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bibliobrandie's review against another edition
2.0
I really wanted to love this but it was too heavy on plot and lacked in character development. Baru's beach town and way of life is shattered when The Empire of Masks arrives to criminalize her customs ("unhygienic mating"), colonize her land, and kill one of her fathers. Baru decides she is going to get revenge and is ruthless in her tactics. I thought this was going to be an Arya Stark long game story, and it sort of is, but I just didn't feel anything for the characters. Baru experiences these atrocities but reports them as if a robot with zero emotion. The ending was like WTF! but I was already over it by that time. I liked the LBBTQ representation. I just don't think geopolitical fantasy is for me.
scipianne's review against another edition
adventurous
dark
emotional
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
4.75
aceinit's review against another edition
2.0
A decent read, but it never caught my interest in the way it seems to capture everyone else's. The events were predictable, and I fail to understand why so many were surprised by the ending.
jamesmcalc's review against another edition
dark
emotional
informative
inspiring
reflective
sad
medium-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
5.0
gdenav's review against another edition
adventurous
challenging
dark
mysterious
reflective
tense
medium-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? Plot
- Strong character development? It's complicated
- Loveable characters? It's complicated
- Diverse cast of characters? Yes
- Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes
5.0
lzcvgdn's review against another edition
challenging
dark
tense
medium-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? Character
- Strong character development? It's complicated
- Loveable characters? It's complicated
- Diverse cast of characters? Yes
- Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes
4.0
vaxis's review against another edition
adventurous
dark
emotional
reflective
tense
medium-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? A mix
- 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
greenidmnstr's review against another edition
4.0
The story was interesting enough to make me want to keep reading, but honestly, the world is confusing and overwhelming. I kinda felt like I was reading the second book in the series because there's really no explanation of the world at all - you just get thrown into the weird language and unfamiliar names and words without anything to grab onto. Regardless of the lack of background development, the book does develop the plot really well. Although not entirely a dystopia, it definitely plays with the same ideas of oppression, rebellion, secrets, and big brother surveillance. The title suggests betrayal right off the bat and although there is intrigue, I didn't think anything that happened was really surprising. This whole novel reminded me of watching Alias back in the day...who is she really loyal to?! I'm going to keep reading because I'd like to find out if the ends really justify the means and how this will all play out. As a standalone book, I don't think it's particularly spectacular, but I have high hopes for it being part of a magnificent whole. We will see.
ethias's review against another edition
5.0
I am heartbroken. I am awed. I hate this book. I love this book. Just wack me over the head with it like 20 times, that’ll hurt less I think.