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kylieqrada's review against another edition
adventurous
challenging
dark
emotional
reflective
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
4.0
I have been putting off reading this because I didn't want to have nothing from A.K. Larkwood to read. I'm so glad I finally read it, it is so so so good. I'm about to go back and read the first one, because I feel like the vibes were different? Like almost companion novels rather than a series? Will report back.
Content Warnings
Graphic: Toxic relationship, Blood, and Death
Moderate: Emotional abuse, Violence, and Confinement
Minor: Self harm, Torture, and Animal death
carolined314's review
adventurous
challenging
dark
emotional
funny
hopeful
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? It's complicated
4.5
I loved this sprawling magnificent god-riddled story, and all the ways people fought to have agency. Glorious.
Content Warnings
Moderate: Confinement and Violence
Minor: Torture
fin_pilot's review against another edition
adventurous
challenging
emotional
hopeful
sad
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
4.75
Content Warnings
Graphic: Animal death
Moderate: Toxic relationship, Death of parent, Death, Emotional abuse, Violence, Blood, and Confinement
Minor: Genocide
zoiejanelle's review against another edition
adventurous
challenging
dark
emotional
funny
hopeful
inspiring
tense
medium-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? Character
- Strong character development? Yes
- Loveable characters? Yes
- Diverse cast of characters? Yes
- Flaws of characters a main focus? No
5.0
the lesbian longing, the emotional separations and reunions, the character growth, the incredible new cast… A.K. Larkwood you have outdone yourself.
i did not think i could love Csorwe or Shuthmili more than i did. and yet somehow i do now.
looking back, The Unspoken Name feels a lot more like a prologue and this is the main action of the story. but i do not think one can exist with the other. Csorwe and Tsereg’s characters parallel each other so well, and we could not appreciate Shuthmili’s love and sacrifice without the first book’s build up (nor Tal’s amazing development from pathetic, angry boy to brave, loving man).
though, like the first book, i felt a little lost in the sauce at times and could
not always figure out how we got to certain points in the plot, it honestly did not matter. all that mattered was each character’s arc and its beautiful, magnificent resolution. lesbian love DOES save the world every time. and elf twinks deserve love just like the rest of us. and delusional snake ladies can be heroes too.
there were so many quotes in this book that made me tear up. when i get my hands on my own copy, i will absolutely be highlighting the shit out of it. things that these characters said and how they loved on another will stay with me forever. i am so glad i decided to read this series and i will shout its praises from the rooftops for all eternity.
i did not think i could love Csorwe or Shuthmili more than i did. and yet somehow i do now.
looking back, The Unspoken Name feels a lot more like a prologue and this is the main action of the story. but i do not think one can exist with the other. Csorwe and Tsereg’s characters parallel each other so well, and we could not appreciate Shuthmili’s love and sacrifice without the first book’s build up (nor Tal’s amazing development from pathetic, angry boy to brave, loving man).
though, like the first book, i felt a little lost in the sauce at times and could
not always figure out how we got to certain points in the plot, it honestly did not matter. all that mattered was each character’s arc and its beautiful, magnificent resolution. lesbian love DOES save the world every time. and elf twinks deserve love just like the rest of us. and delusional snake ladies can be heroes too.
there were so many quotes in this book that made me tear up. when i get my hands on my own copy, i will absolutely be highlighting the shit out of it. things that these characters said and how they loved on another will stay with me forever. i am so glad i decided to read this series and i will shout its praises from the rooftops for all eternity.
Content Warnings
Graphic: Cursing, Grief, Blood, Death, Violence, Body horror, Injury/Injury detail, and Toxic relationship
Moderate: Murder, Alcohol, Child death, and Death of parent
Minor: Sexual content and War
anxiousnachos's review
adventurous
funny
slow-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? A mix
- Loveable characters? Yes
- Diverse cast of characters? Yes
5.0
I really wasn’t sure what to expect from the sequel to one of my favourite fantasy books ever, but this totally took me by surprise in the best way! It brought my favourite elements of the first book, added some excellent new characters and topped it off with some godly destruction.
