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hazychapters's review against another edition
slow-paced
1.0
I found this reading to be quite lengthy, 750 pages in French, with lengths, descriptions of little interest and useless. Still, the author has potential, but there are far too many similes and metaphors that quite often mean nothing (aka the oinking sea). I would have preferred that the information passed more clearly. The footnotes are far too numerous: I didn't read most of them because I was lost in my reading.
Wordbuilding is pretty good, even if we are drowned by pieces of information. They are useless to us since we do not travel in the universe. The atmosphere is actually quite good, very dark (small trigger warning). I just wish Mia's powers were more emphasized, this is one of her peculiarities, and it is not "used" and even left out for much of the story. Some characters were quite good, but I must admit I didn't appreciate the competitiveness between girls while the guys stay aside to watch the show… Big up to Mister Kindly. I loved him! He is very well thought out, original and brilliant! As for the end, I can't find much to say, except maybe "All that fuss for nothing?". We end up with a kind of reversal of the situation that made me a little angry because it concerns a character we only see twice. So whether he is there or not, it does not change the plot. I also find that his end does not stick to the characters. The author gives us specific pictures of his characters, but he does not even respect them.
I hated the hyper-sexualization of Mia and women in general. I didn't like how the author described the female body (which really embarrassed me and made me feel like an object or a curiosity). This femme fatale role could have been well thought out if it had not been glued to a 16-year-old girl. He wrote scenes of s*xual relationships between two children (16 and 17 years old), and I found that very unhealthy. I don't understand what this brings to the story apart from voyeurism and unease. I could also talk for hours about my anger at Mia's body "transformation" scene. She does not give her consent. I did not feel any rebellion on her part. Aalea has a tremendous hold on her to the point of handling her. But a woman does not have to answer the criteria set by men to be beautiful and desirable. Warning, also romanticization of death and suicide through metaphors; some people can be triggered.
Wordbuilding is pretty good, even if we are drowned by pieces of information. They are useless to us since we do not travel in the universe. The atmosphere is actually quite good, very dark (small trigger warning). I just wish Mia's powers were more emphasized, this is one of her peculiarities, and it is not "used" and even left out for much of the story. Some characters were quite good, but I must admit I didn't appreciate the competitiveness between girls while the guys stay aside to watch the show… Big up to Mister Kindly. I loved him! He is very well thought out, original and brilliant! As for the end, I can't find much to say, except maybe "All that fuss for nothing?". We end up with a kind of reversal of the situation that made me a little angry because it concerns a character we only see twice. So whether he is there or not, it does not change the plot. I also find that his end does not stick to the characters. The author gives us specific pictures of his characters, but he does not even respect them.
I hated the hyper-sexualization of Mia and women in general. I didn't like how the author described the female body (which really embarrassed me and made me feel like an object or a curiosity). This femme fatale role could have been well thought out if it had not been glued to a 16-year-old girl. He wrote scenes of s*xual relationships between two children (16 and 17 years old), and I found that very unhealthy. I don't understand what this brings to the story apart from voyeurism and unease. I could also talk for hours about my anger at Mia's body "transformation" scene. She does not give her consent. I did not feel any rebellion on her part. Aalea has a tremendous hold on her to the point of handling her. But a woman does not have to answer the criteria set by men to be beautiful and desirable. Warning, also romanticization of death and suicide through metaphors; some people can be triggered.
Content Warnings
Graphic: Abandonment, Alcohol, Blood, Body shaming, Child abuse, Death, Gore, Murder, Pedophilia, Rape, Sexual assault, Sexual content, Suicide, Torture, Violence, and Cultural appropriation
Plastic surgery (in form of Magic), graphic sex scenes involving painful intercourse, threatened rape (several)tanzanitedragoness's review
adventurous
challenging
dark
emotional
funny
hopeful
mysterious
reflective
relaxing
sad
tense
fast-paced
- 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
The fact that this is a comfort read probably says something about me, but it is. It’s dark, and twisted, and heart wrenching, and oddly soothing if only because it’s 9meone else’s bullshit and not my own. It’s got a fair bit of dark humour, and I quite love the narrator.
The footnotes, which many other reviews seem to take issue with, seem entirely appropriate. After all, you would not describe how days and nights work if setting a book on earth, nor explain what Asia is. However you might mention these if you were translating a copy of that same story for distribution on another world, which is what these footnotes indicate is the case.
The narrative tone is decidedly poetic, snarky, and crass. The narrator is a bit pretentious and it’s entertaining to snark them back in the margins, they deserve it utterly. I rather like them. I still half think it’s the not-cat. Edit: four pages into the second and it’s either the cat or the librarian.
