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nectar_'s review against another edition
- Plot- or character-driven? Character
- Strong character development? Yes
- Loveable characters? Yes
- Diverse cast of characters? Yes
5.0
Graphic: Alcoholism and Pregnancy
Moderate: Infertility and Xenophobia
Minor: Suicidal thoughts
kappafrog'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
There is a wide variety of characters here of different shades of moral greyness. At first I really didn't like Sabran, but she grew on me over time; and as the book went on, I felt more mixed about Ead. Tané grew on me some as the story went on too. All of the characters in the book, including the many queer and female characters, were complex and multi-layered. Loth, Margret and Chassar were the most consistently likable, while Roos was the hardest to like but still sympathetic at times. Even the disgusting Kalyba was not a one-dimensional villain. The Priory was not what I expected, and I loved the evocation of different landscapes and cultures with clear inspirations from our world. The book's length felt merited since there were a lot of different political, magical, and character aspects to explore. I felt like my investment in the story and its characters really paid off. Shannon is not afraid to kill her characters, so there were real stakes at every point in the book. The finale was epic and also gave us enough time to spend with each character in the aftermath of the climax.
All in all, this was a great re-introduction to epic fantasy for me. I'd definitely recommend it to anyone who enjoys high fantasy.
Graphic: Death, Infertility, Infidelity, Miscarriage, Violence, Blood, Grief, Religious bigotry, Death of parent, Murder, Pregnancy, Fire/Fire injury, War, Injury/Injury detail, and Deportation
Moderate: Animal cruelty, Animal death, Gore, Gun violence, Incest, Sexual content, Suicidal thoughts, Torture, Medical content, Alcohol, Classism, and Pandemic/Epidemic
Minor: Addiction, Alcoholism, and Child death
lonelylooper'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
4.5
Graphic: Body horror, Cursing, Death, Gore, Infertility, Miscarriage, Sexual content, Violence, Blood, Grief, Religious bigotry, Pregnancy, and Injury/Injury detail
Moderate: Child death, Mental illness, Physical abuse, Suicidal thoughts, Torture, Xenophobia, Dementia, Kidnapping, Medical trauma, Murder, Fire/Fire injury, Classism, and Pandemic/Epidemic
Minor: Incest, Infidelity, Suicide, and Death of parent
lmfry'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
4.5
Graphic: Alcoholism, Confinement, Death, Infertility, Miscarriage, Suicidal thoughts, Violence, Xenophobia, Dementia, Kidnapping, Grief, Religious bigotry, Death of parent, Murder, Pregnancy, Fire/Fire injury, Abandonment, Alcohol, War, Injury/Injury detail, and Classism
Moderate: Animal death, Medical content, and Gaslighting
Minor: Suicide and Vomit
bionerdatgc'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
2.5
On pacing: it was very slow to start, which is OK when weaving lots of storylines together. However, the story's first POV character actually gets the least amount of "screen" time - which in my opinion is a tragedy, because she and the Eastern dragons are the most interesting part of the story yet seem more like afterthoughts. Everything builds so slowly that when any action happens, it's over too fast and feels unfulfilling. The climax is awesome at least. I felt like it was paced just right, but there wasn't enough of it compared to the buildup.
I think this was a very well-conceived story, and it was woven together well in the amount of space it had. It lives up to the scale of epic fantasies. That said, I think it fell flat of its potential. Seriously, DRAGONS! Why have hundreds of pages of court intrigue on one side of the world when there are DRAGON RIDERS on the other side? And a convent of DRAGON SLAYERS down in the south? Flashbacks from Ead's childhood in the Priory would have added action to slower stretches and provided a much richer backdrop. And I really wish Tané had been given more time with her dragon. I would have loved to see them patrolling together instead of just talking, for instance. I would have loved to see the Sea Guard in action. So many things that could have been developed were overlooked in favor of court intrigue.
As a writer, I'm glad I read this book because I've learned a lot about my own preferences and style from it. However, I did not enjoy it enough to read it again.
Graphic: Cursing, Incest, Infidelity, Miscarriage, Sexual content, Suicidal thoughts, Religious bigotry, and Injury/Injury detail
Moderate: Infertility, Medical content, Grief, Medical trauma, Murder, Pregnancy, and Injury/Injury detail
Minor: Confinement, Death, Emotional abuse, Gore, Pedophilia, Blood, Dementia, Death of parent, and Outing
shellbow'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: Infertility, Miscarriage, Sexual content, Suicidal thoughts, Religious bigotry, Pregnancy, and War
lemonyanne'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
Moderate: Child death, Death, Gore, Infertility, Miscarriage, Violence, Blood, Fire/Fire injury, War, and Injury/Injury detail
Minor: Suicidal thoughts, Torture, and Pandemic/Epidemic
Tender and loving lgbt relationshipscj13'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: Death, Gore, Violence, Xenophobia, Blood, Religious bigotry, Fire/Fire injury, War, and Injury/Injury detail
Moderate: Infertility, Miscarriage, Sexual content, Slavery, Suicidal thoughts, Dementia, Kidnapping, Grief, Medical trauma, Pregnancy, and Classism
shottel'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
Graphic: Violence, Blood, and Death of parent
Moderate: Confinement, Incest, Miscarriage, Sexual content, Suicidal thoughts, Torture, Dementia, Alcohol, and War
fairyollie's review against another edition
- Plot- or character-driven? Plot
- Strong character development? It's complicated
- Loveable characters? Yes
- Diverse cast of characters? Yes
- Flaws of characters a main focus? It's complicated
4.75
Graphic: Miscarriage, Violence, Xenophobia, Religious bigotry, Pregnancy, War, Injury/Injury detail, and Pandemic/Epidemic
Moderate: Animal cruelty, Animal death, Mental illness, Grief, and Death of parent
Minor: Confinement and Suicidal thoughts