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sofiadanielle's review against another edition
adventurous
emotional
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
4.25
Picked up this book at B&N on a complete whim; haven’t heard about it previously, but the promise of a mix of Avatar:TLA and Pokemon was certainly interesting enough!
Here to say I wasn’t disappointed. The story certainly fulfilled its promise of the shows it said it would invoke. The world build was pretty phenomenal to me, and my interest was invested in the characters. It was interesting to see pieces of real-life cultures (from Korea, China, Japan and the Philippines) get woven into the characters written. It was cool to get to see a Pinoy lead in a fantasy world, too! This novel was entrancing and had me in tears twice; so, certainly emotional, too.
The only quip I have, hence the rating not being higher, being that the beginning was a bit slow. I had a bit of a hard time figuring out the time period, as well (if the story took place in some time modern, or maybe a couple centuries ago, before industrialization, etc.) The balance between four (sometimes five) POVs was good, but I agree with the reviews that stated that there were pieces of each character’s backstory missing as you read. I don’t fault Krueger for the lack of back story, I suppose, but I do hope a second book follows and gives the reader a more in depth look to these characters!
I do also want to add, the LGBT+ characters/story line was so refreshing and felt so unforced. Krueger was also unafraid to regard colonialism and its many sides, both as the colonizer and as the colonized, and the intricate feelings it can invoke in someone trying to move past all that.. Really commend Krueger for how he treated those characters and themes!
Here to say I wasn’t disappointed. The story certainly fulfilled its promise of the shows it said it would invoke. The world build was pretty phenomenal to me, and my interest was invested in the characters. It was interesting to see pieces of real-life cultures (from Korea, China, Japan and the Philippines) get woven into the characters written. It was cool to get to see a Pinoy lead in a fantasy world, too! This novel was entrancing and had me in tears twice; so, certainly emotional, too.
The only quip I have, hence the rating not being higher, being that the beginning was a bit slow. I had a bit of a hard time figuring out the time period, as well (if the story took place in some time modern, or maybe a couple centuries ago, before industrialization, etc.) The balance between four (sometimes five) POVs was good, but I agree with the reviews that stated that there were pieces of each character’s backstory missing as you read. I don’t fault Krueger for the lack of back story, I suppose, but I do hope a second book follows and gives the reader a more in depth look to these characters!
I do also want to add, the LGBT+ characters/story line was so refreshing and felt so unforced. Krueger was also unafraid to regard colonialism and its many sides, both as the colonizer and as the colonized, and the intricate feelings it can invoke in someone trying to move past all that.. Really commend Krueger for how he treated those characters and themes!
Content Warnings
Moderate: Racism, War, Murder, Violence, Blood, and Suicidal thoughts
ayhuz's review against another edition
adventurous
challenging
dark
emotional
funny
mysterious
reflective
tense
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
4.0
Content Warnings
Graphic: Death
Moderate: Racial slurs, Animal cruelty, War, Xenophobia, Religious bigotry, and Violence
Minor: Genocide
discworldwitch's review
adventurous
dark
funny
mysterious
tense
medium-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? Character
- Strong character development? It's complicated
- Loveable characters? Yes
- Diverse cast of characters? Yes
- Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes
4.5
A fantastic read with some very interesting themes exploring imperialism and colonialism, all in a riveting fantasy setting. Knocked down to 4.5 stars only because of technical issues, some of the writing /story structure didn’t really work for me.
Content Warnings
Graphic: Gore, Injury/Injury detail, Racial slurs, War, Violence, Death, and Death of parent
Moderate: Suicidal thoughts and Colonisation
Minor: Grief
cinnamonandpancakes's review against another edition
adventurous
challenging
hopeful
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
4.0
Content Warnings
Graphic: Racism and Racial slurs
Moderate: Violence
trixiez's review against another edition
adventurous
funny
mysterious
tense
medium-paced
- 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
3.5
Though this book wasn't perfect, it was a fun and quick read, and I'm happy that I picked it up!
Some of my favorite parts included:
-The characters! This book offered a great spread of different personalities, and I loved exploring everyone's different cultures and beliefs and watching them intersect as characters interacted with each other. Each character had a distinct voice as well, and I felt that they were all very well developed, with clear arcs throughout the narrative.
-On a similar note: I really enjoyed the relationships between characters (particularly the romances!) They felt both dynamic and natural, and they evolved in a way that made sense to me throughout the story without feeling unprompted or ridiculous.
-The dialogue is super snappy and witty, and it made me laugh out loud multiple times!
