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e_freckles's review
- Plot- or character-driven? Character
- Strong character development? Yes
- Loveable characters? Yes
- Diverse cast of characters? Yes
- Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes
5.0
Graphic: Murder, Blood, and Injury/Injury detail
Moderate: Violence and Death
Minor: Classism, Abandonment, Death of parent, Torture, and Child abuse
aurora4847's review against another edition
- Plot- or character-driven? Character
- 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
Graphic: Grief, Injury/Injury detail, Death, Murder, Classism, and Abandonment
akswhy's review
- 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
3.5
Moderate: Child abuse, Ableism, Murder, Racism, and Domestic abuse
bashsbooks'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
Also, it was so good of them to #letvaxbeabidiaster. I fucking love Thorn.
Graphic: Xenophobia, Classism, Death, Dysphoria, Fire/Fire injury, Injury/Injury detail, Emotional abuse, Cursing, Grief, Medical content, Violence, and Animal death
Moderate: Child abuse, Alcohol, Bullying, Death of parent, Racism, Murder, Toxic friendship, and Animal cruelty
-Racism is of the fantasy variety (elf supremacy).grizzlysnack's review
- 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? No
3.0
I wish I could've rated this book much higher, but I feel as though the Nijkamp's writing relied too heavily on the dialogue. The better pieces of this book were the actions or the internal calculations of characters shown to the reader/audience. Most of the information given to the twins does not feel earned, and the conflicts presented held little to no consequence in the end.
Those very few thought-provoking scenes made you take time to consider how or why the characters were making their decisions as you listened or read along. You could make conclusions instead of it being spoon-fed to you, and sadly the 'show not tell' aspect is poor, which is partially why my rating is so low
Pages 142 & 288 stood out to me about how Vax sees and feels in cities, and I very much enjoyed those two scenes, but that's about it when it comes to memorability in this book :(
Graphic: Blood, Death, Murder, and Violence
Moderate: Emotional abuse, Grief, Injury/Injury detail, and Racism
Minor: Death of parent, Animal death, and Torture
velokei'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? No
4.0
Graphic: Blood, Classism, Bullying, Death, Death of parent, Injury/Injury detail, Murder, Physical abuse, Abandonment, Child abuse, Cursing, Violence, and War
annemaries_shelves's review against another edition
- Plot- or character-driven? A mix
- Strong character development? It's complicated
- Loveable characters? Yes
- Diverse cast of characters? Yes
- Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes
3.75
Kith & Kin is basically just a fun time.
As a more recent fan of the Critical Role world, I was excited to read a novel featuring the earlier experiences of Vax and Vex – two of my favourite characters (though really they’re all my favourites).
From a fantasy YA standpoint, K&K is nothing special or unique. But it is fun, with plenty of action, quips, (easy to figure out) plot twists, and emotional moments (especially the flashbacks). And from a CR perspective, it’s a fan-freaking-tastic time. I enjoyed some of the extra worldbuilding and gained a better understanding of how jaded the twins became by the beginning of Vox Machina. While the twins were initially on opposite sides of a larger conflict, I appreciated that the author didn’t drag it out and had them resolve their issues and work together – the strength of their relationship is largely dependent on the trust they’ve built and the open communication they (try to) maintain.
I recommend picking up the audiobook if you can – Robbie Daymond (aka Dorian Storm in Exandria Unlimited and early Campaign 3) is the narrator, with Liam O’Brien and Laura Bailey reprising their characters’ voices. Basically, I imagine Dorian as an older bard telling this tale to his audience. I will say - it was hard to contain my reactions to some scenes while in public!
Finally - I'm a big fan of Thorn and can’t forgive the author for going fade-to-black in *that* scene with Vax….
Moderate: Emotional abuse, Grief, Murder, Violence, Injury/Injury detail, Blood, and Death of parent
rachaellann'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: Murder and Violence
yourlocalgaymess'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
5.0
Graphic: Death, Emotional abuse, Murder, Bullying, Gaslighting, and Grief
droggelbecher42's review
- Plot- or character-driven? Character
- Strong character development? Yes
- Loveable characters? Yes
- Diverse cast of characters? Yes
- Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes
5.0
I cried, I got incredibly angry, I laughed and smiled.
Some of my favourite things about it (no spoilers):
- incredibly organic sibling dynamic, both full of bickering and true care
- the audiobooks narration by Robbie Daymond with voices from Laura & Liam
-> incredibly immersive, I forgot that an adorable little girl was in fact also spoken by him
-> the twins voices, as a fan of campaign 1 I just missed their in character voices, but even without that aspect it just added to the immersion
- complex issues and characters
-> I don't want to spoil anything, but there is a issue that is portrayed in a very unique way, giving equal times to both sides of the story.
- flashbacks!
-> They were well timed and made me appreciate the characters more, while also givivng more perspective to their flaws
- lgbtq+ representation
Tl;dr:
Good book, beautifully told story, not only for fans of campaign 1 & critical role, but also for fans of fantasy stories, intrigue and family dynamics
Graphic: Death of parent, Murder, Violence, Blood, and Cursing
Moderate: Abandonment, Grief, Bullying, Racism, and Xenophobia
Minor: Animal cruelty and Slavery
Includes some themes of terrible family dynamics, trust issues and feeling worthless