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kukazashi's review against another edition
- Plot- or character-driven? A mix
- Strong character development? It's complicated
- Loveable characters? Yes
- Diverse cast of characters? N/A
- Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes
3.75
Moderate: Child death, Death, Injury/Injury detail, Violence, Confinement, Sexual harassment, Pregnancy, and Sexism
Minor: War, Grief, Rape, and Fire/Fire injury
bookycnidaria's review against another edition
- Plot- or character-driven? Character
- Strong character development? Yes
- Loveable characters? It's complicated
- Diverse cast of characters? No
- Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes
3.0
Graphic: Death, Fire/Fire injury, Violence, War, Misogyny, Physical abuse, and Sexual violence
Moderate: Slavery and Kidnapping
mary_stormageddon's review against another edition
- Plot- or character-driven? A mix
- Strong character development? It's complicated
- Loveable characters? Yes
- Diverse cast of characters? No
- Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes
3.5
Graphic: Fire/Fire injury, Child death, Death, Miscarriage, Slavery, Body horror, Pregnancy, Blood, and War
skelleybean's review against another edition
- Plot- or character-driven? A mix
- Strong character development? Yes
- Loveable characters? Yes
- Diverse cast of characters? It's complicated
- Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes
5.0
Moderate: Death, War, Sexual content, Animal cruelty, Blood, Child death, Fire/Fire injury, Murder, Pregnancy, Grief, Violence, Misogyny, Body horror, and Alcohol
olivia_piepmeier's review against another edition
- Plot- or character-driven? A mix
- Strong character development? Yes
- Loveable characters? Yes
- Diverse cast of characters? No
- Flaws of characters a main focus? No
4.0
Graphic: Physical abuse, Sexism, Misogyny, Child death, and Sexual harassment
Moderate: Gaslighting, Medical trauma, War, Kidnapping, Slavery, Murder, Gore, Confinement, and Violence
Minor: Death of parent and Vomit
sas_lk's review against another edition
- Plot- or character-driven? Plot
- Loveable characters? Yes
- Diverse cast of characters? No
4.5
Graphic: Sexual harassment, Sexism, Violence, Religious bigotry, and Murder
Moderate: War, Miscarriage, and Fire/Fire injury
Minor: Animal cruelty, Vomit, and Slavery
magicsarah's review against another edition
- Plot- or character-driven? Plot
- Strong character development? Yes
- Loveable characters? It's complicated
- Diverse cast of characters? Yes
- Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes
3.75
Graphic: War, Blood, Violence, Child death, Death, Fire/Fire injury, Self harm, and Toxic relationship
Moderate: Death of parent, Trafficking, and Animal death
basil_touche's review against another edition
- Plot- or character-driven? A mix
- Strong character development? Yes
- Loveable characters? Yes
- Diverse cast of characters? No
- Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes
4.0
Also learned some things about Medieval Russia, the whole narrative feels very well researched in that regard.
It was also quite neat to see more of the mythical beings of Russian Folklore in this, but I feel that they don't appear as much as in the first novel. However, with this story leaving certain threads unanswered, I feel that the last book of the trilogy will feature more of them while also revealing what has been hidden under the surface the last two books. I eagerly anticipate reading it.
Graphic: Adult/minor relationship, Blood, Fire/Fire injury, Misogyny, Murder, Sexism, Sexual harassment, Sexual violence, Violence, Death, Gore, Injury/Injury detail, Pregnancy, Sexual assault, Child death, Confinement, Emotional abuse, Miscarriage, Physical abuse, and War
Moderate: Xenophobia, Grief, and Self harm
Minor: Slavery
kaiyakaiyo's review against another edition
- Plot- or character-driven? A mix
- Strong character development? Yes
- Loveable characters? It's complicated
- Diverse cast of characters? No
- Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes
3.5
I liked this sequel, and I liked that we saw some failure from Vasya. She seemed to miraculously know most things last book, so seeing her have to put pieces together and realize that everything won’t be handed to her added more depth to her than she had before. She makes hasty choices and they have consequences, and seeing her deal with that made her feel much more real.
I was not into how much this book leaned on assault and objectification to strike fear into Vasya; bodily harm (because yknow, war & magic battles) without rape threat and violent misogyny would’ve been sufficient. Staying historically accurate doesn’t require focusing in on details like that. The Game of Thrones school of dealing with misogyny in history should be burned to the ground, but I digress
I was afraid this book would bore me because it verged on political intrigue, but honestly those parts were easy to gloss over to get to the magic bits. I love the balance the author found there. I don’t care about palace life beyond how it directly impacts our characters, and I don’t enjoy reading about political machinations. This book gave me just enough context to continue making its point about gender & power dynamics in this time period
Overall fun, but I’ll be honest in saying that I hope the next book is far from a palace. I also find myself ready for a conclusion, so I’m glad this is a trilogy.
Graphic: Sexual harassment, Sexual assault, Sexism, Misogyny, and War
Moderate: Sexual violence, Vomit, Violence, Child death, Child abuse, and Pregnancy
toriffic's review against another edition
- Plot- or character-driven? A mix
- Strong character development? Yes
- Loveable characters? Yes
- Diverse cast of characters? No
- Flaws of characters a main focus? It's complicated
4.5
Graphic: Violence, Blood, Sexism, and Death
Moderate: Adult/minor relationship, Sexual assault, Miscarriage, Animal cruelty, Fire/Fire injury, Confinement, War, Kidnapping, Sexual harassment, and Emotional abuse
Minor: Pregnancy, Death of parent, Child abuse, and Self harm