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sammymilfort's review against another edition
- 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? Yes
5.0
This is probably one of the most important pieces of literature I will ever read
“To hope
To hope, Highmage Freynan”
Graphic: Ableism, Animal cruelty, Animal death, Body horror, Child death, Confinement, Death, Domestic abuse, Genocide, Gore, Hate crime, Mental illness, Misogyny, Physical abuse, Racial slurs, Racism, Sexual assault, Slavery, Suicidal thoughts, Torture, Violence, Blood, Vomit, Medical content, Grief, Cannibalism, Car accident, Suicide attempt, Murder, Cultural appropriation, Alcohol, Injury/Injury detail, and Classism
anissawren's review against another edition
- Plot- or character-driven? Character
- Strong character development? Yes
- Loveable characters? It's complicated
- Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes
5.0
Graphic: Animal death, Body horror, Death, Genocide, Gore, Misogyny, Racism, Sexism, Sexual assault, Violence, Xenophobia, Blood, Police brutality, Grief, Religious bigotry, Death of parent, Cultural appropriation, Gaslighting, Colonisation, and Classism
Moderate: Child abuse, Child death, Hate crime, Infertility, Miscarriage, Suicidal thoughts, and Suicide
Minor: Cannibalism and Fire/Fire injury
qingkhrome'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
4.5
Graphic: Body horror, Genocide, Misogyny, Sexual assault, Suicidal thoughts, Violence, Xenophobia, Murder, Cultural appropriation, Sexual harassment, and Classism
kayceeisbookish'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: Animal death, Child death, Death, Genocide, Infertility, Misogyny, Racial slurs, Racism, Sexism, Sexual assault, Sexual violence, Suicidal thoughts, Violence, Blood, Police brutality, Grief, Cannibalism, Religious bigotry, Death of parent, Cultural appropriation, Gaslighting, Sexual harassment, Colonisation, Classism, and Deportation
courtney_b'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: Death, Racial slurs, Racism, Sexism, and Cultural appropriation
Moderate: Gun violence, Sexual violence, Suicidal thoughts, Suicide, Violence, and Suicide attempt
bradle22's review against another edition
- Plot- or character-driven? A mix
- Strong character development? Yes
- Loveable characters? It's complicated
- Diverse cast of characters? It's complicated
- Flaws of characters a main focus? It's complicated
5.0
Graphic: Hate crime, Infertility, Misogyny, Sexism, Xenophobia, Religious bigotry, Suicide attempt, Murder, Cultural appropriation, and Sexual harassment
paracosim's review
- 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? Yes
4.5
When I saw this on Netgalley, I snatched up an eARC the literal second I could, because holy shit have I heard a ton about this book. I’ve never read anything by this author before (I’ll be buying The Sword of Kaigan though, trust me), and I barely skimmed the summary, so I went in pretty much blind. I didn’t watch any tiktoks about it in the days leading up to reading and didn’t look up reviews; I wanted to be 100% surprised.
Did you ever watch or read Fullmetal Alchemist? Do you like hard magic systems, critiques on colonialism, unlikable protagonists that decide that they are the villain and will do anything in their power to fix the damage they’ve done, and nuanced looks on how the people who have treated you nicely can so easily turn around and show a much darker side to those they consider beneath them? Then this is the book for you.
This book is messed up, and I mean that in the best way. I wouldn’t call it surprising though; I guessed most of the plot within the first 50 pages. But that’s not a bad thing! It was predictable, but the writing was so good that the predictability didn’t take away from the story.
My only gripe is that I wish they’d kept the original self-published cover. The new one looks a bit messy.
Graphic: Death, Misogyny, Racism, Sexual assault, Cultural appropriation, and Colonisation
jadorelecafe's review against another edition
- 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? Yes
5.0
This was such an incredible read. It’s a story of hope and loss and grief and faith and intention.
There is so much packed into this book it’s hard to know where to even start. There’s questions of morality, is intention what counts most? Or is the result what counts most? Just because you intend to do something good, doesn’t always make it a good action.
There’s so much grief and loss piled onto each other here and it’s heart wrenching but it also shows how every action, every person, every decision makes such a big impact on the world around us.
Hope is a fickle thing too. We can hope for the best but we also need to plan for the worst. We have to be able to find that balance and not lose hope for what is right and good in the world because it’s worth hoping for.
It was so interesting to see Sciona’s character arc evolve throughout the story. In the end she had to learn to live with and work with her flaws to do the right thing and do good for the world and others. Sciona is a character that meant well, her intent was not to cause harm or hurt, but she was selfish to a fault. She struggled to get out of her own head enough to see how much her ideas and decisions and actions would truly impact the world around her.
I really loved the conversation about morality in this story too. It really hits hard. Is intention to do good all that matters? Or is the outcome of your actions all that matter? Or is it somewhere between?
Graphic: Animal death, Child abuse, Child death, Death, Genocide, Gore, Hate crime, Infertility, Misogyny, Racial slurs, Racism, Sexism, Sexual assault, Sexual violence, Slavery, Suicide, Violence, Forced institutionalization, Xenophobia, Blood, Police brutality, Grief, Religious bigotry, Suicide attempt, Death of parent, Murder, Cultural appropriation, Gaslighting, Abandonment, Sexual harassment, Colonisation, Injury/Injury detail, and Classism
chantellimus's review against another edition
5.0
Graphic: Animal death, Body horror, Death, Genocide, Gun violence, Hate crime, Infertility, Misogyny, Panic attacks/disorders, Racism, Sexual violence, Suicidal thoughts, Violence, Police brutality, Grief, Religious bigotry, Murder, Cultural appropriation, Colonisation, and Classism
Moderate: Ableism, Bullying, Gore, Gun violence, Hate crime, Death of parent, Fire/Fire injury, and Abandonment
darreck's review against another edition
- Plot- or character-driven? Character
- Strong character development? Yes
- Loveable characters? Yes
- Diverse cast of characters? It's complicated
- Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes
5.0
Graphic: Child death, Genocide, Gore, Hate crime, Racial slurs, Racism, Sexism, Sexual assault, Slavery, Violence, Forced institutionalization, Police brutality, Murder, Cultural appropriation, Gaslighting, Colonisation, and Classism