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ruby_mo's review against another edition
adventurous
dark
emotional
hopeful
inspiring
mysterious
tense
fast-paced
- 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
An emotional and personal look at violence against bipoc in a rich and unique fantasy world. Tomi is a master at keeping you on your toes at every chapter, while still spending time on her characters rich development and growth.
Content Warnings
Graphic: Violence and Blood
lucille_c's review against another edition
adventurous
dark
emotional
hopeful
inspiring
mysterious
reflective
sad
tense
fast-paced
- 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
Content Warnings
Graphic: Injury/Injury detail, Murder, Physical abuse, Torture, Gore, Grief, Violence, Blood, Death, Death of parent, Classism, Fire/Fire injury, and Genocide
brynn_webber's review against another edition
adventurous
mysterious
medium-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? Plot
- Strong character development? N/A
- Loveable characters? Yes
- Diverse cast of characters? Yes
- Flaws of characters a main focus? No
4.0
Content Warnings
Moderate: Death and Blood
_persephone_'s review against another edition
adventurous
dark
emotional
fast-paced
- 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
It wasn't a mind breaking book, it followed a common fantasy plot of, girl with magical powers has to hunt down these magical objects to stop the evil king, but it was good. While the base of the plot was nothing original, the small details did set it apart. My only real complaints were that it fell within that toxic heterosexual relationship trope Inan literally betrayed her, broke her heart, burnt down her village, and aided in the death of her father. Don't get me wrong, I love a bit of toxicity in relationships in fiction but some things are too far. . And lets be honest, it would've been way better if Zélie and Amari got together instead, it still could've been enemies to lovers, just without all the added toxicity.
(The reason I gave the diversity level a 'It's complicated' was that despite how many people praise this book with it's diversity, it really wasn't. I loved that there wasn't a single white person, it was refreshing, when most other book have only white people. But its not diverse if everyone is the same race whether thats white or not. And I understand that maybe in the part of the world where the story took place there really was only black people, but like add in some diversity of sexuality or disabilities eta. Just my two cents)
(The reason I gave the diversity level a 'It's complicated' was that despite how many people praise this book with it's diversity, it really wasn't. I loved that there wasn't a single white person, it was refreshing, when most other book have only white people. But its not diverse if everyone is the same race whether thats white or not. And I understand that maybe in the part of the world where the story took place there really was only black people, but like add in some diversity of sexuality or disabilities eta. Just my two cents)
Content Warnings
Graphic: Death of parent, Emotional abuse, and Torture
Moderate: Death, Physical abuse, Racial slurs, Genocide, and Sexual assault
Minor: Blood, Child death, and Slavery
mlphipps1991's review against another edition
adventurous
challenging
emotional
sad
tense
medium-paced
- 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
Content Warnings
Graphic: War, Slavery, Physical abuse, Blood, Violence, Racism, Police brutality, Murder, and Injury/Injury detail
Moderate: Death of parent
di_the_reader's review against another edition
adventurous
challenging
dark
emotional
sad
tense
medium-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? A mix
- Strong character development? Yes
- Loveable characters? It's complicated
5.0
Content Warnings
Graphic: Murder, War, Violence, and Blood
Moderate: Bullying
mirireads's review against another edition
adventurous
dark
fast-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? A mix
- Strong character development? It's complicated
- Loveable characters? It's complicated
- Diverse cast of characters? It's complicated
- Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes
3.0
The rating of this book wasn't easy because there was a lot to like about it: the main plot, world building, magic system, most of the main characters and fast paced storytelling. Therefore, I'd have loved to rate it higher but there's a big but:
The main romantic subplot was not for me. I absolutely despised the pairing. I dreaded that it would be "a thing" from the hints that were given quite early on and for a significant chunk of the second half of the book the subplot seemed to be the main focus of the book. Everything else apparently lost its urgency for a bit and them being pretty obsessed with each other made me consider dnfing the book.
Inan was also a whole problem by himself. I got strong Zuko vibes from him but never felt that his character earned that comparison. He's a weak and whiney person with no concept of taking responsibility for his own actions or those of the people under his command. Nothing is ever his fault and every hint of am independent thought is squished by his daddy issues.
Reading the 100ish pages about the valley with the divîners camp was infuriating.
More often then not, Tzain seemed to be the only sane person in the whole story. He definitely deserves better!
All in all, if you can get behind the romantic subplot, you're in for a treat and will probably love this book. If you can't get behind the romantic subplot, you'll probably suffer through those parts as well or just give up.
The main romantic subplot was not for me. I absolutely despised the pairing. I dreaded that it would be "a thing" from the hints that were given quite early on and for a significant chunk of the second half of the book the subplot seemed to be the main focus of the book. Everything else apparently lost its urgency for a bit and them being pretty obsessed with each other made me consider dnfing the book.
