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santaniello's review against another edition
Graphic: Sexism, Racism, Misogyny, Murder, Violence, Death, Blood, War, Miscarriage, and Toxic relationship
takarakei'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
3.25
Unfortunately I felt like I read 3 different books that felt a bit disjointed.
- The first ~1/3 of this book is fantastic - good world building and character introductions, multiple povs to round out the perspective, very cool magic and I thought we were being set up for such a cool adventure.
- The second ~1/3 was one long battle/war scene. This is maybe a "me" thing because typically battle scenes are really not my favorite thing to read, but this went on FOREVER. Even with the magic being super cool to read, at some point I was just really over reading about it and it felt rather repetitive.
The deaths in this section also felt mostly like for shock value to me - The last ~1/3 after this battle the book took a sudden turn into a super character driven not-plot where we just follow the aftermath of the battle where they are rebuilding this town and it was honestly boring. As my friend said "the culmination of this epic fantasy is….logging and building a school….."
- ALSO I HATED the Takeru redemption "arc" cause it's not an arc, it was a complete 180 out of nowhere with no build up and sorry I do not sympathize with him! His character development was not nuanced enough for me to care, and in the end he was still doing dumb things. IMO if Takeru had been explained to be mainly just distant/cold but not outright abusive to Misaki/the children this change would have made more sense.
I guess I just didn't expect to literally not leave this one small town the entire book (Misaki's flashbacks do not count imo). The men in this book were all incredibly insufferable and useless. Misaki was also a bit frustrating to read at times because while I can understand why she entered into this marriage based on societal expectations, I cannot understand how she became a completely different person for 15 years.
After finishing I did some research and realized this book was written as a prequel to a YA series this author wrote that I guess holds the more conclusive ending to the empire etc??? But that made this read not like a completed standalone because at the end I still had a lot of questions about how things in this world would get resolved.
The audiobook narrator mispronounces words which was very irksome as someone who speaks some Japanese. These are not words that were made up by the author, but real Japanese words that were being used in their original context. I found actually the narration was inconsistent with some pronunciation.
Graphic: War, Death, Violence, and Child death
Moderate: Rape, Miscarriage, Misogyny, Suicide, Child abuse, Toxic relationship, Injury/Injury detail, Grief, and Domestic abuse
Minor: Xenophobia, Racism, Colonisation, Homophobia, and Slavery
lejones1785's review against another edition
- Plot- or character-driven? Character
- Strong character development? Yes
- Loveable characters? It's complicated
- Diverse cast of characters? No
- Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes
3.25
Graphic: War and Violence
Moderate: Grief, Suicide, Toxic relationship, Sexism, and Blood
Minor: Classism, Murder, Rape, Kidnapping, Miscarriage, and Physical abuse
j_schley'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
5.0
Graphic: Sexism, Mental illness, Child death, Violence, Miscarriage, Misogyny, Toxic relationship, Physical abuse, War, Injury/Injury detail, Grief, Death, and Child abuse
Moderate: Sexual violence, Rape, Suicide, Emotional abuse, Sexual assault, Gore, and Domestic abuse
Minor: Pregnancy
sanyaes_library'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
5.0
Japanese inspired
epic fight scenes
war + politics
avatar the last airbender vibes
strong fmc in her 30's
dual pov: mother + her 14 y/o son
complex characters
family + friendship
i can't remember the last time i have been so invested in a new world. this has some of the best action scenes i have ever read. + misaki is one of my favorite fantasy fmc, she is everything!!!!
my favorite quotes:
❝You lost your right to my obedience when you stopped being a man!”
"Flayed and boneless, he faced the creature he had awakened, this woman of gods’ blood and fury."
"Wholeness, she had learned, was not the absence of pain but the ability to hold it.❞
things i didn't like:
×the beginning is very info dumpy
×the pacing was off at times.
Graphic: Torture, Suicide, Violence, Miscarriage, Pregnancy, Rape, Toxic relationship, Genocide, War, and Misogyny
arirs'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
4.75
Graphic: Pregnancy, Miscarriage, Sexism, Misogyny, Suicide, Infertility, Toxic relationship, Physical abuse, Death, War, Grief, Child death, and Child abuse
Moderate: Sexual assault and Rape
Minor: Xenophobia and Kidnapping
abirdiebooks's review against another edition
- Strong character development? It's complicated
- Loveable characters? No
- Diverse cast of characters? Yes
- Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes
3.0
Potential triggers:
Graphic: Rape, Child death, Gore, Suicide, Miscarriage, Domestic abuse, Child abuse, War, Grief, and Emotional abuse
Moderate: Body horror, Homophobia, Violence, Toxic relationship, Infertility, Injury/Injury detail, Gore, Rape, Abandonment, Emotional abuse, Torture, Suicidal thoughts, Sexual assault, and Sexism
abken'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? It's complicated
5.0
Graphic: Mental illness, Suicidal thoughts, Toxic relationship, Grief, Rape, Sexism, and Medical trauma
trizk'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? Yes
5.0
Graphic: Rape, Panic attacks/disorders, Violence, Pregnancy, Grief, War, Xenophobia, Sexism, Misogyny, Death, Child death, Toxic relationship, Physical abuse, Murder, and Miscarriage
Moderate: Physical abuse and Child abuse
Minor: Sexual content
novelideea's review against another edition
4.25
Graphic: War
Minor: Violence, Emotional abuse, Rape, Toxic relationship, Miscarriage, Pregnancy, Physical abuse, and Classism