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seekerxr's review
adventurous
challenging
emotional
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? It's complicated
4.0
k_hanvey's review against another edition
adventurous
emotional
mysterious
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? It's complicated
4.0
theangrystackrat's review
adventurous
emotional
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? No
5.0
jashanac's review
5.0
Well what in the hell I immediately said out loud, “Ugh there has to be mooooore!”
Summary:
Portal fantasy following a cast of characters in various unique worlds. Queernormative, sapphic MC, autism rep, ptsd rep, and a matriarchal society which may or may not be doing things the right way. In first book, Saffron lives on Earth and accidentally follows a worldwalker into another world, full of complicated, tense political scheming, unique and fascinating cultures, and a lot of things she doesn't understand.
Re-Readability:
I will absolutely re-read this book (and the first book). I feel like I would NEED to re-read it to fully understand everything.
Characters:
I love these characters -- there are many side characters who we get some povs with and I got so invested in all of them. I feel like this duology is quite introspective, particularly where the characters are concerned. There's not always a lot of "stuff" actually going on. Sometimes whole sections are just people talking, but I was fascinated by it all. The psychology of the characters is being looked at with care and reflection and I loved it all. Just truly interesting and well-executed character development all the way around, for me personally.
Plot:
The worlds opened up QUITE a bit here and the various reveals were so cool and interesting. I can't say too much about the plot points without spoiling, but there were several moments that got me hyped and also EMOTIONAL, particularly toward the end.
Themes:
Personal autonomy. Choosing your path. Emotional and mental abuse. Overcorrection of societal problems, to create more (or the same) problems. Misogyny. The dangers of religious prejudice & zealotry. Xenophobia. Chosen family.
Favorite Quotes:
"Because defending myself was not a worse crime than what I was defending myself from. So, no, I didn't say sorry, because I'm not sorry, and I'm sick of lying to people about how I feel because they're incapable of believing an honest answer!"
"You're more protective of a proto-rapist than you are of the girls he hurts, and you should be ashamed of yourselves."
"The silence between them was blanket-thick, a thing of trust and tension."
"Ashasa help us." - "Ashasa might not... [...] better to help ourselves."
"Do not try to get yourself killed. I'd hate for a perfectly good source of chaos to go to waste."
"You killed my sister. [...] She was never yours."
Favorite Parts:
Saf on Earth in the beginning and everything she deals with there & how she handles it all & talks to her parents. Saf and Ruby's dynamic. The scions!!!! The reveals about Leoden. Yena!!!!
Summary:
Portal fantasy following a cast of characters in various unique worlds. Queernormative, sapphic MC, autism rep, ptsd rep, and a matriarchal society which may or may not be doing things the right way. In first book, Saffron lives on Earth and accidentally follows a worldwalker into another world, full of complicated, tense political scheming, unique and fascinating cultures, and a lot of things she doesn't understand.
Re-Readability:
I will absolutely re-read this book (and the first book). I feel like I would NEED to re-read it to fully understand everything.
Characters:
I love these characters -- there are many side characters who we get some povs with and I got so invested in all of them. I feel like this duology is quite introspective, particularly where the characters are concerned. There's not always a lot of "stuff" actually going on. Sometimes whole sections are just people talking, but I was fascinated by it all. The psychology of the characters is being looked at with care and reflection and I loved it all. Just truly interesting and well-executed character development all the way around, for me personally.
Plot:
The worlds opened up QUITE a bit here and the various reveals were so cool and interesting. I can't say too much about the plot points without spoiling, but there were several moments that got me hyped and also EMOTIONAL, particularly toward the end.
Themes:
Personal autonomy. Choosing your path. Emotional and mental abuse. Overcorrection of societal problems, to create more (or the same) problems. Misogyny. The dangers of religious prejudice & zealotry. Xenophobia. Chosen family.
Favorite Quotes:
"Because defending myself was not a worse crime than what I was defending myself from. So, no, I didn't say sorry, because I'm not sorry, and I'm sick of lying to people about how I feel because they're incapable of believing an honest answer!"
"You're more protective of a proto-rapist than you are of the girls he hurts, and you should be ashamed of yourselves."
"The silence between them was blanket-thick, a thing of trust and tension."
"Ashasa help us." - "Ashasa might not... [...] better to help ourselves."
"Do not try to get yourself killed. I'd hate for a perfectly good source of chaos to go to waste."
"You killed my sister. [...] She was never yours."
Favorite Parts:
Saf on Earth in the beginning and everything she deals with there & how she handles it all & talks to her parents. Saf and Ruby's dynamic. The scions!!!! The reveals about Leoden. Yena!!!!
Content Warnings
Graphic: Religious bigotry and Death
Moderate: Violence, Suicide, and Xenophobia
Minor: Rape, Sexual harassment, and Sexual assault
abnerbee's review
adventurous
hopeful
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? No
3.5
pebbles09's review
adventurous
dark
emotional
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? It's complicated
5.0
ssj88's review against another edition
3.0
I actually think I need to read this again in a few months. But read the glossary first! Although it hadn’t been long since finishing the first book of the series, I struggled with the heavy reliance on assumed knowledge of terms and languages. Especially as two distinct countries/languages were in use, both at times had different terms for the same thing which I then needed to translate to some sort of English meaning in my head as I went a long.
