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karcitis'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: Child death, Chronic illness, Confinement, Death, Gore, Terminal illness, Toxic relationship, Violence, Murder, and Fire/Fire injury
Moderate: Addiction, Body horror, Domestic abuse, Drug use, Emotional abuse, Homophobia, Misogyny, Physical abuse, Sexism, Torture, Blood, Grief, Religious bigotry, Pregnancy, Lesbophobia, and Injury/Injury detail
Minor: Child abuse, Vomit, Kidnapping, Death of parent, Alcohol, and Classism
grubrednuf's review against another edition
- Strong character development? Yes
- Diverse cast of characters? Yes
- Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes
4.0
Graphic: Violence, Blood, Grief, Fire/Fire injury, and War
Moderate: Torture, Pregnancy, and Colonisation
So glad to have found this series. Original use of found family and higher purposevivavia'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
4.0
Graphic: Addiction, Body horror, Bullying, Child abuse, Death, Emotional abuse, Gore, Misogyny, Physical abuse, Suicidal thoughts, Terminal illness, Toxic relationship, Violence, Blood, Vomit, Grief, Religious bigotry, Suicide attempt, Murder, Fire/Fire injury, Gaslighting, Toxic friendship, Abandonment, Alcohol, War, Injury/Injury detail, and Classism
Moderate: Drug use, Hate crime, Sexism, Gaslighting, and Colonisation
Minor: Pregnancy
12amiridescence'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
5.0
It begins with a princess named Malini, required to sacrifice herself at a pyre with her two attendants in respect to the "Mothers of Flame", and when she refuses, she is outcast by her brother, Emperor Chandra, and sentenced to life in prison. Then, there is also a servant girl named Priya who, in her down time, wishes to help village children that have become sick with "the rot" which is a disease that caused a lot of the body to be changed into nature--roots, bark, leaves, buds--and it is believed to be a curse given to this part of the empire by the temple children, who burned along with their elders. As the story advances Priya becomes Malini's maidservant and they try to devise a plan to save themselves--Malini wishing to overthrow her brother, and Priya wishing to understand herself, her past, and her meaning. We eventually learn many things about the temple children, the corrupt empire, the rot, and why so many wish to stick to their beliefs.
The story does a great job combining elements of fate, self-discovery, and family all while providing us with powerful, feminist main characters that happen to fall in love and strive to take down patriarchal roles in society.
I completely loved the wlw representation in the story and was mesmerized by the way the author described many scenes. The hair washing and the waterfall moments were beautifully written and will forever be some of my favorite book-tension moments.
"'I am your loyal servant, my lady," she said hurriedly, filling the silence. 'You can tell me whatever you wish.'
Malini was silent for a time, as Priya untangled her hair, as the water dripped to the floor." (Page 151).
My favorite thing about this book, though, is the strong female leads and how they overturn the patriarchal systems and misogyny they face. Most important to note is Bhumika. Besides feeling so connected to her, and relating to many characteristics, her journey in the story is amazing. She always knew who she was and stayed true to herself, even when many things around her allowed her to be the opposite. She was able to harness this understanding of herself, and eventually step into her power. Slay queen. Feminism was such a major role in this book and I think the author portrayed it perfectly.
"In her years of marriage, Bhumika had made sure of one thing, at least: Vikram was the master of his mahal, but the first loyalty of the majority of maids and children, the soldiers and serving men, those who cooked the food and set the fires, and held arrows and swords against the dark, was to her.
She--the regent's kindly wife, his vapid dove--had saved them. She had given them work and a home. And she demanded nothing in return." (Page 171).
Besides those two things which set the book to be amazing for me was simply the plot and the storyline. The way the romance began and the two main characters developed their trust. The crossover of characters and their journeys. The morally grey elements and how characters discovered themselves. The way the story eventually all fit together. The way certain scenes were detailed and described. The medium pace and the perfect amount of information given. All of it came together to create a great story.
"Pramila snorted. 'And what tales can she tell you, princess? She's likely not even literate. Are you, girl?'
'I am an Ahirani maid,' Priya said, which was not exactly an agreement. 'And no more.'
Malini smiled at her, the barest lift of the corners of her lips, and saw the maidservant's eyes widen a little.
Surely, they both knew that was a lie." (Page 140).
The only thing, though, is that although I rated this 4.5 stars and loved the book, I will probably not read the second due to the fact that I don't feel completely emotionally attached to the characters or plot to continue reading and wanting to know what happens. The book ended in a way where many questions and loose ends were answered and there is not an immediate need to read the second.
Regardless, I LOVED this story and I would 10/10 recommend.
