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rileybeez's review
medium-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? Plot
- Strong character development? No
- Loveable characters? It's complicated
- Diverse cast of characters? Yes
- Flaws of characters a main focus? No
2.25
The characters are pretty terrible people. It's really hard to root for them in any way and frankly, the story is pretty lackluster too. Some good elements but I had hoped for more.
Content Warnings
Moderate: Murder and Sexual content
Minor: Violence
haley49's review against another edition
adventurous
- Plot- or character-driven? Character
- Strong character development? Yes
- Loveable characters? It's complicated
- Diverse cast of characters? No
- Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes
4.0
The characters are bad people but you still root for them??? They are casually down with murder and classism but are kind of feminists so it’s okay???
My feelings on the main characters are mixed but I loved them evolving together and realizing how alike they were, The pace felt natural and the story was interesting.
My feelings on the main characters are mixed but I loved them evolving together and realizing how alike they were, The pace felt natural and the story was interesting.
Content Warnings
Moderate: Death, Murder, War, Violence, Sexism, Misogyny, Death of parent, and Classism
Minor: Medical content, Sexual content, Torture, Blood, Injury/Injury detail, Colonisation, and Alcohol
paperdreams's review against another edition
challenging
dark
mysterious
tense
medium-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? Character
- Strong character development? Yes
- Loveable characters? It's complicated
- Diverse cast of characters? N/A
- Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes
4.0
Content Warnings
Moderate: Violence and Murder
book_lover206's review against another edition
adventurous
emotional
mysterious
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
4.75
Content Warnings
Minor: Blood, Murder, Sexual harassment, and Violence
rensreading's review
adventurous
dark
emotional
mysterious
reflective
tense
fast-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? A mix
- Strong character development? No
- Loveable characters? It's complicated
- Diverse cast of characters? No
- Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes
5.0
by chapter 2, i was seriously considering DNFing this book but i carried on because the synopsis promised me a love interest that hadn’t been introduced yet and i wanted a glimpse of him before i DNFed.
i’m so glad i waited for him. he carried this novel on his back, his poor shoulders must be breaking under the strain of all that success. kallias is my everything. he was the only reason i started liking alessandra. and by the time he learns of what she did to her first lover (though his age is never brought up, i’m still of the opinion that hektor groomed her) then laughs about it, i realized they really deserved each other.
(in reality, i started liking alessandra when she schemed her friend out of a marriage he would have hated and solved her own problem of unwanted suitors with it. how could i not adore a girlboss?)
the political intrigue and the plot were absolutely marvelous. i started suspecting the assassin by the time that he confessed to alessandra while kallias was listening. i kept wondering why alessandra didn’t see it until it was almost too late but i am glad that his sexism was what caused his demise. a man like him truly assumed that alessandra was nothing less than a noblewoman newly scorned by her ex-lover. what a mistake!
kallias was down bad for alessandra and i loved that fact by the end too lol definitely a 5 stars read for me (:
i’m so glad i waited for him. he carried this novel on his back, his poor shoulders must be breaking under the strain of all that success. kallias is my everything. he was the only reason i started liking alessandra. and by the time he learns of what she did to her first lover (though his age is never brought up, i’m still of the opinion that hektor groomed her) then laughs about it, i realized they really deserved each other.
(in reality, i started liking alessandra when she schemed her friend out of a marriage he would have hated and solved her own problem of unwanted suitors with it. how could i not adore a girlboss?)
the political intrigue and the plot were absolutely marvelous. i started suspecting the assassin by the time that he confessed to alessandra while kallias was listening. i kept wondering why alessandra didn’t see it until it was almost too late but i am glad that his sexism was what caused his demise. a man like him truly assumed that alessandra was nothing less than a noblewoman newly scorned by her ex-lover. what a mistake!
kallias was down bad for alessandra and i loved that fact by the end too lol definitely a 5 stars read for me (:
Content Warnings
Graphic: Blood, Cursing, Death, Death of parent, Gore, Injury/Injury detail, Misogyny, Murder, Sexism, and Violence
Moderate: Body horror and Alcohol
Minor: Classism, Grief, Sexual harassment, and Emotional abuse
Slut shaming happens a lot as well.smazzeo96's review
adventurous
dark
emotional
hopeful
mysterious
relaxing
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? Yes
3.0
Content Warnings
Graphic: Murder, Gun violence, and Violence
Minor: War
mollyadele's review against another edition
adventurous
dark
emotional
mysterious
tense
medium-paced
- 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? Yes
4.75
Content Warnings
Graphic: Violence
hazychapters's review against another edition
adventurous
dark
funny
mysterious
tense
fast-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? Yes
3.0
Honestly, I didn't have very high hopes for this book. A fantasy, even YA, of a little over 300 pages, seemed to me to be risky, given that what often gets stuck between the standalones and me (except for the Priory of the Orange Tree) is that I never get enough of my hunger. So yes, the story goes a bit quick for my taste, I would have liked it to be a little longer, but shit then, it's been years I think I had not read a book in 24 hours! I loved the character of Alessandra who's ruthless and remains who she is! She has a goal, and she goes for it; she doesn't let others turn her away. The other characters are unfortunately a little more superficial. Even the character of the Shadow King, who didn't strike me as quite as impressive as the synopsis led me to believe. I was also able to feel throughout my reading a fairly well-built world-building but unfortunately, I had no map to find my way around so it also fizzles out on this point. The plot is nonetheless very surprising compared to what we expect at the beginning and I know that I am useless in normal times for investigations of this kind but I clearly didn't see this coming!
Content Warnings
Graphic: Alcohol, Blood, Murder, Violence, and Death
Minor: Sexual content
midnightrose_reads's review against another edition
adventurous
dark
mysterious
tense
fast-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? Character
- Strong character development? Yes
- Loveable characters? Yes
- Diverse cast of characters? Yes
5.0
Content Warnings
Moderate: Violence and Sexual content
dadimabookernow's review against another edition
adventurous
challenging
dark
emotional
mysterious
sad
tense
fast-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
4.75
Wow, I want ther to be more. I just loved the world building and the characters. It's definitely going to be hard to say bye to them.
Content Warnings
Graphic: Death, Death of parent, Grief, Murder, Sexism, Sexual content, Torture, Toxic friendship, and Violence