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lydv33's review against another edition
adventurous
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? No
4.5
mstamper's review against another edition
adventurous
emotional
funny
medium-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? A mix
- Loveable characters? Yes
- Diverse cast of characters? Yes
- Flaws of characters a main focus? No
5.0
wondereads13's review against another edition
adventurous
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? No
4.5
This was a strong conclusion to this duology; the way things are wrapped up on the political side do it quite well considering the real-world reflections. I liked this book for a reason I like a lot of Pierce books, which is that she doesn't shy away from the day-to-day struggles of larger conflicts. It's not all huge battles and coups, it's slowly chipping away at a regime's stability through small signs of resistance, dissemination of information, and driving wedges in the ruling class. The characters are really strong, establishing a huge cast very well, especially on the romance side with Aly and Nawat. Dove is an amazing character, and as a reader, despite her age, I could see her being an accomplished queen.
aspyd05's review against another edition
adventurous
inspiring
medium-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? Plot
- Strong character development? No
- Diverse cast of characters? Yes
- Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes
3.25
thepeppermintfairytale's review against another edition
adventurous
lighthearted
tense
fast-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? Plot
- Strong character development? Yes
- Loveable characters? Yes
- Diverse cast of characters? Yes
- Flaws of characters a main focus? No
4.5
Content Warnings
Moderate: Grief
Minor: Child death
tricapra's review against another edition
3.0
I'm sad to say that I didn't enjoy this one as much as the first. This time around it was much more difficult to ignore the "white-saviour" tropes and heavy colonialist undertones. There was less tension too, without the gambit with a god on the line. Aly never seems to struggle or be challenged, she just meanders through the plot. Tamora Pierce seems to tell rather than show, and it grated on my nerves. Still a fun read, but I'm less inclined to check out her other works at this point.
susannah_h's review against another edition
5.0
This duology is so freaking amazing. I absolutely adore Aly and all of the other characters. I love how many layers each one of them has, without any of them being portrayed as more interesting or important than any of the others. My favorite secondary character of this series has to be Winnamine because she just absolutely kicks butt in both books. Another aspect of these books that I appreciate is that we also get a great female "villain" in Imajane. The books moves at a very steady pace, which had me dragging my feet a little bit in the middle but like that's been me in every book I've read lately so. A lot of this book covers Aly's spy work and government manipulation stuff, which to me is just so much more fun to read about that the actual fighting part of the central conflict of this book.
*also this is necessary specific to this duology but comes up across all of her books that I've read, but the way that Tamora writes men, specifically teen boys, is just chef's kiss. Something about is just so spot on. My favorite segment from this book being: "Aly drew breath to argue, then shook her head and walked away. It was her experience that even the best of men had to indulge themselves with fits of moroseness. She would think of something to cheer him up once he'd had a chance to get bored with gloom". Like right on the money with men getting in silly little moods just because they are bored with life, and then they get bored with the gloomy mood itself, and then just roll out of it. Now of course Aly here is a good person and wants to support this guy so she is nice but like the slight cut at men written in there is just so perfect and subtle that you might miss it, and this is just one of the reasons I love her books and grew up to just roll my eyes at men*
*also this is necessary specific to this duology but comes up across all of her books that I've read, but the way that Tamora writes men, specifically teen boys, is just chef's kiss. Something about is just so spot on. My favorite segment from this book being: "Aly drew breath to argue, then shook her head and walked away. It was her experience that even the best of men had to indulge themselves with fits of moroseness. She would think of something to cheer him up once he'd had a chance to get bored with gloom". Like right on the money with men getting in silly little moods just because they are bored with life, and then they get bored with the gloomy mood itself, and then just roll out of it. Now of course Aly here is a good person and wants to support this guy so she is nice but like the slight cut at men written in there is just so perfect and subtle that you might miss it, and this is just one of the reasons I love her books and grew up to just roll my eyes at men*
steph01924's review against another edition
4.0
A solid conclusion that may rely a bit too much on paperwork, but overall I was along for the ride as the revolution came to its conclusion. Check out my full review at Forever Young Adult.
shelbyfayy's review against another edition
adventurous
challenging
dark
mysterious
tense
medium-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? Plot
- Strong character development? Yes
- Loveable characters? Yes
- Diverse cast of characters? It's complicated
- Flaws of characters a main focus? It's complicated
4.5