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jimgibreads's review against another edition
adventurous
mysterious
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? It's complicated
4.0
bree_h_reads's review
adventurous
dark
emotional
mysterious
slow-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? Character
- Strong character development? Yes
- Loveable characters? Yes
- Diverse cast of characters? Yes
- Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes
5.0
WOW! Like, this was actually so amazing.
The writing style reminded me of older books while still suiting the modern reader. It was charming and enchanting and really stands out against the other books I’ve read. It really leant to the feel of the book and was just detailed enough to paint a picture while clearly showing off all the character’s emotions.
All the characters also felt so alive and complex. They were well rounded and had flaws, but were still likeable despite them. You could really tell WHY they were the way they were and could really see how they grew and influenced each other. This also REALLY helped the main romance. There’s something so endearing and sweet and cute about watching two well rounded characters try to navigate their flaws and awkwardness and miscommunications to come together. And it takes a lot of skill to not make the miscommunication obnoxious.
The world building was also WILDLY fascinating. It left me really looking forward to reading book two with the world this book established. It felt real and you could see where the real world influenced some of the culture. I would happily sit and read a book sharing all sorts of facts on the world building. It always felt like it was delivered naturally and didn’t info dump or become annoying to hear about.
Honestly with a bit more work on the foreshadowing and a better handling of some of the more questionable thoughts/opinions had in the main romance I’d call it near perfect.
Overall a great read.
Content Warnings
Graphic: Blood, Gun violence, Murder, Grief, Sexual content, Death, Death of parent, Cursing, and Violence
Moderate: Classism, Hate crime, Xenophobia, Alcohol, Sexism, and Misogyny
Minor: Cancer, Child death, Hate crime, Miscarriage, Religious bigotry, Terminal illness, Toxic relationship, Medical content, Chronic illness, Homophobia, and Infertility
sandonh's review against another edition
adventurous
funny
hopeful
mysterious
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? It's complicated
3.0
bmzhang's review against another edition
adventurous
funny
lighthearted
mysterious
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? It's complicated
4.0
Laughed out loud a bunch! A lot of fun. Not the most exciting ever, but enjoyed and will read the next
ruth_a's review against another edition
adventurous
dark
emotional
mysterious
fast-paced
- 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? It's complicated
4.25
Content Warnings
Graphic: Death of parent, Alcohol, Murder, and Blood
Moderate: Injury/Injury detail, Gun violence, Violence, and Sexual content
Minor: Pregnancy, Sexism, Child abuse, Infertility, Violence, Religious bigotry, Vomit, and Misogyny
minhiriath's review against another edition
adventurous
dark
funny
hopeful
mysterious
slow-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? No
3.5
charlotteisreading's review against another edition
adventurous
challenging
emotional
funny
hopeful
inspiring
reflective
medium-paced
- 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
5.0
coreysees's review
adventurous
emotional
medium-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? A mix
- Strong character development? Yes
- Loveable characters? Yes
- Diverse cast of characters? It's complicated
- Flaws of characters a main focus? No
4.0
A mostly fun read with some emotion in parts. The characters are pretty good, but it took a significant portion of the book for the two plots to finally cross. The identity of the murderer was easy enough to guess, but there were still a few good twists. It almost felt like ya, except for all the sex and violence.
thephdivabooks's review against another edition
3.0
A bit messy in the plot structure at times, but a good fantasy novel for non-fantasy readers to get into the genre a bit without being too overwhelmed!
I saw another reviewer refer to Onna as “Hermione-esque” and it is such a great description, though Onna has a bit more perception to overcome than Hermione. Onna is one of the cleverest spell-casters in her class, and is easily able to outperform her male cohort. But Onna also is denied entry to the premiere magical university. Doomed to a more provincial life than anticipated, Onna is not one to settle for being a good girl who doesn’t use her brain for her own goals. She leaves for the city of Hexos to find a university that would welcome her as a student, and becomes engrossed in the murders of four trolls.
Meanwhile Tsira is a troll who despite being part of the magical class, is non-magical due to having a human father. Tsira wants to be the dominant partner in a relationship (a reig), but custom (and her own mother) say she should try to be a submissive partner (a vahn). But Tsira doesn’t think she could be happy with a quiet, submissive home life. When a human soldier shows up on her doorstep barely hanging on to life, Tsira can’t deny her interest in this downtrodden man. Overtime, the two form a bond in this small cabin. But that bond will be tested when they emerge into the world, particularly when an attempt is made on Tsira’s life.
The stories converge as the two are separately pursuing the mystery of the murdered trolls.
I found Tsira’s story much more compelling than Onna’s for some reason. I think Tsira just felt so fresh and new—something totally different for me. Onna is the classic intelligent, precocious young woman who is disadvantaged by the men in her life. Tsira felt like much more of an underdog. I don’t read a ton of books with magic but I find it rare to have a non-magical character lead in a magical world. I loved that this story was included. Jeckran is frankly a bit square, but not really to the detriment of the plot. Tsira and Jeckran felt more broadly relatable. I liked that the book is inclusive and queer normative—in that any character can be in any sort of relationship and characters fluidly range from gay to bisexual to straight (in addition to the intra-species relationships, if that is what you can call them).
This book had a ton of plot threads that felt dropped or forgotten in places, only to be picked up again. I wasn’t sure how the whole book would come together, and that is where I describe the plot as a tad messy. Still, this was an enjoyable read with great dialogue, characters, and world-building. A great fantasy book for even non-fantasy readers.
I saw another reviewer refer to Onna as “Hermione-esque” and it is such a great description, though Onna has a bit more perception to overcome than Hermione. Onna is one of the cleverest spell-casters in her class, and is easily able to outperform her male cohort. But Onna also is denied entry to the premiere magical university. Doomed to a more provincial life than anticipated, Onna is not one to settle for being a good girl who doesn’t use her brain for her own goals. She leaves for the city of Hexos to find a university that would welcome her as a student, and becomes engrossed in the murders of four trolls.
Meanwhile Tsira is a troll who despite being part of the magical class, is non-magical due to having a human father. Tsira wants to be the dominant partner in a relationship (a reig), but custom (and her own mother) say she should try to be a submissive partner (a vahn). But Tsira doesn’t think she could be happy with a quiet, submissive home life. When a human soldier shows up on her doorstep barely hanging on to life, Tsira can’t deny her interest in this downtrodden man. Overtime, the two form a bond in this small cabin. But that bond will be tested when they emerge into the world, particularly when an attempt is made on Tsira’s life.
The stories converge as the two are separately pursuing the mystery of the murdered trolls.
I found Tsira’s story much more compelling than Onna’s for some reason. I think Tsira just felt so fresh and new—something totally different for me. Onna is the classic intelligent, precocious young woman who is disadvantaged by the men in her life. Tsira felt like much more of an underdog. I don’t read a ton of books with magic but I find it rare to have a non-magical character lead in a magical world. I loved that this story was included. Jeckran is frankly a bit square, but not really to the detriment of the plot. Tsira and Jeckran felt more broadly relatable. I liked that the book is inclusive and queer normative—in that any character can be in any sort of relationship and characters fluidly range from gay to bisexual to straight (in addition to the intra-species relationships, if that is what you can call them).
This book had a ton of plot threads that felt dropped or forgotten in places, only to be picked up again. I wasn’t sure how the whole book would come together, and that is where I describe the plot as a tad messy. Still, this was an enjoyable read with great dialogue, characters, and world-building. A great fantasy book for even non-fantasy readers.
fuzzball's review against another edition
dark
funny
tense
slow-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? It's complicated
4.0