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jhaneveauguste'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
5.0
Graphic: Death, Grief, Rape, Suicide, Trafficking, Forced institutionalization, Kidnapping, and Slavery
oddduck's review against another edition
- Plot- or character-driven? Plot
4.0
Let's start with the things I unequivocally liked. I really appreciated that the pace in this book was faster than the previous one. It was still slower than I would have preferred, but more happened in the present and there were fewer interruptions (flashbacks, exposition). I also really appreciated that Minya got more page time and development. I was very interested in her in the first book, so learning more about her was appreciated. I really liked both of her dreams that Sarai went into, and it was delightful to see Minya choose Sarai over her army. In general, the character development in this book was very good and exactly what I was hoping for, especially for Minya and Thyon Nero (I was so happy with his development).
I also loved the new bit, about Nova and Kora. At one point I had to skip ahead because I had to know what happened in their test on the ship. It was so interesting and tense. It also demonstrated that Laini Taylor can write short, succinct backstory that's interesting and conveys all the information we need to not be confused later on.
Now then. What I’ve got mixed feelings about.
For starters, Sarai and Lazlo's relationship was cute, but I do wish the timeline on it had been longer. It was very instalove in the first book, and the way it's written in this one felt as if they'd known each other and been together for a lot longer than they really were. And I get why Laini Taylor did that, since almost the entirety of Lazlo's motivation for what he does after Sarai's death is to protect her ghost, but it still was a little hard for me. I would have preferred Lazlo have multiple motivations and not essentially just Sarai. Still, they're a cute couple, at least until I remember how long they've known each other.
I'm also not sure how I feel about the way the plot was executed. The Minya-villain arc was mostly resolved because a bigger threat was introduced, and then the last of it was cleared up when Minya had to make a choice. I really liked that Sarai was trying to help Minya through dreams, so it would have been cool to finish the plot that way. And that's kind of what happened, but it was with Nova instead, so it didn't feel quite as meaningful to me.
This duology was a little outside of my usual reading, which was nice, but it did remind me why I don't usually read this genre. They were certainly enjoyable and a good change of pace though.
Graphic: Body horror, Blood, Death, Grief, Death of parent, Injury/Injury detail, Murder, Violence, and War
Moderate: Rape, Suicide, Torture, Kidnapping, Slavery, and Trafficking
Minor: Animal death
greatu's review against another edition
- Diverse cast of characters? No
2.5
Graphic: Child death, Death, Death of parent, Genocide, Grief, and Murder
Moderate: Blood, Slavery, Suicide, Trafficking, and Violence
Minor: Abandonment, Sexual harassment, and Suicidal thoughts
sadiebreed'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
4.75
Graphic: Death
Moderate: Trafficking and Slavery
Minor: Rape
corvicore's review against another edition
- Plot- or character-driven? Character
- Strong character development? Yes
- Loveable characters? Yes
- Diverse cast of characters? Yes
- Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes
4.75
Graphic: Blood, Child death, Fire/Fire injury, Injury/Injury detail, Death of parent, Grief, Kidnapping, and Suicide
Moderate: Child abuse, Sexual violence, Slavery, Sexual content, Rape, Trafficking, and War
Minor: Abandonment, Confinement, Drug use, Adult/minor relationship, Pregnancy, Homophobia, and Xenophobia
gsch219's review against another edition
- Plot- or character-driven? Character
- Loveable characters? Yes
- Diverse cast of characters? Yes
- Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes
4.5
Graphic: Child abuse, Rape, and Trafficking
shoohoob'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
4.75
Minor: Blood, Sexual content, Rape, Slavery, Child abuse, and Trafficking
bookcaptivated'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? No
3.75
Graphic: Animal cruelty, Animal death, Blood, Child abuse, Confinement, Death, Grief, and Gore
Moderate: Death of parent, Kidnapping, Murder, Suicide, and Violence
Minor: Adult/minor relationship, Slavery, Genocide, Trafficking, and Xenophobia
alexandra296's review against another edition
- Strong character development? It's complicated
- Loveable characters? Yes
4.25
Moderate: Emotional abuse, Murder, Rape, Suicide, and Trafficking
daydreamermoonwalker's review against another edition
- Plot- or character-driven? Character
- Strong character development? Yes
- Loveable characters? Yes
- Diverse cast of characters? Yes
- Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes
4.0
Graphic: Child death, Confinement, Death, Emotional abuse, Grief, Infidelity, Kidnapping, Murder, Rape, Slavery, Suicidal thoughts, Suicide, and Trafficking