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gaden35's review against another edition
adventurous
dark
hopeful
tense
fast-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? A mix
- Strong character development? It's complicated
- Loveable characters? Yes
- Diverse cast of characters? Yes
- Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes
4.0
I strongly detest unnecessary romances. It added nothing to the plot in my opinion and actually detracted from it.
I also believe the dialogue and plot felt less polished and a little hokey compared to the first book. And the pacing sometimes felt odd - as though she didn’t want to explain some things. Which is fine. It was still a fun read and hard to put down.
I also believe the dialogue and plot felt less polished and a little hokey compared to the first book. And the pacing sometimes felt odd - as though she didn’t want to explain some things. Which is fine. It was still a fun read and hard to put down.
Content Warnings
Graphic: Sexual harassment, Sexual violence, Racial slurs, Racism, Xenophobia, Sexual content, Violence, Sexism, Sexual assault, War, and Rape
justinbaumann71's review against another edition
adventurous
fast-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? A mix
- Strong character development? It's complicated
- Loveable characters? No
- Diverse cast of characters? Yes
- Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes
3.25
The thing with this book is that I really don't think it was meant to be a duology. There are many moments in the narrative that bigger ideas, concepts, etc are mentioned and then not able to go anywhere. Especially the ending that I think tries to set up another book series, but I don't know for certain if that will go anywhere based on the sales/reviews of book 2.
Pros: The first 30% was extremely enjoyable, fast paced, and is in direct response to the events of book one so the books felt very connected. I also liked the set up for another series as the ending and the mostly happy ending our characters are given.
Cons: I had a really hard time wanting to pick up this book to read. I enjoyed it while reading, but not actually wanting to read it definitely negatively impacted my reading experience. I think my biggest issue is that there was just too many long internal monologues that Ikenna would go on. She really was narrating the heck out of what was going on around her which I am sorry just isn't that interesting a lot of the time because not only are we getting dialogue and descriptions about the scenes we are also getting her over analyzing every word said, which CAN be fun to read but really wasn't here because it would go on for PAGES at a time. Like the whole plan to take down the blood emperor where they discuss with anjani (idk how to spell his name) went on for SO LONG only for Ikenna to immediately abandon the plan they create. Like girl please be so for real. She was just very self righetous a lot of the time that it felt hard to root for her.
Overall:
I will say this book also has alot to say about race relations especially systemically within a society and those aspects of the book really worked for me. You got a very good sense for Ikenna being a conflicted character but one that ultimately will sacrifice significantly for the good of the country she lives in even if that country wouldn't do the same back.
I liked the book, but probably wouldn't come back for another go in this universe. But i would read the author again.
Pros: The first 30% was extremely enjoyable, fast paced, and is in direct response to the events of book one so the books felt very connected. I also liked the set up for another series as the ending and the mostly happy ending our characters are given.
Cons: I had a really hard time wanting to pick up this book to read. I enjoyed it while reading, but not actually wanting to read it definitely negatively impacted my reading experience. I think my biggest issue is that there was just too many long internal monologues that Ikenna would go on. She really was narrating the heck out of what was going on around her which I am sorry just isn't that interesting a lot of the time because not only are we getting dialogue and descriptions about the scenes we are also getting her over analyzing every word said, which CAN be fun to read but really wasn't here because it would go on for PAGES at a time. Like the whole plan to take down the blood emperor where they discuss with anjani (idk how to spell his name) went on for SO LONG only for Ikenna to immediately abandon the plan they create. Like girl please be so for real. She was just very self righetous a lot of the time that it felt hard to root for her.
Overall:
I will say this book also has alot to say about race relations especially systemically within a society and those aspects of the book really worked for me. You got a very good sense for Ikenna being a conflicted character but one that ultimately will sacrifice significantly for the good of the country she lives in even if that country wouldn't do the same back.
I liked the book, but probably wouldn't come back for another go in this universe. But i would read the author again.
Content Warnings
Graphic: Violence
maresuju's review against another edition
adventurous
challenging
emotional
hopeful
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
4.75
Content Warnings
Graphic: Blood, Violence, and Murder
Moderate: Sexual assault, Injury/Injury detail, Gun violence, War, and Grief
Minor: Racism and Xenophobia
fleur____'s review against another edition
adventurous
dark
emotional
tense
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: Colonisation, Cursing, Misogyny, Blood, Murder, Racism, Sexual assault, Violence, Gore, Death, Genocide, Racial slurs, Grief, Injury/Injury detail, Religious bigotry, Sexual harassment, Sexual content, Torture, and War
Moderate: Toxic friendship, Classism, and Alcohol
sahramahtab's review against another edition
adventurous
challenging
dark
emotional
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
5.0
I am so that sad that this series was limited to a duology. This was a stellar example of black excellence. I loved every second and the beautiful characters. Especially Ikenna and Darius. And I look forward to any of Davenports future projects.
