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hkrobock's review against another edition
- Plot- or character-driven? A mix
- Strong character development? Yes
- Loveable characters? Yes
- Diverse cast of characters? No
- Flaws of characters a main focus? No
4.0
Minor: Emotional abuse, Violence, Blood, and Death of parent
aformeracceleratedreader's review
4.0
I will say there are a lot of slow spots for me and I didn't have the same intense emotions reading it as the authors previous book, and those are big reasons it wasn't a 5star read like The Witch's Heart for me. I will still totally look forward to any books or work this author does in the future!
Check trigger/content warnings although nothing was super graphic stuff was still detailed and mentioned.
Graphic: Death of parent, Blood, Death, Emotional abuse, Grief, Injury/Injury detail, Violence, Kidnapping, Medical content, Murder, Toxic relationship, War, Alcohol, Animal death, and Child abuse
Moderate: Misogyny, Outing, Vomit, Mental illness, Infidelity, Pregnancy, Sexual content, Sexual violence, Fire/Fire injury, Sexism, Slavery, and Suicidal thoughts
mzgeee53's review
- Plot- or character-driven? Character
- Strong character development? Yes
- Loveable characters? It's complicated
- Diverse cast of characters? Yes
- Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes
4.0
Graphic: Injury/Injury detail, Gore, Self harm, Violence, Animal death, Blood, War, and Emotional abuse
Moderate: Sexual content, Death of parent, Emotional abuse, Kidnapping, Sexual violence, Homophobia, Misogyny, Slavery, Death, Physical abuse, Grief, Sexual assault, Pregnancy, Murder, Child abuse, Alcohol, Transphobia, and Toxic relationship
Minor: Vomit, Pregnancy, Medical content, Alcohol, Domestic abuse, Chronic illness, and Medical trauma
netanya_shira's review
4.0
Graphic: Murder, Death, Blood, Sexual assault, Slavery, Animal death, Rape, Terminal illness, Pregnancy, Violence, Grief, Bullying, Injury/Injury detail, Gore, Death of parent, Misogyny, Sexual content, and War
reclusivebookslug's review
- 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
4.25
In this book, Gornichec handles beautifully the complicated relationships between three women -- two sisters and their friend, all "sworn sisters" -- who have very different personalities, goals, and struggles, which sometimes come into conflict with each other. She also portrays the female antagonists with surprising depth and empathy. It is not "the duality of women: good and evil," it's just different women in different circumstances doing what they can to protect their own interests within the framework of both society and their own individual sense of the world. This is an excellent example of writing female villains and interpersonal conflict between women without encroaching into misogynistic tropes/undertones and instead using all these various female narratives to tell a story of women's strength.
With that in mind, I'd posit that the three things that separate the three sworn sister protagonists from the three witches who are trying to separate them are: genuine care/respect for their allies, acting upon their free will rather than trying to conform to or escape from a prescribed reality (AKA not basing their actions on a prophecy), and an ongoing self-reflection of their actions and allegiances. While I love historical fantasy and I think this book does an excellent job of it, what really stood out to me was the emotional intelligence, growth, and complexity of all the major characters.
Graphic: Kidnapping, Death of parent, and Violence
Moderate: Trafficking
Minor: Misogyny, Child abuse, and Transphobia
reka111'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? It's complicated
4.5
One of you clouds the futures of the others. For better or worse, your fates are intertwined
Genevieve did it again, she enchanted me. I liked this book as much as The Witch's Heart, but it didn't have such a strong effect on me. Honestly, I've been waiting for decades to read it, and now I regret waiting so long because I liked it immensely.
Gunnhild was probably my favourite, not only because she was so strong and cunning, but also because she had a bit of Angrboda in her—at least in my opinion, anyway, I really liked her. Signy and Oddny (whose names I read through half the book as Odin and Sigyn) have been through so much, especially the former, but I believe their wounds will heal, and their broken parts will heal again because they deserve it, more than anything. Although the former was not in the book, I was terribly hurt by her absence, I was excited about her along with Oddny and Gunnhild, I really was. Of the other characters, Erik may stand out, and for good reason; A king cannot be overlooked. He was a terribly difficult and complicated character, maybe he could have done better, but eventually he shows that he is capable of compassion and forgiveness, he was not a monster, but he was not an angel.
The plot was easy to follow, and I really liked that this time we were transported back to the Scandinavian 10th century (the Norwegian one). So much, so much I needed a historical fantasy for my soul, oh my goodness! Although there are scattered foreign words in the text, they do not make reading difficult at all. The phrasing was beautiful — as always. The only problem I had was the pace, which was too fast for me and there were plenty of time jumps, but apart from that, it was perfectly fine.
Graphic: Blood, Violence, Injury/Injury detail, and Death of parent
Moderate: Trafficking, Kidnapping, Transphobia, and Sexual content
Minor: Rape and Slavery
lemontea's review
- 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: Blood and Death of parent
Moderate: War
Minor: Gaslighting
kenley11's review
- Plot- or character-driven? Plot
- Strong character development? Yes
- Loveable characters? It's complicated
- Diverse cast of characters? It's complicated
- Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes
4.5
Graphic: Kidnapping, Violence, Medical content, Death of parent, Injury/Injury detail, Animal death, Blood, Death, Emotional abuse, and Grief
Moderate: Trafficking and Sexual content
sarasreading's review
- 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
4.0
The magic system and world building were great, and I was really invested in the characters' relationships, and surprise representation I wasn't expecting.
After also loving The Witch's Heart by this author, I think they've become an auto-read for me now.
Graphic: Injury/Injury detail, Death of parent, Kidnapping, and Animal death
Moderate: Transphobia, Murder, Trafficking, and Medical content
Minor: Fire/Fire injury
tfarfan'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
4.0
Graphic: Death, Death of parent, and Murder
Moderate: Violence, Sexism, and Misogyny