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sauvageloup's review
- 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
3.25
Pros:
- it really picked up by the end, I was fully gripped and just finished it now after hours of reading. The story and the action is definitely there, and really gets going.
- the worldbuilding and the fantasy were interesting and I appreciated the map in the front. I liked the side-characters too, Britta, Keita and the others, and whilst Deka didn't grab me, I did like her. The plot twists were such that I definitely didn't expect the reveal of
- Ixu was very cute
Cons:
- Deka is very passive and seems to get pushed around by whoever is the first to tell her anything. She makes no steps to seek information for herself, but only when others are willing to tell her or allow her access (like to the heraldry). I thought she was a bit dim telling the other alaki all about her special abilities (she's pretty overpowered) from the off, but that worked out I guess.
- the start felt very amateurishly written, with very typical YA tropes used in an unoriginal way, and way, way too much exposition. The author introduces far too many characters who barely have a role and there was way too much telling. Every other paragraph had several sentences just narrating about the world.
- I hear what Forna is trying to say about feminism but it didn't carry off for me. The comments on the real world were too heavy-handed
- the trauma throughout didn't feel realistically handled. There's moments of dwelling on it, but it felt shallow and didn't affect Deka nearly as much as could have been expected. The ongoing impact of trauma was much better shown in The Coldest Girl in Coldtown, imo.
- Deka's character also seems to change in the space between one chapter and the next. In the previous ones, she prays to Okoyo, she wants to be pure, she hates being a demon. And then suddenly she's having all these rebellious thoughts and calling all the other girls to face their natures. That character development felt totally rushed and provoked by nothing at all.
This one definitely improved and I don't know whether I'll check out no.2 when it's out or not. It felt like a book with a lot of potential, but it fell short, feeling too shallow and awkward to be really brilliant. There was also not really enough angst for me - a lot of torture and pain but very little of the actual struggling to deal and heal with it.
Graphic: Blood, Religious bigotry, Violence, Genocide, Gore, War, Abandonment, Misogyny, Physical abuse, Torture, Body horror, Child abuse, Child death, Death, Death of parent, Grief, Injury/Injury detail, Murder, Sexism, Sexual harassment, and Suicidal thoughts
Moderate: Rape, Sexual assault, Confinement, and Sexual violence
isleoflinds'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? No
3.0
Graphic: Child abuse, Child death, Blood, Body horror, Confinement, and Death
Moderate: Rape and Sexual assault
Minor: Death of parent, Child death, and Death
katsbooks'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? It's complicated
4.0
“The physical body—it heals. The scars fade. But the memories are forever. Even when you forget, they remain inside, taunting you, resurfacing when you least expect.”
“They might need us now because we're valuable, might pretend to accept us, to reward us - but never forget what they did to us first.”
I'll be real. I put this book down about halfway through and almost didn't pick it back up. But I'm really glad I did. Other than the dip in the middle, the world-building was solid and intriguing. The patriarchy that Forna depicted was hard to read at times but I couldn't help drawing parallels to the real world.
I really enjoyed the found family trope. The secondary characters were so lovely and I ended up really liking how the author seemed to hold up the platonic relationships to the same level as the romantic one. It made the romantic relationship feel healthy and grounded while also not letting it take over the rest of the narrative.
I am interested to see how the second book progresses given that this one seemed to wrap up pretty nicely. It's almost like the author wasn't sure she if she would get to publish the second one so left enough loose ends, just in case, while tying up the big, important ones.
I also want to give some pretty major trigger warnings for death, torture and violence. This is marketed as Young Adult but I would definitely push this towards older teen readers for those scenes alone. The main character and her friends can heal from almost any injury so there are multiple scenes of torture including a pretty prominent scene of dismemberment.
Graphic: Genocide, Gaslighting, Grief, Blood, Confinement, Death, Child abuse, Body horror, Child death, Emotional abuse, Gore, Murder, Physical abuse, Sexism, Slavery, Torture, Injury/Injury detail, Misogyny, Violence, and War
Moderate: Abandonment and Animal cruelty
Minor: Sexual assault, Trafficking, Death of parent, Rape, and Sexual violence
erinmjustice'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? It's complicated
5.0
Graphic: Violence, Death, Misogyny, Sexual violence, War, Blood, Torture, Rape, Animal death, Child abuse, and Gore
poffalina's review
- Plot- or character-driven? Plot
- Strong character development? No
- Loveable characters? It's complicated
- Diverse cast of characters? Yes
- Flaws of characters a main focus? No
3.0
Graphic: Genocide, Child abuse, Sexism, Religious bigotry, Torture, Violence, Blood, Murder, Confinement, War, and Misogyny
Moderate: Trafficking
Minor: Sexual harassment, Sexual violence, Sexual assault, and Death of parent
estelagois'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: Blood and Death
Moderate: Child abuse, Confinement, Injury/Injury detail, Murder, Abandonment, Vomit, and Violence
Minor: Adult/minor relationship, Death of parent, Fire/Fire injury, Pregnancy, Physical abuse, Rape, Sexual assault, Sexual harassment, and Slavery
cndillon17's review
- 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? It's complicated
2.5
Graphic: Blood, Body horror, Death, Death of parent, and Gore
Moderate: Child abuse
Minor: Bullying, Rape, and Murder
juliette_95's review against another edition
- Plot- or character-driven? A mix
- Loveable characters? It's complicated
- Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes
3.0
Graphic: Blood, Murder, Child abuse, Physical abuse, Torture, and Violence
Moderate: Sexual violence and Misogyny
anniereads221's review against another edition
- Loveable characters? Yes
5.0
Graphic: Suicide, War, Vomit, Violence, Torture, Sexual assault, Misogyny, Murder, Physical abuse, Injury/Injury detail, Grief, Gore, Genocide, Death, Death of parent, Child abuse, Child death, Body horror, and Blood
Moderate: Rape
szandra87's review
- 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? No
3.75
And this might be just me but this was the first time I understood "show/don't tell" when it comes to writing. Many relationships, both friendships and the romance is a little sudden due to the bigger time jumps. Developing these could have used a bit more detail.
All in all, I'd recommend to anyone who wants something extremely feminist but definitely not to kids under 16-17.
Graphic: Death, War, Blood, Child abuse, Grief, Misogyny, Torture, Violence, Vomit, Religious bigotry, Sexism, Gore, and Injury/Injury detail
Moderate: Rape, Sexual assault, Pedophilia, and Death of parent