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thewillowwood'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: Body horror, Murder, Blood, Death, Death of parent, Grief, War, Torture, and Violence
Moderate: Gore, Gun violence, Fire/Fire injury, Injury/Injury detail, and Panic attacks/disorders
Minor: Child death, Vomit, and Physical abuse
emerentina's review
- Strong character development? Yes
- Loveable characters? Yes
- Diverse cast of characters? Yes
- Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes
4.25
Graphic: Violence, Torture, Gore, Injury/Injury detail, War, Blood, Death, Physical abuse, Murder, and Grief
Moderate: Gun violence, Vomit, Alcohol, Genocide, Medical trauma, Kidnapping, Child death, Body horror, Colonisation, Confinement, Death of parent, and Fire/Fire injury
Minor: Sexual content and Misogyny
emily_mh'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
The characters were definitely the strength of this book. The two POV characters, Eris and Sona, were distinct from the off which was a great sign. It only got better when the narrative drew out their complexities. Both are filled with anger and the purpose of toppling Godolia. Eris has been trained to be a leader and feels so much responsibility and love for her crew. Her emotions feel like a vulnerability for her and so she grows thorns even though she just wants to be soft. I felt particularly compelled by Sona, though, being a person straddling the lines between human and bot and desperately trying to land as the former. She is terrified of herself and what she’s done, so her deepest wish is to be loved regardless. I found the scenes where she grapples with herself so heartfelt. I just got so attached to both MCs in a way that doesn’t often happen to me. I think the raw writing style really showcased the emotional state of the characters, giving the reader something real to resonate with.
Because Eris and Sona were such dynamic characters, the romance they shared was utterly believable. While there is instant attraction (at least on Sona’s part), it wasn’t instalove. Instead, Mikuta makes sure to include a range of scenes where the MCs explore and deepen their connection. The tension she crafted was spot-on. In my opinion, this was a good execution of the enemies-to-lovers trope.
In terms of world-building, I understood why the mechas were created and how they shaped the world as it was in this book. However, there was bigger-picture context missing in terms of how far in the future we were and what the global situation was. I also wanted more description of how religious colonisation impacted culture in Godolia and beyond. I was interested to know if religious and political conformity meant cultural conformity as well, as there was some evidence to the contrary in this book. I wanted to know what clothes, food, languages, etc. existed and why. So in this way the world-building was not fully realised and ended up being a bit plain.
Graphic: Murder, Colonisation, Physical abuse, Death, and Violence
Moderate: Cursing, Torture, Confinement, Vomit, Injury/Injury detail, Child death, Gun violence, War, Fire/Fire injury, Death of parent, Grief, and Blood
Minor: Self harm, Sexual content, Medical content, Child abuse, Physical abuse, Ableism, Animal death, and Alcohol
Moderate: loss of a loved one Minor: gamblinghue's review against another edition
2.0
Graphic: Physical abuse, Violence, War, Murder, and Toxic friendship
recycled_personalities's review
- 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
4.75
Graphic: Torture, Injury/Injury detail, Medical trauma, Violence, Body horror, Child abuse, Child death, Classism, Cursing, Medical content, Blood, Death, Death of parent, Murder, Physical abuse, Slavery, Fire/Fire injury, Gore, Grief, Gun violence, Religious bigotry, and War
Moderate: Medical content, Mental illness, Toxic relationship, Panic attacks/disorders, Alcohol, Abandonment, Bullying, Ableism, Addiction, Alcoholism, Confinement, Kidnapping, Mass/school shootings, and Physical abuse
qraveline'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
5.0
Graphic: Violence, Torture, Murder, and Genocide
Moderate: Xenophobia, War, and Physical abuse
Minor: Suicidal thoughts
foreverinastory'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
Rep: Asian bisexual female MC, Asian lesbian female MC with an eye implant, Asian genius female side character, queer normative world.
CWs: Blood, body horror, child death, death, fire/fire injury, gore, grief, gun violence, injury/injury detail, kidnapping, medical content and unconsented medical experimentation, murder, torture, violence, war. Moderate: Car accident, colonisation, confinement, cursing, death of parent, emotional abuse, genocide, medical trauma, mental illness (anxiety and PTSD), police brutality, physical abuse, self-harm, toxic relationship, xenophobia. Minor: Panic attacks, vomit.
Graphic: Fire/Fire injury, Gun violence, Grief, Child death, Gore, Injury/Injury detail, War, Blood, Body horror, Medical content, Murder, Death, Kidnapping, Torture, and Violence
Moderate: Medical trauma, Police brutality, Toxic relationship, Confinement, Car accident, Cursing, Mental illness, Death of parent, Emotional abuse, Physical abuse, Self harm, Xenophobia, Colonisation, and Genocide
Minor: Panic attacks/disorders and Vomit
cottlestonpie's review
- Plot- or character-driven? Character
- Strong character development? It's complicated
- Loveable characters? It's complicated
- Diverse cast of characters? It's complicated
- Flaws of characters a main focus? No
2.75
Graphic: Blood, Death, Violence, War, Xenophobia, Toxic friendship, Toxic relationship, Torture, Suicidal thoughts, Self harm, Physical abuse, Panic attacks/disorders, Murder, Injury/Injury detail, Grief, Gaslighting, Forced institutionalization, Emotional abuse, Dysphoria, and Gun violence
Moderate: Abandonment, Alcohol, Body horror, Bullying, Child abuse, Confinement, Kidnapping, Mental illness, Genocide, Gore, Death of parent, and Fire/Fire injury
Minor: Sexual content, Vomit, Stalking, Infidelity, and Cursing
starccato's review
- Plot- or character-driven? Character
- Strong character development? Yes
- Loveable characters? Yes
- Diverse cast of characters? Yes
- Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes
4.0
Graphic: Blood, Body horror, Death, Gore, Grief, Gun violence, Medical content, Physical abuse, Torture, Violence, Murder, Child death, and Child abuse
Moderate: Death of parent, Abandonment, Toxic relationship, Religious bigotry, Fire/Fire injury, Confinement, Slavery, Emotional abuse, and Self harm
Minor: Cursing, Vomit, Suicidal thoughts, Panic attacks/disorders, Mental illness, and Stalking
caseythereader's review
- 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
- The battle scenes in this book are AWESOME. I was on the edge of my seat every time.
- I do think there were maybe a few too many characters in the crew to keep track of, and I wanted a bit more worldbuilding, but I'm hoping that all comes in the sequel. I'm following Eris and Sona through to the (probably bitter) end.
Graphic: Blood, Body horror, Child abuse, Child death, Confinement, Cursing, Death, Death of parent, Gore, Grief, Gun violence, Kidnapping, Medical content, Murder, Physical abuse, Self harm, Suicide attempt, and Violence