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katievallin's review against another edition
- Plot- or character-driven? A mix
- Strong character development? Yes
- Loveable characters? It's complicated
- Diverse cast of characters? No
- Flaws of characters a main focus? No
2.0
I did like Bitterblue as a character, and I thought Katsa and Po's relationship was sweet.
Graphic: Murder and Violence
Moderate: Child abuse, Blood, Chronic illness, Vomit, Injury/Injury detail, and Animal death
Minor: Sexual harassment, Child death, Animal cruelty, Kidnapping, Medical content, and Sexual content
qrschulte'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, Kidnapping, Death, Violence, Death of parent, Emotional abuse, Gaslighting, Gore, Murder, and Injury/Injury detail
Moderate: Adult/minor relationship, Blood, Child abuse, Domestic abuse, Sexual assault, Child death, Grief, Medical content, Pedophilia, Physical abuse, Sexual harassment, and Animal cruelty
Minor: Alcohol
gillian_aftanas'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
4.75
Graphic: Animal death, Domestic abuse, Injury/Injury detail, Death of parent, Misogyny, Violence, Confinement, Death, Murder, Pedophilia, Animal cruelty, Gaslighting, Medical content, and Sexual content
Moderate: Forced institutionalization, Grief, Sexism, Sexual assault, Sexual harassment, Incest, Kidnapping, Blood, Emotional abuse, Rape, Torture, and Vomit
Minor: Child death and Abortion
ava_ba'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: Toxic relationship, Gaslighting, Sexual harassment, Emotional abuse, Misogyny, Murder, and Sexism
Minor: Sexual harassment, Adult/minor relationship, Animal death, Physical abuse, Rape, Sexism, Body horror, Death of parent, Domestic abuse, Gaslighting, Child abuse, Death, Injury/Injury detail, Sexual content, Sexual violence, Animal cruelty, Sexual assault, Medical content, and Murder
claudiamacpherson'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
Moderate: Medical content, Ableism, Blood, Child abuse, Death, Death of parent, Emotional abuse, Gaslighting, Injury/Injury detail, Kidnapping, Murder, Physical abuse, and Violence
Minor: Animal death, Domestic abuse, Emotional abuse, Animal cruelty, Grief, Misogyny, Vomit, Outing, Sexual harassment, Sexism, and Torture
booksthatburn'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
It's about loneliness, abuse, and healing, including abuse to children and animals, so please be aware that those are major themes in the book.
The world building is solid, with enough detail to make later revelations feel important. The explanations feel natural, occurring as something happens or Katsa thinks of some detail. This makes it feel like the world is slowly being revealed even though early on it's not new to the protagonist. I like Po, he had a difficult set of things to balance and overall I like how he is with Katsa. His situation towards the end skirts some potentially problematic ableist tropes but manages to not make it seem like his late-acquired disability is what gives him greater control of his powers. YMMV on whether this works, I think it does because of the precise order of events.
Overall I like this a lot and I'm looking forward to reading the rest of the series.
Graphic: Murder and Death
Moderate: Sexism, Misogyny, Kidnapping, Child abuse, Animal cruelty, Medical content, Blood, Vomit, Violence, Torture, Animal death, Death of parent, and Child death
Minor: Sexual content and Sexual assault