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booksandcat'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? Yes
3.5
Graphic: Death, Violence, Blood, Death of parent, Murder, and War
cleo_reads's review against another edition
4.5
It’s the second in a series (it’s set 500 years before the first one) but it definitely works as a standalone. I thought the first book was promising but this one is just fantastic, a quantum leap in author skill. It’s a thoughtful exploration of faith, loyalty and duty and it’s also a really gripping story that was hard to put down. All 850 pages of it.
Like the first book, there are lots of LGBT people. There is one character who reads as ace/aro who struggles with acceptance because ace/aro doesn’t seem to be a recognized option. But LGBT identities are understood and accepted as no big deal.
One interesting thing about the structure and the overall epic-ness of the story is that there’s lots of room to explore different ways to deal with similar situations. There are several young young women dealing with different cultural requirements about who they can love or marry or have kids with and they respond in really different ways.
Parts of it is pretty violent. There’s no sexual violence but there’s some sexism, especially in the western location (Virtuedom).
Graphic: Death, Violence, and War
Moderate: Animal death and Child death
Minor: Cancer, Religious bigotry, Pregnancy, and Abandonment
aseel_reads'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
4.5
Moderate: Animal death, Child abuse, Confinement, Cursing, Death, Emotional abuse, Gore, Violence, Blood, Grief, Death of parent, Pregnancy, War, and Injury/Injury detail
gracewiley'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
5.0
Graphic: Death, Violence, Fire/Fire injury, and War
Moderate: Animal death, Body horror, Grief, Death of parent, and Injury/Injury detail
Minor: Adult/minor relationship, Child death, Confinement, Infidelity, Mental illness, Sexual content, Xenophobia, Medical content, Religious bigotry, Pregnancy, and Alcohol
micheala's review against another edition
4.5
This one takes place 500 years before Priory, however I would still recommend reading it after Priory. There are a couple of world building things that get revealed as Priory progresses that are introduced much sooner in ADoFN that I think would take away some enjoyment from Priory.
ADoFN has more POVs, but they are better balanced then in Priory. I actually found myself interested in all of them, despite seeing certain character reveals coming from a long way off.
I also think the character work in general was more effective this time. I loved the breadth of relationships we see, with Tunuva and Esbar's being my personal favourite.
One of my critics about Priory was how abrupt the final battle felt, and this one doesn't have that issue at all. As well, I just think the pacing and how all the POVs interconnect is better done.
In general, I think that ADoFN is just slightly better written. It's not perfect, but I am interested in seeing any other snapshots in time in this world that the author chooses to write.
If you have the chance, the audiobook has a wonderful interview with the author at the end that is well worth the listen.
Moderate: Animal death, Death, Violence, Blood, Grief, Death of parent, Pregnancy, Fire/Fire injury, and War
Minor: Cannibalism
alyanna_dm'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? No
5.0
Graphic: Death, Violence, and War
Moderate: Pregnancy and Fire/Fire injury
shantalia's review against another edition
- Plot- or character-driven? A mix
- Strong character development? Yes
- Loveable characters? Yes
- Diverse cast of characters? Yes
5.0
Graphic: Death, Violence, Fire/Fire injury, and War
librarianmage'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: Death, Violence, and War
Moderate: Pregnancy
Minor: Rape and Death of parent
morganfiona'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? No
5.0
Graphic: Child death, Death, Violence, Blood, Pregnancy, and War
Moderate: Child death, Infertility, Miscarriage, Fire/Fire injury, and Abandonment
Minor: Rape
the_bees_books'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
4.25
Graphic: Death, Genocide, Misogyny, Violence, Grief, Religious bigotry, Death of parent, and War
Moderate: Animal death, Xenophobia, Blood, Pregnancy, and Injury/Injury detail
Minor: Cancer, Sexism, Terminal illness, and Vomit