The design and UX isn't done, Rob and Abbie, okkurrrr! š
laura'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
4.0
Moderate: Injury/Injury detail, Murder, Transphobia, Gore, and Pregnancy
maeverose's review against another edition
3.0
That being Keyneās. As a genderqueer person Iām always interested in books with trans rep, and even though I donāt believe this is own voices I thought it was done really well. There is misgendering and transphobia from certain characters throughout, but itās not a trans trauma story, and there are many characters who accept his identity (tho it does take them a minute to catch on), and his transness isnāt his whole character. It is a bit binary though, feeding into stereotypes of what a man should be, but given the time period it makes sense? So idk. Overall decent rep. (Loved chapter 23)
I didnāt care for Rivaās pov because it was primarily focused on the romance, which I didnāt like, and I didnāt like Sinneās pov because of the jealousy plotline between her and Riva. I did appreciate that the author didnāt go full on āIām gonna steal your manā with that plotline but it still annoyed me. Especially because this is trying to be a feminist book but the two womenās povs we get are so tied to this one man and their feelings for him and their new dislike of each other because of it.
Iām also both disabled and disfigured (though in different ways than Riva or Os), and I found the rep in this book was neutral overall. Not offensive but not exactly empowering either. Anytime Revaās scars were mentioned it was often in a negative context, but we were shown through Rivaās pov her struggles with it and how much it hurt when people did say negative things about it, and there were characters who didnāt treat her any differently because of it. Osās mutism was handled the same I would say. I did like to see Sinne learn to communicate with him, and I thought their friendship was really sweet. I would just like to see a disfigured/disabled character be confident in their body rather than focusing solely on the negatives of it. My scoliosis has negatives; pain and physical limitations, but I also genuinely like how my body looks, and that seems to be a hard concept for some people to grasp.
Graphic: Death, Injury/Injury detail, War, Ableism, Blood, Body horror, Body shaming, Gore, Medical content, Misogyny, Murder, Religious bigotry, Violence, and Transphobia
Moderate: Animal death, Dysphoria, Lesbophobia, Pregnancy, Sexual content, Vomit, Classism, and Fire/Fire injury
Minor: Excrement and Rape
The worst of the gore is in chapter 40, but itās moderate here and there throughout the book.alexsartifacts's review against another edition
- Plot- or character-driven? A mix
- Strong character development? It's complicated
- Loveable characters? It's complicated
- Diverse cast of characters? Yes
- Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes
4.5
Graphic: Violence, Blood, Death of parent, Pregnancy, Gore, Sexism, Death, Fire/Fire injury, and War
stormmorgan's review against another edition
- Plot- or character-driven? Character
- Strong character development? Yes
- Loveable characters? Yes
- Diverse cast of characters? It's complicated
- Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes
3.0
Graphic: Transphobia
Moderate: Death and Pregnancy
mostlyvoidpartiallystars's review against another edition
- Plot- or character-driven? A mix
- Strong character development? Yes
- Loveable characters? Yes
- Diverse cast of characters? It's complicated
- Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes
4.75
Finally, a recurring section I'm going to be adding to all my reviews going forward: Do they bury their gays?
Graphic: Death, Child abuse, Grief, Injury/Injury detail, Gore, and Fire/Fire injury
Moderate: Misogyny, Religious bigotry, Colonisation, Sexual content, Murder, Ableism, War, Transphobia, Deadnaming, and Toxic relationship
Minor: Rape, Pregnancy, Kidnapping, and Physical abuse
zghutcheson01'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: Transphobia, Death of parent, Child death, Pregnancy, Grief, Death, and Sexual content
Moderate: Biphobia, Physical abuse, Ableism, Injury/Injury detail, Murder, and Religious bigotry
poetsofsweetpea's review
- 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: Gore, Adult/minor relationship, Medical trauma, Grief, Religious bigotry, Injury/Injury detail, Death of parent, Pregnancy, and Murder
tashtasher's review against another edition
- Plot- or character-driven? A mix
- Strong character development? It's complicated
- Loveable characters? It's complicated
- Diverse cast of characters? Yes
- Flaws of characters a main focus? It's complicated
4.0
Graphic: Violence, War, Gore, Grief, Injury/Injury detail, Blood, Death, Fire/Fire injury, and Religious bigotry
Moderate: Death of parent, Medical content, and Transphobia
Minor: Chronic illness, Murder, Body shaming, Pregnancy, Sexism, Medical trauma, and Misogyny
kalmia31's review
- Plot- or character-driven? Character
- Strong character development? Yes
- Loveable characters? It's complicated
4.75
Graphic: Religious bigotry and Transphobia
Moderate: Fire/Fire injury, Pregnancy, Body shaming, Suicide attempt, Violence, Blood, Death of parent, Dysphoria, Bullying, Emotional abuse, Colonisation, and Injury/Injury detail
Minor: Ableism, War, Animal death, and Deadnaming
lady_moon's review against another edition
- Plot- or character-driven? A mix
- Strong character development? Yes
- Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes
3.5
To be honest I'm not sure I'm satisfied with the path each sibling had. S was annoying for the better part of the book but she didn't deserve this sort of ending. Riva started out well, I liked her in the beginning. And then came Tristan š After they got together, Riva became insufferable. Her whole ending was definitely not what I wanted it to be.Ā
K was fine the whole time <3 In the beginning he was less interesting the his sisters but as the novel progressed, he was honestly the only POV character who hadn't annoyed the hell out of me.Ā
I'm not a fan of
I didn't quite get the ending with K. Like,
Anyway, I have certain opinions (obviously) but I'm really not feeling that strongly about any of that for it to matter to me. I'm happy how stuff turned out for K (I guess?) and that's the most important thing. Historical fiction with trans characters will never be not fun.Ā
Graphic: Blood, Deadnaming, Transphobia, and War
Moderate: Pregnancy, Misogyny, Religious bigotry, Confinement, Death of parent, and Fire/Fire injury