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sydneylmeyer7's review against another edition
- Plot- or character-driven? N/A
- Strong character development? No
- Loveable characters? No
- Diverse cast of characters? No
- Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes
2.5
Graphic: Colonisation, Confinement, War, and Kidnapping
raven_nivhaar's review against another edition
- Plot- or character-driven? Character
- Diverse cast of characters? Yes
2.0
And full disclosure, I only requested this book so that I could hopefully be a positive review in a sea of negativity. But unfortunately, I failed.
I read an uncorrected galley, and I am desperately hoping that most of my issues were the fault of it being uncorrected. However, with that being said, I am still going to review this book as I read it, faults and all. And I will state a theory of mine at the end, but I want to keep the focus on the book for now.
Graphic: Colonisation
Moderate: Xenophobia
Minor: Addiction and Death
ahc001's review
- 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
3.5
My biggest issue was the pacing, particularly the
Additionally, this book was marketed as having science fiction elements, but that is a *huge* stretch. The main "scifi" elements are the constant references to "science" and "experiments," as well as the existence of electricity and machinery in the more modern realm of Rome. The largest "on the page" scifi reference is
Many other reviews talk about the colonizer/colonized romance being "problematic," but I didn't see it that way. I simply think the development of that romance needed to be more fleshed out. I saw it coming from a mile away, but it didn't quite fit into the larger narrative the way it needed to. Again, this is where
I will most likely read the next book. Again, this book had some issues that are common in debut novels, especially around pacing, but I believe it was a solid YA fantasy.
Graphic: Colonisation
thewickermage'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
4.25
Graphic: War, Violence, Addiction, Colonisation, Murder, Death, Drug abuse, and Genocide
bookishexpat's review against another edition
This kind of storyline really needs a more compelling writing style IMO, something more expressive and more emotionally stirring.
Graphic: Colonisation, Addiction, and Murder
Moderate: Racism and Death of parent
madscientistcat's review
- 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
4.25
There’s no easy fantasy escapism story here - only murky, morally gray characters caught in a losing battle on all sides. It wasn’t perfectly done, but I really appreciated seeing a very real depiction of humanity where we don’t have all the information, where we don’t magically know the right answer or find the ideal solution. We stumble in the dark and do what we can with what’s in front of us. And, all things willing, we learn from the consequences.
Graphic: Child death, Colonisation, Gun violence, Medical trauma, Xenophobia, Death, Violence, and War
Moderate: Murder
Minor: Child abuse
bree_h_reads's review against another edition
- Plot- or character-driven? Character
- Strong character development? No
- Loveable characters? No
- Diverse cast of characters? Yes
- Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes
2.0
Graphic: Hate crime, Injury/Injury detail, Misogyny, Sexism, Child death, Death of parent, Murder, Drug abuse, Grief, Kidnapping, Toxic relationship, Confinement, Gun violence, Violence, Medical content, Vomit, Addiction, Death, Racism, Colonisation, and Drug use
Moderate: Child abuse, Police brutality, Sexual harassment, Blood, and Emotional abuse
Minor: Sexual assault, Sexual content, Physical abuse, Rape, and Sexual violence
kbairbooks's review against another edition
Graphic: Blood, Child death, Colonisation, Death of parent, Terminal illness, Misogyny, Murder, Torture, Classism, Cursing, Toxic relationship, Violence, Grief, Gun violence, Addiction, Confinement, Death, Drug abuse, Police brutality, Vomit, Emotional abuse, Genocide, Kidnapping, War, and Injury/Injury detail
knlipke's review against another edition
- Plot- or character-driven? Character
- Strong character development? Yes
- Loveable characters? No
3.5
Is there a colonizer romance? Yes
Is this book a lovers-to-enemies trope? Also yes
Do with that information what you will
[Side note: this better stay an enemies to lovers trope or else I’m giving this review 0 stars]
Graphic: Death, Drug use, Drug abuse, Toxic relationship, and Colonisation
Moderate: War and Torture
kaylurzz's review against another edition
- 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
2.5
I'm so conflicted on this! There were parts and ideas I liked, and then parts not so much...
- I thought the world and magic system were interesting but why make the other world Rome? Why not another fictional place?
- The prose while beautiful at times just talked in circles and made it hard to follow.
- The time jumps were jarring and I wish we spent more time with Ruying AND Antony to see their "relationship" develop more.
Also
Graphic: Death, Drug abuse, Torture, Drug use, Genocide, Medical trauma, Colonisation, Violence, and Addiction
Moderate: Gun violence