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mountain_reader19'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: Murder, Physical abuse, Sexual harassment, Blood, Emotional abuse, Gore, Body horror, Bullying, Cursing, Torture, Child abuse, Death, Violence, War, Death of parent, and Grief
leabhar_love'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
3.75
Graphic: Abandonment, Blood, Confinement, Emotional abuse, Injury/Injury detail, Misogyny, Physical abuse, Rape, Religious bigotry, Sexual assault, Sexual violence, Torture, Violence, Body horror, Child abuse, Death, Death of parent, Genocide, Grief, and War
booksanna'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: Death, Blood, Murder, Genocide, Emotional abuse, Torture, Suicidal thoughts, Hate crime, Gore, War, Child abuse, Confinement, Toxic friendship, and Religious bigotry
Minor: Bullying, Rape, Slavery, Abandonment, Violence, and Injury/Injury detail
abby_reads_books's review against another edition
- Plot- or character-driven? Plot
- Strong character development? Yes
- Loveable characters? Yes
- Diverse cast of characters? Yes
- Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes
3.75
Graphic: Blood, Child abuse, Confinement, Forced institutionalization, Death of parent, Gore, Rape, Sexism, Sexual assault, Sexual violence, Child death, Death, Domestic abuse, Emotional abuse, Grief, Injury/Injury detail, Misogyny, Murder, Physical abuse, Torture, Violence, Sexual harassment, War, and Trafficking
moni_m'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
4.0
Graphic: Physical abuse, Emotional abuse, and Misogyny
Moderate: Abandonment
chrilovyl'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
3.75
Graphic: Misogyny
Moderate: Emotional abuse, Rape, Torture, and Physical abuse
katsbooks'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? It's complicated
4.0
“The physical body—it heals. The scars fade. But the memories are forever. Even when you forget, they remain inside, taunting you, resurfacing when you least expect.”
“They might need us now because we're valuable, might pretend to accept us, to reward us - but never forget what they did to us first.”
I'll be real. I put this book down about halfway through and almost didn't pick it back up. But I'm really glad I did. Other than the dip in the middle, the world-building was solid and intriguing. The patriarchy that Forna depicted was hard to read at times but I couldn't help drawing parallels to the real world.
I really enjoyed the found family trope. The secondary characters were so lovely and I ended up really liking how the author seemed to hold up the platonic relationships to the same level as the romantic one. It made the romantic relationship feel healthy and grounded while also not letting it take over the rest of the narrative.
I am interested to see how the second book progresses given that this one seemed to wrap up pretty nicely. It's almost like the author wasn't sure she if she would get to publish the second one so left enough loose ends, just in case, while tying up the big, important ones.
I also want to give some pretty major trigger warnings for death, torture and violence. This is marketed as Young Adult but I would definitely push this towards older teen readers for those scenes alone. The main character and her friends can heal from almost any injury so there are multiple scenes of torture including a pretty prominent scene of dismemberment.
Graphic: Genocide, Gaslighting, Grief, Blood, Confinement, Death, Child abuse, Body horror, Child death, Emotional abuse, Gore, Murder, Physical abuse, Sexism, Slavery, Torture, Injury/Injury detail, Misogyny, Violence, and War
Moderate: Abandonment and Animal cruelty
Minor: Sexual assault, Trafficking, Death of parent, Rape, and Sexual violence
h_reads98'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? No
3.0
Graphic: Torture, Murder, War, Violence, Sexism, Sexual assault, Sexual violence, Religious bigotry, and Misogyny
Moderate: Abandonment, Toxic relationship, Death of parent, Animal death, Child death, Death, Rape, Medical content, and Medical trauma
Minor: Body shaming, Domestic abuse, Emotional abuse, Genocide, Grief, and Hate crime
annescorner's review against another edition
- Plot- or character-driven? A mix
- Strong character development? Yes
- Loveable characters? Yes
- Diverse cast of characters? Yes
2.75
Though I really enjoyed it while reading (as you can tell from my original review), looking back at it there were some issues. The pacing was weird, being kinda slow at the beginning and getting too fast in the end. The characters were kind of flat/predictable and there were just too many to actually remember. And lastly, the ending... I kinda expected it, kinda was dumfounded at its unveiling, and it was all done and over it SO fast, it did not leave any impact. The positive things I said before still stand, but these things in retrospect made me drop my rating to 2.75 stars and I won't be continuing with the series because the premise of the follow-up makes me scream internally at how predictable und unreasonable it ist (obvious and stereotypically second book tropes) that I just don't want to read it anymore.
original review:
If I'm honest, this book truly surprised me. The premise was very unique and sounded good, but I was afraid that it may read too young or get too tropey. However, that was not the case. It was a bit infuriating at first how Deka thought, but it was the way she was taught all her life, so it made sense. She ended up being a strong young woman who fights for what she believes to be right.
I especially loved the friendship/found family aspect of this story. It is great to see all these girls find comfort and friendship in each other - and also the relationship between them and their urunis.
The lore/myth surrounding this fantasy is unlike anything I have read so far, so it was very engaging and well made. Of course, there were some points were it felt a bit rushed and not fleshed out enough, especially towards the end and the big revelation, but for a debut novel (!) this is really great.
I also really enjoyed the mix of different heritages/background/ethnicities in the novel. As a reader I was able to discern some characteristics of our own world in the different regions of Otera, but at the same time there where many differences. Another thing I really enjoyed was the feminist aspect of the story. It is very subtle and only really shows itself towards the end, but it shows the strengths of women, especially the strength they have when they bond.
And lastly, what I also wanted to say is, that for a YA fantasy, there was refreshingly little romance in this first book. I'm not saying there is not any, there is, but it is so interwoven into the storyline, which makes it play more of a supporting/side role, than something that leads the story. Because what leads it are the women, the girls, and the alaki.
*Beware of trigger warnings such as blood, death, harassment and more*
I'm really looking forward to the second book, The Merciless Ones!
Graphic: Death, Violence, and Blood
Moderate: Emotional abuse, Murder, Torture, War, Death of parent, and Cursing
Minor: Grief, Injury/Injury detail, Physical abuse, and Sexual harassment
anakl'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
4.75
Graphic: Blood, Torture, Body shaming, Murder, Physical abuse, Adult/minor relationship, Bullying, Child abuse, Death, Hate crime, Emotional abuse, and Religious bigotry