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miraswrld's review against another edition
adventurous
challenging
dark
emotional
inspiring
mysterious
tense
fast-paced
- 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
Content Warnings
Graphic: Death, Death of parent, Slavery, Violence, Xenophobia, Grief, Torture, Blood, Sexual assault, Genocide, Confinement, and Murder
Moderate: Rape and Sexual assault
Minor: Suicide
swaggynikki's review against another edition
adventurous
dark
mysterious
tense
fast-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? Plot
- Strong character development? Yes
- Loveable characters? No
- Diverse cast of characters? Yes
- Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes
3.5
I read this book in middle school and loved it. I just reread it and liked it a lot less. Honestly, that really disapoints me, because I remembered it as this incredible example of the good side of the YA genre, but parts of it just really do not appeal to me anymore. The main couple already had the whole slave-soldier dynamic keeping them appart, so the fact that they were both individually in boring love triangles was just. Fully unnecessary. I did love the worldbuilding and action of the series, but as someone who prefers character>plot it just didn't quite hold up for me. Also it's INCREDIBLY dark/gruesome, I can handle a lot but there were some parts that made me go "was that /really/ necessary for anything other that Maximum Shock Value". I feel like I'm trashing this book too much. I like it, and I think it's one of the better fantasy YAs out there, but it just isn't what I think it could have been.
Content Warnings
Graphic: Blood, Body horror, Colonisation, Death, Gore, Murder, Physical abuse, Sexual harassment, Torture, and Slavery
Moderate: Child abuse, Genocide, Rape, and Abandonment
Minor: Fire/Fire injury and Pregnancy
crazyrandom_music's review against another edition
adventurous
challenging
dark
emotional
hopeful
inspiring
tense
fast-paced
- 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
Content Warnings
Graphic: Colonisation, Genocide, Grief, Murder, Slavery, Vomit, and Sexual assault
Moderate: Racism and Sexual harassment
Minor: Death of parent
bente's review against another edition
adventurous
dark
emotional
medium-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? Plot
- Strong character development? Yes
- Loveable characters? Yes
- Diverse cast of characters? Yes
- Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes
4.0
Content Warnings
Graphic: Slavery, Torture, Physical abuse, Blood, Confinement, Death, Death of parent, Genocide, Murder, Racism, and Rape
littlebitbooks's review against another edition
adventurous
dark
medium-paced
- Strong character development? Yes
- Loveable characters? It's complicated
- Diverse cast of characters? Yes
- Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes
3.5
Content Warnings
Graphic: Slavery and Violence
Moderate: Sexual assault and Genocide
katsbooks's review against another edition
adventurous
emotional
fast-paced
- 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
"Life is made of so many moments that mean nothing. Then one day, a single moment comes along to define every second that comes after." pg. 20
"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!
"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!
Content Warnings
Graphic: Bullying, Gore, Murder, Gaslighting, Genocide, Misogyny, Alcohol, Child death, Death, Emotional abuse, Grief, Injury/Injury detail, Kidnapping, Rape, Torture, Violence, War, Abandonment, Ableism, Child abuse, Classism, Colonisation, Confinement, Death of parent, Physical abuse, Sexual assault, Slavery, and Blood
roshans's review against another edition
adventurous
dark
emotional
reflective
tense
medium-paced
- Strong character development? Yes
- Loveable characters? Yes
- Diverse cast of characters? Yes
- Flaws of characters a main focus? It's complicated
3.5
Spoiler free!
Would have given it a 4 but (all) the romance was really eye-rolling. Also the male lead is really, really horny. A bit of a slow start, I feel that parts of it could have been pared down. Over all a good book with interesting if not well done world building. The MC's personality is not one you see very often in YA, I wouldn't call her whiny at all but she is a coward and knows it. The other female lead is closer to what you see in YA but the book didn't focus too much on her. Now the MALE lead, HE. IS. SO. HORNY. Idk maybe I'm exaggerating but to me it was really really annoying. He's probably the character that goes through the most introspection and moral struggle, plus his circumstances are really interesting, if it wasn't for the horniness I would have like him more. Though, if I'm honest the character I'm most interested in is the male MC'S mother, she's pretty much a cookie cutter villain until the end, when we see how complex she actually is, I look forward to reading more about her.
Plot is basic YA-first-book-set-up, I'm not going to say much about it. Female lead is on an undercover mission for the resistance and goes from being a coward to growing a back bone, male lead wants to desert his faction but gets caught up in a a tournament and goes through a lot of moral growth. The characters, their backstories, and motivations make it interesting enough but like a lot of YA these days, book one doesn't give enough for you to decide how you feel about it.
