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rachelkreadsbookz's review against another edition
- Plot- or character-driven? A mix
- Strong character development? It's complicated
- Loveable characters? It's complicated
- Diverse cast of characters? It's complicated
- Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes
4.75
Graphic: War, Violence, and Torture
Moderate: Gore, Animal cruelty, and Animal death
Minor: Xenophobia and Death of parent
beautifulpaxielreads's review against another edition
- Plot- or character-driven? A mix
- Strong character development? It's complicated
- Loveable characters? It's complicated
- Diverse cast of characters? Yes
- Flaws of characters a main focus? No
3.5
The world-building was very good too, although it could be confusing at times. I loved the intertwining of religious belief, magic, lore, and politics (particularly with Kinnism/Judaism), it all came together pretty seamlessly, although, again, it could be confusing occasionally.
The maps and family trees (created by Virginia Allyn) were useful in giving a sense of location and social hierarchies of the world.
The main problems I experienced had to do with character development and writing style, each of which I'll address separately.
I'll start with character development. Although I could see that Josephson did her best, there was a remoteness in the writing that stopped me from fully empathising and caring about the characters - particularly the POV characters of Mikira and Arielle, although I found qualities to admire in both of them. I also couldn't particularly vibe with either of the
The writing style was also quite strange, although it did propel the plot forward But some of the phrasing was quite odd, leading me to be unsure as to who or what the text was referring to, and distinguishing between each individual character from scene to scene. There were also a number of spelling, phrasing, and grammatical errors which really should have been picked up by an editor because they were very distracting.
I probably will read the next book in the series because a number of plot elements intrigued me, but on the whole I didn't enjoy this as much as I wanted to.
Graphic: Murder, Alcohol, Animal death, Bullying, Death, Medical content, Grief, Violence, Animal cruelty, Blood, Injury/Injury detail, Emotional abuse, and Medical trauma
Moderate: Death of parent, Gore, Gun violence, Torture, Antisemitism, Drug use, and Xenophobia
Minor: Genocide and Sexual violence
One of the main plot points is a deadly and dangerous horseracing tournament, and horses are injured and/or killed.metaphorsandmisc'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
4.0
Graphic: Animal death, Antisemitism, Injury/Injury detail, Bullying, Grief, and Death
Moderate: Animal cruelty, Violence, War, and Torture
Minor: Sexual harassment
obscurepages'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? No
4.75
I've only read middle grade from Kalyn Josephson, so while I was expecting something good, I also didn't know much yet about their writing style in YA. But wow wow wow wow.
<b>The world-building was complex and enchanting, the characters were all compelling, the political intrigue was just suspenseful, the plot was carefully woven and definitely stress-inducing </b> ðŸ˜ðŸ˜‚ I was actually a little afraid I wouldn't really connect to this book because it's about horse-racing. But damn, how wrong was I. Because this was more than just horse-racing. It was about the bad and ugly sides of humanity, the immense power that the elites hold, about our own desires, and coming to terms with our own power and growing in confidence. <b> This was just brilliant, riveting, and breathtaking. </b>
(I also just loved seeing aroace/demi rep, as well as bi rep from the two main characters 🥹)
This took me in a rollercoaster ride I never really expected, and for that, this book is one of my favorites this year ðŸ˜
Full review in my blog soon!
(Received an e-arc from the author in exchange for an honest review.)
Graphic: Gun violence, Violence, War, Animal death, Animal cruelty, Blood, Death of parent, Antisemitism, Gore, Injury/Injury detail, and Torture
Moderate: Sexual content, Bullying, and Grief
natashaleighton_'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
Graphic: Animal death, Violence, and Death
Moderate: Animal cruelty, Injury/Injury detail, and Torture
Minor: Murder, Death of parent, Bullying, and Suicidal thoughts
ezwolf'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
4.25
Arielle and Mikira were both great characters and I'm torn on which one was my favorite. I loved Ari for her connection (and disconnection) to the Jewish religion of this book. I loved Mikira for the love of her horses and her sisters and her desire to protect her family.
There was also a lot of casual queerness (and no homophobia) amongst the background characters and the implication of demisexuality and bisexuality/pansexuality with Ari and Mikira.
The thing I found most interesting about this book was its approach to Judaism. There are so many books that take Christianity and create a fantasy religion based on it, but I've never seen that done with Judaism. And even though this was fantasy Judaism, it was still implicitly Jewish, the way Ari and Damien talked about the foundations of it in their world and the different traditions, was so Jewish. The way golems were used was my favorite. I feel like often in media, golems are used to be scary, but golems are meant to protect and that's a big part of the golems that Ari makes.
Thank you to NetGalley for making this available in exchange for an honest review!
Graphic: Classism, Gun violence, Blood, Death, Grief, Violence, Animal death, Religious bigotry, Injury/Injury detail, Antisemitism, and Murder
Moderate: Panic attacks/disorders, Torture, and Animal cruelty
Minor: Death of parent, Suicidal thoughts, Xenophobia, Colonisation, Alcohol, and Bullying