Scan barcode
hagwife's review
- Plot- or character-driven? Character
- Strong character development? Yes
- Loveable characters? Yes
- Diverse cast of characters? Yes
- Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes
3.25
What is an issue for me is the pacing and the kitchen-sink plotting. This book is incredibly fast paced given the complex issues Thakar handles and the story arc she weaves them through. It's a lot and its hard to get attached to certain characters or pieces because it all moves so quickly. To be clear, I don't think Thrakar needs or should have to slow down introducing the readers to the Earthly cast or the Heavenly one – I love the "deep end and swim" approach. There's just one trope too many piled on top of each other at breakneck speed.
Overall, its a great addition to YA Literature and I'm excited to see what Thrakar writes next!
Graphic: Abandonment
Moderate: Physical abuse, Violence, Dysphoria, Injury/Injury detail, Medical content, Fire/Fire injury, and Blood
There is a dream sequence early on that is unsettling.picaresquedreamer's review
- Plot- or character-driven? Plot
- Strong character development? No
- Loveable characters? It's complicated
- Diverse cast of characters? No
- Flaws of characters a main focus? No
2.0
Moderate: Bullying, Abandonment, Blood, Death, and Confinement
rc_hall's review against another edition
- Plot- or character-driven? A mix
- Strong character development? It's complicated
- Loveable characters? Yes
- Diverse cast of characters? Yes
- Flaws of characters a main focus? It's complicated
3.25
Graphic: Addiction, Violence, Abandonment, and Panic attacks/disorders
kbairbooks's review
- Plot- or character-driven? Character
- Strong character development? No
- Loveable characters? No
- Diverse cast of characters? Yes
- Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes
Graphic: Abandonment, Fire/Fire injury, Grief, Injury/Injury detail, Toxic relationship, Alcohol, Blood, Bullying, Child death, and Death
sssssoup'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
3.0
Graphic: Abandonment and Confinement
Moderate: Blood, Bullying, Fire/Fire injury, Grief, Panic attacks/disorders, and Physical abuse
Minor: Domestic abuse, Medical content, Alcohol, Death, Injury/Injury detail, and Violence
brookey8888'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
3.0
Graphic: Grief, Bullying, Emotional abuse, Violence, Injury/Injury detail, Fire/Fire injury, Gaslighting, Abandonment, and Blood
albon's review against another edition
- Plot- or character-driven? Character
- Strong character development? No
- Diverse cast of characters? Yes
- Flaws of characters a main focus? No
3.0
Moderate: Abandonment, Body horror, Blood, Bullying, and Panic attacks/disorders
iffygeneia's review
- Plot- or character-driven? Plot
- Strong character development? No
- Loveable characters? It's complicated
- Diverse cast of characters? It's complicated
- Flaws of characters a main focus? It's complicated
2.75
It did require a bit of foreknowledge about Hindu mythology. Mainly, the book assumes the reader will know several different kinds of mythological creatures from Hindu mythology - it doesn't explain much beyond the most basic visual descriptions.
It's with the characters and the plot that it starts to fall apart though.
This could have been an amazing coming-of-age story, but there was hardly any character growth. Sheetal herself was just very, very shallow. Her main worries are about
The plot did finally come together in the end, but in the most predictable way.
In the end, though a lot did change, Sheetal herself didn't seem much affected by all of it.
All in all: its fine for its Teen target audience, but as an adult I expected more depth.
(Note: I listened to the audiobook version read by Soneela Nankani. She was excellent.)
Moderate: Abandonment and Blood
Minor: Fire/Fire injury, Injury/Injury detail, Medical content, Racism, and Toxic relationship
journeythroughthechapters'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? Yes
2.5
This was sadly a bit average for me. This cover is absolutely stunning and the atmosphere in the novel definitely matches the cover but this was not for me.
Things I liked
- The atmosphere: the world building and descriptions of the world was absolutely beautiful. I could visualise the world which is unusual for me. But I loved that I could picture this world. That is essentially what kept me reading
And I hate to say it but that’s about all I loved.
Things I didn’t love
- the writing: I hate floral writing and purple prose. I hate when it takes two sentences to describe one thing. And I hate when writing dances around the story. But if that is something you like then you might have a better time with this book than me.
- the plot: I don’t know if anyone else felt this way but I feel like there was so much happening but nothing at the same time. If you get what I mean…I feel because there were so many plot lines that nothing got fleshed out which was really disappointing because it is a clever idea but poor execution in my opinion
- the romance: Not necessarily the romance but the thought of romance was too much and too away from the story
With regards to the characters I didn’t hate them but I didn’t love them. As I said it was a very average book.
Representation
POC (main and side characters), Lesbian (side character)
Trigger Warning
Panic Attack, Violence, Bullying, Abandonment, Addiction
Graphic: Violence, Abandonment, and Kidnapping
Moderate: Addiction, Bullying, and Panic attacks/disorders