Graphic: Addiction, Death, Misogyny, Violence, and Fire/Fire injury
Moderate: Body horror, Child abuse, Child death, Cursing, Domestic abuse, Drug abuse, Genocide, Gore, Blood, Grief, Murder, and Pregnancy
Minor: Homophobia, Physical abuse, Lesbophobia, and Injury/Injury detail
noelpaige'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: Confinement, Death, and Violence
Moderate: Addiction, Blood, Murder, and Pregnancy
Minor: Homophobia
teslis's review against another edition
- Plot- or character-driven? Character
- Strong character development? It's complicated
- Loveable characters? No
- Diverse cast of characters? Yes
- Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes
2.0
Took me 15 hours and 33 minutes to read.
Graphic: Death, Terminal illness, Blood, Murder, and War
Moderate: Fire/Fire injury
rat_girly's review against another edition
- Strong character development? Yes
- Loveable characters? Yes
- Diverse cast of characters? Yes
- Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes
4.0
Graphic: Child death, Death, Emotional abuse, Genocide, Hate crime, Misogyny, Sexism, Violence, Blood, Grief, Murder, Fire/Fire injury, Abandonment, Colonisation, War, Injury/Injury detail, and Classism
Moderate: Homophobia, Pregnancy, Lesbophobia, and Classism
lanid's review
- 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
5.0
Graphic: Body horror, Confinement, and Fire/Fire injury
Moderate: Bullying, Child death, Death, Drug abuse, Gore, Misogyny, Terminal illness, Violence, Forced institutionalization, Blood, Grief, Religious bigotry, Pregnancy, and Injury/Injury detail
rexpostfacto'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
4.5
Graphic: Child death, Death, Blood, and Fire/Fire injury
Moderate: Ableism, Confinement, Violence, Xenophobia, Religious bigotry, Pregnancy, War, and Injury/Injury detail
seabanshee's review against another edition
- Plot- or character-driven? A mix
- Strong character development? No
- Loveable characters? No
- Diverse cast of characters? Yes
- Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes
2.5
This isn’t a bad book by any means. Many people adore the pacing and characterizations whereas I felt that nothing was happening for 70% of the book. I rated it higher than what I intended because there were some parts that I really enjoyed, and I thought the creative execution was stunning. And subjectively, I don’t think this book deserves a 1 or 2 star rating because it’s a great book for what it is.
Characters
Priya’s a great protagonist. She’s clever, kind-hearted, determined to do what she feels is right despite others telling her she’s wrong, and just fierce. She’s a survivor with a rich yet traumatic pass, and her conflict between past, present, and future is an interesting take. She and Rao were my favorites; I felt they had the best characterizations in the book.
Malini was my least favorite. I found her incredibly unlikable despite her circumstances and unfair position (maybe that’s the point, but it’s still unclear). Every time I read her POV, I was filled with frustration and anger. She was always lying and trying to use people, and I understand that was the only tactic she had. It’s understandable. However, having her POV and witness her true intentions toward Priya, the incredibly likable main protagonist—it’s a tall order to ask me to like her. Not to mention the number of times Malini made mental notes of how Priya wasn’t lovely or pretty appearance wise. Such a turn off. Every time she said “I’ve always been my true self to you” or “I’ve never lied to you,” I rolled my eyes because she, of course, was lying. The only time I really felt any sympathy for her was when she reunited with her brother, and he was a cowardly dick to her due to his chosen ignorance of her pain.
Rao was very likable, like Priya, and I felt his setup was incredibly interesting albeit predictable. I knew from the moment I met Malini that she wouldn’t sit on the sideline; she’d rule. I feel the course of events made that very obvious, so it makes me wish Rao’s prophecy was a bit more…unpredictable or grand? But it served its purpose.
Romance
As I mentioned, I didn’t like Malini or how she constantly wanted to use Priya, so I genuinely could not care about their romance. Their interactions felt incredibly dull after knowing Malini’s perspective. Then when they finally kissed, it felt so rushed and out of place because I felt zero chemistry from them considering their situations and mindsets. It really felt like insta-love despite it happening around the 70-80% mark. I feel like Priya had more of an interesting relationship with the Yaksa.
Lore
Hands down the best part of the book for me. The lore was crafted so well, and my reaction was a mix of awe and horror. From the rot-ridden corpses to their shapeshifting abilities to the sacred wood daggers for hollowing, it was beautifully executed and was singlehandedly the only thing that kept me reading. I don’t know if I’ll continue this series, but I would love to read more on this cosmic creatures shrouded in mystery.
Graphic: Gore, Misogyny, Violence, Xenophobia, Murder, and Injury/Injury detail
Moderate: Body horror, Death, Misogyny, Sexism, Torture, Toxic relationship, Violence, Blood, Murder, Pregnancy, and Classism
Minor: Fire/Fire injury and Injury/Injury detail