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kiwij96's review against another edition
challenging
dark
mysterious
sad
tense
fast-paced
- 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
4.75
This was a super easy read: well-paced chapters and full of plot points that all eventually come full circle at the end. Engaging plot in that sense, especially when the twists come in.
Not super in love with the idea that Karou was potentially being groomed by Kaz as it mentions in the beginning that they had been a couple for a while before their break-up and he is now 20 while she is 17. I also felt super uncomfortable with the Akiva and Karou romance plot too given the age gap there too.I was also worried at one point that he was her dad. However, the plot all comes together at the end and boy did it.
My only other gripe is Chapter 22. It felt massively out of place and I had to reread the chapters either side of it to figure out how it fitted in with it all. Felt like an afterthought but misplaced in the sequencing.
Not super in love with the idea that Karou was potentially being groomed by Kaz as it mentions in the beginning that they had been a couple for a while before their break-up and he is now 20 while she is 17. I also felt super uncomfortable with the Akiva and Karou romance plot too given the age gap there too.
My only other gripe is Chapter 22. It felt massively out of place and I had to reread the chapters either side of it to figure out how it fitted in with it all. Felt like an afterthought but misplaced in the sequencing.
Content Warnings
Graphic: Blood, Death, Injury/Injury detail, Torture, Violence, and War
Moderate: Genocide, Gore, Grief, and Slavery
Minor: Islamophobia, Ableism, Adult/minor relationship, Homophobia, Sexual content, Sexual harassment, Stalking, and Toxic relationship
moonchild_cos's review against another edition
adventurous
dark
emotional
mysterious
tense
medium-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
4.5
Content Warnings
Graphic: Animal death, Blood, Grief, Injury/Injury detail, Violence, and Death
Moderate: Abandonment, Torture, Genocide, Sexual harassment, and War
Minor: Sexual content, Medical content, and Trafficking
scarlett_f's review against another edition
adventurous
dark
emotional
hopeful
mysterious
tense
medium-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
5.0
Content Warnings
Graphic: Death, Animal death, Grief, Murder, Misogyny, Violence, Blood, Medical trauma, Physical abuse, War, Fire/Fire injury, and Gore
Minor: Toxic friendship, War, and Sexual content
kayelina's review
adventurous
hopeful
relaxing
medium-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? A mix
- Strong character development? No
- Loveable characters? Yes
- Diverse cast of characters? It's complicated
- Flaws of characters a main focus? No
4.25
Content Warnings
Moderate: War, Blood, Sexual content, Torture, Murder, and Violence
donatio's review against another edition
adventurous
dark
emotional
mysterious
tense
medium-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? A mix
- Strong character development? N/A
- Loveable characters? Yes
- Diverse cast of characters? No
- Flaws of characters a main focus? No
4.0
So... overall I liked the book.
I liked the characters as well as the world-building but some things didn't sit right with me.
I'm a big animal friend and I'm intrigued by the concept of opposites, how something cannot exist without an opposite, but the depiction here failed sometimes. The fact that the angels basically colonised the world of the chimaera often fades into the background and the chimaera are still often described as the villain(monsters) because the angels make no appearance except for Akiva's "rightness" and so on; the balance it was probably supposed to be... Is just not there. Even though it is said that the chimaera are intelligent and feeling beings this behavior isn't shown, there is no tender love in Eretz in the chimaera capital described. That makes them seem cruel even though the angels are the "real" enemies.
Furthermore I had a problem with some comments made in the book I can't recall specifically now and the fact that everyone seems to be beautiful (ly thin) in some way upsets me.
Still the story managed to draw me in, to care about the characters.
I liked the characters as well as the world-building but some things didn't sit right with me.
Furthermore I had a problem with some comments made in the book I can't recall specifically now and the fact that everyone seems to be beautiful (ly thin) in some way upsets me.
Still the story managed to draw me in, to care about the characters.
Content Warnings
Graphic: Animal cruelty, Blood, Fire/Fire injury, Death, Genocide, Gore, Sexual content, Slavery, War, Classism, Animal death, and Colonisation
Moderate: Sexual assault, Child abuse, Physical abuse, Child death, and Torture
timedothwasteme's review against another edition
adventurous
emotional
hopeful
medium-paced
- 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? No
4.0
Content Warnings
Graphic: Death, Xenophobia, War, and Slavery
Moderate: Torture
Minor: Sexual content
_alyssar_'s review
adventurous
challenging
dark
funny
hopeful
mysterious
tense
medium-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? Plot
4.25
Content Warnings
Graphic: Death, Violence, War, Suicide, Blood, Animal death, Torture, Injury/Injury detail, and Slavery
Moderate: Body shaming, Genocide, Bullying, Body horror, Fire/Fire injury, Classism, and Sexual content
ran_sophia's review against another edition
adventurous
emotional
funny
lighthearted
mysterious
sad
fast-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? Plot
- Strong character development? Yes
- Loveable characters? Yes
- Diverse cast of characters? No
- Flaws of characters a main focus? No
5.0
Content Warnings
Graphic: Death, Violence, and War
Moderate: Racism, Slavery, Genocide, Torture, and Classism
Minor: Sexual content and Murder
mmefish's review against another edition
adventurous
mysterious
fast-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? Character
- Strong character development? Yes
- Loveable characters? It's complicated
- Diverse cast of characters? No
- Flaws of characters a main focus? No
2.5
Content Warnings
Moderate: Animal death
Minor: Animal cruelty and Sexual content
_haggis_'s review against another edition
adventurous
funny
lighthearted
mysterious
relaxing
medium-paced
- 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
A fun YA fantasy with an interesting cast, forgivable cliches and a plot worth re-reading.
