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sophiesmallhands's review against another edition
- Plot- or character-driven? Plot
- Strong character development? It's complicated
- Loveable characters? It's complicated
- Diverse cast of characters? It's complicated
- Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes
4.0
Graphic: Colonisation
Moderate: Death, Police brutality, Animal death, Murder, Sexual violence, Injury/Injury detail, Racism, Gore, and Blood
Minor: Torture, Sexual harassment, Child abuse, War, Slavery, Domestic abuse, Death of parent, and Child death
manaledi'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
3.5
Graphic: Classism, Colonisation, Violence, Xenophobia, Animal death, and War
Moderate: Emotional abuse, Fire/Fire injury, Grief, Murder, Death, Bullying, Injury/Injury detail, and Torture
eahoffm2's review against another edition
- Plot- or character-driven? Plot
- Strong character development? It's complicated
- Loveable characters? No
- Diverse cast of characters? No
- Flaws of characters a main focus? No
3.0
Graphic: Injury/Injury detail, Classism, and Colonisation
Moderate: Xenophobia
Minor: War, Murder, and Sexual harassment
fromjuliereads'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
3.0
Things I loved:
- the writing itself. Ibrahim has fantastic writing that makes you curious about this world.
- the worldbuilding is done so well! I loved that there were journeys and a map, everything made sense and added up, and was so well done!
- I actually really liked the plot and the story. While it hit pretty close to what is going on in the world right now, making it a difficult read at times, it is a well done story. The reveals of the information worked well and I am incredibly curious to see what happens next in terms of the plot, based on the ending.
The things I struggled with/ what made this a 3 star read:
- I REALLY struggled with the characters in this book. I struggled to find them likeable to be honest as they all have major flaws. And while I appreciate flaws being a part of the characters, these ones were just too big... if all of the characters are unlikeable, I find it really hard to root for them. I did like Qayn from the beginning though, as he is a fantastic character. I will also note that a couple characters have very good arcs, and their arcs make me curious where they will go with the next books. But as this set everything up, it was a struggle.
- I'm not sure if this is a spoiler so I'll keep it vague, but the supposed "romance" that was trying to happen was so incredibly toxic thaf I couldn't get behind it at all. I get that they are teenagers and experiencing the harsh realities of the world or stuck under a terrible influence but my goodness. The switches in temperament/ personality and the toxic nature of the interactions irked me way too much. I can understand if the author is trying to do something with this as part of the story going forward in terms of how toxic it is, but not knowing where the story is going and seeing it as the possible "romance" for the series really doesn't work for me.
I am curious to read the next book, as I mentioned for the plot, and for Qayn and the sibling relationships. I think the next book would be the decider if I finish the series or not.
Definitely an interesting debut YA fantasy!
Highly recommend reading TW/CW before reading, as it was a LOT darker than I had initially expected for a YA book.
Graphic: Violence, Abandonment, Gaslighting, Physical abuse, Animal death, Colonisation, Confinement, Death, Injury/Injury detail, Murder, Slavery, Racism, and Toxic relationship
Moderate: Blood and Bullying
Giving stitches to someone, family member missingkatrinaschaffede'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
3.0
Minor: Violence, Death, Physical abuse, Toxic friendship, and Murder
joygarcialim's review against another edition
- Plot- or character-driven? Character
- Strong character development? No
- Loveable characters? No
- Diverse cast of characters? It's complicated
- Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes
1.25
None of the characters were likeable, I’m going so far as to say most of the characters are unlikeable. Even if they were on the side of the morally ambitious, they didn’t have many dimensions or layers, and were mostly just annoying. The only character which had any enticement to them was Qayn.
Examples of bad writing from the book:
Graphic: Medical content, War, Animal death, Emotional abuse, Kidnapping, Addiction, Sexual harassment, Sexual violence, Suicidal thoughts, Alcohol, Blood, Child abuse, Child death, Classism, Death, Hate crime, Colonisation, Toxic friendship, Gaslighting, Murder, Physical abuse, Police brutality, Racism, Rape, Sexual assault, Slavery, Violence, and Toxic relationship
kirstenf's review
- Plot- or character-driven? Plot
- Strong character development? Yes
- Loveable characters? It's complicated
- Diverse cast of characters? No
- Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes
4.5
Graphic: Colonisation, Death, Blood, and Violence
Moderate: Injury/Injury detail, Domestic abuse, Grief, Emotional abuse, Murder, Classism, Physical abuse, and Slavery
Minor: Bullying, Vomit, War, Fire/Fire injury, Torture, Sexual assault, and Religious bigotry
beautifulpaxielreads'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? It's complicated
- Flaws of characters a main focus? It's complicated
3.5
I don't mean to say in this that the rest of it was bad, as it wasn't. Spice Road is a book that I am still trying to work out my feelings for. It took a long time for me to read it - over a month - and that may have had something to do with it.
I can appreciate Ibrahim's intent here, and for what I believe is a debut author, I think - objectively - that she has done some very accomplished work here. The worldbuilding and magic system was reasonably crafted and was well-communicated to the reader. The characters were well-drawn and developed, particularly Imani (our MC), Taha and Qayn. I puzzled over the motives of the latter two of these characters constantly, which I suspect was Ibrahim's intention. The action scenes were fast-paced and contrasted well with the quieter moments between.
Maybe the problem was despite the quality of the worldbuilding, fantasy elements, pacing and characters, I couldn't get into it enough, in a way that I'm really having trouble describing here. I did fly through the last 200 pages because it was compellingly written and really well-paced. But even then, I couldn't really warm up to it.
The ending of the book left me with enough potential to make me consider continuing the series when the next book is released, but I haven't decided yet.
Objectively, Spice Road is a good book. Emotionally, I'm not entirely sure.
Graphic: Animal death, Colonisation, Emotional abuse, Murder, Animal cruelty, Racism, Violence, and Blood
Moderate: Torture, Xenophobia, Grief, Medical content, Medical trauma, Sexual violence, and Sexual harassment
Minor: Cultural appropriation and War
espressoreader'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
4.25
Graphic: Animal death, Racism, Torture, Toxic relationship, Xenophobia, Bullying, Classism, Colonisation, Gaslighting, Grief, Slavery, and Toxic friendship
Minor: Death of parent, Emotional abuse, Murder, Sexual assault, Child abuse, Addiction, Confinement, and Police brutality
marleywrites'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: Grief, War, Death, Animal death, Violence, Colonisation, Blood, and Injury/Injury detail
Moderate: Fire/Fire injury, Police brutality, Vomit, Torture, and Murder
Minor: Sexual harassment
Description of decomposing bodies