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candidceillie's review against another edition
5.0
Graphic: Alcohol, Animal death, Blood, Body shaming, Bullying, Child abuse, Child death, Chronic illness, Colonisation, Confinement, Death, Emotional abuse, Excrement, Fire/Fire injury, Xenophobia, Vomit, Violence, Torture, Terminal illness, Slavery, Sexual assault, Sexual harassment, Racism, Racial slurs, Police brutality, Physical abuse, Murder, Medical trauma, Medical content, Kidnapping, Genocide, and Forced institutionalization
cacole'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? It's complicated
5.0
Graphic: Colonisation, Torture, Violence, and Blood
Moderate: Sexual assault and Kidnapping
Minor: Sexual content
Characters are military and civilians under colonial oppression during a rebellion. Traumatic things happen in the book, but the author handles them really well.aardwyrm'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
4.0
Graphic: Death, Gore, Violence, Sexual harassment, Physical abuse, Kidnapping, Grief, Blood, and Ableism
booksthatburn'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
The tension between Luca and Touraine is very well handled, as throughout the story their dynamic as a pair constantly shifts, but they're never quite on the same page about the nature of their relationship. It showed over and over how no matter how attracted they might be to each other, the gulf of power between Luca's position and Touraine's means that it's impossible to trust any "Yes" from Touraine when Luca can have her tortured or killed for a "No". This affects everything from their mutual attraction to the treatment of the Sands to the handling of the rebels.
I love the portrayal of the Qazāli rebels, I can't discuss much there without spoilers but they were dynamic as a group and as individuals, each with their own reactions to Touraine and Luca's various intrusions on their lives, as well as the reality of life under Balladaire's oppressive colonial rule.
I'm looking forward to the sequel, I'm a little worried that it'll only get worse for the characters from here but I want to know what happens next.
Graphic: Blood, Confinement, Death, Genocide, Gore, Gun violence, Medical content, Murder, Torture, Violence, and Colonisation
Moderate: Ableism, Animal death, Child abuse, Cursing, Grief, Homophobia, Kidnapping, Racism, Self harm, Sexual assault, Sexual harassment, Slavery, and Terminal illness
Minor: Child death, Rape, and Suicide
CW for major character death (graphic).laurareads87'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
4.0
Graphic: Slavery, Racial slurs, Racism, Violence, Murder, Trafficking, Kidnapping, Gun violence, and Toxic relationship
Moderate: Ableism, Child abuse, Torture, and Gore
Minor: Sexual violence and Sexual assault
cerilouisereads's review against another edition
- Plot- or character-driven? Character
- Strong character development? Yes
- Loveable characters? It's complicated
- Diverse cast of characters? Yes
- Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes
4.0
Graphic: Blood, Cursing, Death, Gore, Medical trauma, Racism, Sexual assault, Slavery, Trafficking, Violence, and Vomit
Moderate: Ableism, Bullying, Confinement, Gun violence, Homophobia, Kidnapping, Murder, Panic attacks/disorders, Police brutality, and Torture
entazis's review against another edition
- Plot- or character-driven? Character
- Strong character development? Yes
- Loveable characters? It's complicated
- Diverse cast of characters? Yes
- Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes
5.0
It's really all about colonialism, power and what it means to be a good leader. It's about loyalty and trust. But mostly it's about the lost children, stolen children, who are coming back home as a tool of oppressors.
Relationships are messy. My favorite one in this book isn't a romantic one, but a familial. The complicated relationship between daughter and mother who are unable to understand each other, who have a lot of hurt between them thanks to the colonial forces that separated them. There was one particular scene nearing the end when I almost cried, when we see the depths of pain, love and lost time.
The characters are just interesting and complex and it feels that there's no good decisions no matter the intentions. I will say that Luca irritated me a lot. But the way the author explores what it means to be a queen was really a great one, regardless of my personal frustrations. But because she irritated me I couldn't really buy into the romance between her and Touraine or at least I'm not rooting for them even though they're obviously endgame.
Worldbuilding is also rich, full of small and big details, full of history, different cultures and nations.
All in all I really enjoyed this book a lot and I'm excited for more.
Graphic: Death, Grief, Kidnapping, Religious bigotry, Violence, and Xenophobia
Minor: Sexual assault
dedonohoe'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: Forced institutionalization, Violence, Religious bigotry, Racism, Racial slurs, Blood, Death, and Murder
Moderate: Genocide, Kidnapping, Grief, Slavery, Torture, and Child abuse
Minor: Sexual violence