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roget's review against another edition
- Plot- or character-driven? Plot
- Strong character development? No
1.0
This series would be so much stronger if space that was given to all the tone-ignorant quipping and pages of unnecessarily aggressive, uncomfortable exchanges were instead given to expanding the lore.
The real plot is crammed into info-dumps in dialogue—just like, lecture after lecture of some being or another backtracking like “Well, ACTUALLY…” and then re-explaining lore and ancient relationships that’d already been explained and re-explained half a dozen times but apparently incorrectly. The consort? Interesting plot line. I wish we’d have gotten more of that development.
The Malik-Poppy backstory reveal was absolutely undercut by the series’s penchant for throwing gossip girl-style shocking “twists” at us every five minutes, not to mention the tonally inconsistent suggestive and situationally abhorrent illicit comments. The series isn’t respectful to Kieren, either. He’s basically treated like Poppy’s arm candy this book, and Poppy’s character is shockingly undynamic given the many, many changes she’s been through. She’s still acting like the angry, impulsive, and brash kid who’s playing at power without really understanding it.
The pacing is weird.
As for the content…
I’m interested to know more about the primals and their clearly warped family tree. I want Poppy to return to Ileesium. I want to see more of those dynamics unfold. I wish the book would spend more time and nuance developing that and Poppy herself.
Kind of just reading to find out what happens and how it wraps up at this point, which is disheartening. I’m sure some people find this series fun or entertaining, but the issues have sort of spoiled it for me, at least.
Graphic: Injury/Injury detail, Violence, Toxic relationship, Death, Confinement, Gaslighting, Genocide, Gore, Emotional abuse, Child abuse, Kidnapping, Sexual content, Self harm, Panic attacks/disorders, Blood, Grief, War, and Torture
cosyqueer's review against another edition
- 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
Graphic: Gore, Cursing, Violence, War, and Sexual content
Moderate: Death, Confinement, Grief, and Death of parent
Minor: Child death and Torture
jhaneveauguste's review against another edition
- Plot- or character-driven? A mix
- Strong character development? Yes
- Loveable characters? Yes
- Diverse cast of characters? No
- Flaws of characters a main focus? No
4.0
Graphic: Death, Death of parent, Grief, Murder, Blood, Confinement, Torture, Violence, and War
thedisabledreader's review against another edition
- Plot- or character-driven? Character
- Strong character development? Yes
- Loveable characters? Yes
- Diverse cast of characters? Yes
5.0
Graphic: Cursing, Blood, War, Violence, Murder, Kidnapping, and Confinement
Minor: Sexual assault
arthur_ant18's review against another edition
- Plot- or character-driven? Plot
- Strong character development? Yes
- Loveable characters? Yes
- Diverse cast of characters? Yes
- Flaws of characters a main focus? It's complicated
3.5
Graphic: Death, Sexual content, Murder, Emotional abuse, Injury/Injury detail, Gaslighting, Confinement, War, Violence, Toxic relationship, and Gore
Moderate: Cursing, Torture, and Fire/Fire injury
Minor: Rape, Sexual violence, Child abuse, and Death of parent
cassie12_21's review against another edition
- 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? It's complicated
3.75
Graphic: Sexual content
Moderate: Death, Fire/Fire injury, War, Confinement, Gore, Grief, Cursing, Injury/Injury detail, Kidnapping, and Violence
Minor: Animal death and Torture
kodafaith's review against another edition
- 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
I do find it funny how much hate JLA has gotten for something she literally has hinted at for the entire series and think people need to take a step back. There is absolutely no need to be horrible to an author just because you didn’t enjoy what happened, just don’t read the books!
I found this book great and I’m so excited to learn more about the histories and see how this war plays out. I can’t wait for more books to be out!
Graphic: Sexual content, Death, Child death, Blood, Murder, Violence, War, and Confinement
Moderate: Emotional abuse, Injury/Injury detail, Torture, and Physical abuse
mberezin95's review against another edition
- Plot- or character-driven? Plot
- Strong character development? Yes
- Loveable characters? Yes
- Diverse cast of characters? Yes
- Flaws of characters a main focus? It's complicated
4.75
Graphic: Death of parent, Blood, Violence, Sexual content, and Death
Moderate: Murder, Confinement, Fire/Fire injury, Gore, and Violence
_savannahreads_'s review against another edition
- 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
4.5
Moderate: Blood, Child death, Child abuse, Death, Murder, Sexual content, Torture, War, Confinement, Injury/Injury detail, Violence, Death of parent, Gore, Fire/Fire injury, and Kidnapping
jonezzzing's review against another edition
- Strong character development? No
- Diverse cast of characters? No
2.75
Graphic: Blood, Fire/Fire injury, Injury/Injury detail, Sexual content, Classism, Cursing, Death, Colonisation, Gore, Grief, Sexism, Confinement, War, and Violence
Moderate: Torture