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philamot'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
4.5
Graphic: Suicide, Suicidal thoughts, and Kidnapping
Moderate: Emotional abuse, Grief, Physical abuse, Death of parent, and Murder
Minor: Religious bigotry, Pregnancy, and War
michmoo's review against another edition
- 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
5.0
100% one of my favourites for this year and quite possibly of all time. I will definitely be seeking out the companion novels to keep exploring this world.
Graphic: Grief and Emotional abuse
Moderate: Classism, Violence, Murder, Death of parent, Child abuse, Abandonment, and Death
Minor: Racism, War, Misogyny, and Alcohol
katie_thompson'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
Graphic: Death of parent, Emotional abuse, Death, Grief, Murder, Racial slurs, Toxic relationship, Abandonment, Bullying, Child abuse, Racism, and War
Moderate: Physical abuse, Confinement, and Cursing
Minor: Abortion
pvbobrien'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: Child abuse and Suicide
Moderate: Grief, Blood, Death of parent, Death, Misogyny, Murder, Injury/Injury detail, Sexism, Violence, and Racism
Minor: Homophobia, Miscarriage, Classism, Confinement, Colonisation, Infertility, Alcohol, and War
sophiesmallhands's review against another edition
- 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
4.5
Moderate: Domestic abuse, Emotional abuse, and Sexism
Minor: Violence, Suicide, Grief, Forced institutionalization, Misogyny, Homophobia, Sexual assault, Injury/Injury detail, Infertility, Racial slurs, Physical abuse, and Murder
saintsunshine'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? N/A
3.75
For starters, I had just finished Frank Herbert's Dune and was craving a traditional fantasy novel. I had prided myself on absorbing myself in Herbert's engrossing world and concept, but nothing could have prepared myself for the complexity of Addison's fantasy world. Don't let the middle-grade appearing hardcover fool you, this is an adult fantasy – not in that it's explicit in nature, but I can't imagine this was written for anyone without a fully formed adult brain.
Despite the story being small in scope, Addison's level of world building is incredible – sometimes to my own detriment. Maybe it's because I took breaks between reading, but I was often lost while reading. There are a many different characters, places, and fantastical concepts that fly by and not even the index helped much with. Political intrigue is the backbone of this book. While there was a murder involved, the book is almost entirely absent of mystery or suspense, save for the attempts on the protagonists' own life.
That leads me to Maia, the novels titular goblin protagonist. I adored Maia and genuinely enjoyed watching him grow as a character. Still, it was sometimes hard to empathize with his struggles when so much was happening around him, and he didn't make many notable connections until the end of the book.
Speaking of which, this book is tagged with 'LGBTQ+' which is almost a lie. I was convinced in having saw this that Maia would eventually fall for Czevet or Cala (I swear there are hints towards the former) but no such relationship developed. This is not to say I'm angry this didn't play out, but I don't think off-handed comments about same-sex lovers warrant this tag. It's entirely deceiving.
Anyway. I'm satisfied with my time with this book. Perhaps I'm just an idiot to understand much of what was happening, but I enjoyed it nonetheless. I must also mention that I read along to the audiobook narrated by Kyle McCarley, who has an amazing voice and range of voice talent – his performance truly elevated my experience with this book and I wish this guy could narrate everything I read!
Miss Addison you better stop writing side novels and finish this series!!
Graphic: Self harm and Suicide
Moderate: Grief, Murder, Kidnapping, Death of parent, and Emotional abuse
Minor: War, Fatphobia, and Sexual violence
maecave15's review
- Plot- or character-driven? A mix
- Strong character development? Yes
- Loveable characters? Yes
- Diverse cast of characters? N/A
- Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes
4.5
Moderate: Death, Car accident, Death of parent, Bullying, Classism, and Grief
Minor: Kidnapping, Misogyny, Murder, and Physical abuse
onironic'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? No
5.0
Graphic: Sexism, Suicide, Classism, Blood, and Death
Moderate: Death of parent, Murder, Emotional abuse, Child abuse, and Alcohol
Minor: Homophobia, Sexual harassment, and Violence
istiel'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? No
5.0
Graphic: Death of parent, Emotional abuse, Grief, and Bullying
Moderate: Child abuse, Violence, Sexism, Death, Murder, Xenophobia, and Panic attacks/disorders
Minor: Miscarriage, Child death, Terminal illness, Alcoholism, Body shaming, Classism, and Homophobia
alexalily's review
- Plot- or character-driven? Character
- Strong character development? Yes
- Loveable characters? It's complicated
- Diverse cast of characters? It's complicated
- Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes
3.0
Graphic: Physical abuse, Abandonment, Death of parent, and Emotional abuse
Moderate: Racism, Sexism, Suicide, Xenophobia, Confinement, Grief, Kidnapping, Misogyny, Murder, Bullying, Child abuse, and Death
Minor: Terminal illness, Alcohol, Blood, and Homophobia