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Graphic: Death, Sexual content, Violence
Moderate: Cursing, Vomit, Death of parent, War, Injury/Injury detail
Minor: Bullying, Grief, Murder
Graphic: Animal death, Chronic illness, Death, Sexual content, Violence, Grief, Injury/Injury detail
Moderate: Bullying, Death of parent, War
Minor: Murder
a concept never seen before? absolutely not.
is it good? fuck yes.
so, as per usual, sunshine-ish, good-for-(almost)-nothing fmc meets brooding, black cat-coded, sexy af love interest. water found in the ocean, folks!
clichés aside, if you want to make a cash cow out of the booktok crowd and still write a solid, entertaining book—this is how you do it. honestly, most of it felt like a fever dream to me. i was sleep-deprived, in a reading slump, and in desperate need of a quick fix. this book said “say less” and delivered.
we get your typical millennial sarcasm, an fmc who cannot shut the fuck up even if her life depends on it (which, like, it literally does), and somehow it works. the action hits, the worldbuilding is actually cool, and every bit of flirting and banter is delightfully addictive. like… okay rebecca yarros, pop off i guess. i’m letting her cook this one time.
that said—the deaths? kinda felt like shock value. like “war is hell 🤪🤪 so now i’ll kill off one of your emotional support characters for ✨realism✨” and it gave more “manufactured pain” than “narrative impact,” but whatever. also the rebellion twist, the betrayal, all of that? painfully obvious. i saw it coming from chapter five and just waited for everyone else to catch up.
but here’s the thing: i’m hooked. i’m in too deep. don’t be surprised if i dive into the sequel with feral determination lol.
final rating: 4.5 bc i’m not sure it’s a 5 yet.
reading time: 7 hr 6 min
Graphic: Animal death, Cursing, Death, Gore, Sexual content, Violence, Blood, Toxic friendship, Injury/Injury detail
Moderate: Bullying, Torture, Grief, Death of parent, Fire/Fire injury, War
Minor: Kidnapping
the book was overall very predictable. i called out every single plot "twist" hundreds of pages before, and i was right. didn't even have to overthink the plot.
booktok hyped up a mid book. it was fun, fast paced, average, and i finished it within a day. i see why people like it, truly, but it isn't as fleshed out as it could have been
along with characters, i feel like the whole book could have had more substance to it. it was fast paced, rushed, and some areas (the hierarchical system) weren't explained very well. it would be nice to see these areas expanded and further developed. the beginning of the book did a wonderful job, but the middle and end seemed very greedy.
shit, even the romance was mid. i feel like the romance, and the spicy scenes, kind of ruined the story for me. it's just not how i would have imagined an enemies to lovers trope / triangular relationship trope develop. the relationship felt quite rushed.
Graphic: War
Moderate: Body horror, Body shaming, Bullying, Blood
Minor: Death, Murder
Graphic: Cursing, Death, Sexual content, Violence, Medical trauma, Fire/Fire injury
Moderate: Animal death, Bullying, Death, Sexual content, Violence, Forced institutionalization, Blood, Grief, Death of parent, Murder, Fire/Fire injury, War, Injury/Injury detail
So many thoughts. Where do I start?
- I don’t know man. I don’t think this author is a particularly good writer
- This is like Divergent with dragons
- This is like The Poppy War but horny and worse
- They did WHAT to an armoire?
- If I ever hear the phrase “his jaw ticks” or “she threw over her shoulder” again I’m rioting
- guys her hair is special and this is an important feature!!
- They are SO HORNY for each other good lord
RIP Liam you were the best of us Why doesn’t she just get with Rhi? She’s the best - At least there are queer people
Is this book good? No. Do I have a million complaints? Yes. Will I be reading the rest of the series? Yes. The audiobook passes the time on my runs and it’s fun talking to people about this hot mess express of a book. It’s just nice to be involved
Moderate: Body shaming, Bullying, Death, Gore, Violence, Blood, Medical content, Grief, Medical trauma, Death of parent, Murder, War, Injury/Injury detail
Graphic: Cursing, Death, Sexual content, Violence, Blood, Grief, War, Injury/Injury detail
Moderate: Ableism, Medical content, Death of parent, Fire/Fire injury, Toxic friendship
Minor: Body shaming, Bullying, Vomit, Alcohol
I loved this book Rebecca, please NEVER stop writing because I’m hooked
Graphic: Animal cruelty, Animal death, Bullying, Sexual content, Torture, Violence, Blood, Vomit, Murder
Graphic: Bullying, Death, Gore, Sexual content, Violence, Blood, Vomit, Grief, Death of parent, Murder, Fire/Fire injury, Toxic friendship, War, Injury/Injury detail
Minor: Animal death, Child abuse, Cursing, Alcohol
Graphic: Animal death, Chronic illness, Death, Sexual content, Toxic relationship, Violence, Grief, Toxic friendship
Moderate: Bullying, Blood, Death of parent, Murder, Fire/Fire injury, Injury/Injury detail
Minor: Vomit, Medical content, War