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abbyschalupa's review against another edition
- Plot- or character-driven? Plot
- Strong character development? No
- Loveable characters? No
- Diverse cast of characters? No
- Flaws of characters a main focus? No
2.5
The first set of chapters hooked me. Baru’s childhood is raw, detailed in rich prose and the wounds are eminent there on the page. Immediately, I was rooting for her. So what happened?
Unfortunately, the writing. Everything from there on fell. While the beginning brought the lens to focus on Baru, showing her experiences and all she endured, it felt like the writing style switched. Maybe that was the intention.
However, the writing no longer gave a lens into Baru’s world. It wrote from an outsider’s view, in black and white tone, as though a script were documenting all that occurred. There became an extreme lack of detail, we are no longer shown Baru’s world but instead told about it. The color went away and all became black and white. The rest of the book read like text for socioeconomic studies, detailing who said what, and what that meant, and what Baru must now do. All told, never shown.
Everything here is detached. I no longer cared for any of the characters, or Baru herself. She skyrocketed through the ranks, in ways that felt incredibly unrealistic, becoming arrogant, ruthless, and coldhearted. Although repeatedly called a savant, she ended up putting herself into multiple bad situations that were entirely avoidable. There were several situations I saw solutions to, but this savant never saw coming, and gave stern replies to people she supposedly cared about, only to never see them again before they died. It became incredibly frustrating.
I debated quitting halfway. Instead I skipped through chunks of chapters, glad to not have tried reading through them. It felt more like dragging through socioeconomic dense text compared to reading. Far more detached telling then showing. I ended the book disappointed that with such a great start, I never could get hooked back into the story or the character again. Unfortunately, the writing took such a detached and reporter like stance that I found no possibility of drawing further into the story, caring about the characters, or getting further invested. A huge bummer for me.
Graphic: Hate crime, Emotional abuse, Colonisation, Murder, Sexual content, Death, Homophobia, Gaslighting, Misogyny, Child abuse, Domestic abuse, Abandonment, Death of parent, Grief, Genocide, and Medical content
Moderate: Gore, Violence, Blood, and Injury/Injury detail
Minor: Ableism
kingcrookback's review against another edition
- Plot- or character-driven? Character
- Strong character development? Yes
- Loveable characters? It's complicated
- Diverse cast of characters? Yes
- Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes
Graphic: Colonisation, War, and Violence
Moderate: Injury/Injury detail, Racism, Lesbophobia, Alcohol, Death of parent, and Homophobia
Minor: Suicidal thoughts, Animal death, Murder, Outing, and Sexual content
indeedithappens's review against another edition
- Plot- or character-driven? Character
- Strong character development? Yes
- Loveable characters? It's complicated
- Diverse cast of characters? Yes
- Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes
4.25
Moderate: Death, Abandonment, Body horror, Sexual content, Addiction, Animal death, Cursing, Drug use, Fire/Fire injury, Kidnapping, Racism, Sexism, Ableism, Alcohol, Alcoholism, Animal cruelty, Biphobia, Blood, Body shaming, Chronic illness, Colonisation, Bullying, Child abuse, Violence, Classism, Confinement, Emotional abuse, Gaslighting, Misogyny, Pandemic/Epidemic, Sexual harassment, Death of parent, Terminal illness, Excrement, Forced institutionalization, Genocide, Gore, Grief, Homophobia, Injury/Injury detail, Vomit, War, Xenophobia, Infidelity, Murder, Physical abuse, Lesbophobia, Police brutality, Suicidal thoughts, Self harm, Slavery, Torture, Toxic friendship, and Toxic relationship
hedsek'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
3.75
Although I struggled through the first 2/3 of the book, I finished the rest in two days because the ending is just amazing and the buildup towards the climax is so well done. I am really glad I was convinced to continue reading after all.
Finally, it is just so refreshing to read a fantasy book that is not the same white cishet patriarchal stuff I've come to expect from the genre so that is definitely a pro.
Graphic: Lesbophobia, War, Colonisation, Death, Murder, Outing, and Racism
Moderate: Alcoholism, Genocide, Biphobia, Homophobia, Torture, Violence, Blood, and Injury/Injury detail
Minor: Alcohol, Misogyny, Sexual content, and Suicidal thoughts