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archane's review against another edition
adventurous
dark
emotional
mysterious
medium-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? A mix
- Strong character development? Yes
- Loveable characters? It's complicated
- Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes
4.0
Content Warnings
Graphic: Death, Gore, Murder, Violence, Blood, Injury/Injury detail, and Torture
queer_bookwyrm's review
adventurous
dark
slow-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? Plot
- Strong character development? No
- Loveable characters? No
- Diverse cast of characters? Yes
- Flaws of characters a main focus? No
3.0
3 ⭐ CW: violence, death, imprisonment
Witches Steeped in Gold by Ciannon Smart is book one in the Witches Steeped in Gold duology. This was a YA Jamaican inspired fantasy that, honestly fell a little flat for me. I wanted so badly to like it, but it just didn't hit for me.
We follow two povs from Iraya Adair, the lost Adair heir of the former Obeah doyenne, and Jazmyne, the Emissary and heir of the current Alumbrar doyenne. The Obeah used to be the ruling order of Aiyca, and oppressed the Alumbrar and described as a violent and brutal order. The Alumbrar staged a coup and placed themselves in charge, continuing the cycle of violence. Ira has been imprisoned and doesn't want to rule, only get revenge on the doyenne for killing her parents. Jazmyne wants to end her mother's violent reign.
This book was incredibly slow. I felt like we didn't learn enough about the world, the different orders, or the magic system. The politics seemed convoluted, and neither side seemed to be the "good guy." Neither of the main characters were all that likeable. Ira avoided helping her own people and avoided forming relationships that might have made her more likable. Jazmyne seemed like a weak character that didn't have much growth until the end and it was still pretty weak.
Even the minor romance between Ira and Kirdan feels forced. I just felt like this story was too long and the pacing slow. All of the action and character development happens in the last third of the book. I'm just very disappointed in this book and won't be continuing to the next book.
Witches Steeped in Gold by Ciannon Smart is book one in the Witches Steeped in Gold duology. This was a YA Jamaican inspired fantasy that, honestly fell a little flat for me. I wanted so badly to like it, but it just didn't hit for me.
We follow two povs from Iraya Adair, the lost Adair heir of the former Obeah doyenne, and Jazmyne, the Emissary and heir of the current Alumbrar doyenne. The Obeah used to be the ruling order of Aiyca, and oppressed the Alumbrar and described as a violent and brutal order. The Alumbrar staged a coup and placed themselves in charge, continuing the cycle of violence. Ira has been imprisoned and doesn't want to rule, only get revenge on the doyenne for killing her parents. Jazmyne wants to end her mother's violent reign.
This book was incredibly slow. I felt like we didn't learn enough about the world, the different orders, or the magic system. The politics seemed convoluted, and neither side seemed to be the "good guy." Neither of the main characters were all that likeable. Ira avoided helping her own people and avoided forming relationships that might have made her more likable. Jazmyne seemed like a weak character that didn't have much growth until the end and it was still pretty weak.
Even the minor romance between Ira and Kirdan feels forced. I just felt like this story was too long and the pacing slow. All of the action and character development happens in the last third of the book. I'm just very disappointed in this book and won't be continuing to the next book.
Content Warnings
Graphic: Violence and Death
hugobluue's review
adventurous
dark
emotional
mysterious
reflective
sad
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
4.25
Content Warnings
Graphic: Genocide, Injury/Injury detail, Murder, Violence, Death, Forced institutionalization, and Gore
_rowantree_'s review against another edition
adventurous
mysterious
medium-paced
- Loveable characters? Yes
- Diverse cast of characters? Yes
- Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes
3.5
Content Warnings
Graphic: Death, Murder, Death of parent, and Grief
Moderate: War
thaliareads's review against another edition
adventurous
challenging
dark
emotional
mysterious
tense
slow-paced
- 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
3.0
This was a really interesting book and I did grow more invested as the book progressed. However, I think this read would have been much more suited to a physical book. I have a copy from Owlcrate that I do plan to re-read eventually. The problem was the names of the characters and their voices sounded too similar in the audiobook and I didn't realize that I was getting two different character perspectives until I was about a quarter of the way through the book. This would have been easy to remedy in the physical book and I think I would have enjoyed the book more having had the background more clear in my head.
