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carol_3927'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: Sexual content
Moderate: Emotional abuse and Physical abuse
Minor: Violence, Death, and Cursing
alicelalicon's review against another edition
- 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: Bullying, Death, Murder, Physical abuse, Torture, and Violence
Moderate: Chronic illness and Cursing
Minor: Death of parent, Sexual content, and Grief
booksthatburn's review
- Plot- or character-driven? A mix
- Strong character development? Yes
- Loveable characters? It's complicated
- Diverse cast of characters? It's complicated
- Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes
4.0
I like the world building, so much is shaped by the central conceit that something went wrong a decade and a half ago and the planet stopped spinning. I would like to know how gravity is still functioning, but other than that it has an internal logic that was pretty easy to follow. I like the magic system, there's enough information for it to make sense but it's not overexplained. I love this premise, and I love how it's carried out. The price of the gifts was a nice touch, the effects begin subtly and then cause a dramatic turn in the plot, making it clear both why anyone ever would have thought accepting them was fine, and how (from my perspective, at least) it's not worth it.
The four main characters all felt very distinct from each other, with different things they wanted, and many differences in what they were willing to give up and what they sought to protect. They had four very different backgrounds and it's shown well. I felt like I had room to like the book without liking all four main characters. I loved one, liked two, and have complex thoughts about the last one. That character undergoes a gradual change in mental state, it’s very well written. It’s marked by certain milestones, specific plot events that cause it to progress. It wasn’t until several of them it happened that I realized the shift they have been building, but when I looked back I could see its early stages. I love stories where a character undergoes a drastic change in how they perceive the world and interact with it, and this did a great job of portraying that shift. I liked how they were written, and my complex feelings come from initially loving them, feeling strange as their personality shifted to be wholly unlikeable, then realizing that it was shifting due to events in the story. At that point I didn't resume liking them as a person, but I love how they're written. I like the pair journeying in the desert the best, their duo was more relatable to me but one of the strengths of this book is that, as I said the main characters are so different that you'll probably like at least one of them, and the narrative doesn't hinge on whether you like all four of them as people.
The ending was good, it does make me want to read part two, and given that this is a duology the second half of the story is waiting in the sequel. It felt a little abrupt, but the characters both literally and emotionally arrived at a place that made sense as the ending before the next book. Sometimes duologies can feel like two intertwined stand-alone books, and sometimes they feel like a larger work split in two. This is very much that second type, I don't know if my impression will change once I read the sequel.
Graphic: Violence
Moderate: Animal death, Blood, Confinement, Cursing, Death, Domestic abuse, Emotional abuse, Gore, Grief, Kidnapping, Mental illness, and Vomit
Minor: Cannibalism, Sexual assault, and Sexual content
fromjuliereads's review against another edition
- Strong character development? Yes
- Loveable characters? Yes
- Diverse cast of characters? Yes
- Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes
4.5
The premise is that the world has been broken, there is a broken climate because the planet doesn't turn anymore, and there are these two goddesses with magic rhat that don't know about each other.
This storyline was so unique to me! Somehow this book mashes fantasy and dystopian, with a sprinkling of sci-fi because of the broken world, and it works so well!?!?
I think all of these characters have become new favourites. Can I even pick a duo!? I really like Haidee. She is so knowledgeable and she likes mechanika and is just a badass, but so sensitive and empathetic. And Arjun is so funny and has that total tough guy exterior! Lan is a badass and I love her. Odessa I loved for the beginning and then things took a turn, but she is a very well done character!
The twists and betrayals were fantastic. The side characters and creatures they encounter were very well done. And this world! I am so intrigued by it and can't wait to learn more in book 2!!
I am someone who LOVES to reference maps when I am reading, so I found it frustrating there is no compass on the map. Haidee keeps talking about them heading west in the book, but looking at the map it looks like they are going northeast!? It bugged me to no end. But no matter, that was quite small.
This has LGBTQ+ rep, disability and chronic illness (of the magical kind) rep, discusses grief and mental health, and of course climate change with the broken world. Loved it!
Graphic: Death
Moderate: Bullying, Chronic illness, Cursing, Grief, Homophobia, Mental illness, Physical abuse, Sexual content, and Violence
Minor: Cannibalism