This book retains the feel of a video game I loved so much from the first one: the worldbuilding is so expansive, and there is always such an ease too to, it never feels too complex. The dialogue and prose are filled with so much banter and snark, it brings me so much joy, I absolutely love this style of writing in SFF, there is just such a relaxed *fun* about it all.
But the star of this book, as the first book, is of course the characters. They are incredible. They remain some of my favourite characters in fantasy, with the new addition of Tsereg who was absolutely wonderful! They’re relationship with Tal is an absolute highlight of my entire reading year so far.
So yes, fabulously fun sequel!!
Content warnings: mentions of torture, death, snakes, murder, blood and gore, violence, brief mention of self-cannibalism
This book retains the feel of a video game I loved so much from the first one: the worldbuilding is so expansive, and there is always such an ease too to, it never feels too complex. The dialogue and prose are filled with so much banter and snark, it brings me so much joy, I absolutely love this style of writing in SFF, there is just such a relaxed *fun* about it all.
But the star of this book, as the first book, is of course the characters. They are incredible. They remain some of my favourite characters in fantasy, with the new addition of Tsereg who was absolutely wonderful! They’re relationship with Tal is an absolute highlight of my entire reading year so far.
So yes, fabulously fun sequel!!
Content warnings: mentions of torture, death, snakes, murder, blood and gore, violence, brief mention of self-cannibalism
Content Warnings
Graphic: Animal death, Blood, Gore, Murder, and Violence
Moderate: Torture, Confinement, and Cannibalism
miak2's review against another edition
adventurous
challenging
emotional
funny
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
"I have a sacred duty," [they] added... What people always meant by it was: I plan to commit an astonishing fuckup, and it will hurt my feelings if you try to stop me. p.82
The Thousand Eyes really was The Unspoken Name on steroids, and I say that in the best way possible. Once again, every time I thought I knew where the book was going, Larkwood veered us into a different direction. Only this time with more magic and higher stakes and, casually, more living gods and goddesses!
I thought the character development in this one was stellar. The multiple, changing perspectives really allowed me to get to know these characters so well, and I loved seeing how their arcs wrapped up.
Larkwood is so incredibly imaginative with her worldbuilding and descriptions. I surprisingly enjoyed how much this book dealt with their world's divinities, even if it could get a little confusing at times. It certainly made for some wild, unpredictable plot twists! I wish we could've spent some more time with the characters before everything dissolved into chaos, but I absolutely enjoyed every second I did get with them.
Content Warnings
Graphic: Blood and Death
Moderate: Violence
lavenderteacat's review
adventurous
challenging
dark
emotional
funny
hopeful
tense
medium-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? Character
- Strong character development? Yes
- Loveable characters? Yes
- Diverse cast of characters? Yes
5.0
If I could give this book more stars, I would. I LOVE this series. It wasn't always an easy read, but it was so, so worth it. Before I started it I was worried that, as happens sometimes, after Csorwe and Shuthmili got together the romantic relationship would be the center of the book. Not so!! There are a lot of different threads going on, and that is one of them, but it feels well-balanced. They all have a lot of stuff going on, and I really felt like I was right there with each characters. And the character growth, WOW. I am so attached to all of them now, even (especially, let's be honest) Tal.
This series swings a blunt object at many oft-romanticized aspects of love, and then rebuilds something stronger and better and healthier from the broken shards.
This series swings a blunt object at many oft-romanticized aspects of love, and then rebuilds something stronger and better and healthier from the broken shards.
Content Warnings
Graphic: Self harm
Moderate: Violence, Toxic relationship, Suicidal thoughts, Grief, Torture, and War
bluejayreads's review against another edition
I misunderstood book one (The Unspoken Name) and thought this series was, fundamentally, Csorwe's story. It isn't, and Csorwe herself was barely in this book. Tal and Shuthmili are good characters, but Csorwe was the one I really loved, and without her driving the story, I didn't quite care enough to finish reading.
