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hannahbailey'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
"For while the pious claim money doesn't buy happiness, I can attest from personal experience that poverty buys nothing."
"I pressed my knife where his legs met. 'The first offense costs a tooth. The second, something far dearer.'" what a legend
"People may call my kind sea rats, but let me tell you, rats know when to fucking run"
"This man could manifest as a beam of celestial light, and he chose to use that power to spy on a naked woman?"
"You plague of a woman, if you could just listen to reason!" I too would like to be referred to as a plague of a woman 😌
I really enjoyed this epic tale of a female pirate coming back from retirement for one last adventure -- the reward so high she couldn't turn it down. The blend of religion and magic was really well done, the sense of mystery and unanswered questions throughout was also really compelling. I liked that many of the magical creatures were humanoid in nature, meaning the MC could converse with them with her trademark wit and swearing!
Whilst the front cover (both US and UK) suggests a world of magic, high seas and adventure, be prepared for graphic scenes of violence, injury and death. There's also blackmailing, demons and a queen of poisons too so definitely not for the faint-hearted. I always love characters exploring motherhood, sisterhood and the found family trope. The novel has all this and more with a diverse cast of characters and exploration of gender identity (although MC is cis-hetero-female). Lots of action and battle scenes as well as more tender moments of powerful friendship. Fans of Samantha Shannon's The Priory of the Orange Tree and Leigh Bardugo's Six of Crows would enjoy this. I love learning through fiction, and with this novel I learned more about Islam, Arab culture and the pre-colonial world of the Indian ocean. Read the Author's note for further reading on these subjects!
As a 500-page book, I really struggled at the beginning to stay interested as it felt a lot of pages had passed before the adventure really got going. However, it's worth pushing through as the plot quickly ramps up.
TW: violence, blood/gore/injury, death, threat of sexual violence, torture, body horror, kidnapping, alcoholism, misogyny, slavery
Graphic: Body horror, Death, Gore, Misogyny, Physical abuse, Sexual violence, Slavery, Torture, Violence, Blood, Kidnapping, Murder, and Injury/Injury detail
torturedreadersdept'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: Animal cruelty, Animal death, Body horror, Body shaming, Confinement, Cursing, Death, Misogyny, Sexism, Sexual content, Slavery, Toxic relationship, Violence, Blood, Kidnapping, Grief, Religious bigotry, Murder, Gaslighting, Abandonment, Alcohol, and Injury/Injury detail
Moderate: Rape, Sexual assault, and Transphobia
Minor: Deadnaming
cheye13'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? Yes
3.0
Graphic: Violence, Murder, and Injury/Injury detail
Moderate: Animal cruelty, Death, Genocide, Gore, Sexism, Torture, Kidnapping, Grief, and Fire/Fire injury
Minor: Rape, Sexual content, Slavery, Transphobia, Alcohol, Dysphoria, and Classism
incident of mass murder and ritual human sacrifice off page but remains described in brief detail; instance of being stranded at sea; violent threats made against a child on numerous occasionboglord's review against another edition
- Plot- or character-driven? Plot
- Strong character development? Yes
- Loveable characters? Yes
- Diverse cast of characters? Yes
- Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes
5.0
Graphic: Death, Gore, Toxic relationship, Violence, Grief, Murder, Sexual harassment, and Injury/Injury detail
Moderate: Body horror, Child abuse, Confinement, Cursing, Emotional abuse, Genocide, Mental illness, Misogyny, Panic attacks/disorders, Sexism, Sexual content, Torture, Xenophobia, Blood, Vomit, Kidnapping, Religious bigotry, Fire/Fire injury, Alcohol, War, and Classism
Minor: Ableism, Addiction, Deadnaming, Pedophilia, Racism, Rape, Sexual assault, Sexual violence, Slavery, Suicidal thoughts, Trafficking, Death of parent, Pregnancy, Abandonment, and Dysphoria
fromjuliereads's review against another edition
- Plot- or character-driven? Plot
- Strong character development? It's complicated
- Loveable characters? It's complicated
- Diverse cast of characters? Yes
- Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes
2.75
I think part of that was the marketing? I remember seeing so much about it being a pirate book, a seafaring adventure. I felt like we really didn't get that until about... well past halfway. The beginning of the book is incredibly slow. I still don't understand the point of the opening scene to the story, and the first half is basically picking up their crew around different areas and gathering information. There are moments of adventure or these events that happen - but they didn't pull me in or have me stressed for the characters.
I think that was the big thing for me. I didn't feel like the characters were well developed and I think that was due to the format of the storytelling. Since it's Amina telling her story to a scribe, I feel like we never actually get to truly know her character. And the random interjections where she replies to the scribe - who remains off page through the main story - completely pulled me out of the story with a jarring effect.
Everything is tell, not show. Which is evident by the very many long descriptions. So. Many. Descriptions. Don't get me wrong, I love details. But I found myself skimming because I truly didn't care about all of the tiny details in this random library that had nothing to do with the story. Anyways, I did like the side characters, but even they felt underdeveloped.
I will say that there were some unique elements and Chakraborty does have good writing. The ending was also done really well - it was great to have a character from the Daevabad world show up, and the reveal at the end was well done! I'm glad I didn't DNF it, but I'm still not sure if I'd continue with the series.
Moderate: Cursing, Death, Violence, Kidnapping, Murder, and Injury/Injury detail
Minor: Body horror, Misogyny, Slavery, Torture, Blood, Abandonment, and War
maregred'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
4.0
Graphic: Death, Violence, and Murder
Moderate: Slavery, Blood, and Kidnapping
Minor: Toxic relationship, Grief, Religious bigotry, Pregnancy, Alcohol, and Injury/Injury detail
twistykris'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
I loved so many of the characters, even a certain demon ex-husband 😈
Amina felt relatable to me, even if she's a mother in her 40s (and I am not a mother and in my early 30s). The way she spoke about the importance of her blood family and her crew was really sweet, and I really was rooting for her throughout the book.
This was my first Chakraborty novel, so I have not read The Daevabad trilogy, but I will definitely put them on my TBR now, especially knowing there are connections to the series.
Graphic: Death, Gore, Sexual content, Violence, and Injury/Injury detail
Moderate: Confinement, Kidnapping, Grief, and Fire/Fire injury
Minor: Slavery and Religious bigotry
mshaner2133's review against another edition
3.0
Graphic: Transphobia and Kidnapping
sophieamreacher'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
4.25
Graphic: Death, Torture, Violence, Kidnapping, Murder, and Injury/Injury detail
Minor: Sexual harassment
unboxedjack'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
3.5
Moderate: Death, Gore, Violence, Murder, Colonisation, and Injury/Injury detail
Minor: Misogyny, Sexism, Sexual assault, Transphobia, Islamophobia, Kidnapping, Grief, and Death of parent