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bibliomania_express's review against another edition
- Plot- or character-driven? Character
- Strong character development? It's complicated
- Loveable characters? It's complicated
- Diverse cast of characters? Yes
- Flaws of characters a main focus? It's complicated
5.0
Graphic: Murder, Toxic friendship, Grief, Genocide, Animal death, Emotional abuse, Violence, Torture, Racism, Gore, Xenophobia, War, Vomit, Toxic relationship, Slavery, Sexism, Physical abuse, Misogyny, Medical content, Injury/Injury detail, Fire/Fire injury, Dysphoria, Death, Child death, Body horror, Blood, and Ableism
braveprincess11's review against another edition
- Plot- or character-driven? Character
- Strong character development? Yes
- Loveable characters? It's complicated
- Diverse cast of characters? It's complicated
- Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes
5.0
At the end of the first chapter, I still didn’t quite understand what I was in for, but by the end of Part 1, I was HOOKED.
Their ability to write such unique and compelling characters who experience gender, desire, and ambition in such similar and yet opposing ways, all while working in the confines of an extremely patriarchal society…
I’m desperate for the next book already
Graphic: Classism, Blood, Sexual content, Violence, Dysphoria, Misogyny, Death of parent, Child death, Body horror, Murder, Injury/Injury detail, Death, and War
Moderate: Racism and Ableism
Minor: Colonisation
jessiereads98's review against another edition
- Plot- or character-driven? Plot
- Strong character development? It's complicated
- Loveable characters? No
- Diverse cast of characters? Yes
- Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes
2.5
The most compelling part of this story was the character of Ouyang and his relationships. That being said, I would still cut Ouyang’s story from the book entirely. I see how he works as a mirror to Zhu’s character, but him and his story aren’t necessary. This book is too long with too many POVs that are wholly unnecessary and while technically they come into contact occasionally, they really aren’t that relevant to each other. No POV adds anything to the others. The jumps between POVs are also extremely jarring at times. Overall, I found it difficult to care about any character due to a lack of consistent characterization and constant jumps.
There’s no real payoff from the magic here. This is heavy on the military and light on the fantasy to the point where for me it drops to more magical realism than true fantasy. This was really disappointing since it had potential. However, almost every time
I can recognize the writing in this book on its own is objectively, technically very well done. However, it still reads very dry and drags for about 300-350 pages. The ending was good, but it wasn’t worth the rest of the book. This ended up feeling like an excessively elaborate and unnecessary set up for whatever is going to happen in the sequel.
Graphic: Violence, Homophobia, Misogyny, Ableism, War, and Transphobia
Moderate: Death, Death of parent, Blood, Child death, Fire/Fire injury, Grief, and Sexism
Minor: Excrement, Vomit, Animal death, Slavery, Racism, Sexual content, Alcohol, and Colonisation
talonsontypewriters'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
4.5
Graphic: Fire/Fire injury, Misogyny, Death, Colonisation, Dysphoria, War, Violence, Injury/Injury detail, Blood, Sexism, Murder, Grief, Classism, and Gore
Moderate: Child abuse, Death of parent, Torture, Slavery, Sexual content, Child death, Ableism, Racism, and Xenophobia
Minor: Vomit, Alcohol, Excrement, Homophobia, Pregnancy, Infidelity, Animal death, Animal cruelty, and Cannibalism
anjasshelf's review against another edition
- 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
5.0
Graphic: Injury/Injury detail, Child abuse, Gore, Sexism, Blood, Death of parent, Murder, War, Sexual content, Child death, Death, and Violence
Moderate: Racism, Dysphoria, Vomit, Classism, Suicidal thoughts, Rape, Alcohol, Misogyny, and Racial slurs
Minor: Grief
thecatconstellation'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
4.5
Graphic: Sexual content, Death of parent, War, Gore, Death, Blood, Violence, and Torture
Moderate: Racism, Misogyny, Grief, Animal death, Sexism, Alcohol, Colonisation, Murder, Injury/Injury detail, Xenophobia, Genocide, Child abuse, Child death, Bullying, Ableism, and Body shaming
Minor: Suicide
evelphysicist'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
4.5
Graphic: Death of parent, Death, Racism, Violence, Physical abuse, War, and Xenophobia
Moderate: Slavery, Torture, Child death, Child abuse, and Injury/Injury detail
Minor: Animal death, Ableism, Animal cruelty, and Vomit
tiernanhunter'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? It's complicated
5.0
Graphic: Sexual content, War, Murder, Injury/Injury detail, and Violence
Moderate: Death, Cursing, Racism, Toxic friendship, Colonisation, Racial slurs, Sexism, and Blood
Minor: Death of parent, Genocide, Ableism, Xenophobia, Child death, and Classism
errie's review against another edition
4.0
Graphic: Slavery, Transphobia, Child death, Death of parent, Dysphoria, Emotional abuse, Sexual content, Torture, Body shaming, Grief, Injury/Injury detail, Murder, Racism, Sexism, Violence, Body horror, War, Child abuse, Colonisation, Death, Gore, Misogyny, and Physical abuse
rbeccamaec's review against another edition
- 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? It's complicated
4.5
Graphic: Classism, Gore, Blood, Body horror, Death of parent, Fire/Fire injury, Murder, Sexual content, Torture, Grief, War, Ableism, Colonisation, Death, Violence, and Child death
Moderate: Body shaming, Abandonment, Homophobia, Infidelity, and Racism
Minor: Animal death, Excrement, and Vomit