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ash_ton'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
4.0
Graphic: Death, Gore, Violence, Blood, Murder, and Injury/Injury detail
Moderate: Confinement, Emotional abuse, Physical abuse, Torture, Grief, and Death of parent
Minor: Addiction, Alcoholism, Biphobia, Homophobia, Suicide, Vomit, and Alcohol
casdelvo'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
5.0
Graphic: Body horror, Child abuse, Death, Blood, Murder, and Injury/Injury detail
Minor: Animal death, Confinement, Homophobia, Death of parent, and Alcohol
that_boi_eliza'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
4.5
Graphic: Alcoholism, Suicide, Violence, Xenophobia, Blood, Alcohol, and War
Moderate: Animal death, Cursing, Death, Drug use, Gore, Misogyny, Physical abuse, Rape, Sexual violence, Trafficking, Injury/Injury detail, and Classism
Minor: Ableism and Confinement
samseyz'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
5.0
Graphic: Child abuse, Genocide, Suicide, Violence, Murder, and Injury/Injury detail
Moderate: Animal death and Alcohol
Minor: Kidnapping
rkfmiller's review against another edition
- Plot- or character-driven? Plot
- Strong character development? Yes
- Loveable characters? It's complicated
- Diverse cast of characters? Yes
- Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes
4.25
Graphic: Body horror, Child abuse, Death, Gore, Violence, Death of parent, and Injury/Injury detail
jaynovara's review against another edition
- 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? No
5.0
Graphic: Body horror, Death, Blood, and Injury/Injury detail
Moderate: Animal cruelty, Animal death, Child abuse, Physical abuse, Self harm, Suicide, Torture, Kidnapping, Death of parent, and Alcohol
Minor: Cursing, Sexual violence, and Religious bigotry
barda'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? It's complicated
3.0
I loved the indigenous Americas-inspired setting, and the worldbuilding was fascinating. It offered up enough hints to form a relatively complete picture of the world, but holds back when it needs to to build up a sense of mystery. In particular I loved the Carrion Crows and how their culture and religion was portrayed, I really hope that the giant crows and the people that ride them are put more into the spotlight as the series goes on.
In terms of characters, I really enjoyed Xiala and found Serapio to be a really interesting character. Their journey together was heartwarming and tragic and I found them to be the best part of the book. However, felt like the other POV's in the book really contributed much to the overall story. Nara could have been a fascinating character, but she didn't do anything meaningful over the course of the book and from the ending it seems like the main bulk of her characterisation and actions may be saved for the second book. Okoa was simply boring, and he had so little screen time that I'm not quite sure why he was a POV in the book instead of being a secondary character (perhaps from the perspective of Nara).
The book also suffered from some very uneven pacing, with the beginning being quite slow with the action suddenly ramping up to be almost too fast in the last third of the book. I did quite enjoy the ending, however; it was a very grim ending with some huge implications for the world as a whole which I look forward to being explored in the next book.
Overall, the book was sometimes a too-slow read that could have benefitted with a change in who the POV characters were, but the worldbuilding made it a generally interesting read.
Graphic: Self harm and Blood
Moderate: Death, Sexual content, Violence, Murder, and Injury/Injury detail
Minor: Cursing, Sexism, and Xenophobia
ronniethereader's review against another edition
- Plot- or character-driven? A mix
- Strong character development? Yes
- Loveable characters? Yes
- Diverse cast of characters? Yes
4.0
Graphic: Violence, Blood, and Injury/Injury detail
Moderate: Death and Alcohol
Minor: Animal death, Body horror, Suicide, and Death of parent
discarded_dust_jacket'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? It's complicated
5.0
Graphic: Alcoholism, Child abuse, Death, Drug use, Gore, Physical abuse, Violence, Blood, Religious bigotry, Death of parent, Murder, and Injury/Injury detail
Moderate: Racism and Classism
Minor: Sexual content, Sexual violence, Slavery, Suicide, and Trafficking
rlgreen91'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? N/A
5.0
Like a lot of people, I enjoyed the worldbuilding quite a bit. It was fascinating to see how the author blended elements of different Mesoamerican cultures, such as patol (a real game!), turquoise and jade jewelry and decor, and cacao as a drink and currency. It's a nice breath of fresh air as the setting for a fantasy series without requiring us to go off-planet.
I also enjoyed the depiction of how each of our main characters felt estranged from their community and to a larger extent from the people around them. Through them, I feel like we've laid the groundwork to explore how different scenarios can affect that sense of estrangement, from connecting to others that also feel alone to reconnecting with family members. I'm interested to see how this plays out in the next book given how we're leaving off in this book.
Overall I really enjoyed this! I'm sure I'll pick up the next book before the end of the year.
Graphic: Body horror, Death, Gore, Blood, and Murder
Moderate: Physical abuse, Death of parent, Alcohol, and Injury/Injury detail
Minor: Suicide