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booksdogsandcoffee's review against another edition
4.0
This is a book about magic, ancestry, breaking your chains, and changing your fate. It is so different from everything else she has written and I loved it!
Graphic: Gore, Blood, Racism, and Xenophobia
uranaishi'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? It's complicated
4.5
Graphic: Religious bigotry, Torture, Injury/Injury detail, Slavery, and Confinement
Moderate: Death, Physical abuse, Sexual content, Abandonment, Death of parent, Domestic abuse, Gore, Murder, Sexual harassment, Sexual violence, Toxic friendship, Toxic relationship, Alcohol, Blood, Classism, Infertility, Infidelity, Mental illness, Misogyny, Sexism, and Violence
Minor: Pregnancy, Vomit, Antisemitism, Emotional abuse, Fire/Fire injury, Grief, Medical content, Bullying, Child abuse, Colonisation, Racism, Suicidal thoughts, Xenophobia, Adult/minor relationship, Body horror, Body shaming, Schizophrenia/Psychosis , Sexual assault, Terminal illness, War, Outing, Homophobia, and Rape
madlysoph's review against another edition
- Plot- or character-driven? Plot
- Strong character development? Yes
- Loveable characters? Yes
- Diverse cast of characters? No
- Flaws of characters a main focus? It's complicated
4.5
The intensity of both her and her love interest makes the moments of tenderness all the more beautiful. They so easily understand one another and are constantly awed by each other. Their relationship was easy to fall in love with, they are tender and fierce, and unapologetic. There is some smut, mostly concentrated in one portion of the book, it was the way I prefer it, vague and mostly fade to black. There is also a lot of crude language as well (see 1500s Spain).
The way everything plays out and how all the threads weave together is done very well. When the pieces are put together it is a surprise but not a shock as the foundation has been properly laid. The women in this book are unapologetic, what they make of the situations they find themselves in they do not apologize for.
This book felt surprisingly tender, there was a tremendous amount of care and love put into it as well as research, she cites many sources in the author's notes. The themes and symbolism were done masterfully, fortune and curses are a theme that is woven into the story seamlessly. The symbolism of the orange blossoms throughout was beautifully done and felt very tender. I love pomegranate symbolism and I loved the way it was done here.
This book was funny, not consistently funny but on occasion I would be caught off guard and have to laugh out loud. The background character of the playwright (whose name escapes me at the moment) was incredibly humorous as she manages to appear in the background from the very beginning and stays until the very end.
I love how Leigh does endings, I closed this book content with the fates of nearly every character. Of course a good book makes you want more, but I didn’t need more for the story to feel whole and complete. This is a book that I will definitely reread and will most likely fall more in love with each time I reread it.
Moderate: Antisemitism, Sexual content, Religious bigotry, Blood, Violence, Injury/Injury detail, Alcohol, and Torture
chezler24'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? It's complicated
5.0
I am so excited for this to come out and for more people to read it!
Leigh Bardugo has crafted a rich historical fantasy novel set in Spain in the late 16th century. It is magical realism to a tee. The attention to detail regarding the political and religious events during Spain's Golden Age was sublime and the multiple POVs help add layered depth to social and cultural hierarchies of the time. Luzia Cotado has my heart. I was rooting for her all the way before, during, and after the Torneo; her intrapersonal and extrapersonal growth was fascinating to watch develop. In fact, all of the supporting characters added their own nuances to the events at hand and had carefully crafted personalities and plotlines that wove seamlessly into the larger narrative. (Many with fall for Guillén Santángel. I'm predicting it now.) For the magic system, I loved the aspect of weaving languages together and things being pieced together from various scraps here and there. I think I jotted down almost all of the spells that either Luzia or her Aunt Hualit referenced.
Overall, this book was simply fantastic and deliciously rich. I devoured it, savored it, and wished I could go back and read it again for the first time.
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Moderate: Blood, Religious bigotry, Xenophobia, Racism, and Sexism
Minor: War, Torture, Physical abuse, Death, Death of parent, and Mental illness