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zosiablue's review against another edition
- Plot- or character-driven? A mix
- Strong character development? Yes
- Loveable characters? No
- Diverse cast of characters? Yes
- Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes
3.25
Graphic: Murder, Colonisation, Misogyny, War, and Police brutality
lilacs_book_bower's review against another edition
- Plot- or character-driven? Plot
- Strong character development? No
- Loveable characters? No
- Diverse cast of characters? Yes
- Flaws of characters a main focus? It's complicated
3.75
Graphic: Death, Confinement, Cursing, Medical content, Miscarriage, Murder, Sexual harassment, Blood, Addiction, Colonisation, Pregnancy, Violence, Gore, and Misogyny
maricasement'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
3.75
Because of my dislike for Kaaro, the first half of the book dragged. There was a lot being set up at the start as well, and this meant that the book took a while to grip me. Once the book revealed an awareness of Kaaro's faults and the mystery started to take shape, I started enjoying the book a bit more. Don't get me wrong, Kaaro is still a character I dislike, but the other (female) characters, the plot and the world building now have me hooked.
I will probably read the next in the series, as it seems to be told from a different character's perspective and I would love to learn more about the world Tade Thompson has crafted.
Graphic: Cursing, Death, Gaslighting, Terminal illness, Blood, Body horror, Murder, Excrement, Gore, Kidnapping, Body shaming, Confinement, Fire/Fire injury, Infidelity, Injury/Injury detail, Sexual content, Torture, Violence, and Misogyny
Moderate: Miscarriage, War, Vomit, and Emotional abuse
albernikolauras's review against another edition
- Plot- or character-driven? Plot
- Strong character development? It's complicated
- Loveable characters? It's complicated
- Diverse cast of characters? Yes
- Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes
4.5
This book is not for everyone. Kaaro is a misogynistic coward and an opportunistic criminal, and you are stuck with him for the majority of the book. I ended up having a near affection for him despite this - he's probably the most likable unlikeable character. But his issues are never left unconfronted, Aminat is amazing, and the plot kept me interested the entire time. It's jam packed with government conflicts, underhanded trickery, an oddly cute romance, and some squishy alien science.
This was a re-read to prep me for reading the rest of the books.
Graphic: Sexual content, Body horror, and Violence
Moderate: Misogyny and War
racheljane96's review against another edition
- Plot- or character-driven? Plot
- Strong character development? No
- Loveable characters? No
- Diverse cast of characters? Yes
- Flaws of characters a main focus? It's complicated
2.5
I absolutely blew through this book, but by the second half I think what was keeping me going was more momentum and hope it would all tie together at the end. Spoiler: it did not.
The world-building and concept behind this book was highly engaging and interesting, and uncovering it all and Kaaro's backstory in the first half of the book was excellent.
However, by the second half, as all the plot threads started to unravel and tangle and the protagonist remained unreadable; I was just hoping for some sense.
Ultimately, there was far too much going on in this book. The narrative jumping over time worked in the beginning but just made me so lost and confused as to the direction of the story and what I was supposed to be understanding from any of it by the end.
What I later realised was supposed to be a big reveal fell flat as I had no sense of build up with the random plot threads and jumping around, and no real rounding off of the story.
The array of characters were believable in the setting, but still felt a bit 2D, potentially because Kaaro is apparently a sociopath and probably the most purposelessly misogynistic character I've ever had the displeasure of reading. It feels like the end is supposed to redeem him as a character as he chooses the woman over this alternative future, but the relationship feels false, shallow, and frankly unbelievable at every turn.
Possibly 3 stars is too generous based on the above, with only the novel speculative elements keeping it up. I will not be reading the following books.
Moderate: Misogyny
goosegrimm's review against another edition
- Plot- or character-driven? A mix
- Strong character development? Yes
- Loveable characters? It's complicated
- Diverse cast of characters? Yes
- Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes
3.5
Graphic: Blood, Death, Body horror, Sexual content, Violence, and Gore
Moderate: Chronic illness, Colonisation, Torture, Miscarriage, Injury/Injury detail, and Kidnapping
Minor: Classism, Homophobia, Medical content, Misogyny, Pregnancy, and Sexual harassment
saffista's review against another edition
Graphic: Injury/Injury detail, Misogyny, Sexual violence, and Violence
sarah984's review against another edition
- Plot- or character-driven? Character
- Strong character development? It's complicated
- Loveable characters? It's complicated
- Diverse cast of characters? Yes
- Flaws of characters a main focus? It's complicated
3.0
Moderate: Colonisation, Confinement, Death, Death of parent, Body horror, Fatphobia, Fire/Fire injury, Genocide, Gore, Grief, Gun violence, Homophobia, Infidelity, Medical content, Miscarriage, Misogyny, Police brutality, Pregnancy, Rape, Sexual content, Suicidal thoughts, Vomit, Torture, and Violence
Minor: Ableism, Cannibalism, Cancer, Drug abuse, and Slavery
kylieqrada'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
Moderate: Blood, Body horror, Body shaming, Confinement, Death, Death of parent, Gore, Gun violence, Homophobia, Infidelity, Medical content, Medical trauma, Misogyny, Murder, Physical abuse, Police brutality, Torture, and Violence
saestrah's review against another edition
Moderate: Misogyny and Sexual content