Now on to the second book, because appearently I’m spending the evening reading half a dozen gut wrenchers despite sanity trying to intervene.
The footnotes, which many other reviews seem to take issue with, seem entirely appropriate. After all, you would not describe how days and nights work if setting a book on earth, nor explain what Asia is. However you might mention these if you were translating a copy of that same story for distribution on another world, which is what these footnotes indicate is the case.
The narrative tone is decidedly poetic, snarky, and crass. The narrator is a bit pretentious and it’s entertaining to snark them back in the margins, they deserve it utterly. I rather like them. I still half think it’s the not-cat. Edit: four pages into the second and it’s either the cat or the librarian.
Now on to the second book, because appearently I’m spending the evening reading half a dozen gut wrenchers despite sanity trying to intervene.
Content Warnings
Graphic: Child abuse, Child death, and Murder
Moderate: Forced institutionalization, Kidnapping, and Rape
commander_zander's review
adventurous
dark
funny
mysterious
fast-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
Freaking great.
This is a R-rated YA-style book about young assassins. It's irreverent, unapologetic, & very extra. The characters are largely amoral, which is refreshing. It has lots of gratuitous violence & jokes about sexual violence. If that sounds off-putting then skip this book.
If you like YA books that are weird & extra, you might love this. What i love about this book is its passionate enthusiasm, its overflowing love for the Red Church, its charisma, & its surprisingly great plot twists.
This is a R-rated YA-style book about young assassins. It's irreverent, unapologetic, & very extra. The characters are largely amoral, which is refreshing. It has lots of gratuitous violence & jokes about sexual violence. If that sounds off-putting then skip this book.
If you like YA books that are weird & extra, you might love this. What i love about this book is its passionate enthusiasm, its overflowing love for the Red Church, its charisma, & its surprisingly great plot twists.
Content Warnings
Graphic: Murder and Violence
Moderate: Rape, Sexual assault, and Cursing
katie_biggs7's review
adventurous
fast-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? Plot
- Strong character development? No
- Loveable characters? It's complicated
- Diverse cast of characters? No
- Flaws of characters a main focus? It's complicated
2.5
Content Warnings
Graphic: Murder and Mass/school shootings
Moderate: Rape
hailie_lloy's review
adventurous
dark
emotional
tense
fast-paced
- 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? It's complicated
4.5
Content Warnings
Graphic: Death, Death of parent, Gore, Grief, Murder, Physical abuse, Sexual content, Violence, Blood, and Cursing
Minor: Rape
sleepytessa's review
adventurous
dark
emotional
mysterious
sad
medium-paced
- 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? It's complicated
4.75
Content Warnings
Graphic: Animal cruelty, Animal death, Blood, Bullying, Child death, Death, Death of parent, Emotional abuse, Gaslighting, Gore, Grief, Incest, Murder, Physical abuse, Rape, Sexual assault, Sexual content, Sexual harassment, and Violence
Minor: Cursing and Vomit
spacebornfew's review against another edition
adventurous
dark
mysterious
tense
medium-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? A mix
- Strong character development? It's complicated
- Loveable characters? It's complicated
- Diverse cast of characters? Yes
- Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes
3.5
Content Warnings
Graphic: Murder, Torture, and Blood
Moderate: Sexual content, Violence, Vomit, and Kidnapping
Minor: Rape
oliverreeds's review
dark
emotional
tense
medium-paced
- 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
i didn't like the sexualization of the teenagers in this book. the writing is good; the narration is incredibly unique in a good way so the book only lost points in my book for underage kids being wayyyyy too sexualized. the book (in my opinion i haven't read the others yet) would be ultimately unchanged if the author had aged up the kids 4-7 years (or if they just didn't write an explicit sex scenes between minors)
Content Warnings
Graphic: Animal death, Blood, Child death, Cursing, Death, Death of parent, Gore, Grief, Murder, Sexual content, Torture, and Violence
Moderate: Addiction, Alcohol, Bullying, Fire/Fire injury, Kidnapping, Rape, Sexual harassment, Slavery, Trafficking, and Vomit
don't read this book if you aren't cool with blood, gore, murder and death! they introduction is not joking!ashlyn's review
adventurous
dark
mysterious
medium-paced
- Strong character development? Yes
- Loveable characters? It's complicated
- Diverse cast of characters? Yes
- Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes
4.25
Content Warnings
Graphic: Violence, Sexual content, Murder, Death, and Child death
Moderate: Sexual violence, Torture, Grief, Gore, and Cursing
Minor: Drug use, Vomit, Slavery, Sexual assault, Rape, and Blood
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