Content Warnings
Graphic: Violence and Death
I'll admit that I'm behind on reviews, so I may have missed some of the content warnings.natashaleighton_'s review against another edition
adventurous
dark
medium-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? Character
- Strong character development? Yes
- Diverse cast of characters? Yes
3.5
Content Warnings
Graphic: Death, Violence, and Blood
Moderate: Death of parent and Genocide
rexpostfacto's review against another edition
adventurous
dark
mysterious
tense
slow-paced
- 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? Yes
4.5
I really, really enjoyed this. It was longer than I would've liked, but the writing was good enough that it didn't matter too much. Stoked to read the rest of the series!
Content Warnings
Graphic: Blood, Violence, Physical abuse, and War
Moderate: Death of parent, Grief, Death, and Murder
Minor: Child death
esme_may's review
adventurous
dark
mysterious
tense
medium-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? Plot
- Strong character development? Yes
- Loveable characters? It's complicated
- Flaws of characters a main focus? It's complicated
4.0
Takes a while to get going but picks up once you get familiar with the world. I was worried that I wouldn't be as into this one as I thought because I'm not that interested in rebellion stories these days, but it wasn't what I was expecting at all. Really excited to see where this series goes!
Content Warnings
Graphic: Blood and Death
Moderate: Cursing, Death of parent, Child death, Confinement, Grief, Injury/Injury detail, Murder, Self harm, Torture, Violence, War, and Xenophobia
Minor: Fire/Fire injury, Sexual content, and Alcohol
achay91's review
dark
mysterious
tense
slow-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? Plot
- Strong character development? No
- Loveable characters? No
- Diverse cast of characters? Yes
- Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes
3.75
Content Warnings
Graphic: Death
Minor: Sexual assault
starrysteph's review against another edition
challenging
tense
slow-paced
- 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? Yes
3.0
I know they say not to judge a book by its cover .. but WHAT a cover!
This was a complex (& dense) high fantasy read. I would strongly recommend taking it easy and reading small chunks at a time to slowly become immersed and gain a better understanding of the world.
There was a lot of richness here (and I don't think I've read a Jamaican-based fantasy before – so, very cool!), but it was very slow and often overwritten.
Here's what I enjoyed:
This was a complex (& dense) high fantasy read. I would strongly recommend taking it easy and reading small chunks at a time to slowly become immersed and gain a better understanding of the world.
There was a lot of richness here (and I don't think I've read a Jamaican-based fantasy before – so, very cool!), but it was very slow and often overwritten.
Here's what I enjoyed:
• The worldbuilding and lore was new and fresh and rich
• I also really liked the magic system and how the viewpoints of different characters physically changed the way they were able to utilize magic
• Both POVs played with power & victimhood in interesting ways, leading to a unique and complicated setup of good vs. evil and general villainy
• The premise is awesome! Two rival witches ... an examination of revenge and leadership and sacrifice
• I also really liked the magic system and how the viewpoints of different characters physically changed the way they were able to utilize magic
• Both POVs played with power & victimhood in interesting ways, leading to a unique and complicated setup of good vs. evil and general villainy
• The premise is awesome! Two rival witches ... an examination of revenge and leadership and sacrifice
Here's what didn't quite work for me:
• The book needed some editing (it was unnecessarily long & some word choices were peculiar) and the pacing was off; the first 75% was incredibly slow with most action happening offscreen but then everything came together in an overwhelming way
• I'm speaking for myself but I think other readers can probably relate: I desperately needed a glossary for the amount of names/positions and terminology
• While the POVs were theoretically very different, their voices blended together for me and it wasn’t obvious who was speaking - this was especially frustrating because it was told in first person
• The book needed some editing (it was unnecessarily long & some word choices were peculiar) and the pacing was off; the first 75% was incredibly slow with most action happening offscreen but then everything came together in an overwhelming way
• I'm speaking for myself but I think other readers can probably relate: I desperately needed a glossary for the amount of names/positions and terminology
• While the POVs were theoretically very different, their voices blended together for me and it wasn’t obvious who was speaking - this was especially frustrating because it was told in first person
• Some of the plot points converged a little too conveniently at the end
• The introduction to the romance wasn’t strong in my eyes. I’m curious how this will play out in book 2
CW: violence, blood, death, murder, child death, death of parent, war, torture, confinement, body horror, vomit, bullying, sexual assault (mentioned), suicide (mentioned)
Content Warnings
Graphic: Death of parent, Injury/Injury detail, Murder, Violence, Vomit, War, Blood, Body horror, Bullying, Child abuse, Child death, Confinement, Death, Gore, and Grief
Minor: Rape