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rachaeltobindodd'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? No
5.0
Moderate: Murder, Death, Violence, and Blood
caseythereader'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
4.25
Graphic: Death of parent, Grief, Miscarriage, Classism, Domestic abuse, Alcohol, Colonisation, Death, Injury/Injury detail, Medical content, Addiction, Cursing, Murder, Torture, Blood, Gore, Child death, Slavery, and Violence
Minor: Sexual content
barda's review against another edition
- Plot- or character-driven? A mix
- Strong character development? It's complicated
- Loveable characters? No
- Diverse cast of characters? Yes
- Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes
2.75
The first book had some flaws, but I still broadly enjoyed the characters, the setting, and the worldbuilding. While this second book fixed my biggest pet peeve of rapidly switching POV's (this one had the more standard format of a chapter only having one character's POV), it felt like this one was actually more confusing than the first one, and that the author lost plot momentum from the first book.
The characters just weren't as likeable in this book. I still really enjoyed Hassa and she's easily a stand-out character, but Jond was just boring and Sylah was not in the book enough for me to judge her characterisation. Anoor, however, I was the most disappointed in. Like Sylah, it feels like she barely has any screen-time in this book, but most egregiously she seems to regress in all of her character development that she gained in the first book. I hate to criticise characters who make seemingly stupid mistakes, as oftentimes they'll be realistic mistakes that you might expect one to make, but Anoor keeps making mistakes over and over and doesn't seem to learn from the negative impacts of these. She's incompetent and seemingly regains her naivety that she grew out of in the first book. This makes the twist
The plot certainly had some interesting bits, particularly with the Academy and how the cultures of the mainland work. I did also broadly enjoy the plot reveals towards the end of the book; however, they were all suddenly shoved into the end of the book leaving little room for the characters to breathe, and many of the plot twists could have been revealed and solved earlier if characters simply communicated with each other (
Broadly, this book's usually interesting plot was dragged down by its characters and overall characterisation. I still might pick up the next one when it comes out as I think the mysteries that have been set up are worth reading, but I do hope that the author can figure out where they want their characters to go.
Graphic: Domestic abuse, Blood, Self harm, Miscarriage, Physical abuse, Sexual violence, Rape, Religious bigotry, and Sexual assault
Moderate: Death of parent, Drug abuse, Injury/Injury detail, Slavery, Child death, Drug use, Violence, Classism, Grief, Murder, Sexual content, Colonisation, and Death
Minor: Cursing
lettuce_read's review against another edition
- Loveable characters? Yes
- Diverse cast of characters? Yes
5.0
Graphic: Death, Miscarriage, and Violence
Moderate: Genocide and Addiction
mielenmaisemia'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: Death and Violence
purplesoccer126's review against another edition
- Plot- or character-driven? Plot
- 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: Physical abuse, Torture, Death, Medical trauma, Murder, Blood, Classism, Colonisation, Fire/Fire injury, Injury/Injury detail, Slavery, Violence, and Miscarriage
Moderate: Addiction, Sexual violence, and Drug abuse
bookwormdystopian2's review against another edition
- Plot- or character-driven? Character
- 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: Miscarriage, Violence, and Death
Moderate: Sexual assault, Sexual content, and Rape
cozyscones'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
4.5
Graphic: Confinement, Domestic abuse, Death, Miscarriage, Gore, Medical trauma, Torture, Blood, and Violence
Moderate: Colonisation, Addiction, Trafficking, Alcohol, and War
nefariousbee'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: Animal death, Colonisation, Death, Death of parent, Rape, Self harm, Abandonment, Addiction, Alcohol, Blood, Confinement, Gore, Injury/Injury detail, Miscarriage, and Violence
Moderate: Death of parent, Confinement, Grief, Religious bigotry, Sexual content, Animal cruelty, Genocide, Infidelity, and Kidnapping
sprossa's review against another edition
5.0
Graphic: Self harm, Miscarriage, Violence, Colonisation, and Death
Moderate: Addiction