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sunniva174's review
adventurous
emotional
reflective
slow-paced
- 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
3.5
Content Warnings
Graphic: Child abuse, Death, Emotional abuse, and Misogyny
Moderate: Death of parent and Fire/Fire injury
Minor: Suicidal thoughts, War, and Pandemic/Epidemic
takarakeireads's review against another edition
adventurous
medium-paced
- 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
4.5
The worldbuilding was so rich, unique and well developed. There's a lot of folklore and oral storytelling that happens within the story which I love. Like stories within stories to explain the history and traditions. Court politics, found family, complex characters. Really a fantastic YA fantasy and I'd recommend it to anyone who loves that genre!
audiobook was also well narrated (I did a mix)
audiobook was also well narrated (I did a mix)
Content Warnings
Graphic: Child abuse, Death, Emotional abuse, Fire/Fire injury, and Abandonment
Moderate: Misogyny, Sexism, Violence, Blood, and Death of parent
Minor: Animal death, Rape, and Sexual assault
nozycozy's review against another edition
adventurous
emotional
hopeful
inspiring
mysterious
reflective
sad
medium-paced
- 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
What a journey! I loved Tarisai’s story and her motivations. The friendship, love, adversity was engaging and the power and darkness that runs this world was extraordinary. The stakes were high! The past, present and lore had me glued to the pages. The colors and cultures were immersive. I’m excited to read the sequel!
Content Warnings
Graphic: Child abuse, Death, Emotional abuse, Toxic relationship, Gaslighting, and Abandonment
Moderate: Child death, Misogyny, Sexual assault, and Death of parent
friendly_neighborhood_grandma's review against another edition
adventurous
challenging
dark
emotional
inspiring
mysterious
tense
medium-paced
- 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
I highly recommand the audiobook. The narrator is incredible, very engaging and even thogh the world is complicated and full of names im not used to, i didnt feel lost. The story itself is unlike anything i ever read before, and i loved it. It was very interesting and felt real. Incredible worldbuilding. I would recommend it to people who would like a new taste of fantacy, rich lore and worldbuilding, found family and messy family relations, and a brave, complicated fmc.
Content Warnings
Graphic: Bullying, Child abuse, Child death, Confinement, Death, Emotional abuse, Misogyny, Violence, Forced institutionalization, Vomit, Grief, Death of parent, Murder, Gaslighting, Abandonment, and Classism
Moderate: Violence
seilahuh's review against another edition
challenging
medium-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? Plot
- Strong character development? No
- Loveable characters? No
- Diverse cast of characters? Yes
1.5
im not saying anything that hasn't already been said in that adequate characterization was so nonexistent nothing made sense, especially that everyone somehow knew she was a raybearer even though there was no way for anybody to know especially not us readers because there was little focus on foreshadowing this reveal. the pacing is way off, and the inconsistencies with age and the underage gap relationship is just disgusting. the main romantic plot was so underdeveloped that we really could've gone without it because there was already so much, too much to focus on that detracted from the story.
the lady's past, what exactly tarisai was, the mission to kill dayo, songland and the redemptors, sanjeet and his past, and the big theme of self-determination positioned against themes of systemic change. and all in just like 350 pages, it's not enough for the content. so much of it, if not all of it, was not fleshed out right, all forced in like an overpacked suitcase. even dayo's asexual admission was clunky and nonessential because the love-triangle (?) romance with sanjeet subplot fell through as the dynamics of the council were rarely explored on screen. we never get to see their relationships grow nor hear ourselves the whispers of dayo and tarisai being perfectly matched for the admission to make a dent, and the later reveal that they were cousins was just. . . something had to give!
i wanted to love it like everyone else did, but there's nothing i can find to care for because from the technical elements to the political implications of devising a story around a corrupt empire that should fall into obsolescence, and creating a character to rehabilitate the image of it as if she can simply erase its capital, continuous crimes, mind you, by being a girlboss in charge cause that was the issue apparently and not the thousands of children it sacrificed. . .it's nothing about that story i can love when it's so incredibly hollow (especially the supposed lgbtq+ rep).
so it gets 1.5 stars 🙂
the lady's past, what exactly tarisai was, the mission to kill dayo, songland and the redemptors, sanjeet and his past, and the big theme of self-determination positioned against themes of systemic change. and all in just like 350 pages, it's not enough for the content. so much of it, if not all of it, was not fleshed out right, all forced in like an overpacked suitcase. even dayo's asexual admission was clunky and nonessential because the love-triangle (?) romance with sanjeet subplot fell through as the dynamics of the council were rarely explored on screen. we never get to see their relationships grow nor hear ourselves the whispers of dayo and tarisai being perfectly matched for the admission to make a dent, and the later reveal that they were cousins was just. . . something had to give!
i wanted to love it like everyone else did, but there's nothing i can find to care for because from the technical elements to the political implications of devising a story around a corrupt empire that should fall into obsolescence, and creating a character to rehabilitate the image of it as if she can simply erase its capital, continuous crimes, mind you, by being a girlboss in charge cause that was the issue apparently and not the thousands of children it sacrificed. . .it's nothing about that story i can love when it's so incredibly hollow (especially the supposed lgbtq+ rep).
so it gets 1.5 stars 🙂
Content Warnings
Moderate: Adult/minor relationship, Child death, Misogyny, and Fire/Fire injury
theaceofpages's review against another edition
adventurous
challenging
dark
slow-paced
- 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
4.5
Oooh I loved this book. I was intrigued om the fist page. Although, full disclaimer, I do love it when fantasy books are based on different cultures. This was a massive plus for me and I kept finding myself wanting to learn more about this world.
