kingspite618'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
5.0
THE THEMES OF THE EXTREMES OF MORALITY, OF THE RELATIONSHIP BETWEEN HUMANITY AND INHUMANITY AND THE DIVINE, OF DEVOTION LINKED TO LOVE!!!! THE THEMES OF RAGE AND HATRED BEING BORN FROM LOVE!!! THE INTIMATE RELATIONSHIP BETWEEN BOTH EMOTIONS AND THE WAY THEY BOTH DRIVE THE MC!!! THE SYMBOLISM!!!! THE WORLDBUILDING!!!! THE PLOT AND THE
Spoiler
(SORT OF) PLOTWIST AT THE END!!!!ALSO!!!! JIANG IS SO COOL TOO!! AND NEZHA!!! AND FANG FUCKING RUNIN!!!!!?!?!?!?! I LOVE THEM ALL SO SO SO SOOOOOMUCH SKCJDKXJDKX!!!!!!
Seriously though. I've never felt such a connection to ANY other mc, (and characters, in general), since forever. It has been a long while since a character has made me so SO I N S A N E and Chronically Deranged as Rin (and Altan) does (probably since I met Maven from Red Queen). Her character arc is
Spoiler
on a Eren Jaeger-levelI sometimes couldn't completely understand her motivations, or the way she changes opinions rather quickly sometimes. But I could always get behind her reasoning, and I guess the sudden and extreme mood changes are due to the fact that she's living in an extreme situation, such as a war. Also, since she's an unreliable narrator, I LOVED the way she greatly influences the way the reader perceives the other characters (and all of her world). I can understand that she might not be likable to some, but I wouldn't argue that she isn't an INCREDIBLY well written character!!!
SHE MAKES ME SOOOOOOOOOO BEYOND INSANE IT'S CRAZY. NO ONE COMPARES TO FANG RIN. NO ONE EVEN COMES C L O S E. MI REINA <3333
Aside from that, and moving on to more serious matters. I've never seen someone in YA fantasy before deal with topics as sensitive as war,
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g*nocide, and r*pe(I want to add that this is just my opinion as someone who has never experienced any of the topics she writes about (mentioned before). Of course, a person who actually relates to them might have a very different and more valid opinion - I just wanted to share my thoughts anyway, but I thought it was important to mention this too).
Also, I wanted to add here that the theme of dehumanization of the enemy in times of war was so interesting and well-written, as tragic and fucked up as the parallels are
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(Rin at the end of the story dehumanizing her "enemies" and the Federation like the Nikara were dehumanized.That's on positive aspects.
On negative aspects, I felt like the pacing was a little too fast (4 whole years go by within the same book), and as a slow-paced books-lover, I sometimes would've wished that things happened more slowly. On the other hand, some chapters were a little hard to go through exactly because of this, because it seemed like not much of anything was going on. Despite this, the story was still immensely enjoyable, and the resolution for it was SO. GOOD. that it's worth reading through the whole book.
I just feel like this book caters specifically to my personal tastes in types of characters, themes, plotlines, worldbuilding, tropes etc... on such a scale that it's unimaginable. Like I would've never expected to like a book (ANY book) as much as I liked this???? AND AS AN ASPIRING AUTHOR IT WAS SO INSPIRING TOO OMG?!?!?!?!???? it's going to be on my top 3 favorite series of all time list FOR SURE. 2947293810191018492 STARS OUT OF 5
R. F. KUANG THE WRITER THAT YOU AREEE
Graphic: Addiction, Blood, Body horror, Child death, Colonisation, Injury/Injury detail, Genocide, Grief, Racism, Rape, Xenophobia, Death, Gore, Murder, Torture, Drug abuse, Toxic relationship, Violence, and War
lillibeth03'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
3.0
Graphic: War, Rape, Sexual assault, Drug use, Torture, and Toxic relationship
Moderate: Addiction, Animal death, Blood, Fire/Fire injury, Injury/Injury detail, Murder, and Drug abuse
bookishmagpie'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: Child death, Cursing, Drug use, Self harm, Torture, Drug abuse, Classism, Death, Addiction, Genocide, Toxic relationship, War, Violence, Sexual violence, Suicidal thoughts, Fire/Fire injury, Racism, Blood, Body horror, Gore, Grief, Injury/Injury detail, and Murder
Moderate: Panic attacks/disorders, Medical trauma, and Infertility
alyce_ery's review against another edition
- Plot- or character-driven? A mix
- Strong character development? Yes
- Loveable characters? No