I liked this. Quite a lot. It's everything that's good about YA books - there's magic, there's fun, there's the lovable best friend and sassy eyebrow raising. There's also a well developed and original (which is always a happy point) plot which really gets going about half way through the book.
The story is set against the very popular 'angel and demon war' which seems to making the rounds recently, but Laini Taylor reimagines it with a freshness and intrigue that's certainly worth the read. Instead of demons we have chimeras - not a homogenous species but set of races with their own languages, cultures and tongues that we're told were united in the face and under the oppression of a common enemy. The angels aren't of the religious sort either - but defied soldiers caught in their own imperialism. I think this is a fantastic premise because you get at once a dystopian world falling under the weight of an eternal war which is driven by propaganda and what is effectively racism (species-ism). I think the reflection upon the dangers and atrocities of imperial and colonial societies is probed and explored well and offers a critique of our own society against the fantastical backdrop of the book.
The characters are a mix of the fantastical, the real, and yes the cliche. Karou (the protagonist) is, I think at least, quite a good representation of a 17 year old. She's got blue hair, occasionally uses magic for lazy and petty things, and gets fed up with her dysfunctional family. Okay, so she isn't the most well rounded character, can be quite moody, and is sometimes a little flat - but it's okay. The book carries it. I was rather bored by Akiva, the love interest, who Taylor initially tries to make into the brooding bad boy - unemotional and merciless *yawn*, I didn't think he was remotely worth caring about and his sudden humanity and compassion felt like it came out of nowhere. However - about halfway through you see a completely different side of him, and I found myself really rooting for the guy. I mean, learning a forbidden language of the enemy, inventing new magic, and sneaking into your enemy's ball? And then flirting with a horse mask? . To be honest the moody start seems to be his main character inconsistency as he's revealed to be a very gentle idealist at heart.
The real steal of the show HAS to be Brimstone. Honestly. He's full of depth and surprises and was definitely my favourite part of the whole book. Gosh he's so cool.
However, I do think my favouritism of Brimstone hampered my overall enjoyment of the book. The ending, where this character you've grown to love, who has as much screen-time as the protagonist, has been killed? By the love interest? At this moment I felt so betrayed and decided I didn't want to read the rest of the series. It felt Taylor was riding entirely on shock factor and for me it missed the mark. Why would I still be invested in the romance after this?
Overall I still think it is a good read, creative, fantastical and good for any YA lover. If you like enemies-to-lovers, magical realism, or have a strange interest in teeth then check this out :)
I liked this. Quite a lot. It's everything that's good about YA books - there's magic, there's fun, there's the lovable best friend and sassy eyebrow raising. There's also a well developed and original (which is always a happy point) plot which really gets going about half way through the book.
The story is set against the very popular 'angel and demon war' which seems to making the rounds recently, but Laini Taylor reimagines it with a freshness and intrigue that's certainly worth the read. Instead of demons we have chimeras - not a homogenous species but set of races with their own languages, cultures and tongues that we're told were united in the face and under the oppression of a common enemy. The angels aren't of the religious sort either - but defied soldiers caught in their own imperialism. I think this is a fantastic premise because you get at once a dystopian world falling under the weight of an eternal war which is driven by propaganda and what is effectively racism (species-ism). I think the reflection upon the dangers and atrocities of imperial and colonial societies is probed and explored well and offers a critique of our own society against the fantastical backdrop of the book.
The characters are a mix of the fantastical, the real, and yes the cliche. Karou (the protagonist) is, I think at least, quite a good representation of a 17 year old. She's got blue hair, occasionally uses magic for lazy and petty things, and gets fed up with her dysfunctional family. Okay, so she isn't the most well rounded character, can be quite moody, and is sometimes a little flat - but it's okay. The book carries it. I was rather bored by Akiva, the love interest, who Taylor initially tries to make into the brooding bad boy - unemotional and merciless *yawn*, I didn't think he was remotely worth caring about and his sudden humanity and compassion felt like it came out of nowhere. However - about halfway through you see a completely different side of him, and I found myself really rooting for the guy.
The real steal of the show HAS to be Brimstone. Honestly. He's full of depth and surprises and was definitely my favourite part of the whole book. Gosh he's so cool.
Overall I still think it is a good read, creative, fantastical and good for any YA lover. If you like enemies-to-lovers, magical realism, or have a strange interest in teeth then check this out :)
Content Warnings
Minor: Sexual content