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lemonlord_of_the_south's review against another edition
adventurous
emotional
mysterious
tense
medium-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? Character
- Strong character development? Yes
- Loveable characters? It's complicated
- Diverse cast of characters? Yes
- Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes
3.75
This was a great duology and a great continuation for the first book. I found the characters were more fleshed out in this one and the motivation was a lot clearer.
I felt the ending wrapped up the story in a very satisfying way and made up for a lot of the frustration I felt in the first book.
Some of the miscommunication didn't make sens but only small parts for me at least.
I felt the ending wrapped up the story in a very satisfying way and made up for a lot of the frustration I felt in the first book.
Some of the miscommunication didn't make sens but only small parts for me at least.
Content Warnings
Graphic: Injury/Injury detail, Violence, Murder, Blood, Death, and Grief
Moderate: Child death, Addiction, Slavery, and Police brutality
madamenovelist's review
adventurous
challenging
dark
emotional
mysterious
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
4.5
Content Warnings
Graphic: Violence, Eating disorder, Death, Colonisation, Classism, Racism, Slavery, Injury/Injury detail, Child death, Blood, Death of parent, Gore, Murder, Medical content, and Grief
twistykris's review against another edition
adventurous
dark
emotional
mysterious
tense
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
5.0
Content Warnings
Graphic: Death, Grief, Blood, and Injury/Injury detail
Moderate: Murder, Addiction, and Eating disorder
Minor: Transphobia, Child abuse, Slavery, and Gun violence
theespressoedition's review
adventurous
challenging
dark
emotional
tense
slow-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? Plot
- Strong character development? No
- Loveable characters? No
- Diverse cast of characters? Yes
- Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes
3.0
Well, I did screw myself a little bit with this one, folks. After listening to the audio for the first book, I told myself that for the sequel I would for sure read it rather than listen to it... and guess who didn't follow through on that? This girl. Oops.
Okay, in my defense, I did a little of both--physical reading and listening. But I knew it was a chonky book and I would get through it quicker if I listened to it rather than tried to focus all my energy into reading it with my eyes. The only issue is that this is so full of fantastical depth and magic-building, that I lost a lot of it along the way (the same problem I had with the first book).
However, I also just don't think that this particular series is my jam. While there are parts of it that I really enjoyed (namely the diversity, dealing with the tougher topics like eating disorders and substance abuse, and grief), for the most part, I felt like it was a bit overwhelming. Sometimes it seemed like the author just wanted to cram as much of everything as possible into one plot and it seemed a little clunky.
I think that there are some really interesting things about these books but they just didn't wow me. They're good but not something I would reach for again.
Okay, in my defense, I did a little of both--physical reading and listening. But I knew it was a chonky book and I would get through it quicker if I listened to it rather than tried to focus all my energy into reading it with my eyes. The only issue is that this is so full of fantastical depth and magic-building, that I lost a lot of it along the way (the same problem I had with the first book).
However, I also just don't think that this particular series is my jam. While there are parts of it that I really enjoyed (namely the diversity, dealing with the tougher topics like eating disorders and substance abuse, and grief), for the most part, I felt like it was a bit overwhelming. Sometimes it seemed like the author just wanted to cram as much of everything as possible into one plot and it seemed a little clunky.
I think that there are some really interesting things about these books but they just didn't wow me. They're good but not something I would reach for again.
Content Warnings
Graphic: Violence, Blood, and Death
Moderate: Drug use, Eating disorder, and Murder
yalestay's review against another edition
medium-paced
4.0
Content Warnings
Moderate: Eating disorder, Death, and Murder
liseylovesbooks's review against another edition
adventurous
challenging
emotional
inspiring
mysterious
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
4.5
Content Warnings
Graphic: Child death, Drug use, Eating disorder, Gaslighting, and Fire/Fire injury
Moderate: Blood, Death of parent, Murder, Addiction, and Cursing
clawclawclaw's review
adventurous
emotional
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
5.0
Content Warnings
Moderate: Murder and Addiction
starrysteph's review against another edition
dark
emotional
mysterious
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
4.25
I adore a good duology - and in this case, I thought the sequel was stronger than the first.
This is not your typical chosen one story. Voya is human and makes mistakes; she’s constantly making tough choices and dealing with the messy consequences. Things never just “work out” for her. She’s human and struggling and always working to be a better person and leader for her family.
It was so wonderful to watch Voya’s character development continue here. She’s got new responsibilities and is learning how to handle her new status as the family’s Matriarch. She’s dealing with sacrifice and handling input from a huge family with a huge amount of differing opinions. Voya has a big sense of duty and honors the weight of that.
The writing started off slow (and I think a good 50 pages could have been shaved off here), but by the time things got going it was riveting.
Sambury puts a unique spin on her worldbuilding. I love love love the sci fi and speculative fiction elements woven into fantasy. The integration of tech and magic and how that impacts and divides the characters is fascinating to witness. The magic system is unique & creative as well.
One of the highlights of Blood Like Magic was the focus on family, and this thread continues throughout Blood Like Fate. There were so many thoughtfully developed relationships - between parents and cousins and family you choose and so on - that were realistically difficult yet still optimistic.
The side characters were very fleshed out; I had no trouble remembering names. As in the first book, there’s some great representation here: Ownvoices Black characters (including the main character and her family), a Mexican character, Chinese characters, two major trans characters, a demisexual lesbian supporting character, and probably more that I’m forgetting to add. The book also takes place in Canada!
I enjoyed the mystery element, but the foreshadowing was quite heavy-handed at times. I was surprised that Voya was so oblivious to some pretty bold red flags.
In my review of the first book, I voiced some frustrations around character arcs and consequences of Voya’s decision. I had some similar grievances here; I appreciated that we didn’t have an ending that was wrapped up in a bow, but the antagonist was let off WAY too easily (like, shockingly so) and the side character that bore the brunt of Voya’s decision at the end of Blood Like Magic deserved much better here. It bummed me out.
CW: murder, death, child death, grief, violence, gun violence, transphobia, eating disorder, addiction, domestic abuse, fire, sickness/infection, terminal illness
(I received an advance reader copy of this book; this is my honest review.)
Content Warnings
Graphic: Murder, Child death, Domestic abuse, Terminal illness, Gun violence, Death, Grief, Transphobia, Eating disorder, Addiction, Violence, and Fire/Fire injury
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