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pearrots's review
- Plot- or character-driven? Character
- Strong character development? Yes
- Loveable characters? Yes
- Diverse cast of characters? It's complicated
- Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes
3.5
Moderate: Racism
Minor: Child abuse, Kidnapping, Death of parent, and Abandonment
misty_kb'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
4.75
Graphic: Grief and Death
Moderate: Child abuse and Death of parent
Minor: Homophobia
r_gale'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
3.75
Touches on serious subjects in a sensitive way, (without glorifying them or them getting upsetting).
I Loved Maia the main character and can't wait to read what he gets up to next. Want more of Vedero and Csethiro!
Graphic: Child abuse, Xenophobia, Death of parent, and Death
Moderate: Suicide
Minor: Sexual harassment
kers_tin'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? No
4.0
Graphic: Suicide attempt, Xenophobia, Violence, Murder, Injury/Injury detail, Grief, Death, Bullying, Child abuse, Abandonment, and Death of parent
birdofalltrades's review
- Plot- or character-driven? Character
- Strong character development? Yes
- Loveable characters? Yes
- Diverse cast of characters? It's complicated
- Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes
5.0
Graphic: Child abuse, Death, Death of parent, Abandonment, Domestic abuse, Emotional abuse, Suicide, Violence, Bullying, Classism, Grief, Kidnapping, Racial slurs, Murder, Blood, and Sexism
Moderate: Religious bigotry, Colonisation, Physical abuse, Xenophobia, Homophobia, Racism, Sexual assault, and Alcoholism
Minor: Injury/Injury detail, Miscarriage, Terminal illness, Chronic illness, and Infertility
welgan'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
This book is not perfect, but it's a favorite for me.
It had the driest beginning I've seen in a long time and some pacing issues at the end (it felt a tad bit rushed), but its atmosphere is so engaging and its characters are so attaching it won its place in my heart.
It begins on a dozen pages of a naming convention guide in the world (very dry even if you're a lover of the preface on Hobbits in LOTR, but also very necessary) and a full glossary. Then the first few pages were not really good. I felt disconnected from the main character (I felt he lacked internal voice and emotion and some relationships weren't as obvious as is should be. But mind you, this only applies to the very first pages : the incredible thing is that the book manages to become better almost instantly after and I could'nt put it down.
It is a story about friendship and being a kind person. It is also a story about a neglected young man who unexpectedly becomes emperor, and I don't know how but it manages to make court intrigues feel COSY. I don't like court intrigues. With a plot like this, I wouldn't even have read it. But the reason I did was because I found it on "coy fantasy" book lists. I don't think it fits in the genre exactly, but it is low-fantasy, and for whatever miracle the author managed to create, it feels cosy. I think it's mostly because the main character, Maia, has a such a heart-warming voice and because some of the secondary characters feel right and kind. The book talks about dark themes, and events are not at all cosy, but the narration manages to keep this overall feeling and to never make me feel anxious while reading. It was amazing and I will read it again.
Also, in the end, I appreciate that there's no romance plot : it is not what the book whishes to tell, and by telling its story, it focused on building other relationships that were very meaningful. This point is a major strnegth of the book to me and a main reason why I loved it so much.
Special mention to the soft wordbuilding, it was well done, and original. There is no more than we need to know, but it feels like a real world with fleshed out society.
Another special mention to Osmin Ceredin and her most wonderful letter, I love it, it's amazing and it made go from "wary of this character" to "rooting inconditionally for this character" instantly.
My personnal regrets are, first, that there are a lot of names and I would have prefered a more precise index of the characters (who they are for the other characters, what faction they are part of) rather than a glossary. Second, I've just read a few books with societies who fully integrated some or several queer progressive aspects, and coming back to a world where the general idea among the elite is "women are for childbearing and homosexuals should be ashamed" feels sad. However, it serves the theme of changing things while having power (the women rights theme being a minor subplot).
Graphic: Emotional abuse, Suicide, Child abuse, and Death of parent
Moderate: Racism
Minor: Homophobia, Miscarriage, and Murder
clarabooksit's review against another edition
- Plot- or character-driven? Character
- Strong character development? Yes
- Loveable characters? Yes
- Diverse cast of characters? It's complicated
- Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes
4.25
Graphic: Classism, Emotional abuse, Xenophobia, Sexism, Abandonment, Grief, Child abuse, Physical abuse, and Racism
Moderate: Violence, Alcoholism, Death, and Murder
Minor: Suicidal thoughts
bergha1998'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? Yes
5.0
Political Fantasy, Heartwarming, Incredible Character Development
Graphic: Abandonment, Blood, Violence, Bullying, Grief, Child abuse, Death of parent, Death, Physical abuse, and Injury/Injury detail
lex_y's review
- 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
4.0
Moderate: Abandonment, Child abuse, and Bullying
Minor: Xenophobia
tilly_and_the_books'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? It's complicated
3.0
Graphic: Suicide
Moderate: Child abuse