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4.22 AVERAGE
4.22 AVERAGE
dark
emotional
hopeful
mysterious
reflective
sad
medium-paced
Plot or Character Driven:
Character
Strong character development:
Yes
Loveable characters:
Yes
Diverse cast of characters:
Complicated
Flaws of characters a main focus:
Yes
Wow. I'm a mess. Laudna is such a powerful character, and this book did more than justice to her story. Well-written, well paced, and impossible to put down. It was a very delicious read, an interesting deep dive into the character's psyche. Very emotional, my love for Laudna only grows. Many things in this book shine brighter knowing the beautiful future ahead of her, she has a family and the love of her life. The epilogue only cemented, once again, how Laudna and Imogen were made for each other and were destined to be together from the very first moment. Long live the gays. And, with my heart broken, I hope Laudna gets to meet with Bella again; I hope she can show her first human friend her new friends and her girlfriend; show her she was never a monster, and tell her the story of how her friends defeated Delilah multiple times. Laudna deserves only love.
adventurous
dark
emotional
medium-paced
Plot or Character Driven:
Character
Strong character development:
Yes
Loveable characters:
Yes
dark
emotional
hopeful
sad
medium-paced
Strong character development:
Yes
Loveable characters:
Complicated
Diverse cast of characters:
Complicated
Flaws of characters a main focus:
Yes
dark
emotional
funny
inspiring
sad
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:
Yes
The back story of our beloved Laudna of Bells Hells, the title party of Critical Role's third campaign. If you're not familiar with the campaign (or the first campaign and The Legend of Vox Machina) this book will have some pretty significant spoilers for them.
Sweet, sad and spooky.
Sweet, sad and spooky.
adventurous
dark
fast-paced
Plot or Character Driven:
Character
Strong character development:
Yes
Loveable characters:
Yes
Flaws of characters a main focus:
Yes
adventurous
challenging
dark
emotional
reflective
sad
tense
slow-paced
Plot or Character Driven:
Character
Strong character development:
Complicated
Loveable characters:
Yes
Diverse cast of characters:
Complicated
Flaws of characters a main focus:
N/A
adventurous
dark
emotional
sad
tense
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:
Yes
medium-paced
Plot or Character Driven:
Character
Strong character development:
Complicated
Loveable characters:
Yes
Diverse cast of characters:
No
Flaws of characters a main focus:
Yes
dark
emotional
sad
slow-paced
Plot or Character Driven:
Character
Strong character development:
Yes
Loveable characters:
Yes
Diverse cast of characters:
Complicated
Flaws of characters a main focus:
Yes
dark
emotional
hopeful
reflective
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:
Complicated
Come for the Critical Role, stay for the meditation on trauma and grief. When the worst thing has already happened, what comes next?
Cassandra Khaw was the perfect fit to tell this story. Their writing is beautiful and thoughtful. It’s like a person with lived experience telling you all the things you’ve thought and felt without really being able to put it into words. (And given the author’s note, that’s probably exactly what it is.) When I opened this book, I was expecting a story about my favorite character. I was not expecting to feel so seen. Marisha Ray has really created something special with Laudna and Khaw has done her justice on the page.
I wish we could have spent a little more time in the epilogue, mostly because I wanted to see the beginning of that relationship develop a little more slowly. A little more time for them to talk and lay the foundation. Or maybe even not confine it to the epilogue and instead have a couple chapters on it. I’m sure the choice to keep it brief was deliberate and a team decision, and that’s totally fair, I personally just would have liked to go into that a little more.
Also, this is stupid and nitpicky, but I see it everywhere anymore: mortification and chagrin both mean embarrassment. They don’t mean horror or annoyance, they mean embarrassment. I only mention it because both were kind of all over this book and the writing was so good otherwise it was very jarring to see words totally misused like this.
Cassandra Khaw was the perfect fit to tell this story. Their writing is beautiful and thoughtful. It’s like a person with lived experience telling you all the things you’ve thought and felt without really being able to put it into words. (And given the author’s note, that’s probably exactly what it is.) When I opened this book, I was expecting a story about my favorite character. I was not expecting to feel so seen. Marisha Ray has really created something special with Laudna and Khaw has done her justice on the page.
I wish we could have spent a little more time in the epilogue, mostly because I wanted to see the beginning of that relationship develop a little more slowly. A little more time for them to talk and lay the foundation. Or maybe even not confine it to the epilogue and instead have a couple chapters on it. I’m sure the choice to keep it brief was deliberate and a team decision, and that’s totally fair, I personally just would have liked to go into that a little more.
Also, this is stupid and nitpicky, but I see it everywhere anymore: mortification and chagrin both mean embarrassment. They don’t mean horror or annoyance, they mean embarrassment. I only mention it because both were kind of all over this book and the writing was so good otherwise it was very jarring to see words totally misused like this.
Content Warnings
Graphic: Body horror, Death, Suicidal thoughts, Violence, Grief, Suicide attempt, Murder
Moderate: Animal death, Emotional abuse, Death of parent