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killeenm18's review
- 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
3.75
Graphic: Suicide and Alcohol
samseyz's review
- 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
5.0
Graphic: Genocide, Murder, Child abuse, Injury/Injury detail, Suicide, and Violence
Moderate: Alcohol and Animal death
Minor: Kidnapping
jaynovara'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? No
5.0
Graphic: Blood, Injury/Injury detail, Body horror, and Death
Moderate: Animal death, Alcohol, Animal cruelty, Child abuse, Death of parent, Self harm, Kidnapping, Physical abuse, Suicide, and Torture
Minor: Religious bigotry, Cursing, and Sexual violence
ronniethereader's review
- Plot- or character-driven? A mix
- Strong character development? Yes
- Loveable characters? Yes
- Diverse cast of characters? Yes
4.0
Graphic: Injury/Injury detail, Blood, and Violence
Moderate: Alcohol and Death
Minor: Animal death, Body horror, Death of parent, and Suicide
trips's review
- Plot- or character-driven? A mix
- Strong character development? No
- Loveable characters? Yes
- Diverse cast of characters? Yes
- Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes
2.5
I'm happy I finally finished the book, but the plot left me wanting so much more. The world was lush and exciting, I loved the introductions to all of the characters but then...it felt like I was reading a lead up to a climax that didn't totally happen. I understand this is a series, but some of the events in this book felt completely unnecessary, and the plot probably could've been condensed for better flow.
Serapio's backstory bits were a bit to tell and no show for me, and I felt like we didn't get enough points from his POV in the current plot and instead we got a few chapters with Okoa. Okoa is perfectly fine character, but his chapters were the snooziest and the tell instead of show of them all I felt.
Xiala's great though, definitely the best character.
In any case, TL;DR I wanted to like this book because it has a great setting, but the plot just did nothing for me and left me without feeling like I got a whole lot out of it.
Graphic: Child abuse and Violence
Moderate: Alcohol and Blood
rlgreen91'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? N/A
5.0
Like a lot of people, I enjoyed the worldbuilding quite a bit. It was fascinating to see how the author blended elements of different Mesoamerican cultures, such as patol (a real game!), turquoise and jade jewelry and decor, and cacao as a drink and currency. It's a nice breath of fresh air as the setting for a fantasy series without requiring us to go off-planet.
I also enjoyed the depiction of how each of our main characters felt estranged from their community and to a larger extent from the people around them. Through them, I feel like we've laid the groundwork to explore how different scenarios can affect that sense of estrangement, from connecting to others that also feel alone to reconnecting with family members. I'm interested to see how this plays out in the next book given how we're leaving off in this book.
Overall I really enjoyed this! I'm sure I'll pick up the next book before the end of the year.
Graphic: Blood, Murder, Body horror, Gore, and Death
Moderate: Injury/Injury detail, Physical abuse, Alcohol, and Death of parent
Minor: Suicide
tinysierra's review
- Plot- or character-driven? A mix
- Diverse cast of characters? Yes
- Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes
4.75
There was a mix of character driven and plot driven moments. I felt like there was a lot of slow/medium paced moments where there was more focus on character development/interactions but it did pick up in some places with more plot related aspects. It kept my attention either way.
The timeline hopped around a bit, jumping back into the past and then forward into the present. Slowly putting the pieces together. The chapters had the date along with experts from in world media (like journal entries), which really added to my immersion.
I liked Xiala and Serapio’s chapters the most. It was nice to see the story through a blind characters perspective. I hope to see more about Xiala’s powers in the next book.
In this book, queer characters are accepted in some of the societies but not others. There are characters that use neopronouns (xe/xir)! Xiala mentions that she takes pleasure with “men, women, and other genders” which I assume means that she’s bi or pan.
The ending was fast and admittedly a little anticlimactic but I don’t find myself feeling disappointed. I’m curious about where the story is going.
Graphic: Murder, Death of parent, Alcohol, Alcoholism, Colonisation, Death, Gore, Addiction, Blood, Violence, Body horror, Classism, Child abuse, Injury/Injury detail, and Physical abuse
Moderate: Drug use, Biphobia, Lesbophobia, Confinement, Homophobia, Suicide, and War
Minor: Infidelity, Abandonment, Animal death, Vomit, and Sexual content
itisnatal'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
Graphic: Alcohol, Animal death, Blood, Body horror, Death, Suicide, Child abuse, Confinement, and Drug use
sup3r_xn0va_maya'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
I want to like aspects of the blind representation but upon a closer look the blind main character kind of falls into the "magical disabled persons" trope and I don't like that very much.
"Typically, the disabled characters are limited to four types: the “magical cripple,” the “evil cripple,” the “inspirational cripple” and the “redemptive cripple.” Magical cripples transcend the limitations of the human body and are almost divinelike. They make magical things happen for able-bodied characters."
- PBS.org
I really liked Xiala, I like how relatable Serapio was, the queerness, and the addition or introduction of a third gender.
This was a really good read and I can't wait to dig into the next book in the series.
I'm giving this 4.5 stars out of 5
Graphic: Blood, Child abuse, Death, Gore, Injury/Injury detail, Kidnapping, Murder, Abandonment, Confinement, Alcohol, Alcoholism, Animal death, Body horror, Physical abuse, Death of parent, and Violence
nerdysread'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
5.0
Maybe the romance could not have been there. But it’s not a big deal, it’s still good
Graphic: Murder, Death, Child abuse, Blood, and Physical abuse
Moderate: Child abuse, Death of parent, Alcohol, and Suicide
Minor: Genocide and Grief