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iffygeneia's review against another edition
adventurous
dark
emotional
mysterious
tense
slow-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? Plot
- Loveable characters? It's complicated
- Diverse cast of characters? Yes
- Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes
3.0
The premise is really good, but this failed to fully live up to it.
It had some pacing issues, part were super slow and then suddenly ten things happened at once - followed by another slow strech.
Also the main characters are just so very dumb so often. If not for plot armor, they would've died within just a few chapters.
It had some pacing issues, part were super slow and then suddenly ten things happened at once - followed by another slow strech.
Also the main characters are just so very dumb so often. If not for plot armor, they would've died within just a few chapters.
Content Warnings
Graphic: Police brutality, Kidnapping, Injury/Injury detail, Grief, Fire/Fire injury, Death of parent, Ableism, Hate crime, Death, Blood, Torture, Violence, Religious bigotry, Murder, Domestic abuse, Physical abuse, and Emotional abuse
sankta_aleena's review against another edition
adventurous
challenging
emotional
medium-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? Character
- Strong character development? Yes
- Loveable characters? Yes
- Diverse cast of characters? It's complicated
- Flaws of characters a main focus? It's complicated
4.0
Content Warnings
Moderate: Abandonment, Blood, Child death, Violence, Vomit, Child abuse, Death, Physical abuse, Sexual harassment, Classism, Emotional abuse, Fire/Fire injury, and War
shockinglyshayreads's review against another edition
adventurous
emotional
tense
slow-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? A mix
- Strong character development? Yes
- Loveable characters? No
- Diverse cast of characters? Yes
- Flaws of characters a main focus? It's complicated
2.5
I'm honestly having trouble rating this. First thing, the description of ATLA crossed with Gladiators couldn't be more on point. There were a lot of times I really felt like I was reading the plot from ATLA. The second thing, it was about 150 pages of world building/info dumping. It was too much and dragged. I absolutely LOVE worldbuilding but not that much. Let it flow through out the book, not just all at once in the beginning. The characters were ok. One felt flat while the other felt like a spoiled brat. There were so many sub plots that it felt indecisive. Some of them were predictable, others were nice surprises. There was one body shield moment that I don't feel would have worked how it did based on the power building but I'm not the writers.
Some things I liked were the strong friendships/relationships shown despite the gladiator aspect. One of the character twists was AMAZING. I definitely wasn't expecting that twist. Again. the worldbuilding was amazing and there was a map. I love maps. The power structure was neat but so much ATLA. I would have liked to see more of the different powers but I guess that's probably for other books.
When I think about things separately, I like them but when I put the book together it just doesn't sit well.
Some things I liked were the strong friendships/relationships shown despite the gladiator aspect. One of the character twists was AMAZING. I definitely wasn't expecting that twist. Again. the worldbuilding was amazing and there was a map. I love maps. The power structure was neat but so much ATLA. I would have liked to see more of the different powers but I guess that's probably for other books.
When I think about things separately, I like them but when I put the book together it just doesn't sit well.
Content Warnings
Graphic: Death, Grief, and Physical abuse
Moderate: Bullying and Death of parent
Minor: Fire/Fire injury
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