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nicolef78's review against another edition
- Plot- or character-driven? A mix
- Strong character development? It's complicated
- Loveable characters? Yes
- Diverse cast of characters? Yes
- Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes
5.0
Moderate: Death, Blood, and Slavery
Minor: Vomit
cozywithraven'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
4.5
The world is a really cool concept, I liked most of the magic system, I liked the main character because she didn't feel like a generic stand-in; she was opinionated and skilled appropriately for the journey, and self-aware.
The ending felt jumbled for me, we had been away from the starting point for so long that I couldn't remember any of the opening characters' names or roles.
Graphic: Murder, Death, Blood, Fire/Fire injury, Gore, Body horror, and Injury/Injury detail
Moderate: Animal cruelty, Emotional abuse, Trafficking, Xenophobia, Alcohol, Death, Fire/Fire injury, War, Death of parent, Gaslighting, Slavery, and Domestic abuse
symabee's review against another edition
- Plot- or character-driven? Plot
- Loveable characters? Yes
- Diverse cast of characters? Yes
- Flaws of characters a main focus? It's complicated
3.75
Graphic: Blood
Moderate: Death and Violence
Minor: Animal cruelty, Slavery, Kidnapping, Fire/Fire injury, and Death of parent
xtsukix's review against another edition
- Plot- or character-driven? Plot
- Strong character development? No
- Diverse cast of characters? No
3.5
Graphic: Blood, Death, Death of parent, Fire/Fire injury, Gore, Injury/Injury detail, Murder, Torture, Violence, and War
Minor: Rape and Slavery
offbrandclubsoda'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? No
3.5
The world building was decent, though the explanation of soul magic was a bit confusing and hard to follow. There was some info-dumping at the beginning which always turns me off a bit, but it wasn’t unforgivable.
I thought the plot was somewhat rushed, and I especially thought the romance was built up too quickly and didn’t feel real to me. I like when the author makes me work for it haha
I was disappointed that mermaids weren’t more involved in the plot.
In one sentence, I would say the book has a similar vibe to a Court of Thorns and Roses, but not as good.
Spice level: 🌶🌶/5
Specific to the audiobook:
I want to preface this by saying that I absolutely love audiobooks, so a negative review is rare from me. Unfortunately, I strongly disliked the narration of this book and would recommend skipping the audiobook. The narrator seemed too focused on creating different voices for each character, and ended up making most of them sounds incredibly annoying…I also noticed some weird editing where it was obvious that different takes had been spliced together. Finally, the narrator’s constant pronunciation of silent G’s grated my nerves the entire book. (“ding-Guh-y”, “sing-Guh-ing”, etc).
Graphic: Blood and Torture
Moderate: Violence, Body horror, Fire/Fire injury, and Injury/Injury detail
Minor: Sexual assault, Sexual violence, Sexual content, Sexism, Slavery, Colonisation, Toxic relationship, War, Death of parent, Death, Trafficking, Medical content, and Alcohol
stormywolf's review against another edition
- Plot- or character-driven? A mix
- Strong character development? It's complicated
- Loveable characters? Yes
- Diverse cast of characters? Yes
- Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes
3.0
Unabridged Length: 12.4 Hours
Listened at 2x Speed
Read my full review at The Wolf's Den
Overall, this was a hard book to sit through, especially in the first half where Ferrick is most involved. I can't really blame the reader, Shayna Small, for the choice, as it had to have gone through direction/approval in order to be used, but I can't say it didn't affect my overall enjoyment either. Regardless, I'd still recommend this as a solid audiobook production, and I look forward to experiencing the sequel.
Graphic: Gore, Blood, and Body horror
Moderate: Alcohol, Self harm, Death, Death of parent, Gaslighting, Fire/Fire injury, Animal cruelty, Misogyny, Emotional abuse, Torture, and Violence
Minor: Sexual assault and Slavery
Much of the main character's magic is fueled by her/another's blood, teeth, and body parts, with fire being a main implement of torture.