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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, Sexism, Xenophobia, Abandonment, and Colonisation
Moderate: Child abuse, Confinement, Emotional abuse, Police brutality, Murder, Fire/Fire injury, and War
Minor: Adult/minor relationship and Suicidal thoughts
eni_iilorak'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: 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
akvolcano's review against another edition
- 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
3.75
Moderate: Bullying, Child abuse, Confinement, Death, Domestic abuse, Emotional abuse, Genocide, Slavery, Police brutality, Murder, Fire/Fire injury, Gaslighting, Abandonment, and Classism
whimsykat'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: Child abuse and Classism
Moderate: Child death, Confinement, Emotional abuse, Misogyny, Sexism, Violence, Police brutality, and Abandonment
Minor: Death, Slavery, Blood, Grief, Death of parent, Fire/Fire injury, and Classism
jaynae'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
5.0
Moderate: Death and Abandonment
Minor: Police brutality
julesadventurezone'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
4.75
Graphic: Child abuse, Confinement, Emotional abuse, Death of parent, Fire/Fire injury, Gaslighting, Abandonment, and Colonisation
Moderate: Child death, Rape, Police brutality, Stalking, and Murder
Minor: Excrement and Alcohol
perditorian'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
3.75
Moderate: Child abuse
Minor: Police brutality and Acephobia/Arophobia