Content Warnings
Graphic: Sexual harassment, Blood, Violence, War, Injury/Injury detail, Murder, Misogyny, Racial slurs, Racism, and Sexism
Moderate: Death, Grief, and Blood
tattooedbibliophile's review
adventurous
challenging
dark
emotional
inspiring
tense
fast-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? Plot
- Strong character development? Yes
- Loveable characters? Yes
- Diverse cast of characters? Yes
- Flaws of characters a main focus? No
5.0
👏👏👏 This book gets an extra star, the plot is so damn good. I will admit that it may should have been 2 books instead of one, rounding out the series into a trilogy instead of a duology, but that’s really an editing complaint and not a plot point pain. There was one specific part where I started literally clapping and yelling “FINALLY, FINALLY!!!” I will say also that this plot didn’t go how I thought it would. It twisted and turned in a completely unexpected way. If you like books like Fourth Wing you’ll love this. It’s a very NA book with some serious violence, with a few added spicy scenes that were an unexpected bonus. To me it left an opening for another book series (similar to a “years later” deal like the second Red Rising series) that I would immediately preorder if announced.
Content Warnings
Graphic: Blood, Racism, Classism, and Colonisation
Moderate: War, Violence, Xenophobia, and Religious bigotry
Minor: Abandonment, Death of parent, Alcoholism, and Child death
miraileah's review against another edition
adventurous
dark
tense
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
4.25
4.25. I enjoyed this, I thought it was a good end to the duology (though the major sequel bait was a surprise to me). Some of the dialogue was super awkward and the pacing was a liiiittle too fast for me at times. I enjoyed the action, but I was a little thrown by the long section from like 50%-70% where most of the supporting cast is inaccessible to Ikenna and her emotional growth/opening up to her new friends takes a big pause. I don’t know how I would do it differently, it was just sort of weird to me. Overall, positive experience though! Definitely graphic, violence was a lot and if you’re sensitive to reading that sort of thing, definitely be careful.
Content Warnings
Graphic: Violence and Sexual content
kaitrates's review against another edition
adventurous
dark
emotional
inspiring
fast-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? Plot
- Strong character development? No
- Loveable characters? Yes
- Diverse cast of characters? Yes
- Flaws of characters a main focus? No
5.0
I know a lot of people *didn't* like this one but let me tell you I fucking loved it.
Sexier, more gruesome, more murder-y.I mean THEY KILL A GOD FOR CRYING OUT LOUD!!!!
And listen a TON happens. Like you keep thinking this is it and then THERE'S ANOTHER BATTLE. But even with that, even knowing that this was supposed to be a trilogy and Davenport had to rework it into a duology - I couldn't pinpoint a singular place where "book 2" would've ended.
It flowed, it made sense, it was really fucking fun.
And it was a strong reminder that revolution is bloody AND that peace is worth fighting for.
Sexier, more gruesome, more murder-y.
And listen a TON happens. Like you keep thinking this is it and then THERE'S ANOTHER BATTLE. But even with that, even knowing that this was supposed to be a trilogy and Davenport had to rework it into a duology - I couldn't pinpoint a singular place where "book 2" would've ended.
It flowed, it made sense, it was really fucking fun.
And it was a strong reminder that revolution is bloody AND that peace is worth fighting for.
Content Warnings
Graphic: War, Violence, Racial slurs, and Death
konyino's review against another edition
adventurous
challenging
dark
emotional
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
4.0
I do think the first book was better but I did really like this one!! I feel like there should have been a third book, especially with how the epilogue was, but I had fun reading this!! Pushing me back to my fantasy era!!😋😋
Content Warnings
Graphic: Violence, Sexual content, and Blood
dearrivarie's review against another edition
adventurous
challenging
dark
tense
fast-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? Character
- Strong character development? It's complicated
- Loveable characters? Yes
- Diverse cast of characters? Yes
- Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes
4.25
Content Warnings
Graphic: War, Violence, and Blood
Minor: Racism