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whimsykat's review against another edition
adventurous
dark
- 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
4.0
missingbuttons's review
adventurous
dark
mysterious
medium-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? Plot
- Strong character development? Yes
- Loveable characters? Yes
- Diverse cast of characters? Yes
- Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes
4.0
cbeaver40's review
adventurous
challenging
dark
mysterious
tense
medium-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? Plot
- Strong character development? Yes
- Loveable characters? Yes
- Diverse cast of characters? Yes
- Flaws of characters a main focus? It's complicated
5.0
intentions's review
adventurous
emotional
mysterious
fast-paced
- 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
cmreemts's review
adventurous
challenging
dark
emotional
funny
mysterious
sad
tense
medium-paced
- Diverse cast of characters? Yes
- Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes
4.5
iforgotilivedhere's review
adventurous
dark
emotional
mysterious
sad
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? It's complicated
4.5
I liked it, but I wanted to know more about the characters besides what was happening in the present. Xialah has to have some good backstory, but we know barely anything, same with Naranpa. I want to know what had happened to her before she became the Sun Priestess.
eusteph's review against another edition
adventurous
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
5.0
I just LOVE IT when I go into a book with zero expectations and it blows my socks off.
Once again, thanks to P. Djeli Clark for recommending this book otherwise I would've just judged it by the cover and never read it.
For such a condensed fantasy novel, all things considered, the author managed to not only do a lot of really good world building but also covered a pretty extensive timeline of events. I love it when audiobooks have multiple narrators because I think it helps set the tone for the paragraph/passage being told. However, I would have benefitted from reading a physical/digital copy of this book just for the sake of learning how to spell the characters' names. Nonetheless this is clearly a "me" problem and judging the story based on this alone would go beyond nitpicking.
With this being said, Naranpa is definitely my favorite character overall. I loved how the female characters were portrayed and developed in this story as well as the LGBTQIA+ characters. I'm not surprised they were written so well given the fact that the author is a woman of color. The steamy scenes didn't cheapen the narrative at all and also didn't detract from the plot of the story as a whole.
I don't know if it's just me but I really got Moonknight vibes from this book. I am really really looking forward to reading the sequels as this book left me at the edge of my seat with its last couple of pages. Tempted to mark this as a favorite, but maybe I'll do this after I read the sequels (haha).
My mile-long TBR is not amused.
Once again, thanks to P. Djeli Clark for recommending this book otherwise I would've just judged it by the cover and never read it.
For such a condensed fantasy novel, all things considered, the author managed to not only do a lot of really good world building but also covered a pretty extensive timeline of events. I love it when audiobooks have multiple narrators because I think it helps set the tone for the paragraph/passage being told. However, I would have benefitted from reading a physical/digital copy of this book just for the sake of learning how to spell the characters' names. Nonetheless this is clearly a "me" problem and judging the story based on this alone would go beyond nitpicking.
With this being said, Naranpa is definitely my favorite character overall. I loved how the female characters were portrayed and developed in this story as well as the LGBTQIA+ characters. I'm not surprised they were written so well given the fact that the author is a woman of color. The steamy scenes didn't cheapen the narrative at all and also didn't detract from the plot of the story as a whole.
I don't know if it's just me but I really got Moonknight vibes from this book. I am really really looking forward to reading the sequels as this book left me at the edge of my seat with its last couple of pages. Tempted to mark this as a favorite, but maybe I'll do this after I read the sequels (haha).
My mile-long TBR is not amused.
Content Warnings
Graphic: Sexual content
spellboundchapters's review against another edition
adventurous
dark
mysterious
tense
slow-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? Yes
3.5
ingju's review against another edition
Se oli vaa tosi tylsää luettavaa jostain syystä. En tiiä yhtään miks mut pitää koittaa myöhemmin joskus uudestaa.
ninjapenguin's review against another edition
adventurous
dark
mysterious
reflective
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? Yes
5.0