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iphigeniad's review against another edition
adventurous
dark
emotional
tense
medium-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? Plot
- Strong character development? Yes
- Loveable characters? Yes
- Diverse cast of characters? No
- Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes
4.75
I really enjoyed this book! I understand why some people might feel the romance was rushed or came out of nowhere, but I felt it was delightfully understated. Heed the trigger warnings, though, because this book does not pull punches. Also I would totally read a spin off that was Ateneus and the king of Parth doing magic-science together lol
As Ateneus says, "for science!"
As Ateneus says, "for science!"
Content Warnings
Graphic: War, Violence, Emotional abuse, Death, Rape, Genocide, Body horror, and Sexual violence
imaginethisreader's review
adventurous
dark
emotional
- 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
4.5
Content Warnings
Graphic: Rape, Sexual assault, Death, and Gore
mel_j's review
adventurous
dark
emotional
mysterious
sad
tense
medium-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? Character
- Strong character development? Yes
- Loveable characters? Yes
- Diverse cast of characters? No
- Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes
3.75
Content Warnings
Graphic: Blood, Body horror, and Death
Moderate: Rape
blewballoon's review
adventurous
dark
emotional
funny
hopeful
inspiring
mysterious
medium-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? Character
- Strong character development? Yes
- Loveable characters? Yes
- Diverse cast of characters? Yes
- Flaws of characters a main focus? No
5.0
I picked this book up on a whim based on the cover and I feel really grateful I did. This was awesome. This is exactly my kind of fantasy book. Such great characters, wonderful adventures, creative magic. Normally I avoid books with any kind of SA content warning, but I had no issues here. The subject was handled as tastefully and respectfully as I think is possible and it did not feel like a cheap female character trauma at all. I wasn't sure how I felt about the potential romance brewing at first, since I had other ideas for how I wanted the book to go, but ultimately I can't blame them for falling in love with each other when I would have done the same in their position.
Content Warnings
Moderate: Body horror, Blood, Rape, and Sexual assault
Minor: Injury/Injury detail and War
kaydobosz's review
adventurous
dark
mysterious
sad
medium-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? Plot
- Strong character development? It's complicated
- Loveable characters? Yes
- Diverse cast of characters? Yes
- Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes
4.0
Content Warnings
Minor: Rape and Suicidal thoughts
maladaptivedaydreams's review
adventurous
dark
emotional
hopeful
reflective
fast-paced
- 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
4.0
This book felt like a story of rediscovery, creating new identity and had elements of found family I adored. All the characters are loveable and the journey they go through together is so beautiful.
Content Warnings
Graphic: Violence and Death
Moderate: Rape
rowanleereads's review
adventurous
dark
hopeful
inspiring
mysterious
sad
tense
fast-paced
- 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
A quest you can't help but get lost in.
This book is well written, easy ro read, and immersive. The author fits a deep thrilling story into less than 400 pages. The world building is done so well it feels like a world I have always known. The characters are complex and compelling. Truly worth reading.
This book is well written, easy ro read, and immersive. The author fits a deep thrilling story into less than 400 pages. The world building is done so well it feels like a world I have always known. The characters are complex and compelling. Truly worth reading.
Content Warnings
Graphic: Violence, Grief, and Rape
leahjanespeare's review
medium-paced
4.5
Whoa! I really enjoyed Pentecost’s debut, Elysium Girls, so I just sorta blindly went into this one knowing I’d like the writing. This was a nice surprise because I ended up absolutely loving it! It’s a LOT darker than the debut, which I sometimes suggest to high comprehension middle graders. This one I would certainly NOT recommend to the youngins. It deals with rape and violence and lots of gross death so anyone squeamish or not prepared to process sexual violence should probably hang on a second.
It reads like a classic fairytale. I mean, it’s about a sort of Creature of Death so of course that’s where my mind goes to. Grimm level of body horror and gratuitous deaths, lots of battling the internalized patriarchy and the ‘old fashioned’ values. Definitely a journey to Discover One’s Self and Break a Curse. Flora is bi - some places in the fantasy world are chill about it, some places aren’t super fans. I’m mentioning it for the rep, but nothing really in the story revolves around this fact, it just is. The Ankou just wants to die and find peace after centuries of daily deaths and yet he’s accidentally falling in love with Flora who wants to train to be his badass guard. I mean come on. These two characters crawled into my cold heart like maggots. I was rooting for them and for their internal struggles. Super strong standalone novel here with just enough loose ends and tied up ones. Would be interested to see more tales from the same world.
I’m so excited to see what comes next from this author as she’s already shown some impressive range.
It reads like a classic fairytale. I mean, it’s about a sort of Creature of Death so of course that’s where my mind goes to. Grimm level of body horror and gratuitous deaths, lots of battling the internalized patriarchy and the ‘old fashioned’ values. Definitely a journey to Discover One’s Self and Break a Curse. Flora is bi - some places in the fantasy world are chill about it, some places aren’t super fans. I’m mentioning it for the rep, but nothing really in the story revolves around this fact, it just is. The Ankou just wants to die and find peace after centuries of daily deaths and yet he’s accidentally falling in love with Flora who wants to train to be his badass guard. I mean come on. These two characters crawled into my cold heart like maggots. I was rooting for them and for their internal struggles. Super strong standalone novel here with just enough loose ends and tied up ones. Would be interested to see more tales from the same world.
I’m so excited to see what comes next from this author as she’s already shown some impressive range.
Content Warnings
Moderate: Violence, Body horror, and Rape
elizajaquays's review
adventurous
dark
emotional
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? Yes
3.25
Content Warnings
Graphic: Death, Sexual assault, Body horror, and Sexual violence
Moderate: Rape