Reading the 100ish pages about the valley with the divîners camp was infuriating.
More often then not, Tzain seemed to be the only sane person in the whole story. He definitely deserves better!
All in all, if you can get behind the romantic subplot, you're in for a treat and will probably love this book. If you can't get behind the romantic subplot, you'll probably suffer through those parts as well or just give up.
Content Warnings
Graphic: Torture, Physical abuse, Murder, Injury/Injury detail, Genocide, Death of parent, Blood, Grief, Racism, Racial slurs, and Fire/Fire injury
stacy_27_'s review against another edition
adventurous
emotional
hopeful
sad
medium-paced
- 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
4.75
Content Warnings
Graphic: Death, Death of parent, Blood, and Murder
Minor: Sexual harassment
ashurah's review against another edition
adventurous
dark
emotional
tense
fast-paced
- 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
3.0
I have mixed feelings about this book.
The book's main strength (and my favorite part of it) was the worldbuilding. It is BEAUTIFUL and very layered; I could definitely tell that the author put a lot of time into researching aspects of West African cultures and developing it in a way that it fits this fantasy world. Even though the magic system wasn't as well-developed as I would have liked, the incorporation of African mythology and the explanations of the different social classes in Orishan society were two aspects of the novel that I really appreciated.
However, I just couldn't enjoy the novel as much as I could have due to a combination of two factors. The novel is VERY fast-paced. This worked in some cases: the fight scenes, in particular, were beautifully written. I really couldn't put the book down! All of those scenes were intense and exciting - even though they were all pretty similar, I never felt like I wanted to skip over those scenes.
But Adeyemi's focus on the tight plot meant that the relationships and characterization weren't as fleshed out. In particular, I felt that the romantic relationships(Zelie/Inan and Tzain/Amari) weren't well developed and kind of ruined the story for me. The author tried to include romantic subplots but it felt very forced. Even though we have an idea of which characters will canonically end up together, it didn't feel like they had any chemistry. Personally, Zelie/Amari seemed like a much better choice for a romantic relationship just due to how their relationship developed - it's a more realistic and subtle enemies-to-friends relationship than rushed enemies-to-lovers romance we get with Zelie/Inan. Both of them help each other develop throughout the story, rather than one character doing the heavy lifting for another character's development.
I also felt that the mood of the novel switched very quickly and it made it difficult to suspend my belief on some occasions. Like a previous reviewer said, it seemed like all the characters were very intensely angry for a couple of pages only for them to suddenly feel better. It didn't feel realistic at all, and that was a major part of why I couldn't connect to characters as well. The only character I liked was Amari - her development was by far the strongest throughout the book.
This was a really fun read. I enjoyed the action and worldbuilding, but unfortunately the relationships and characterization made it miss the mark for me.
The book's main strength (and my favorite part of it) was the worldbuilding. It is BEAUTIFUL and very layered; I could definitely tell that the author put a lot of time into researching aspects of West African cultures and developing it in a way that it fits this fantasy world. Even though the magic system wasn't as well-developed as I would have liked, the incorporation of African mythology and the explanations of the different social classes in Orishan society were two aspects of the novel that I really appreciated.
However, I just couldn't enjoy the novel as much as I could have due to a combination of two factors. The novel is VERY fast-paced. This worked in some cases: the fight scenes, in particular, were beautifully written. I really couldn't put the book down! All of those scenes were intense and exciting - even though they were all pretty similar, I never felt like I wanted to skip over those scenes.
But Adeyemi's focus on the tight plot meant that the relationships and characterization weren't as fleshed out. In particular, I felt that the romantic relationships
I also felt that the mood of the novel switched very quickly and it made it difficult to suspend my belief on some occasions. Like a previous reviewer said, it seemed like all the characters were very intensely angry for a couple of pages only for them to suddenly feel better. It didn't feel realistic at all, and that was a major part of why I couldn't connect to characters as well. The only character I liked was Amari - her development was by far the strongest throughout the book.
This was a really fun read. I enjoyed the action and worldbuilding, but unfortunately the relationships and characterization made it miss the mark for me.
Content Warnings
Graphic: Blood, Death of parent, Torture, Fire/Fire injury, Slavery, Violence, and Genocide
emilyheb10's review against another edition
adventurous
challenging
emotional
hopeful
inspiring
reflective
sad
tense
fast-paced
- 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
Content Warnings
Graphic: Physical abuse, Death of parent, Torture, Classism, Violence, Grief, and Injury/Injury detail
Moderate: Blood, Classism, Racial slurs, and Racism