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madamelacy's review
- 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
4.25
Moderate: Murder and Violence
tashtasher's review against another edition
- Plot- or character-driven? A mix
- Strong character development? It's complicated
- Loveable characters? It's complicated
- Diverse cast of characters? Yes
- Flaws of characters a main focus? It's complicated
4.0
Graphic: Violence, War, Gore, Grief, Injury/Injury detail, Blood, Death, Fire/Fire injury, and Religious bigotry
Moderate: Death of parent, Medical content, and Transphobia
Minor: Chronic illness, Murder, Body shaming, Pregnancy, Sexism, Medical trauma, and Misogyny
khazlettwrites's review against another edition
- Plot- or character-driven? Character
- Strong character development? Yes
- Loveable characters? Yes
- Diverse cast of characters? No
- Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes
5.0
Moderate: Blood, Deadnaming, Fire/Fire injury, and Religious bigotry
Minor: Gore, Murder, Transphobia, and Injury/Injury detail
abbymrendon's review
- Plot- or character-driven? Character
- Strong character development? Yes
- Loveable characters? Yes
- Diverse cast of characters? N/A
- Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes
3.0
Graphic: Fire/Fire injury, War, Gore, Body horror, and Murder
Moderate: Transphobia and Religious bigotry
nadjareads56's review
- 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
4.75
Graphic: Blood, Death of parent, Murder, Pregnancy, and Transphobia
katie_11'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
Graphic: Fire/Fire injury, Murder, Deadnaming, Transphobia, and War
hannahbailey's review
- 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
5.0
From beginning to end, I truly loved this book! There were many elements of it I didn't expect, from the trans and bigender characters to the paganism and magic system which I think enhanced my reading experience. It's a retelling of a ballad I'm unfamiliar with, yet whilst it brings modern ideas (which aren't as modern as people think) the narrative and setting still felt very authentic and real.
Despite the focus on the three siblings, the side characters also had a lot of depth to them and I found myself enjoying each POV equally (which is very unusual for me!). I was also captivated by the plot as well as the tenuous relationships between the siblings. I wasn't sure if the ending could do the rest of the book justice, but Lucy Holland certainly pulled it out of the bag! That said, there were some subplots I could see coming from a mile-off, but because the novel is rich in its descriptive atmosphere and characterisation, this didn't affect my enjoyment of the story. Seeing these themes in an ancient/historical setting was really refreshing and different too, so I hope to see more historical-fiction or retelling authors weave this into their stories.
Graphic: Death of parent, Medical content, Grief, Murder, Transphobia, Violence, War, Animal death, Blood, Body horror, Child death, Deadnaming, Death, Fire/Fire injury, Gore, Hate crime, Injury/Injury detail, and Misogyny
Moderate: Pregnancy, Vomit, and Religious bigotry
nicnevin's review
- 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
4.0
Graphic: Ableism, Alcohol, Animal death, Blood, Body horror, Bullying, Body shaming, Physical abuse, Pregnancy, Chronic illness, Deadnaming, Death, Grief, Toxic relationship, Toxic friendship, Xenophobia, Death of parent, Dysphoria, Hate crime, Homophobia, Injury/Injury detail, Medical content, Misogyny, Fire/Fire injury, Gore, Murder, Outing, Police brutality, Religious bigotry, Sexual content, Transphobia, Violence, and War
kellyurban's review against another edition
- Plot- or character-driven? Character
- Strong character development? Yes
- Loveable characters? It's complicated
- Diverse cast of characters? It's complicated
- Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes
4.25
Graphic: Grief, Murder, Pregnancy, War, Fire/Fire injury, Religious bigotry, Transphobia, Emotional abuse, Gaslighting, Homophobia, and Misogyny
Minor: Deadnaming and Death of parent
mo345's review against another edition
- 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
4.75
Graphic: Ableism, Blood, Body horror, Bullying, Chronic illness, Colonisation, Confinement, Deadnaming, Death, Death of parent, Dysphoria, Emotional abuse, Fire/Fire injury, Gaslighting, Genocide, Gore, Grief, Injury/Injury detail, Murder, Pregnancy, Religious bigotry, Sexism, Transphobia, Violence, Vomit, and War
Moderate: Child abuse
Minor: Alcohol, Animal death, Adult/minor relationship, Sexual content, and Cursing