- Diverse cast of characters? It's complicated
- Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes
4.0
Graphic: Blood, Child abuse, Colonisation, Gore, Murder, Emotional abuse, Addiction, Child death, Death, Drug use, Racism, Self harm, Sexual violence, Misogyny, Rape, Sexism, Animal death, Hate crime, Drug abuse, Xenophobia, Violence, War, Bullying, Genocide, Infertility, Fire/Fire injury, Sexual assault, Sexual harassment, and Torture
Moderate: Slavery, Physical abuse, Toxic relationship, and Vomit
Minor: Abandonment, Drug abuse, Medical content, Trafficking, Animal cruelty, Cursing, Panic attacks/disorders, Drug use, Pedophilia, and Excrement
_mariaen_'s review against another edition
- Plot- or character-driven? Character
- Strong character development? Yes
- Loveable characters? It's complicated
- Diverse cast of characters? Yes
- Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes
4.5
Graphic: Blood, Fire/Fire injury, Genocide, Physical abuse, Death, Drug abuse, Slavery, Suicidal thoughts, Murder, Sexual assault, Sexual harassment, Sexual violence, Toxic friendship, Grief, Pregnancy, Schizophrenia/Psychosis , Addiction, Child death, Child abuse, Cursing, Torture, Toxic relationship, Violence, and War
pages_to_go_until_i_sleep'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
4.25
Graphic: Child death, Blood, Sexual violence, Injury/Injury detail, Torture, Suicide, Slavery, Murder, Xenophobia, Toxic relationship, Genocide, Bullying, Addiction, War, Violence, Rape, Fire/Fire injury, Confinement, Sexual assault, Drug use, Racism, Gore, Drug abuse, and Death
katemarie99's review against another edition
1.5
Graphic: Bullying, Child abuse, Classism, Drug use, Gore, Physical abuse, Racism, Torture, War, Xenophobia, and Rape
Moderate: Injury/Injury detail, Suicide, Alcohol, Blood, Drug abuse, Emotional abuse, Genocide, Sexual violence, Addiction, Fatphobia, Murder, Suicidal thoughts, Toxic relationship, Suicide attempt, and Violence
jessicaludden'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
Oh this was insane. I feel like I’ve lived so many lives with Rin in one book. This book destroyed the idea of destiny in favor of this idea that we make decisions that lead us to where we are and Rin embraces that entirely. It starts with Rin’s coming of age and as the story progresses it turns into her loss of innocence. I loved the war and politics in this combined with elements of shamanism and divine entities. It kept me on the edge of my seat and surprised me in many ways. It’s also interesting to see the power dynamics in different relationships within this story and how they impact the characters and shift as time goes on. Overall, I will be thinking about this for a while and I’m excited for the next one.
Moderate: Blood, Gore, Murder, Pregnancy, Racism, Sexism, Vomit, Drug abuse, Drug use, Fire/Fire injury, Genocide, Physical abuse, Violence, Classism, Colonisation, Death, Death of parent, Domestic abuse, Grief, Rape, Suicidal thoughts, Toxic relationship, Abandonment, Body horror, Child death, Addiction, Animal death, Child abuse, Emotional abuse, Torture, and War
aya1403'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: Misogyny, Death, Drug abuse, Drug use, Eating disorder, Pedophilia, Rape, Xenophobia, Forced institutionalization, Gore, Grief, Mental illness, Panic attacks/disorders, Physical abuse, Sexual content, Emotional abuse, Fire/Fire injury, Classism, Colonisation, Slavery, Suicide, Genocide, Infertility, Racism, Sexual harassment, Sexual violence, Suicidal thoughts, Torture, Toxic friendship, Violence, Gaslighting, Self harm, Sexual assault, Suicide attempt, War, Bullying, Addiction, Cursing, Excrement, Injury/Injury detail, Murder, Body horror, Child abuse, Toxic relationship, and Vomit
raisinbrann's review
- Plot- or character-driven? Character
- Strong character development? Yes
- Loveable characters? It's complicated
- Diverse cast of characters? Yes
- Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes
4.75
Graphic: Suicidal thoughts, Sexual violence, Violence, Gaslighting, Drug use, Mental illness, Drug abuse, War, Sexual harassment, Murder, Emotional abuse, Addiction, Gore, Sexual assault, Religious bigotry, Injury/Injury detail, Genocide, Misogyny, and Medical trauma
Moderate: Xenophobia, Toxic friendship, Torture, Suicidal thoughts, Self harm, Schizophrenia/Psychosis , Toxic relationship, Slavery, Trafficking, and Vomit
Minor: Pregnancy, Body horror, and Infertility