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bisexualwentworth'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
4.75
Graphic: Death, Fire/Fire injury, Cannibalism, Classism, Colonisation, Racism, Religious bigotry, Blood, and Xenophobia
aseel_reads'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
4.25
Moderate: Alcohol, Classism, Fire/Fire injury, Colonisation, Torture, Vomit, Gun violence, War, Abandonment, Murder, Violence, Hate crime, Injury/Injury detail, Blood, Child death, Confinement, Death, Xenophobia, and Slavery
risaleel'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
Graphic: Classism, Colonisation, Injury/Injury detail, Mass/school shootings, Violence, Murder, War, and Medical trauma
Moderate: Grief, Kidnapping, Medical trauma, Torture, Infidelity, and Sexual content
Minor: Death of parent and Child death
theirgracegrace'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
Graphic: Animal death, Blood, Emotional abuse, Hate crime, Physical abuse, Death of parent, Domestic abuse, Gore, Gun violence, Alcoholism, Classism, Injury/Injury detail, Abandonment, Confinement, Death, Fire/Fire injury, Grief, Medical trauma, War, Xenophobia, Kidnapping, Medical content, Murder, Police brutality, Torture, Toxic friendship, Alcohol, Body horror, Child abuse, Child death, Colonisation, Cursing, Racism, Religious bigotry, Slavery, Toxic relationship, Violence, Gaslighting, Islamophobia, and Racial slurs
Moderate: Vomit, Addiction, and Excrement
Minor: Ableism and Cultural appropriation
cardanrry'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
3.0
Graphic: Torture, Violence, Racism, Gun violence, Classism, Colonisation, Death, Sexual content, Slavery, Xenophobia, Child abuse, and Murder
Moderate: War and Suicidal thoughts
Minor: Blood and Death of parent
professor_jango'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
4.75
Graphic: Blood, Classism, Confinement, Colonisation, Death, Grief, Injury/Injury detail, War, Xenophobia, Racism, Violence, and Toxic relationship
eegekay'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
5.0
Graphic: Grief, Panic attacks/disorders, Fire/Fire injury, Sexual content, Violence, Alcohol, Blood, Colonisation, War, Medical content, Gun violence, Ableism, Death, Physical abuse, Child death, Injury/Injury detail, Murder, Racism, and Classism
Moderate: Cannibalism and Drug use
alexalily'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
5.0
Graphic: Classism, Murder, Sexual content, Violence, Blood, Injury/Injury detail, Colonisation, and Death
Moderate: Child death, War, Cannibalism, Gore, Medical content, Medical trauma, Confinement, Death of parent, and Toxic relationship
Minor: Alcohol, Kidnapping, Racism, Torture, Grief, Animal death, Slavery, and Cursing
purrson'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
5.0
While The Unbroken (which is told through either Luca or Touraine’s eyes) is heavy with the work of laying down foundations and building rich, complex characters trying to survive constant complex trauma—and adds beautiful world-building, magic, and cultures that feel familiar but are different enough to be fantastical—it never flinches from the depth and breadth of colonialism and all the harm it brings. The Faithless builds well on that base, so when our main characters are far from home we still feel the pressures of those strong personalities and the vibrant homeland counting on their success. That’s helped along by shifting the perspective throughout the book more frequently than The Unbroken; while we’re still mainly given the story through Luca or Touraine’s perspectives, at times The Faithless gives Aranen, Pruett, or even Fili the lead, and we’re privy to their thoughts and feelings. Those shifts help The Faithless’ plot feel as if it moves faster, as it introduces more moving parts without sacrificing any depth or detail. The machinations our protagonists work to uncover and survive are constantly spinning, even on the last page, which just builds my excitement for Book 3. The villains are both straightforwardly evil but are also unreliable narrators throughout; they present different faces to different characters, but there’s also a sense that things are going on behind their closed doors even we have yet to see. Some things they’ve hidden are revealed by the end, but some threads aren’t connected, some mysteries left unsolved for now.
This series is truly shines at representing the constant onslaught of colonialism and violent white supremacy and the bottomless hunger and violence of its adherents. We see how this structure harms everyone, even the colonizers themselves aren’t without their losses, and their working class in Balladaire is struggling and ripe for rebellion or political exploitation, or both. But the plot doesn’t lose itself in pity for the those at the top or even the middle of the heap, and focus is kept on the Qazāli; we’re led to understand a bit more of Touraine’s broken & bruised soul and her trauma, and what’s at stake for their future. All of the characters are complex—even the villains, with all the cruelty and dehumanization they show certain characters, have some depths beyond their evil.
Abuse—emotional, psychological, physical; systemic and familial—its all handled well in this series too. As Luca & Touraine come closer to unpacking their childhood experiences and finding themselves in their present, their growth makes me more excited about Book 3. The slow burn romance worked well too
Absolutely recommend ⭐️
Graphic: Murder, Racism, Classism, Colonisation, and War
Moderate: Child abuse, Xenophobia, Fire/Fire injury, Genocide, Death, Violence, Blood, Gaslighting, Sexual content, and Toxic relationship
Minor: Panic attacks/disorders, Alcohol, Death of parent, and Child death
Queernormative worldbuilding, Queer romance, references to Polyamory, WLW romanceshelbyslifer'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? It's complicated
4.0
Graphic: Classism, Murder, Violence, War, Colonisation, Emotional abuse, Death, and Confinement
Moderate: Child death
Minor: Vomit, Religious bigotry, Medical content, and Gore