The book mainly focusses on Tarisai's journey and I loved seeing her grow and become more confident through the pages. We meet her as a child and learn more of her world as she matures and grows up. The whole concept of the curse is fascinating and I loved seeing her struggle with it, her largely unknown family and what she wants for herself. I enjoyed seeing the subtle shifts in the writing as she grew up to reflect her own changes. While this book is marketed as YA, it is definitely just as suitable for adults. It feels a lot more fleshed out than a lot of the YA books I've recently read and doesn't rely on romance to push the plot forward. The characters feel real and I think that people of all ages can It focuses a lot less on romance than modern YA books seem to and spends more time looking at self growth and destiny and the importance of other forms of love (something I absolutely love and want to see way more of in books). While some characters were definitely more of a focus than others (especially Tarisai and Dayo), all of them felt well thought out. I very much enjoyed how deeply flawed they all were and learning about their weaknesses and fears just as much as their strengths.
There is a lot of beautiful imagery in this book and I liked how it tied back to its African folklore inspirations. The author did reuse a lot of descriptions though and often in the same scenarios. I enjoyed the unique magic system and the concept of the council. The way it works and grants power is fascinating. I don't think I've seen anything quite like it before. The world is clearly well thought out and the book does and incredible of of exploring it and just how diverse all its cultures are, while also looking at the dangers of xenophobia and attempts at cultural suppression for the sake of conformity. Although I felt some parts towards the end were a little bit expositiony, this is largely done in a natural way through the plot.
I can definitely recommend this book to fantasy lovers who would like to explore a unique world, particularly those who would like to read beyond the typical European-inspired fantasy realms (not that there is anything wrong with them of course). And to those who enjoy YA fiction but are tired of how romance and love triangle heavy the genre has gotten. I will definitely be reading the next book as this one, while it has a good end point, definitely leaves a lot of questions unanswered about the future of Tarisai's world
The book mainly focusses on Tarisai's journey and I loved seeing her grow and become more confident through the pages. We meet her as a child and learn more of her world as she matures and grows up. The whole concept of the curse is fascinating and I loved seeing her struggle with it, her largely unknown family and what she wants for herself. I enjoyed seeing the subtle shifts in the writing as she grew up to reflect her own changes. While this book is marketed as YA, it is definitely just as suitable for adults. It feels a lot more fleshed out than a lot of the YA books I've recently read and doesn't rely on romance to push the plot forward. The characters feel real and I think that people of all ages can It focuses a lot less on romance than modern YA books seem to and spends more time looking at self growth and destiny and the importance of other forms of love (something I absolutely love and want to see way more of in books). While some characters were definitely more of a focus than others (especially Tarisai and Dayo), all of them felt well thought out. I very much enjoyed how deeply flawed they all were and learning about their weaknesses and fears just as much as their strengths.
There is a lot of beautiful imagery in this book and I liked how it tied back to its African folklore inspirations. The author did reuse a lot of descriptions though and often in the same scenarios. I enjoyed the unique magic system and the concept of the council. The way it works and grants power is fascinating. I don't think I've seen anything quite like it before. The world is clearly well thought out and the book does and incredible of of exploring it and just how diverse all its cultures are, while also looking at the dangers of xenophobia and attempts at cultural suppression for the sake of conformity. Although I felt some parts towards the end were a little bit expositiony, this is largely done in a natural way through the plot.
I can definitely recommend this book to fantasy lovers who would like to explore a unique world, particularly those who would like to read beyond the typical European-inspired fantasy realms (not that there is anything wrong with them of course). And to those who enjoy YA fiction but are tired of how romance and love triangle heavy the genre has gotten. I will definitely be reading the next book as this one, while it has a good end point, definitely leaves a lot of questions unanswered about the future of Tarisai's world
Content Warnings
Graphic: Death, Misogyny, Violence, Xenophobia, Death of parent, and Colonisation
Moderate: Confinement, Emotional abuse, Suicidal thoughts, Fire/Fire injury, and Abandonment
eni_iilorak's review against another edition
adventurous
emotional
hopeful
inspiring
mysterious
fast-paced
- 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
Content Warnings
Graphic: Child abuse, Child death, Death, Emotional abuse, Misogyny, Sexism, Violence, Grief, Death of parent, Murder, Fire/Fire injury, Toxic friendship, and Abandonment
Moderate: Bullying, Confinement, Domestic abuse, Physical abuse, Police brutality, Medical content, Kidnapping, Religious bigotry, Injury/Injury detail, and Classism
Minor: Rape, Slavery, Acephobia/Arophobia, and Alcohol
readandfindout's review against another edition
adventurous
medium-paced
5.0
Style/writing: 5 stars
Themes: 5 stars
Characters: 5 stars
Plot: 5 stars
Worldbuilding: 4.5 stars
Themes: 5 stars
Characters: 5 stars
Plot: 5 stars
Worldbuilding: 4.5 stars
Content Warnings
Graphic: Child abuse, Confinement, Death, Emotional abuse, Misogyny, Fire/Fire injury, Gaslighting, and Colonisation
Moderate: Child death, Domestic abuse, Genocide, Violence, Blood, Death of parent, Murder, and Injury/Injury detail
Minor: Rape, Suicide, and Vomit
brianneh's review against another edition
adventurous
emotional
medium-paced
- 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
Content Warnings
Graphic: Violence and Abandonment
Moderate: Child abuse, Misogyny, Sexism, Grief, and Classism
Minor: Pregnancy
thatenbyisisreads's review against another edition
adventurous
challenging
emotional
hopeful
reflective
sad
tense
medium-paced
- 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
3.5
Content Warnings
Graphic: Death, Emotional abuse, Genocide, Gore, Mental illness, Misogyny, Death of parent, Murder, and Fire/Fire injury
Moderate: Rape and Sexual content
Minor: Suicide