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plumpeony's review
- Plot- or character-driven? Character
- Strong character development? Yes
- Loveable characters? Yes
- Diverse cast of characters? No
- Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes
3.5
Graphic: Emotional abuse, Violence, Murder, Injury/Injury detail, Misogyny, Blood, Sexism, Bullying, Death of parent, and Gaslighting
Moderate: Animal cruelty, Sexual content, Stalking, Child abuse, Death, Grief, and Child death
Minor: Ableism, Abortion, Pedophilia, and Rape
wardenred's review against another edition
- Plot- or character-driven? A mix
- Strong character development? Yes
- Loveable characters? It's complicated
- Diverse cast of characters? It's complicated
- Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes
3.75
"He's no more than a bully."
Katsa snorted. "A bully who chops off people's fingers or breaks their arms."
"Not if you stop doing it for him," Po said. "Much of his power comes from you."
I have vague memories about DNFing this book pretty early on years ago, since the beginning was just so generic and not very well-constructed. Touch, stabby heroine who's not like other girls and has weird eyes! Chapters upon chapters bogged down with flashbacks and exposition! Honestly, the second time around it was just as boring. But I've been seeing a lot of positive mentions of this series lately, and besides, I've been recced one of the book from further in the series for a highly specific request. So I chose to persevere, and once I was past 5 chapters or so, things did get a lot better. It turned out to be a quicker read than I expected, and I was rather engrossed for the most part.
Ultimately, though, my feelings are mixed at best. I really enjoyed the superpowers/graces and how their implications were handled. They're not just cool powers, but something that permeates the characters' entire lives and provokes experiences that shape their personalities. I liked the relationship between Katsa and Po: the gradual development, the building of trust, how they actually talked it out whenever they clashed. I also enjoyed Katsa's arc and her struggle to gain control over her life, though at the same time, she frustrated me a lot with that stereotypical "not like other girls" thing and the way it was handled/delivered. Also, the way she treats horses? Absolutely not cool, 0/10, much frustration. Not saying every character should adore animals, but there's a line between not adoring animals and not even treating them as living beings who can get tired or hurt, and that girl is so far on the other side of it.
The setting had a lot of interesting things going for it, though I wish some of them were explored deeper. I really liked the way the ethical implications of certain political tangles were brought to light, like how the responsibility is shared between cruel rulers and those who work for them and empower them through that. Really, I don't think the book ever completely stopped being tropey and somewhat generic, but the way these familiar tropes are explored and delve into felt really refreshing. So despite the rocky beginning, the occasionally clunky prose, and my grips with Katsa as the MC, for the most part I rather enjoyed this.
Graphic: Animal cruelty and Violence
Moderate: Misogyny
Minor: Confinement
Mind control/manipulationkell_xavi's review against another edition
4.0
Graphic: Child abuse and Emotional abuse
Moderate: Animal cruelty, Death of parent, Injury/Injury detail, Misogyny, Torture, Pedophilia, Murder, and Violence
gillian_aftanas'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
4.75
Graphic: Animal death, Domestic abuse, Injury/Injury detail, Death of parent, Misogyny, Violence, Confinement, Death, Murder, Pedophilia, Animal cruelty, Gaslighting, Medical content, and Sexual content
Moderate: Forced institutionalization, Grief, Sexism, Sexual assault, Sexual harassment, Incest, Kidnapping, Blood, Emotional abuse, Rape, Torture, and Vomit
Minor: Child death and Abortion
martin27's review
- Plot- or character-driven? A mix
- Strong character development? Yes
- Loveable characters? It's complicated
- Diverse cast of characters? No
- Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes
3.0
It was fine and isn’t the worst book ever, but I’m not super committed to picking up any of the sequels. I will stress again that Katsa and Bitterblue have a great relationship that was really interesting, and I love that
Graphic: Death of parent, Injury/Injury detail, Death, and Gaslighting
Moderate: Animal cruelty, Vomit, Kidnapping, Child abuse, and Blood
Minor: Sexual harassment, Sexual content, and Misogyny
ava_ba's review
- 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: Toxic relationship, Gaslighting, Sexual harassment, Emotional abuse, Misogyny, Murder, and Sexism
Minor: Sexual harassment, Adult/minor relationship, Animal death, Physical abuse, Rape, Sexism, Body horror, Death of parent, Domestic abuse, Gaslighting, Child abuse, Death, Injury/Injury detail, Sexual content, Sexual violence, Animal cruelty, Sexual assault, Medical content, and Murder
talonsontypewriters's review against another edition
- Plot- or character-driven? A mix
- Strong character development? Yes
- Loveable characters? Yes
- Diverse cast of characters? It's complicated
- Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes
4.25
Graphic: Murder, Violence, Gaslighting, Injury/Injury detail, Animal death, and Death
Moderate: Emotional abuse, Child abuse, Death of parent, Domestic abuse, Kidnapping, Misogyny, Sexism, Sexual harassment, and Torture
Minor: Alcohol, Vomit, Sexual assault, Suicide, Pedophilia, Sexual content, War, Ableism, Animal cruelty, Incest, and Grief
Animal attack. Near drowning.cepbreed's review against another edition
- Plot- or character-driven? Plot
- Strong character development? No
- Loveable characters? It's complicated
- Flaws of characters a main focus? No
3.0
Song:
- Don’t Blame Me - Taylor Swift
Graphic: Child abuse, Death, Grief, Kidnapping, Physical abuse, Death of parent, Misogyny, Murder, Violence, and Blood
Moderate: Animal death and Animal cruelty
Minor: Sexual content and War
claudiamacpherson's review
- 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
Moderate: Medical content, Ableism, Blood, Child abuse, Death, Death of parent, Emotional abuse, Gaslighting, Injury/Injury detail, Kidnapping, Murder, Physical abuse, and Violence
Minor: Animal death, Domestic abuse, Emotional abuse, Animal cruelty, Grief, Misogyny, Vomit, Outing, Sexual harassment, Sexism, and Torture
battybookworm's review
- 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
Graphic: Blood, Physical abuse, Murder, Misogyny, Kidnapping, Gore, and Death
Moderate: Child death, Child abuse, and Death of parent