The design and UX isn't done, Rob and Abbie, okkurrrr! đ
achay91'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
5.0
Graphic: Chronic illness, Classism, Body horror, Pandemic/Epidemic, Injury/Injury detail, War, Religious bigotry, Toxic friendship, Toxic relationship, Blood, Death, and Miscarriage
Moderate: Death of parent, Gore, Murder, and Pregnancy
Minor: Child death, Forced institutionalization, Sexual content, Alcohol, and Alcoholism
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
singalana's review against another edition
- Plot- or character-driven? Plot
- Strong character development? It's complicated
- Loveable characters? No
- Diverse cast of characters? Yes
- Flaws of characters a main focus? No
2.5
My main gripe about this book was the pacing. Sometimes scenes that feel important to the plot are written like: blink and you'll miss it, and then there are pages after pages of something trivial. It got a lot worse towards the end: 500 pages of barely nothing happening, and then everything happens all at once.Â
The villains in this book could have been interesting, but we barely see some of them (the king of Yscalin for example), the others (e.g. Kalyba) are too busy doing monologues, and the Biggest and Baddest Villain of them all and the reason why all of this is happening is defeated just like that. We barely even get a description of it!
The ending was so confusing and over so quickly that I think that the author must have realised that she had written 500 pages already and hadnât resolved anything. And in the end, everything got resolved so easily, the POV characters instinctively knew what to do, the evil was defeated and everyone lived happily ever after. What a disappointment.
Minor: Infidelity, Mental illness, War, Alcohol, Animal death, Child death, Death of parent, Death, Infertility, Violence, Body horror, Toxic relationship, Confinement, Deportation, Fire/Fire injury, Addiction, Miscarriage, Pregnancy, Blood, and Kidnapping
americiumam'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: Death, Grief, Mental illness, Panic attacks/disorders, Miscarriage, Religious bigotry, and Xenophobia
Moderate: Cursing, Dementia, Infertility, Sexual harassment, Fire/Fire injury, War, Classism, Infidelity, Outing, Racism, Incest, Suicidal thoughts, Toxic relationship, Violence, Death of parent, Slavery, Addiction, Murder, Pregnancy, and Sexual content
Minor: Stalking, Abandonment, Gaslighting, Incest, Genocide, Gun violence, Medical trauma, Misogyny, Medical content, Fire/Fire injury, Schizophrenia/Psychosis , Rape, Suicide attempt, Vomit, and Racism
smithreads'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
4.75
Graphic: Animal death, Death, Grief, Injury/Injury detail, Kidnapping, Physical abuse, Blood, War, Violence, Xenophobia, Murder, Sexual content, Miscarriage, Pregnancy, Death of parent, Fire/Fire injury, Infertility, Medical content, and Religious bigotry
Moderate: Alcohol, Alcoholism, Confinement, Emotional abuse, Addiction, Homophobia, Suicide, and Toxic relationship
Minor: Gun violence, Torture, and Infidelity
zoiejanelle'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 book has plenty of LGBT characters (and no, there is no âbury your gays hereâ do not worry!) and incorporates elements of lore and culture from the real world. the plot is slow, and largely based on religion, but the stakes are immediately high and it is easy to become invested in each characterâs individual participation in the story. Â
though i gave it 5 stars, i have two minor critiques. first, i would have loved more TanĂ©, though i realize this may not have been possible. second, there were a few times when the solution to problems came relatively easily. i wished for some more detective work/struggle, but again, i realize there was a lot of story and iâm certain many cuts had to be made.Â
i love this book. i will absolutely be re-reading this as soon as i catch up on my TBRs.Â
Graphic: Death, Grief, Murder, Religious bigotry, Sexual content, Torture, Violence, War, Blood, Classism, Infertility, Miscarriage, Death of parent, Gaslighting, Gore, Injury/Injury detail, and Toxic relationship
carmine_b'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
Moderate: Gore and War
Minor: Toxic relationship, Rape, and Suicide
liaandersson'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? No
Religion: Virtudom and the South have religions stemming from the same historical people, the differences being how these people are portrayed and what their acknowledged accomplishments were. These religious differences put a strain to the fragile relationship between the South and Virtudom. I think this is a terrific analogy of how for example, the real world has countries fighting over which is the one true religion, when the truth is there is no single right one. All of them are right, if they are right for a certain individual. I hope you will understand my sentiment once you have read it, I have a hard time conveying the message through writing.
Mislabeling: There are several instances where foreigners (in relation to the ethnic group discussed) call certain groups by derogatory terms or even slurs. It is, in my opinion, a well-executed representation of modern slurs as well as the misgendering of queer people. The reoccurring scenario where one 'foreign' individual calls another by a negative slur/term, which is then corrected as if someone was misgendered.Â
Queer: There is plenty of LGB representation among the main cast, as well as scattered information about historical figures and secondary characters. Still, there are no canon trans characters, even though I imagine some of them to be such. Other than the L, G AND B there is not much representation to see in regards of ace/aro, polyamory, intersex, trans and so on.Â
History: I loved how the history of the fictional world was incorporated as storytellings between characters, and other creative solutions. It took me a hundred pages or so to connect the dots between all the historical people and their relevance, but a bit of switching from the index back to the story here and there eventually solved all of those problems. It was all very much worth it before I even got halfway through the book.Â
Worldbuildning: Shannon managed to incorporate western, eastern and African fantasy. I loved to see how they all interacted with each other and enhanced one another. I don't believe I can have much to say about whether it was well represented or not, but I do hope it was done as best as could be.Â
A fair warning that this book, at least in my opinion, is more driven by the characters than by the plot. Due to this, I have heard the common opinion that the ending of the book is quite abrupt, while I think it is quite satisfactory, from the perspective of the character's developmental arcs.Â
Have a fun read!
Graphic: Injury/Injury detail, Kidnapping, Medical content, Murder, Physical abuse, Pregnancy, Sexual content, Animal cruelty, Confinement, Death, Blood, Body horror, Bullying, Classism, Infertility, Medical trauma, Mental illness, Miscarriage, Religious bigotry, Suicidal thoughts, Torture, War, Abandonment, Child death, Fire/Fire injury, Forced institutionalization, Gaslighting, Gore, Grief, and Violence
Moderate: Excrement, Toxic relationship, Classism, Cursing, Death of parent, Infidelity, Mental illness, Addiction, Alcoholism, Gaslighting, Racial slurs, Vomit, Colonisation, and Confinement
Minor: Confinement, Torture, Infidelity, Kidnapping, Mental illness, Racial slurs, Religious bigotry, Sexual content, Suicidal thoughts, Violence, Vomit, and Cursing
ameliacollins'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? It's complicated
5.0
Graphic: Gaslighting, Grief, Religious bigotry, Toxic relationship, Violence, and War
Moderate: Confinement, Death, Infertility, Miscarriage, Pregnancy, and Sexual content
Minor: Alcoholism, Dementia, Death of parent, Infertility, Miscarriage, Pregnancy, Suicide, and Torture
futureofmydays'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: Abandonment, Ableism, Abortion, Addiction, Alcohol, Alcoholism, Animal death, Blood, Child death, Confinement, Cultural appropriation, Death, Emotional abuse, Gaslighting, Grief, Infertility, Injury/Injury detail, Miscarriage, Medical trauma, Murder, Pregnancy, Sexual content, Suicidal thoughts, Toxic relationship, War, and Xenophobia