Content Warnings
Graphic: Death and Blood
Moderate: Confinement, Violence, Gore, and Self harm
Minor: Child death, Torture, and Body horror
Mind controlbeforeviolets's review
adventurous
challenging
tense
medium-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? Plot
- Strong character development? It's complicated
- Loveable characters? It's complicated
- Diverse cast of characters? Yes
- Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes
4.0
<b>Thank you SO MUCH to TOR for sending me a copy of this book in exchange for an honest review. Still in awe that you sent me one of my most anticipated books! </b>
CW: blood, violence, gore, death, murder, animal death, amputation (offscreen), implied autocannibalism, vomit, suicidal thoughts (brief)
I LOVE THESE CHARACTERS MORE THAN I LOVE MYSELF.
This was an absolute roller-coaster of a novel. I had no idea what to expect, considering the first book ended up on a pretty wrapped-up note, but A.K. Larkwood delivered an incredible story, weaving new elements, characters, and plot points with those of the previous novel. This book makes a huge departure from the first story in terms of narrative style - the first mainly being a sort of coming-of-age adventure for Csorwe with a few other POVs - instead using a range of narrators and plot lines all tangling together and unveiling a much larger storyline.
This would've been an easy 5 star read, except that the first half of the book was really hard to get into and took me a considerable amount of time to read. So much so that I almost considered not finishing it. I think A.K. Larkwood struggles to start their books. They work so hard to keep it action-packed while infodumping and world-building and it just makes everything really muddy and confusing. Too often I felt like the words were just swimming on the page, or like I couldn't really tell what I was meant to be looking at or rooting for.
I also wish this book was more character-driven, because the characters are just SUCH a show-stopping element, but instead it's just too world-driven and sometimes I ended up feeling like I needed more. (TBH, I think I just need a novella filled with Tal and Csorwe banter.)
But the second half of A.K. Larkwood's books are always more than worth the trek through the literary sludge. Riveting action, packed with plot-twists, and told through the perspective of enrapturing characters, this series is one I'm undeniably obsessed with. If you like godpunk fantasy worlds, diverse and queer casts, fascinating religious systems, sapphic romances, and laugh-out-loud dialogue, I really can't recommend this series enough.
CW: blood, violence, gore, death, murder, animal death, amputation (offscreen), implied autocannibalism, vomit, suicidal thoughts (brief)
I LOVE THESE CHARACTERS MORE THAN I LOVE MYSELF.
This was an absolute roller-coaster of a novel. I had no idea what to expect, considering the first book ended up on a pretty wrapped-up note, but A.K. Larkwood delivered an incredible story, weaving new elements, characters, and plot points with those of the previous novel. This book makes a huge departure from the first story in terms of narrative style - the first mainly being a sort of coming-of-age adventure for Csorwe with a few other POVs - instead using a range of narrators and plot lines all tangling together and unveiling a much larger storyline.
This would've been an easy 5 star read, except that the first half of the book was really hard to get into and took me a considerable amount of time to read. So much so that I almost considered not finishing it. I think A.K. Larkwood struggles to start their books. They work so hard to keep it action-packed while infodumping and world-building and it just makes everything really muddy and confusing. Too often I felt like the words were just swimming on the page, or like I couldn't really tell what I was meant to be looking at or rooting for.
I also wish this book was more character-driven, because the characters are just SUCH a show-stopping element, but instead it's just too world-driven and sometimes I ended up feeling like I needed more. (TBH, I think I just need a novella filled with Tal and Csorwe banter.)
But the second half of A.K. Larkwood's books are always more than worth the trek through the literary sludge. Riveting action, packed with plot-twists, and told through the perspective of enrapturing characters, this series is one I'm undeniably obsessed with. If you like godpunk fantasy worlds, diverse and queer casts, fascinating religious systems, sapphic romances, and laugh-out-loud dialogue, I really can't recommend this series enough.
Content Warnings
Graphic: Blood, Violence, Gore, Death, and Animal death
Minor: Vomit and Suicidal thoughts
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