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sosooo'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
Moderate: Racism
mochimustreads'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
5.0
Graphic: Torture, Violence, and Racism
jotoide's review against another edition
- Plot- or character-driven? Plot
- Strong character development? No
- Loveable characters? No
- Diverse cast of characters? Yes
- Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes
2.5
I guess it was supposed to be about zelie believing in herself? Or something? I never got a clear feel of her character it seemed like she just did things
Inan was a bitch all book and his romance with zélie was rushed and weird. Amari was good but I cant say much else. Not the worst I've read but it left me wishing it was better
Graphic: Racism, Racial slurs, Violence, and Classism
Moderate: Rape
asiamh'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
4.0
Graphic: Death, Violence, Confinement, Racism, Sexual assault, Slavery, Body horror, Classism, Religious bigotry, Hate crime, Gore, Blood, Injury/Injury detail, Murder, Torture, Child death, Death of parent, Sexism, Grief, and Physical abuse
ghostyreadsy's review against another edition
- Plot- or character-driven? Character
- Strong character development? It's complicated
- Loveable characters? Yes
- Diverse cast of characters? Yes
- Flaws of characters a main focus? It's complicated
5.0
Moderate: Torture, Racial slurs, and Racism
Minor: Sexual assault
secondhandbookshelves's review
- Plot- or character-driven? A mix
- Strong character development? Yes
- Loveable characters? It's complicated
- Diverse cast of characters? Yes
- Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes
4.0
Graphic: Racism and Death
Moderate: War, Police brutality, Death of parent, Racism, and Slavery
Minor: Torture and Blood
squinnittowinit's review
- Plot- or character-driven? Plot
- Strong character development? It's complicated
- Loveable characters? No
- Diverse cast of characters? N/A
- Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes
2.0
Original review:
Overall, this is a good story with a (unfortunately) very relatable setting: an oppressive society that treats certain people as lesser due to something inherent that they cannot control. I felt the author's pain and anger surrounding this real-world issue in the writing, and perhaps if this had been my first exposure to the mindset of the oppressed group, I might have found it more impactful. However, I personally found it a little tiring for specific reasons that I will mark as a spoiler below.
Again, it is a good story, just one I've seen many times already. Nothing about it surprised me and as much as I was rooting for them, I didn't love any of the characters by the end. I'm not sure if you're supposed to or not.
Next, there is the issue of trauma. This is a book based in racial trauma, which makes it automatically not a fun read for me. Again, I really want to stress that I'm not saying it's bad, but it's very real, and it's hard to laugh at any of the jokes or moments of levity when the whole book is about oppression and I already experience oppression nearly constantly in my real life.
Next, as I said above, nothing about this book surprised me. I was never on the edge of my seat or uncertain about the fate of the characters, because I've seen this story so many times. It hit all the beats I was expecting it to, and the only death I didn't predict was a character that I didn't care about at all.
Finally, the romance. I'm all for a good romantic subplot, but I couldn't get behind this one. It was going for "enemies to lovers" but was done with no subtlety, I felt like I was being bashed over the head with foreshadowing about this relationship. Then, the actual enemies to lovers part happened seemingly overnight, and they suddenly didn't hate each other anymore. The romance gave me some emotional whiplash and made me feel like I was missing time.
Graphic: Death, Child death, Racism, Genocide, Classism, and Death of parent
Moderate: Blood, Fire/Fire injury, Injury/Injury detail, Violence, War, and Murder
Minor: Ableism, Vomit, Mental illness, Sexual content, Sexual harassment, Sexual assault, and Xenophobia
annorabrady'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? Yes
4.5
Graphic: Emotional abuse, Death of parent, Injury/Injury detail, Hate crime, War, Racism, Grief, Child abuse, Death, Classism, Violence, Police brutality, Physical abuse, Murder, Genocide, Panic attacks/disorders, Misogyny, Gaslighting, and Blood
Moderate: Fire/Fire injury and Child death
Minor: Trafficking, Sexual content, Sexual harassment, and Slavery
overthinkereading'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
4.5
Even so, the magic and tension and love (romantic and familial) and history of Orïsha is immersive. Before I even realized it, I found myself completely invested in the characters and their mission, and the cliffhanger ending makes it easy to jump right into book 2 of the series. The Author’s Note is the most powerful part of the book, though - do not skip. (Contains spoilers).
Highly recommend.
Graphic: War, Death of parent, Fire/Fire injury, Medical trauma, Physical abuse, Torture, Violence, Death, Classism, Racism, Child abuse, Injury/Injury detail, Blood, Child death, Gore, Police brutality, Racial slurs, and Xenophobia
kymberly'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
Graphic: Injury/Injury detail, Murder, Death, Genocide, Racism, and Violence
Moderate: Blood, Physical abuse, and Classism
Minor: Slavery and Sexual harassment