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thatbookishwriter23'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? Yes
3.5
After a spirit adducts his sister, Malik must win a contest, emerge as King, and kill the Crown princess for his sister's freedom. Meanwhile, struggling with the death of her mother, Princess Karina seeks the heart of a king to resurrect her. Yet, against all odds, the two fall in love with each other.
Pros
+Malik personality. You don't see much soft bois in YA. Malik was so soft and adorable and empathic. It nice change from these brooding bad boys about we always see.
+anxiety rep. The anxiety rep is so good especially when Malik had a panic attack. I am so glad to finally see some good mental health rep. I especially since love or anything else didn't cure his anxiety by the end.
+competition. I like the idea of the Champion competition and the different Aligned champions
+the twists and turns at the end redeemed the book for me and made me look forward to reading the sequel.
+history. Learning some of the history and how it all came into play at the end was interesting.
Cons
-slowpaced. I feel like the focus is so heavy on emotions and not enough on the characters task. I feel like that got nothing done until late in the book.
-Karina. Karina was so immature and infuriating to read about. She was constantly making rash decisions in her hot headness. She was also pushed everyone away and damaged her image. I mean, I know she's a teenager dealing with a lot of unprocessed grief, but that did make it any less frustrating to read. She gets better by the end but it doesn't erase the first half of the book.
-infodumps. Sometimes I felt like I was reading a history textbook. Characters would record history of the city and while it was interesting, I was left wondering what the importance of it was.
-development. Character development didn't come until exactly 65% percent of the book.
-lack of chemistry. The protagonists spend so time apart for more than first half of the book. Their chemistry felt rushed and sudden.
This book was different than I thought it would be. It was more tame. I thought it would have more action and less dialogue.
Graphic: Panic attacks/disorders, Death, Violence, Death of parent, and Grief
annorabrady'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? Yes
- Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes
3.0
Graphic: Racism, Self harm, Suicidal thoughts, Gaslighting, Murder, Animal cruelty, Child death, Classism, Death, Fire/Fire injury, Animal death, Blood, Child abuse, Death of parent, Drug use, Injury/Injury detail, Panic attacks/disorders, Suicide attempt, Racial slurs, and Mental illness
Moderate: Vomit
Minor: Police brutality, Trafficking, and Slavery
anni_swanilda'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, Death of parent, Animal cruelty, Gaslighting, Blood, Classism, Confinement, Suicidal thoughts, Suicide, Mental illness, Racial slurs, Gore, Murder, Animal death, Suicide attempt, Grief, Panic attacks/disorders, Racism, Vomit, Xenophobia, Injury/Injury detail, and Violence
Moderate: Fire/Fire injury and Self harm
Minor: Sexual content, Child death, Domestic abuse, Child abuse, Physical abuse, War, Abandonment, Emotional abuse, and Slavery
ruthiedr89'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? Yes
- Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes
3.5
Graphic: Death of parent, Racism, Murder, Toxic relationship, Death, Gaslighting, Grief, Panic attacks/disorders, and Violence
Moderate: Injury/Injury detail, Abandonment, Classism, Genocide, Gore, Hate crime, and Racial slurs
Minor: Child abuse, Confinement, Alcohol, Animal cruelty, and Animal death
anekk78's review against another edition
- Plot- or character-driven? Plot
- Strong character development? No
- Diverse cast of characters? Yes
- Flaws of characters a main focus? No
4.0
Moderate: Death, Death of parent, Panic attacks/disorders, and Violence
Minor: Fire/Fire injury, Abandonment, Child death, and Police brutality
laurawil'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
4.0
Graphic: Death of parent, Fire/Fire injury, and Self harm
er1ngobraugh'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? It's complicated
3.75
Graphic: Grief, Panic attacks/disorders, and Violence
Moderate: Blood, Fire/Fire injury, Classism, and Death of parent
Minor: Death of parent, Kidnapping, and Animal death
adrenabereading's review against another edition
- Plot- or character-driven? A mix
- Strong character development? Yes
- Loveable characters? It's complicated
- Diverse cast of characters? No
- Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes
4.0
I like that mental health was talked about a lot in this book.Throughout the book, Malik has a lot of anxiety (which I can relate to). I loved that we saw him fight through it and find strength within himself.
"This is my mind, I am the strongest person here."
✨️Favorite Character✨️
Afua was my favorite character because she was so confident in her abilities and who she was. Even though she was just a kid, she was very knowledgeable. She never backed down, and she just seemed like a Ray of Sunshine.
Overall, I really liked this book, and I will be reading the next book.
Graphic: Animal cruelty
Moderate: Murder, Panic attacks/disorders, and Death of parent
luckykosmos's review against another edition
- Plot- or character-driven? A mix
- Strong character development? Yes
- Loveable characters? Yes
- Diverse cast of characters? It's complicated
- Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes
4.5
I went in with no real idea of what this would be like, and ended up adoring it. The characters are fun, and the voice Brown gives them had me occasionally putting the book down to laugh. And with that came very human representations of grief, of anxiety/panic disorders (as a sufferer), of migraines. Definitely picking up the sequel!
Graphic: Death of parent and Panic attacks/disorders
Moderate: Violence and Xenophobia
briely'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
4.0
Graphic: Xenophobia and Death of parent
Moderate: Death and Fire/Fire injury