The design and UX isn't done, Rob and Abbie, okkurrrr! 😌
internationalreads'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
3.5
Graphic: Death, Death of parent, Miscarriage, Sexual content, Suicidal thoughts, Animal death, Blood, Bullying, Confinement, Murder, Pregnancy, Fire/Fire injury, Gore, Grief, Infertility, Injury/Injury detail, Violence, and War
booksjessreads'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? No
5.0
This is my first high fantasy book and I loved every single page. Despite being initially intimidated by its size, I absolutely sailed through it because I was addicted. Every single page had me hooked. I have not felt the thrill of reading a fantastic book for a long time and it made me feel like a giddy child wanting to find out what happened all the time.
The writing is phenomenal. It has such detailed, yet comprehensive world-building and it doesn't feel forced, or like the author is info-dumping. Furthermore, the world that Shannon has crafted is just wonderful. There is so much lore in this world and it has been so intricately thought out. It felt so immersive and learning about the world was not tedious and only served as interesting to me as the reader.
The characters are so well thought-out and completely human, believable and three dimensional. There is great character growth and I think my favourite thing about this, was that despite being told from 4 different points of view, each character felt relevant and I liked them all. I hate it in books where you have multiple POV's and one or two feel irrelevant or they are just unbearable narrators. This never happened and the story was enriched from every perspective.
A sapphic and feminist work of art that has dragons in, I mean, what more could you want?
Graphic: Animal cruelty, Blood, Death, Miscarriage, and Violence
Moderate: Misogyny, Confinement, Suicidal thoughts, and Death of parent
jodean'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: Miscarriage, Injury/Injury detail, Violence, Fire/Fire injury, Classism, Xenophobia, Religious bigotry, Pregnancy, Murder, Grief, Deportation, Blood, Abandonment, Death, and Confinement
Moderate: War, Sexism, Medical content, Infertility, Medical trauma, Misogyny, and Death of parent
Minor: Infidelity, Child death, Domestic abuse, and Drug use
fanboyriot's review against another edition
- Plot- or character-driven? Plot
- Strong character development? No
- Loveable characters? It's complicated
- Diverse cast of characters? Yes
- Flaws of characters a main focus? No
3.5
Graphic: Blood, Alcoholism, Fire/Fire injury, Animal cruelty, Body horror, Pandemic/Epidemic, Miscarriage, Death, Infertility, Child death, Confinement, Religious bigotry, Medical content, Violence, Murder, Grief, Gore, Death of parent, Torture, Sexual content, War, Pregnancy, Injury/Injury detail, and Xenophobia
Moderate: Medical trauma, Kidnapping, Emotional abuse, Homophobia, Genocide, Bullying, Outing, Alcohol, Terminal illness, Suicide attempt, Domestic abuse, Classism, Mental illness, Misogyny, Physical abuse, Suicide, Suicidal thoughts, Animal death, Incest, Infidelity, Addiction, and Gaslighting
Minor: Dementia, Sexual assault, Self harm, Toxic relationship, Excrement, Adult/minor relationship, Drug use, Rape, Cursing, Panic attacks/disorders, and Sexism
luciferin's review against another edition
- Plot- or character-driven? Character
- Strong character development? It's complicated
- Loveable characters? It's complicated
- Diverse cast of characters? Yes
- Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes
3.75
Graphic: Body horror, Classism, Confinement, Infertility, Death, War, Violence, Animal cruelty, Animal death, Blood, Injury/Injury detail, and Miscarriage
Moderate: Mental illness, Torture, Sexual content, Pregnancy, Infidelity, and Incest
mushroomfrog'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
5.0
Graphic: Confinement, Pandemic/Epidemic, Blood, Death, Death of parent, Body horror, Injury/Injury detail, Gore, Medical content, and Murder
Moderate: Miscarriage, Pregnancy, Vomit, Infertility, Incest, and Grief
cameronreads's review against another edition
5.0
Graphic: Infertility, Injury/Injury detail, Miscarriage, Murder, Violence, War, Xenophobia, Blood, Cursing, Death, Gore, Grief, Religious bigotry, and Pregnancy
Moderate: Dementia, Kidnapping, Suicidal thoughts, Alcohol, Fire/Fire injury, Confinement, and Pandemic/Epidemic
Minor: Animal death, Vomit, Addiction, Mental illness, Sexual assault, Death of parent, Incest, Infidelity, Sexual content, and Torture
maddalynmoon's review against another edition
- Plot- or character-driven? Plot
- Strong character development? Yes
- Loveable characters? It's complicated
- Diverse cast of characters? Yes
- Flaws of characters a main focus? No
4.0
Moderate: Child death, Fire/Fire injury, Genocide, Grief, Miscarriage, Misogyny, Pregnancy, Classism, Colonisation, Injury/Injury detail, Blood, Torture, War, Confinement, Death, Death of parent, Medical trauma, Pandemic/Epidemic, Religious bigotry, Sexism, Infertility, and Infidelity
rubybastille'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
Graphic: Gore, Death, and War
Moderate: Confinement, Pregnancy, Mental illness, Miscarriage, Animal cruelty, Xenophobia, Suicidal thoughts, and Religious bigotry
takarakei'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
4.5
- EPIC fantasy
- sapphic slow burn
- dragons
- fate/destiny
- battle against 'evil'
I honestly highly recommend reading A Day of Fallen Night first if you haven't. I believe SS recommends that you try and it does make ADOFN a bit of an uphill struggle with all the world building, but it pays off when you get to TPOTOT and you're just breezing on through (well... it's easier at least)!
My biggest critique of this book is the Niclays POV - I just did not care enough about him as a character and I felt his was the weakest POV and that side of the story could have been told differently. Also slight pacing issues as the end feels a bit rushed and doesn't match the pace of the rest of the book.
Graphic: Blood, Violence, Miscarriage, and Death
Moderate: Injury/Injury detail, Pregnancy, Religious bigotry, Animal death, Infertility, Confinement, and Murder
Minor: Gun violence, Alcoholism, War, Infidelity, Pandemic/Epidemic, Lesbophobia, and Mental illness