Scan barcode
melliedm's review against another edition
- Plot- or character-driven? A mix
- Strong character development? Yes
- Loveable characters? Yes
- Diverse cast of characters? N/A
- Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes
4.75
An excellent anti-imperialist YA fantasy. Easily the best YA I’ve read in a long time. I had started to think maybe I no longer enjoyed YA, but it turns out I was just waiting for a book like this.
Tarisai was born for one purpose, and one purpose alone: to kill the emperor’s son, and end the imperial line. To do so, she will first have to love him and enter his trusted circle. But are our children just malleable tools for our machinations, or people capable of seeing different futures?
This book manages to avoid some of the most overdone tropes in the genre whilst using others with absolute grace. The characters are varied and well-written, each with their own ideals and desires. The plot feels intentional and the results hard-won, and not a given simply because “it’s gotta have a beginning middle and end”
My only problem with this book, and the reason for the docking of .25 stars, is the weird as heck relationship between two side characters. I won’t spoil much, but one of the characters is established to be around 20 at the beginning of the book, when the main character is around 12. The other side character is described to be about the same age as the main character. So when the main character is 16, we have a 24 year old side character developing a romance with a 16 year old side character? What? Did I misread something? Did I misunderstand the timeline? It made me extremely uncomfortable. But it’s such a small part of the book and something I could ignore with relative ease, so I don’t think this one strange aspect detracts from the rest of the book’s beauty.
Graphic: Misogyny, Colonisation, Abandonment, Xenophobia, and Sexism
Moderate: Child abuse, Emotional abuse, War, Police brutality, Fire/Fire injury, Murder, and Confinement
Minor: Adult/minor relationship and Suicidal thoughts
molliford'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
Graphic: Misogyny and Death of parent
Moderate: Child abuse
Minor: Domestic abuse
chi__'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? It's complicated
3.5
Graphic: Death and Child abuse
Moderate: Violence
thecatconstellation's review against another edition
- Plot- or character-driven? Plot
- Strong character development? It's complicated
- Loveable characters? Yes
- Diverse cast of characters? Yes
- Flaws of characters a main focus? It's complicated
4.75
My only critique is that the council members are supposedly so meaningful to Tar, but only a few of them are fleshed out beyond the most basic level.
Graphic: Fire/Fire injury, Death, Child abuse, Violence, Sexism, and Misogyny
Moderate: War, Suicidal thoughts, Domestic abuse, Injury/Injury detail, Grief, Emotional abuse, Classism, Blood, Child death, Xenophobia, Confinement, Rape, Murder, Death of parent, and Colonisation
Minor: Slavery, Alcohol, and Sexual content
fleur____'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: Emotional abuse, Colonisation, Death of parent, Misogyny, Abandonment, Fire/Fire injury, Violence, and Sexism
Moderate: Child abuse, Domestic abuse, Gaslighting, Blood, Physical abuse, and Bullying
Minor: Slavery, Alcohol, Excrement, Xenophobia, Body horror, Classism, and Vomit
pagesandtales'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
Graphic: Death, Child abuse, and Emotional abuse
Moderate: Blood, Death of parent, and Violence
Minor: Sexual content and Rape
book_buddy_rob's review against another edition
- Plot- or character-driven? Plot
- Strong character development? Yes
- Loveable characters? Yes
- Diverse cast of characters? Yes
- Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes
4.5
The whole time I was reading, I kept getting Black Panther vibes in the best way possible.
This features a lot of tropes I enjoy: magical trials, political intrigue, unique magic systems, and found family.
The author does a good job of immediately pulling you into this world and this story and I found the story as a whole to be really fun and entertaining.
Compared to other similar books that are inspired by African mythology, something this did different was incorporate multiple African cultures into the story and it completely enriches the setting of this novel.
The writing itself did feel a bit juvenile at times, but I didn’t particularly mind that because when we first meet our main character she’s 11 years old, so it made sense to the novel. Also I don’t think there’s anything wrong with this being geared more towards a younger YA audience
One minor criticism I have is that I wish the trials described in the synopsis were developed more. We only really get to experience these trials and competition within the first third of the novel, and I just wanted more of the trials.
There are also some moments in the middle of the book that describe the mundane details of palace life in this world and I didn’t find those scenes entirely interesting.
Overall though, I think this is a highly imaginative young adult fantasy novel full of great characters, magic and a sprinkling of political intrigue that would recommend to fantasy readers.
Graphic: Death of parent and Child abuse
Moderate: Genocide
Minor: Rape
bookishmillennial'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
Graphic: Death, Violence, Emotional abuse, Child abuse, and Blood
Moderate: Death of parent
Minor: Rape and Sexual content
talonsontypewriters'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? It's complicated
2.5
Graphic: Child abuse, Violence, Fire/Fire injury, Misogyny, Gaslighting, Sexism, Abandonment, and Emotional abuse
Moderate: Colonisation, Confinement, Grief, Death, Death of parent, Bullying, Murder, Xenophobia, and Classism
Minor: Slavery, Vomit, Incest, Rape, Sexual content, Acephobia/Arophobia, Domestic abuse, Suicidal thoughts, Pedophilia, and Suicide
Relationship between characters with unspecified ages but presumably one around 15-17 and the other at least in his 20s. Crush/romantic undertones (no actual relationship) between characters later revealed to be related.forgottuesday'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: Sexism, Abandonment, Child abuse, Panic attacks/disorders, Torture, Gaslighting, Physical abuse, Violence, Death of parent, Emotional abuse, Grief, Schizophrenia/Psychosis , and Mental illness
Moderate: Schizophrenia/Psychosis , Toxic relationship, Abandonment, War, Suicidal thoughts, and Murder