Would have given it a 4 but (all) the romance was really eye-rolling. Also the male lead is really, really horny. A bit of a slow start, I feel that parts of it could have been pared down. Over all a good book with interesting if not well done world building. The MC's personality is not one you see very often in YA, I wouldn't call her whiny at all but she is a coward and knows it. The other female lead is closer to what you see in YA but the book didn't focus too much on her. Now the MALE lead, HE. IS. SO. HORNY. Idk maybe I'm exaggerating but to me it was really really annoying. He's probably the character that goes through the most introspection and moral struggle, plus his circumstances are really interesting, if it wasn't for the horniness I would have like him more. Though, if I'm honest the character I'm most interested in is the male MC'S mother, she's pretty much a cookie cutter villain until the end, when we see how complex she actually is, I look forward to reading more about her.
Plot is basic YA-first-book-set-up, I'm not going to say much about it. Female lead is on an undercover mission for the resistance and goes from being a coward to growing a back bone, male lead wants to desert his faction but gets caught up in a a tournament and goes through a lot of moral growth. The characters, their backstories, and motivations make it interesting enough but like a lot of YA these days, book one doesn't give enough for you to decide how you feel about it.
Content Warnings
Graphic: Genocide and Racism
Moderate: Blood, Sexual assault, and Violence
Minor: Adult/minor relationship, Slavery, and Torture
Female lead is 17, love interest is 20 very casual talk of rape and assault, but no more than a forced kiss is shown, but there is a fair bit of violence against women Servants are slaves, who are tortured, mostly past but some non-graphic torturing The ruling class enslaves, raids an oppresses the MC's people, all of these things are shown not just mentioned Lots of death and bloodonarosebeam's review
adventurous
dark
tense
medium-paced
- 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
Content Warnings
Graphic: Genocide, Misogyny, Violence, and Xenophobia
Moderate: Sexual assault and Sexual violence
Minor: Rape
alexmyor's review against another edition
dark
medium-paced
- Strong character development? It's complicated
- Loveable characters? No
- Diverse cast of characters? Yes
- Flaws of characters a main focus? It's complicated
1.0
I should preface this review with this story in general was not my cup of tea. It was not pro-me so it was going to have a hard time winning me over either way.
THAT BEING SAID. OH MY GOD. Dark af and just very very violent. Characters were constantly injured -- seriously injured and in pain -- from intentionally inflicted wounds by others! And you know it would have been ok maybe if they hadn't constantly been telling me how injured they were and how violent everything was. Maybe the violence was supposed to put me on the edge of my seat but instead it just gave me anxiety... Like the injuries were so bad that they had to use deus ex machina magic TWICE?? Anyways, that is one thing.
Secondly, I didn't love the constant ominous warnings from Helene either. *I* knew that what she was randomly alluding to in scenes where Elias *had* to win were important because I am the reader and I know that every bit of dialogue is carefully chosen but Elias -- bless his heart -- never picked up on it. And we were all then punished for the main characters supposed incompetence. That being said, I found Elias' mix of capable and deer-in-headlights personality type very interesting.
Finally, going back to the dark af comment, there was just not a lot of joy in this book. That might be perfectly fine with some people but for me I never laughed once. I like getting really emotionally invested in my stories but with this book I was kind of more emotionally invested *at* the book. I was pretty mad at the story's lack of calm moments. We only got to be calm, sans any tension once after the third trial when Elias and Laia meet and I wanted just a lot more of that. The only time I smiled during the book was when Laia got into her 'burn it down' attitude at the very end...
Look. This book just wasn't for me. Maybe it's for others. I hope other people who like darkness and constant violence find this book satisfying. I will say that when I got to the end I had an overwhelming urge to keep going. But that could have been my crankiness at the fact that absolutely nothing was resolved...
Secondly, I didn't love the constant ominous warnings from Helene either. *I* knew that what she was randomly alluding to in scenes where Elias *had* to win were important because I am the reader and I know that every bit of dialogue is carefully chosen but Elias -- bless his heart -- never picked up on it. And we were all then punished for the main characters supposed incompetence. That being said, I found Elias' mix of capable and deer-in-headlights personality type very interesting.
Finally, going back to the dark af comment, there was just not a lot of joy in this book. That might be perfectly fine with some people but for me I never laughed once. I like getting really emotionally invested in my stories but with this book I was kind of more emotionally invested *at* the book. I was pretty mad at the story's lack of calm moments. We only got to be calm, sans any tension once after the third trial when Elias and Laia meet and I wanted just a lot more of that. The only time I smiled during the book was when Laia got into her 'burn it down' attitude at the very end...
Look. This book just wasn't for me. Maybe it's for others. I hope other people who like darkness and constant violence find this book satisfying. I will say that when I got to the end I had an overwhelming urge to keep going. But that could have been my crankiness at the fact that absolutely nothing was resolved...
Content Warnings
Graphic: Violence, Torture, and Slavery
Moderate: Genocide
Minor: Sexual violence
alora's review against another edition
adventurous
challenging
dark
hopeful
inspiring
tense
fast-paced
- Strong character development? Yes
- Loveable characters? Yes
- Diverse cast of characters? Yes
- Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes
5.0
Content Warnings
Moderate: Blood, Child death, Death, Genocide, Gore, Grief, Physical abuse, Torture, Rape, and Slavery
Minor: Suicide