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bookishperseus'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: Racism, Emotional abuse, Gore, Medical content, Medical trauma, Murder, Death, Blood, Death of parent, Toxic friendship, Toxic relationship, Physical abuse, Body horror, Child abuse, Child death, Confinement, Genocide, Grief, Hate crime, Injury/Injury detail, Kidnapping, Racial slurs, Violence, War, and Xenophobia
Moderate: Torture and Fire/Fire injury
strawhat_kd'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
4.75
Graphic: Violence
Moderate: Gore and Blood
jlemms87'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
SO well done. I had to pace myself because the darkness and hate were so well written that I needed breaks. My heart is still aching for each of the characters, and for how desperately I just wanted them to listen to one another.
Graphic: Fire/Fire injury, Gore, Hate crime, Colonisation, Panic attacks/disorders, Child abuse, Child death, Abandonment, Emotional abuse, Murder, Toxic relationship, Blood, Toxic friendship, Cancer, Racial slurs, Death, Genocide, Injury/Injury detail, Death of parent, Suicidal thoughts, and Violence
schmanderpants's review against another edition
- Plot- or character-driven? Plot
- Strong character development? It's complicated
- Loveable characters? It's complicated
- Diverse cast of characters? Yes
- Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes
4.0
Graphic: War and Gore
Moderate: Body horror
kyrstin_p1989'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
5.0
Graphic: Cultural appropriation, Murder, Death, Grief, Injury/Injury detail, Medical trauma, War, Gore, Toxic relationship, Violence, Blood, Bullying, Cancer, Classism, Colonisation, Confinement, Death of parent, Genocide, Police brutality, Toxic friendship, Xenophobia, Child death, Racism, Slavery, and Torture
robinks'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: War, Death, Death of parent, Fire/Fire injury, Murder, Violence, Blood, Emotional abuse, Child death, Racial slurs, Racism, Genocide, and Police brutality
Moderate: Confinement, Injury/Injury detail, Grief, and Gore
Minor: Alcohol, Trafficking, Vomit, Physical abuse, and Torture
sea_sea's review against another edition
- Plot- or character-driven? A mix
- Strong character development? It's complicated
- Loveable characters? Yes
- Diverse cast of characters? Yes
- Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes
3.75
There is also a lesbian background couple <3 I am definitely looking forward to the third book. Hopefully their story ends well! >~<
Graphic: War, Child abuse, Death, Death of parent, Genocide, Gore, Emotional abuse, Grief, Injury/Injury detail, Physical abuse, Racial slurs, Slavery, Suicidal thoughts, Abandonment, Colonisation, Torture, Violence, Blood, Body horror, and Murder
angievansprang's review against another edition
- Plot- or character-driven? A mix
- Strong character development? It's complicated
- Loveable characters? Yes
- Diverse cast of characters? Yes
- Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes
5.0
Graphic: War, Classism, Death, Violence, Colonisation, and Blood
Moderate: Gore and Injury/Injury detail
Minor: Grief
abby_can_read's review against another edition
- Plot- or character-driven? A mix
- Strong character development? It's complicated
- Loveable characters? Yes
- Diverse cast of characters? Yes
- Flaws of characters a main focus? It's complicated
3.0
After finishing the first book, I had high exceptions and I don't think this book lived up to them. This was a decent book and there were parts that I enjoyed reading.
Graphic: Violence, Death of parent, Genocide, Grief, Injury/Injury detail, Death, Murder, War, and Xenophobia
Moderate: Gore, Racial slurs, Racism, Blood, and Toxic relationship
Minor: Colonisation and Gaslighting
devourfiction's review against another edition
- Plot- or character-driven? Plot
- Strong character development? It's complicated
- Loveable characters? No
- Diverse cast of characters? It's complicated
- Flaws of characters a main focus? It's complicated
2.5
as much as the characters underwhelmed me, im still gonna try the third book with hopes that they reach their emotional conclusions there.
I was often taken out of the story by stuff that didn't fully follow or super make sense. Here are some of my plot hole/contrivance questions that are currently coming to mind.
- mama agba said the duel finishes at concession or death. neither of those things happened but amari still won, but whatever. But after ramaya is shuffled off to the infirmary she is not heard from again or mentioned once. did they heal her? did she die later? did she stay in the infirmary in a coma the whole time, in which case did they just ditch her when they left the sanctuary?
- if everyone hated amari so much, why wasn't she challenged immediately again, by someone who wouldn't play games? you could say people might have been scared once they found out she was a center, but there was a chunk of time in which this wasn't revealed.
- if amari became an elder, why didn't she get a vision?
- becoming an elder, amari seems to devote no time to think about the connectors under her. Initially I thought this was a great setup for her character as a lousy maji ally because zelie told her an elder has a communal and leadership role, and amari was going into this cultural role without desire or ability to fulfill it, simply for recognition and power, but then this particular concern was dropped and never heard of again.
- tsain mostly existed as far as his romantic relationship with amari aaaand that's it. :( I get that there was a larger cast of characters now but it felt bad to see a main character have no arc of his own outside of his reactions to amari.
- Nailah also disappeared halfway into the book never to be seen again
- ig this could be chalked up to stupidity but WHY did amari and inan meet right by the sanctuary and not at a neutral location
- mama agba went from being against blood sacrifice and warning away from it to volunteering for it. it's possible but it needed SOME setup i think, felt like whiplash.
- why was amari the only one blamed for the village war crime when she did it with the burner and cancer elders - were they also shackled or in cells, or..?
Moderate: Gore, Suicidal thoughts, War, and Xenophobia