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zombiezami's review against another edition
3.75
Graphic: Violence, Misogyny, Sexism, Child death, Grief, Racism, Xenophobia, Racial slurs, Injury/Injury detail, Death of parent, and Death
Moderate: Blood, Pregnancy, Sexual harassment, Confinement, Antisemitism, Self harm, Transphobia, Classism, Hate crime, Homophobia, Pandemic/Epidemic, Bullying, Outing, Sexual content, Cursing, and Genocide
Minor: Sexual violence, Cultural appropriation, and Rape
iridium's review against another edition
- Plot- or character-driven? Plot
- Strong character development? No
- Loveable characters? No
- Diverse cast of characters? Yes
- Flaws of characters a main focus? No
2.5
Graphic: Lesbophobia, Homophobia, Transphobia, Religious bigotry, Racism, and Xenophobia
Moderate: Genocide
Minor: Bullying
aseaoftomes'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
This book is told in a dual timeline, one in 1815, and the other in present day, or some equivalent. It follows a cast of characters both past and present as they deal with an outbreak of a plague (the Dancing Plague to be specific) and how the events of the past are intertwined in the present. And I think that's all I'll say to avoid spoilers.
The writing was absolutely gorgeous. I loved it a lot. It's captures the atmosphere of the book and the emotions and it was just some of the most gorgeous prose I've read in a long time. I normally don't pay attention to the writing in detail, but this time it was hard to avoid. Definitely a highlight for me.
The plot is pretty much what I mentioned above, and is hard to fully describe because it's a quieter book. There's a good mix of plot and character work but it's a bit more character focused. Pretty much all you need to know though is there's a plague and we follow certain characters from different backgrounds who are involved in it all in a specific way.
The setting was also lovely. The 1815 portion primarily takes place in Strasbourg and the Alsace region in Germany and it's slightly unclear where the present day portion took place. But both settings played an interesting role, and while it wasn't the main focus, I enjoyed it regardless.
Finally, the characters. I really enjoyed all of them - Lala, Alifair, Emil, Rosella...they were all great characters. The first two characters were back in 1815 and I loved their portions the most. I loved the exploration of groups of people we normally don't see at the forefront of novels like the Romani for example. That was a huge part of the novel and I adored it for a variety of reasons. Rosella and her background was also interesting and added an extra layer as well. It was absolutely fantastic. I loved the romances as well and the relationships in general. And the themes that were explored as well like identity, love, friendships, how the past matters for our present...all of it was just so good.
All in all, a pleasant surprise and one that I plan on revisiting in the future.
Moderate: Death, Grief, Pregnancy, Racism, Transphobia, Xenophobia, and Homophobia
Minor: Sexual content
annalisaely'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: Grief, Homophobia, Misogyny, Outing, Racism, Religious bigotry, Sexism, Transphobia, and Xenophobia
ehmannky'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
4.5
Graphic: Xenophobia, Racism, and Racial slurs
Moderate: Death of parent, Death, Child death, and Grief
drp_moonlight's review against another edition
- Plot- or character-driven? Plot
- Strong character development? No
- Loveable characters? N/A
- Diverse cast of characters? Yes
- Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes
2.0
The book alternates between 3 POV characters (Lala, Emil, and Rosella) but the extremely short chapters cut into each character's limited development. On top of that, Alifair (Lala's love interest) was ignored almost until the end. Emil and Rosella are supposed to follow the trope of childhood friends to lovers but there is nothing to actually develop them as such. They barely interact until they are together.
The writing dragged on and on without going anywhere. It took nearly half the pages to get to the plot. I was bored out of my mind half the time. The only time I left my stupor was when McLemore would reuse the phrase "given a girl's name at birth". When I first read this phrase in Rojas, I was enthralled by it's magic but by the 5th time in this book I was annoyed.
The ending was sweet, though unrealistic, but this is a fairytale after all.
In conclusion, read Rojas instead. It's the same plot with better writing and pacing.
Graphic: Racism, Religious bigotry, and Xenophobia
Moderate: Death of parent and Blood
Minor: Sexual content
erinsbookshelves'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
4.0
Graphic: Racism, Transphobia, Death, Homophobia, Racial slurs, Religious bigotry, and Xenophobia
Moderate: Blood
Minor: Antisemitism, Ableism, and Violence
forcedtoland'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
4.5
a book just as touching as it is enchanting! the writing is beautiful, and i loved reading through the different characters’ perspectives. i really felt for them, although i have to admit i was much more invested in lala & alifair’s storyline than the 21st century one.
i would have loved to see more of alifair, actually, but i think i’m just being biased because i love alifair too much. have i mentioned i love alifair? because i do. love alifair i mean.
Graphic: Xenophobia
Moderate: Religious bigotry and Transphobia
Minor: Homophobia
mirichasha'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
4.75
Moderate: Religious bigotry, Xenophobia, Death, Transphobia, and Racism
Minor: Homophobia, Sexism, Rape, Racial slurs, Antisemitism, and Violence
harperhoney'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
4.25
Graphic: Racism, Death, and Mental illness
Moderate: Body shaming, Death of parent, Death, Homophobia, Misogyny, Racial slurs, Religious bigotry, Sexism, Sexual content, Transphobia, Xenophobia, and Grief
Minor: Bullying, Deadnaming, and Hate crime