix
- Strong character development? No
- Loveable characters? It's complicated
- Diverse cast of characters? N/A
- Flaws of characters a main focus? No
3.5
I was intrigued by the idea of the story and how it would play out, and often found myself not knowing what outcome to root for throughout, which I deem as a positive. However, the book does hold a strong resemblance to other YA dystopian novels I’ve read (Hunger Games, Divergent) and I’m never a fan of first-person in books.
There were parts I didn’t understand nor like, such as the plan that gets developed near the end. Considering that the characters have known each other for only about a month, they were really quick to rely on an assumption and was already pretty weak in itself.
Nonetheless, I’m not one to abandon a book series and will be reading until the end. I’m not jumping at the need to move forward, but I am excited to see where the story goes.
There were parts I didn’t understand nor like, such as the plan that gets developed near the end. Considering that the characters have known each other for only about a month, they were really quick to rely on an assumption and was already pretty weak in itself.
Nonetheless, I’m not one to abandon a book series and will be reading until the end. I’m not jumping at the need to move forward, but I am excited to see where the story goes.
Content Warnings
Moderate: Death, Child death, Death of parent, Torture, Slavery, Physical abuse, Police brutality, and Murder
Minor: Suicide
linguisticfanatic's review
adventurous
dark
emotional
hopeful
sad
tense
slow-paced
- Strong character development? Yes
- Loveable characters? No
- Diverse cast of characters? No
- Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes
2.5
This story is about as standard a plot as you can get. It's been done before and written with more finesse. I made it about 70% of the way through the book before I really had to push myself to finish it. I actually like cliches. I have my comfort zone with them and if they are delivered well then I spend a fun time reading. I might not come out the other side thinking it's the best thing on Earth, but I'll have enjoyed myself.
My main sticking point with the way the book was written was the reaction of Mare to the two princes. Here is a girl who has grown up dirt poor amongst a people enslaved for the color of their blood. They are expendable to the silver bloods and are invisible if they even talk to them. As soon as she's brought into the palace to cover up her having powers she's engaged to the second prince. Ok, fine so far.
However, here's where I get annoyed. Within days (I think it was a couple weeks.) she's suddenly perfectly fine with the second prince figuring out that she's a rebel and is all gungho to work with him. She's perfectly willing to think poorly of the prince who didn't execute her when she tried to steal from him without knowing it. A prince that got her a job so she wouldn't be sent to the front line of the war. A prince that was saying things that showed he considered her to be human when the king was talking to her after her imprisonment. One glance at a room full of armor and war books and she's perfectly fine thinking the worst of him. This is also fine with me if a bit extreme. She has no reason to look for the good in silver blood even when one is trying to show that he's different.
Except, she doesn't show that attitude to the second prince. He's given her no reason to believe all the stuff he's spouting about wanting things to change. He's shown nothing to indicate that he's been doing small things before she met him to take consideration for the red bloods; nothing to show he's different from his mother. I spent the entire book frustratedly waiting to get to the point where he betrayed her just so I could see if the author gave a reason for Mare trusting to easily. It was written as if the mom knowing what Mare's motivations and emotions were would make her trust a silver blood, but that was too flimsy of an explanation for me to take seriously. The author did not handle the emotional and character development for those two well at all to make the subsequent parts of the book feel tense or the betrayal emotional. Instead when Mare is going "I've been so stupid." after everything goes down I just rolled my eyes.
However, here's where I get annoyed. Within days (I think it was a couple weeks.) she's suddenly perfectly fine with the second prince figuring out that she's a rebel and is all gungho to work with him. She's perfectly willing to think poorly of the prince who didn't execute her when she tried to steal from him without knowing it. A prince that got her a job so she wouldn't be sent to the front line of the war. A prince that was saying things that showed he considered her to be human when the king was talking to her after her imprisonment. One glance at a room full of armor and war books and she's perfectly fine thinking the worst of him. This is also fine with me if a bit extreme. She has no reason to look for the good in silver blood even when one is trying to show that he's different.
Except, she doesn't show that attitude to the second prince. He's given her no reason to believe all the stuff he's spouting about wanting things to change. He's shown nothing to indicate that he's been doing small things before she met him to take consideration for the red bloods; nothing to show he's different from his mother. I spent the entire book frustratedly waiting to get to the point where he betrayed her just so I could see if the author gave a reason for Mare trusting to easily. It was written as if the mom knowing what Mare's motivations and emotions were would make her trust a silver blood, but that was too flimsy of an explanation for me to take seriously. The author did not handle the emotional and character development for those two well at all to make the subsequent parts of the book feel tense or the betrayal emotional. Instead when Mare is going "I've been so stupid." after everything goes down I just rolled my eyes.
Content Warnings
Moderate: Death, Racism, Slavery, and Violence
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