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gossamer_lens's review against another edition
hopeful
lighthearted
fast-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? A mix
- Strong character development? No
- Loveable characters? Yes
- Diverse cast of characters? Yes
- Flaws of characters a main focus? No
4.25
This book has an odd writing style. It is written like a prologue. With the amount of summary and covering a span of 10 years, it feels like a reader should have both gotten more detail and less detail in the reading process. I feel like I should know the characters infinitely better but also I feel like I have a quite solid understanding of our main character. A very odd thing to feel. But with that said, it isn't a bad feeling.
Throughout the book, I was very easily pulled along to see what was going to happen next. I enjoyed the world-building and clear inclusion of Latin-American culture and the seamless inclusion of LGBTQ+ people into the world. I am excited to see where things go in the sequel and I already placed the book on hold at my library. I hit about halfway through this book and knew I just needed to keep going with these characters. Hernandez did a very solid job of keeping me invested and waiting to see where we would go. Very fun!
Throughout the book, I was very easily pulled along to see what was going to happen next. I enjoyed the world-building and clear inclusion of Latin-American culture and the seamless inclusion of LGBTQ+ people into the world. I am excited to see where things go in the sequel and I already placed the book on hold at my library. I hit about halfway through this book and knew I just needed to keep going with these characters. Hernandez did a very solid job of keeping me invested and waiting to see where we would go. Very fun!
Content Warnings
Minor: Injury/Injury detail, Sexual assault, Child abuse, War, Xenophobia, Trafficking, Slavery, and Vomit
starrysteph's review
adventurous
lighthearted
tense
fast-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? Plot
- Strong character development? Yes
- Loveable characters? Yes
- Diverse cast of characters? Yes
- Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes
3.75
I truly enjoyed The Name-Bearer! It was vibrant, creative, and filled with generous sprinklings of Latin American culture.
We follow the Name-Bearer, a young girl who was selected as a baby to fulfill a critical royal role: deliver royal names from the magical Flowers of Prophecy. Her identity is stripped alongside her birth name; she knows nothing of life outside the palace. But when her first naming ceremony doesn’t go as planned - and she receives an unexpected prophecy instead, putting her in grave danger - she must journey away from all she’s known and find the true heir to the throne.
The world was so fun and colorful; I could picture every scene and character. I thought the depictions of strong & healthy friendships alongside budding romances were so lovely. There are a lot of potential romantic pairings and I would have been happy wherever we landed.
The main character’s journey with her identity - her entire sense of self and her place in the world - unfolded in a beautiful way. Her entire life is dictated by those above her; she is marginalized and powerless. I loved watching her slowly cement her personhood and discover who exactly she is outside of the expectations placed on her.
There were some clumsier elements - the editing seemed to be lacking (typos/other issues on a significant number of pages) and some plot points moved far too quickly. The story spans 10 years, and considering the large amount of characters and events, I think it could have perhaps been better served being split up into multiple books with more time to linger and develop the characters and storylines.
Overall though, Natalia Hernandez is bringing a fresh voice to the fantasy genre and I think her ideas are spectacular. I know she will continue to strengthen as a writer and I’m excited to witness her journey.
CW: violence, bullying, sexual assault (mention), confinement, trafficking, kidnapping, child abuse, death, xenophobia, classism, grief, abandonment, war, slavery
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Content Warnings
Graphic: Bullying, Slavery, Xenophobia, Classism, Kidnapping, Trafficking, Grief, Abandonment, Sexual assault, Child abuse, War, Violence, Confinement, and Death
abby_can_read's review against another edition
adventurous
medium-paced
- 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
4.0
📱
I enjoyed reading this. I love the worldbuilding as I find the world to be engaging and imaginative. I adore the characters, and I like the diversity.
Since this book is the beginning of a series, there are lot of plot lines that aren't resolved that I assume will carry over to the next book.
I enjoyed reading this. I love the worldbuilding as I find the world to be engaging and imaginative. I adore the characters, and I like the diversity.
Since this book is the beginning of a series, there are lot of plot lines that aren't resolved that I assume will carry over to the next book.
Content Warnings
Graphic: Xenophobia and Grief
Moderate: Child abuse, Violence, Abandonment, Colonisation, and Gaslighting
Minor: War, Alcohol, and Classism
mnm_library's review against another edition
lighthearted
medium-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? Plot
- Strong character development? It's complicated
- Loveable characters? Yes
- Diverse cast of characters? Yes
- Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes
4.0
Content Warnings
Graphic: Kidnapping, Physical abuse, and Bullying
Moderate: Sexual harassment and Trafficking
Minor: Child abuse
lexi17d's review against another edition
adventurous
fast-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? Yes
3.75
I really enjoyed the premise of this book. The representation was great, the story was unique, the characters interesting and well developed. I am a huge fan of our main character. Her development as a character felt very realistic, and I loved reading her journey. The side characters were all very distinct people, and I loved watching her relationships with each one progress and develop. This book has one of the most unique plots that I’ve read, and I love the diversity included in this book within the Latinx and LGBTQ communities.
The biggest critique I have of this book is the writing itself. I recognize this book is an independently published book and is the authors first novel, so I am overlooking simple editing errors in grammar, punctuation, sentence structure etc. (I’m no editor, so I can’t reliably comment on those anyways). However, many of the large plot points and scenes were quickly glossed over and briefly explained rather than shown, which threw the pacing off and left me feeling slightly unfulfilled. I think this book would have greatly benefited with an extra 50-100 pages to really fill out the story and add the detail, world building, and development of side characters that I felt was missing. As this is the first book in a series, I have confidence that it will only improve, though I wish we got to see more of what was happening with other characters later in the book, and got more context with the world earlier in the book. The ending was also very abrupt, and left me feeling confused.
That is all to say that I want more from this book! I think this is a great start for this author and series, and I will be continuing the series once the next books come out. I can’t wait to see how this author improves in the next books, and to see what happens next to our MC!
The biggest critique I have of this book is the writing itself. I recognize this book is an independently published book and is the authors first novel, so I am overlooking simple editing errors in grammar, punctuation, sentence structure etc. (I’m no editor, so I can’t reliably comment on those anyways). However, many of the large plot points and scenes were quickly glossed over and briefly explained rather than shown, which threw the pacing off and left me feeling slightly unfulfilled. I think this book would have greatly benefited with an extra 50-100 pages to really fill out the story and add the detail, world building, and development of side characters that I felt was missing. As this is the first book in a series, I have confidence that it will only improve, though I wish we got to see more of what was happening with other characters later in the book, and got more context with the world earlier in the book. The ending was also very abrupt, and left me feeling confused.
That is all to say that I want more from this book! I think this is a great start for this author and series, and I will be continuing the series once the next books come out. I can’t wait to see how this author improves in the next books, and to see what happens next to our MC!
Content Warnings
Graphic: Kidnapping, Violence, Abandonment, Bullying, Murder, Child abuse, and Confinement
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