Definitely still enjoyed the book, I just think I needed to take more time and look up words as I went along which I didn’t do this time.
Definitely still enjoyed the book, I just think I needed to take more time and look up words as I went along which I didn’t do this time.
siavahda's review
5.0
I am not used to sequels surpassing the first installments - it doesn't happen often - but gods, it did this time. I could not put this down. I swear I inhaled it. In some way I can't define the emotions in this book struck me much harder than in the first one; right from the opening pages, when Saffron is back at school and dealing once again with the disgusting Jared and equally bad, if not even worse, school administration, the emotion was ramped up to 11 and I was there, living every moment.
I adore how much and how well this expanded on bits of worldbuilding from the first book, answering questions and revealing even more, deeper and more intricate mysteries. The pacing is perfect, just the right clues dropped at just the right times for the reader to start putting the pieces together as the characters do. It would have been easy to make this a rushed mess, but it absolutely isn't; the story is slower when it needs to be, fast-paced when things are happening quickly, and oh, the characters. As if I wasn't already in love with them all after Stars! Now I'm officially head-over-heels. Even the villain/s, while I don't like them as people, are fabulous characters, and I love how well and how completely Meadows subverted my expectations and pulled a magician's reveal on what was/is really going on.
And oh, all the female relationships. All of them. Women being friends with women, women working with other women, women in love with other women, women respecting each other and helping each other and even, sometimes, being terrified of another... Which is not to say that the male characters are not also awesome: Naruet was probably my favourite addition to the cast, as much as I love Louis to pieces. And it was so fricken' great to see an autistic character! As someone who was only recently diagnosed as being on the spectrum, it made me tear up (in the good way) to see him not just included but featured. Kudos to Meadows not just for the inclusion, but for getting it so right; this is a character clearly written by someone who either has experience with, or has done rigorous research into, autism, and I for one appreciated it so much.
He's also just a genuinely fab character, even without the 'diversity points'. I just plain loved him.
I can't pick a favourite thing about this book, but I did very much adore Saffron's arc. She grew into herself in Stars, of course, but in this book she consciously acknowledged that and claimed it, and it was empowering and beautiful and fantastic. I was cheering her on the whole time.
And while I very much hope for more installments, Tyranny of Queens really wraps up the story perfectly. There's the possibility open for more, but this makes for a gorgeous conclusion that satisfies wonderfully. Either way, whether there'll be more to this series or no, Meadows had definitely jumped onto my automatic-buy author list, and I urge anyone and everyone to pick these books up if you have the slightest interest in fantasy at all.
I know I'll be snapping up whatever Meadows chooses to write next, for sure!
I adore how much and how well this expanded on bits of worldbuilding from the first book, answering questions and revealing even more, deeper and more intricate mysteries. The pacing is perfect, just the right clues dropped at just the right times for the reader to start putting the pieces together as the characters do. It would have been easy to make this a rushed mess, but it absolutely isn't; the story is slower when it needs to be, fast-paced when things are happening quickly, and oh, the characters. As if I wasn't already in love with them all after Stars! Now I'm officially head-over-heels. Even the villain/s, while I don't like them as people, are fabulous characters, and I love how well and how completely Meadows subverted my expectations and pulled a magician's reveal on what was/is really going on.
And oh, all the female relationships. All of them. Women being friends with women, women working with other women, women in love with other women, women respecting each other and helping each other and even, sometimes, being terrified of another... Which is not to say that the male characters are not also awesome: Naruet was probably my favourite addition to the cast, as much as I love Louis to pieces. And it was so fricken' great to see an autistic character! As someone who was only recently diagnosed as being on the spectrum, it made me tear up (in the good way) to see him not just included but featured. Kudos to Meadows not just for the inclusion, but for getting it so right; this is a character clearly written by someone who either has experience with, or has done rigorous research into, autism, and I for one appreciated it so much.
He's also just a genuinely fab character, even without the 'diversity points'. I just plain loved him.
I can't pick a favourite thing about this book, but I did very much adore Saffron's arc. She grew into herself in Stars, of course, but in this book she consciously acknowledged that and claimed it, and it was empowering and beautiful and fantastic. I was cheering her on the whole time.
And while I very much hope for more installments, Tyranny of Queens really wraps up the story perfectly. There's the possibility open for more, but this makes for a gorgeous conclusion that satisfies wonderfully. Either way, whether there'll be more to this series or no, Meadows had definitely jumped onto my automatic-buy author list, and I urge anyone and everyone to pick these books up if you have the slightest interest in fantasy at all.
I know I'll be snapping up whatever Meadows chooses to write next, for sure!
jonny_joe's review
adventurous
dark
emotional
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
4.0