-Lots of LGBTQ+ rep! (Including multiple bisexual main characters, a f/f romance, and a trans side character)
-This is a standalone book (I think), and the ending does a nice job of tying up all of the loose character threads in a satisfying way. The ending felt logical and natural, and it also answered many of the lingering questions I had as I neared the end of the story. Alongside answering these questions and following through on character arcs, it also left a little loose space for reader interpretation—which is something I always enjoy—instead of tying everything into a tight little bow.
Some things I didn't like:
-Though I enjoyed the multiple POVs and exploring the differing perspectives/beliefs of the the main characters, I did feel like Dimangan's chapters were completely unnecessary. I felt that the themes they explored were already covered in Tala's chapters and didn't add much to the story. They also didn't appear as frequently as other characters' chapters, so it was always a little jarring to switch to a character I hadn't been following for a while. They didn't add much for me, and I much preferred reading about him and his relationship with Tala in her chapters rather than his own.
-The worldbuilding. Though I loved the world, the detail it was infused with, and the magic system, I felt that a lot of the worldbuilding was conveniently info-dumpy. Some scenes felt natural as characters explored and commented on new cultures and environments, while other scenes felt like they were simply tools to feed readers more about the world. Though the full immersion in this world was a lot of fun, the constant large chunks of information slowed the pace of the story considerably, particularly near the beginning
-I also didn't enjoy many of the plot twists/information reveals. This was due to the fact that many of the reveals were for the reader only, not the characters. When important information was revealed, it was often something that the POV character already knew and had been holding onto until the moment where it was conveniently pertinent to the plot. I found it frustrating when new information was shared in this way, especially if it was something the characters had known for a long time. This trend was particularly common in Tala's chapters, but popped up in other places as well.
Overall though, this was a fun book, and one that I'm glad that I took the time to read. If you enjoy Pokémon, ATLA, playful banter filled with animosity, or fantasy with multiple main perspectives, then I definitely recommend checking it out!
Some of my favorite parts included:
-The characters! This book offered a great spread of different personalities, and I loved exploring everyone's different cultures and beliefs and watching them intersect as characters interacted with each other. Each character had a distinct voice as well, and I felt that they were all very well developed, with clear arcs throughout the narrative.
-On a similar note: I really enjoyed the relationships between characters (particularly the romances!) They felt both dynamic and natural, and they evolved in a way that made sense to me throughout the story without feeling unprompted or ridiculous.
-The dialogue is super snappy and witty, and it made me laugh out loud multiple times!
-Lots of LGBTQ+ rep! (Including multiple bisexual main characters, a f/f romance, and a trans side character)
-This is a standalone book (I think), and the ending does a nice job of tying up all of the loose character threads in a satisfying way. The ending felt logical and natural, and it also answered many of the lingering questions I had as I neared the end of the story. Alongside answering these questions and following through on character arcs, it also left a little loose space for reader interpretation—which is something I always enjoy—instead of tying everything into a tight little bow.
Some things I didn't like:
-Though I enjoyed the multiple POVs and exploring the differing perspectives/beliefs of the the main characters, I did feel like Dimangan's chapters were completely unnecessary. I felt that the themes they explored were already covered in Tala's chapters and didn't add much to the story. They also didn't appear as frequently as other characters' chapters, so it was always a little jarring to switch to a character I hadn't been following for a while. They didn't add much for me, and I much preferred reading about him and his relationship with Tala in her chapters rather than his own.
-The worldbuilding. Though I loved the world, the detail it was infused with, and the magic system, I felt that a lot of the worldbuilding was conveniently info-dumpy. Some scenes felt natural as characters explored and commented on new cultures and environments, while other scenes felt like they were simply tools to feed readers more about the world. Though the full immersion in this world was a lot of fun, the constant large chunks of information slowed the pace of the story considerably, particularly near the beginning
-I also didn't enjoy many of the plot twists/information reveals. This was due to the fact that many of the reveals were for the reader only, not the characters. When important information was revealed, it was often something that the POV character already knew and had been holding onto until the moment where it was conveniently pertinent to the plot. I found it frustrating when new information was shared in this way, especially if it was something the characters had known for a long time. This trend was particularly common in Tala's chapters, but popped up in other places as well.
Overall though, this was a fun book, and one that I'm glad that I took the time to read. If you enjoy Pokémon, ATLA, playful banter filled with animosity, or fantasy with multiple main perspectives, then I definitely recommend checking it out!
Content Warnings
Moderate: Violence and Xenophobia
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