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lilifane'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
3.0
I liked the setting and the atmosphere a lot. The world was very intriguing and magical. The book read like a fairy tale... although a gruesome one. I was really shocked by how gruesome this story actually was. There was violence and death and blood and torture on page, and implied rape and assault. Also, topics like colonialism, imperialism, and sexism were present.
What I absolutely loved was the queer representation and diversity. One main character is gender-fluid, the other a lesbian, there is a non-binary side character. And I liked how these were portrayed.
But the pacing and plot was kind of off. I wish we had more times to get to know the characters, and especially more time with the characters interacting with each other. They spend a lot of time together and get to know each other, but because most of it happens off page, the romance feels very instant and over the top dramatic towards the end.
The middle part was also weird. I loved the witchcraft element that is introduced, but the magic system is not really explained well. It's interesting, but very confusing. And it's not used enough afterwards to justify how much time we spend learning about it.
I liked the ending and how all the characters and plots came together. It just would have been more impactful if we had more time before to develop more feelings for everyone and everything that was happening.
I didn't mind all those things that much because of the fairy tale character of the book. It just could have easily been a 5 star for me with a bit more substance.
Graphic: Grief, Gun violence, Child death, Confinement, Injury/Injury detail, Misogyny, Addiction, Alcohol, Death, Drug use, Kidnapping, Slavery, Violence, Blood, Colonisation, Sexism, Torture, and Trafficking
Minor: Homophobia, Vomit, Sexual content, Rape, and Sexual assault
talonsontypewriters's review against another edition
- Plot- or character-driven? Character
- Strong character development? No
- Loveable characters? No
- Diverse cast of characters? Yes
- Flaws of characters a main focus? It's complicated
2.0
Graphic: Injury/Injury detail, Trafficking, Violence, Colonisation, Gun violence, Murder, Slavery, Death, and Torture
Moderate: Gore, Racism, Rape, Sexism, Suicidal thoughts, Xenophobia, Alcohol, Confinement, Grief, Sexual assault, Transphobia, Alcoholism, Child abuse, Child death, Classism, Misogyny, Outing, Pedophilia, Body horror, and Vomit
Minor: Homophobia and Lesbophobia
Self-injury for magical purposes. Misgendering of a side character.claudiamacpherson's review against another edition
- Plot- or character-driven? Character
- Strong character development? Yes
- Loveable characters? Yes
- Diverse cast of characters? Yes
- Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes
4.0
Moderate: Blood, Colonisation, Classism, Death, Death of parent, Drug abuse, Drug use, Gore, Grief, Gun violence, Homophobia, Injury/Injury detail, Kidnapping, Lesbophobia, Medical content, Misogyny, Abandonment, Addiction, Alcohol, Alcoholism, Murder, Pedophilia, Physical abuse, Rape, Sexism, Sexual assault, Sexual violence, Slavery, Suicidal thoughts, Torture, Trafficking, Violence, Vomit, War, and Xenophobia
Minor: Child death
dariusmortee'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
5.0
I must say Evelyn annoyed me a bit, but that may have been intentional and she was a nice contrast to Flora/Florian as a great way to reflect for all of us white girls who grew up loving stories. Especially the ones who also grew up rich.
Flora/Florian was a great protagonist and I loved reading from their point of view. She is the right amount of courage, but without being oblivious to the consequences. His journey of self discovery throughout the book is amazing.
If you like LGBTQAI+ stories, pirates, mermaids and witches this is absolutely a book for you.
Graphic: Gore, Misogyny, Murder, Sexism, Slavery, Torture, Addiction, Colonisation, Drug abuse, Alcohol, Blood, Trafficking, and Violence
Minor: Child death
charley34's review against another edition
- 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
3.75
Moderate: Body horror, Alcohol, Classism, Colonisation, Misogyny, Violence, Injury/Injury detail, Alcoholism, Death, Sexism, and Addiction
Minor: Gun violence
grace_bunty's review against another edition
- Diverse cast of characters? Yes
3.5
Graphic: Addiction, Alcohol, Alcoholism, Blood, Child abuse, Child death, Colonisation, Death, Gore, Injury/Injury detail, Misogyny, Murder, Slavery, Torture, and Trafficking
cheye13's review against another edition
- Plot- or character-driven? Character
- Strong character development? Yes
- Loveable characters? Yes
- Diverse cast of characters? Yes
- Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes
3.0
Graphic: Death, Grief, Injury/Injury detail, Misogyny, and Torture
Moderate: Animal cruelty, Colonisation, Drug abuse, Emotional abuse, Murder, and Violence
Minor: Alcohol, Classism, Homophobia, Sexual violence, Slavery, and War
foreverinastory's review against another edition
- Plot- or character-driven? Character
- Strong character development? Yes
- Loveable characters? Yes
- Diverse cast of characters? Yes
- Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes
4.0
Rep: Japanese inspired cast. Dark skinned genderfluid queer MC, sapphic cis female MC, dark skinned male side character, nonbinary side character, indigenous cishet male side character.
CWs: Torture (water boarding), violence, blood, death, murder, slavery, alcoholism, alcohol consumption, trafficking (slaves), colonisation, gun violence, physical abuse, grief, addiction, gore, rape, injury/injury detail, misogyny, sexism, sexual assault, child death, confinement, xenophobia, general queerphobia/queermisia, drug use, emotional abuse, sexual harassment, animal cruelty (mermaids), drug abuse, child abuse, racism. Moderate: vomit, genocide recounted, pedophilia, kidnapping, death of parent, lesbophobia/lesbomisia, classism, gaslighting, war.
Graphic: Trafficking, Colonisation, Emotional abuse, Drug use, Animal cruelty, Racism, Violence, Gun violence, Child abuse, Misogyny, Sexual harassment, Confinement, Murder, Physical abuse, Sexism, Torture, Blood, Child death, Alcohol, Alcoholism, Grief, Addiction, Gore, Death, Slavery, Drug abuse, Injury/Injury detail, Xenophobia, Rape, and Sexual assault
Moderate: Kidnapping, Lesbophobia, Vomit, Genocide, Classism, Pedophilia, Gaslighting, War, and Death of parent
miabellawymer's review against another edition
- 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
4.5
Graphic: Abandonment, Addiction, Alcohol, Alcoholism, Blood, Death of parent, Emotional abuse, Rape, Sexism, Grief, and Murder
maggie_daydreaming'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
4.0
I did feel like it was trying to be deeper and more lyrical than it was, especially toward the beginning. The concept felt like it could have been written in a similar style to Black Sun, with beautiful worldbuilding and descriptions and breathtaking writing, but it didn't quite get to that point. But that's okay- this author simply has a different style, and I don't mean to complain about her style not being someone else's.
A more fair complaint- the world at the beginning felt a little flat and dry, kind of like a middle grades novel where it doesn't go super in-depth, though maybe it was just me having a hard time getting into it. It did pick up as the book went on.
But okay! The plot of this book! Was so good! Mermaids and witches and pirates and magic and imperialism and love, with twists and turns, always enthralling... it was fantastic.
And the characters and their relationships and the rep in this book <3
Highly recommend if you like pirates, mermaids, and/or queer relationships. If that's not your jam, this probably isn't the book for you.
Graphic: Colonisation, Torture, Death, and Murder
Moderate: Slavery, Alcohol, and Blood
Minor: Fire/Fire injury and Death of parent