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kinsportch'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
4.0
Graphic: Blood, Murder, Death of parent, Death, Medical content, Physical abuse, Genocide, Gore, Violence, Child abuse, Confinement, Dysphoria, Emotional abuse, Forced institutionalization, and Torture
Moderate: Self harm, Drug use, and Rape
Minor: Addiction
lunalorenne'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? It's complicated
4.75
Moderate: Emotional abuse, Blood, Death, Drug use, Physical abuse, and Violence
Minor: Murder, Gore, Injury/Injury detail, Rape, Self harm, and Sexual assault
nicksalex's review against another edition
- Plot- or character-driven? A mix
- Strong character development? It's complicated
- Loveable characters? It's complicated
- Diverse cast of characters? No
- Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes
4.25
Graphic: Violence, Torture, Confinement, Blood, Physical abuse, Injury/Injury detail, Death of parent, and Death
Moderate: Addiction, Murder, Rape, Fire/Fire injury, and Panic attacks/disorders
sunsetcity's review against another edition
- Plot- or character-driven? Plot
- Strong character development? It's complicated
- Loveable characters? Yes
- Flaws of characters a main focus? No
4.0
Graphic: Child abuse, Child death, Death of parent, Injury/Injury detail, Murder, Rape, Addiction, Blood, Confinement, Death, Drug use, Emotional abuse, Fire/Fire injury, Medical content, Police brutality, Sexual assault, Sexual harassment, Sexual violence, and Torture
steffandbooks'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? No
5.0
Not gonna lie though, I had a hard time getting into this because I was so confused with the world, like, literally nothing was being explained until page 100 or so when you finally get a few glimpses at the magic system and how the different kingdoms are interconnected. But then later, I realized, this is intentional and let's be honest, isn't every high fantasy book confusing in the beginning?
I am so in love with Kiva. She is such a great character, very strong female lead and very selfless. The well-beings of others always come first and although she doesn't trust easily, I couldn't blame her because she was thrown into prison when she was only 7 and had to survive somehow. We get glimpses of her past and what happened to her family and how she went through some difficult time by herself, being addicted to certain things and stuff but overcame that period of her time in prison as well. Like I said - she is such a strong character.
We also had so many plots intertwining into each other in this book, I loved it! You know when you sometimes read a book and there is one main plot? This was not the case here. While we think it focused mainly on the Trial by Ordeal, the normal prison life goes on as well and there are many challenges Kiva has to face and we focus on that in the book as well for some time, while going back to the Trial when it became time for the next Ordeal.
Side characters like Jaren, Naari, Tipp and Mot had me reeling. Jaren was so mysterious in the beginning that I didn't know what to think of him. I had a slight feeling what he was hiding, but in the end, didn't see it coming nonetheless. Naari has my full heart. She poses as a guard in the prison and while Kiva came to fear all guards, she slowly realized that Naari is different and she turns into a friend. I loved seeing how both, Jaren and Naari, just slowly made their way into Kiva's heart and she wasn't able to do anything about it. And Tipp! Oh boy, that sweet, sweet boy. I was sobbing for him and when I saw a fanart of the character? Man, now I wish I had my own younger brother.
The ending was just mind-blowing. I loved how Lynette just casually mentions the biggest plot twist in two solid sentences and then goes back to the "main story". Obviously, I have to pick up the next book immediately as I need to know what happens with all the characters and I can only hope that Kiva will stay true to herself based on what was revealed on the last page....
Graphic: Medical content, Confinement, Injury/Injury detail, Violence, Blood, and Torture
Moderate: Rape, Addiction, Genocide, Murder, Sexual violence, and Self harm
Minor: Vomit, Death of parent, and Death
vmknmy's review against another edition
- Plot- or character-driven? Plot
- Strong character development? Yes
- Loveable characters? Yes
- Diverse cast of characters? Yes
- Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes
5.0
Graphic: Death, Child death, Fire/Fire injury, and Injury/Injury detail
Moderate: Torture, Violence, Self harm, Sexual assault, and Rape
Minor: Murder, Death of parent, and Drug abuse
bremna101's review against another edition
- Plot- or character-driven? Plot
- Strong character development? Yes
- Loveable characters? Yes
- Diverse cast of characters? No
- Flaws of characters a main focus? It's complicated
4.0
Graphic: Murder and Torture
Minor: Rape and Sexual assault
klc17's review against another edition
- Plot- or character-driven? Character
- Strong character development? It's complicated
- Loveable characters? Yes
- Diverse cast of characters? No
- Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes
4.75
Moderate: Death of parent, Sexual assault, Torture, Violence, Self harm, Child death, Confinement, Forced institutionalization, Death, Medical content, Injury/Injury detail, Physical abuse, and Murder
tkatt20's review against another edition
- Plot- or character-driven? Character
- Strong character development? It's complicated
- Loveable characters? Yes
- Diverse cast of characters? Yes
- Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes
3.5
Im kind of lost on what I feel about this book. It was good, but I tend to be a detective when reading, so I was searching for every plot twist and I solved 90% of this book within the first 50 or so pages. That didn't ruin my enjoyment of the book, it just made it seem very slow paced for me when I usually like quicker fantasy novels. The premise and the storyline was very interesting, I lost a little on the world building, but considering the entire book is set in a prison that the MC arrived at when she was 7, it kind of makes sense. The characters were interesting enough to hold my attention, and for being only 17, the MC was very mature and resourceful. I would have loved to see more of the side characters and some of the little details of the Prison more fleshed out but it was alright. Everything was mostly saved by the ending in my opinion.
If you're the type of person who doesn't search for plot twists and just wants a fun and quick read then this would be perfect for you. This checks off all the boxes of a basic YA fantasy and it was definitely worth the time. The ending was amazing and I hope the next one does more in terms of world building.
Graphic: Blood, Death, Death of parent, Murder, Torture, Violence, Sexual assault, Slavery, Mental illness, and Rape
Moderate: Sexual harassment, Drug use, Fire/Fire injury, Confinement, Suicide attempt, Self harm, Medical content, Physical abuse, Vomit, Chronic illness, and Addiction
Minor: Sexism, Miscarriage, Child abuse, Bullying, and Child death
stephaniemcuervo's review against another edition
- Plot- or character-driven? A mix
- Loveable characters? Yes
- Diverse cast of characters? Yes
- Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes
4.25
Graphic: Child death, Death, Murder, Slavery, Forced institutionalization, and Death of parent
Moderate: Murder, Physical abuse, Self harm, Drug abuse, Injury/Injury detail, and Medical trauma
Minor: Sexual assault, Addiction, Sexual harassment, Torture, and War