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rebeca_readss'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
4.75
Stunning! I have read this book in 4 days because I couldn’t take my hands of off it! The writing is beautiful and the plot is incredible! Lila. I love her. She’s a bad*ss. Elias is my new book boyfriend :). I love them and I love Sabaa ❤️
Graphic: Death, Slavery, Suicidal thoughts, Violence, and War
Moderate: Physical abuse, Sexual assault, Sexual violence, Torture, Death of parent, and Injury/Injury detail
Minor: Child death, Sexism, and Police brutality
jackiepreston'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
4.0
Graphic: Child death, Death, Gore, Physical abuse, Slavery, Violence, Blood, Death of parent, War, and Injury/Injury detail
Moderate: Rape and Sexual assault
Minor: Pregnancy
victoria_elaine's review against another edition
- Plot- or character-driven? N/A
- Strong character development? Yes
- Loveable characters? Yes
- Diverse cast of characters? Yes
- Flaws of characters a main focus? It's complicated
4.0
Graphic: Death, Violence, and Murder
Minor: Rape, Torture, and War
cherrygray'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? It's complicated
5.0
there’s so much potential and room for so many different theories that i’ve started theorizing myself. like Cook’s background, Keenan and Mazen, hell even Aquilla.
this book(and series) is definitely not for the feint-of-heart and you should definitely check the trigger/content warnings before reading!!!!
Graphic: Death, Slavery, Violence, Blood, Death of parent, Murder, and War
Moderate: Gore, Rape, Medical content, and Grief
Minor: Physical abuse, Sexism, Sexual violence, Mass/school shootings, Abandonment, and Sexual harassment
caregorman'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
4.5
Graphic: Body horror, Death, Emotional abuse, Gore, Physical abuse, Rape, Sexual assault, Sexual violence, Slavery, Torture, Violence, Blood, Trafficking, Grief, Murder, Abandonment, Sexual harassment, and War
Minor: Abortion
vivelarevolution'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
1.0
It's partially for this reason that I have tagged this book with the content warning adult/minor relationship. There is another adult/minor relationship which is not acknowledged as such in this book because it is a spoiler that I remember from a later book.
I don't want to hate this book. A lot of things about it were compelling to me--especially Helene and Afya Ara-Nur and Spiro Teluman. But I don't understand why this type of relationship has to be so normalized. Why could Laia not have been an adult in this book? Why could the Blackcliff graduates not have been the age of high school graduates rather than in their early twenties? Why did the author feel the need to initiate their sexual relationship not just while they are a slave and a master, but in the specific context of Laia being "given" to Elias as a prize? I genuinely cannot imagine what must have been going through the author's mind to set up their relationship in this way and act like it's okay.
And honestly, rape was used as a plot device just about every three seconds. The author wants to remind us Marcus is evil and we need to hate him? Let's have him threaten to rape Helene again! The author wants us to know how Elias is such a Good Guy Who Will Protect Laia From the Commandant? Let's have him pretend to rape her as a "cover"! The author wants to just, I don't know, fulfill some sort of quota for how many times she wants to include the word? Let's have Marcus beat Laia nearly to death and attempt to rape her unconscious body! It's just constant and excessive, especially for a freaking YA novel.
And this is less egregious than my previously listed complaints, but sometimes I can't believe this book was written by a woman. Elias spends the entire book "saving" every woman in his life from various threats (mostly rape) despite the fact that Helene in particular is just as skilled as he is and should be able to defend herself. The petty drama of pitting Helene and Laia against each other over Elias is so tired. The Commandant is the closest that the author comes to a female character whose motivations are not exclusively about a man, and she is just the most cardboard cutout Evil Villain Lady in existence.
Graphic: Adult/minor relationship, Death, Physical abuse, Sexism, Sexual violence, Slavery, Violence, Blood, Medical content, Kidnapping, Murder, Sexual harassment, War, and Injury/Injury detail
Moderate: Rape, Sexual assault, and Torture
Minor: Child death and Suicide
No-one is raped in this book, but there are multiple scenes of attempted rape. It is mentioned frequently throughout the book, mostly in the context of the constant threat of rape experienced by enslaved women. The two main characters, Elias and Laia, develop a romance over the course of this book despite the fact that Elias is an esteemed and powerful soldier and Laia is his mother's slave. They share their first kiss after Laia is "given" to Elias as a prize. Additionally, there are multiple scenes in which the Laia is beaten, branded, or otherwise brutalized due to her status as a slave. All of the enslaved characters have endured significant torture and violence, most of which took place before the time of the book and is mentioned in the past tense.katsbooks'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
"You are an ember in the ashes. You will spark and burn, ravage and destroy. You cannot change it. You cannot stop it." pg. 65
"Draw a line in your mind. Never cross it again. You have a soul. It's damaged, but it's there. Don't let them take it from you." pg. 401
"When the fear takes over, use the only thing more powerful, more indestructible, to fight it: your spirit. Your heart." pg. 422
This was an amazing read! I absolutely loved the world building. It's incredibly brutal which could be hard to read. I'd give some trigger warnings for violence and attempted sexual assault but overall, I loved the writing, the mystery, the suspense, the complicated relationships. I can't wait to read more in this series.
REREAD - April 2022
This book was just as good the second time around. I was surprised by the amount of stuff that I forgot. I remembered the important bits but there were still parts that surprised me and wrenched my heart out. Tahir really knows how to make you feel for characters, sometimes, even when you actually hate them. I loved that even the Resistance, which is supposed to be seen as the good side was morally gray. The different classes of people created a really in depth world that was so compelling. I was even here for the love square. Oftentimes, love triangles aren't my favorite trope but Tahir made this one work. I think the interesting part of the love triangle is that for each main character, one of their love interests represents a piece of themselves that they're at war with. Their love interests are a side of themselves that they could ultimately choose and would change their trajectory in massive ways.
This is marketed as Young Adult but it pulls no punches when it comes to violence. The story opens with the death of Laia's caregivers and the kidnapping of her brother, as well as the brutal beating and death of a 10-year-old deserter at Elias' school, Blackcliff. If you are sensitive to themes like this, maybe skip this series. That being said, a major plot point is Laia's enslavement in the commandant's household and I was glad to see the life of a slave NOT be sugarcoated in any way. Especially from an American perspective, enslavement is often made more palatable to make it seem less brutal than it was and I'm glad this book doesn't feed into that narrative.
I'm really excited to continue buddy reading this with @redheadbooks and @shereadsatnaptime. We've been using the Storygraph buddy read feature and it's made the experience so much richer this time around!
Graphic: Ableism, Bullying, Child abuse, Child death, Confinement, Death, Emotional abuse, Genocide, Gore, Misogyny, Physical abuse, Rape, Sexual assault, Slavery, Torture, Violence, Blood, Kidnapping, Grief, Death of parent, Murder, Gaslighting, Abandonment, Alcohol, Colonisation, War, Injury/Injury detail, and Classism