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lonelylooper'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? It's complicated
5.0
Graphic: Blood, Body horror, Medical content, Child death, Death, Injury/Injury detail, Pregnancy, Grief, and Murder
Moderate: Violence, Animal death, and War
Minor: Suicidal thoughts
axteroid's review against another edition
- Plot- or character-driven? Character
- Strong character development? Yes
- Loveable characters? Yes
- Diverse cast of characters? Yes
- Flaws of characters a main focus? N/A
5.0
Graphic: Animal death, Child death, and Violence
magical world, East Asian culture, individualitygardens_and_dragons's review against another edition
- Plot- or character-driven? Character
- Strong character development? Yes
- Diverse cast of characters? Yes
- Flaws of characters a main focus? No
3.75
I liked the way that the twins relationship with each other through their childhood is explored, and how it conflicts with their mother and her wishes for them.
I feel like having this be a novella made this feel less complete, as there is not enough time to explore the world building that is always touched upon but not super explored beyond the surface level. Especially where the mother and politics are so intertwined in the plot, it feels like we are sometimes missing information about the world in which the twins live.
Overall, a fun read though!
Graphic: Death
Moderate: Animal death
jadziaaudrey's review against another edition
- Plot- or character-driven? A mix
- Loveable characters? It's complicated
4.0
Moderate: Emotional abuse, Child death, Injury/Injury detail, Animal death, Blood, Classism, and Death
originalsillyboy'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
2.25
Moderate: Child death
Minor: Murder, Animal death, and Violence
pupbeat's review against another edition
- Plot- or character-driven? Plot
- Loveable characters? Yes
- Diverse cast of characters? Yes
- Flaws of characters a main focus? No
4.0
Graphic: Death
Moderate: Child abuse and Child death
Minor: Animal cruelty and Animal death
kylieqrada's review against another edition
- Plot- or character-driven? Character
- Strong character development? Yes
- Loveable characters? Yes
- Diverse cast of characters? Yes
- Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes
4.5
Read for Beautifully Bookish Bethany's Tordotcomathon 2022
Graphic: Violence, Child death, and Death
Moderate: Blood, Gore, and Murder
Minor: Pregnancy, Animal death, and Fire/Fire injury
orchidd'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? It's complicated
4.0
Graphic: Child abuse, Death, Medical trauma, Violence, Murder, War, and Child death
Moderate: Fire/Fire injury
Minor: Animal death and Pregnancy
lucystolethesky's review against another edition
- Plot- or character-driven? Character
- Strong character development? Yes
- Loveable characters? Yes
- Diverse cast of characters? Yes
- Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes
4.25
Graphic: Fire/Fire injury, Injury/Injury detail, Medical content, Violence, Murder, Forced institutionalization, Emotional abuse, Death, Child death, and Child abuse
Moderate: Confinement, Gore, Grief, Gun violence, Pregnancy, Abandonment, and Xenophobia
Minor: Animal cruelty, Animal death, and Adult/minor relationship
foreverinastory'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
4.5
In this dystopian fantasy world, the Protector rules the land. When she makes a deal with the Grand Monastery, she ends up giving them her twins. At the age of 6, Mokoya and Akeha are sent to live and train with the monks. In the monastery the twins develop different gifts: Mokoya gets visions of the future and Akeha can see strings that move people to action. Years later they are sent back to their mother and the two become aware of unrest in the Protectorate.
This silkpunk world was so freaking cool. I loved the magic system, but my favorite thing was the way gender worked. All children are assigned gender neutral pronouns (they) at birth. As the kids age, once they're old enough they choose their gender. While our twins do eventually pick genders, i wondered if there were any characters who chose to stay nonbinary.
I loved the bond between Mokoya and Akeha, seeing them grow apart after they left the monastery made me so sad! The ending was pretty wild and I really am excited to see where this will go. Both twins have very clearly sided with the rebellion and I do love a good rebellion story. There is a bit of romance in this for each twin, and I enjoyed it while it also broke my heart a little!
Graphic: Animal death, Blood, Child death, Death, Grief, Medical content, Mental illness, Murder, and Violence
Moderate: Toxic relationship