amre23's review against another edition
adventurous
challenging
dark
emotional
hopeful
mysterious
sad
tense
medium-paced
- 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
Graphic: War, Murder, Blood, Suicide attempt, Gore, Violence, Injury/injury detail, Suicidal thoughts, Confinement, Misogyny, and Death
Moderate: Fire/Fire injury, Toxic friendship, Abandonment, Genocide, Physical abuse, Homophobia, Transphobia, Grief, Child abuse, and Bullying
Minor: Torture, Chronic illness, Toxic relationship, Body horror, and Toxic friendship
kaiyakaiyo's review against another edition
adventurous
dark
emotional
mysterious
slow-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? Plot
- Strong character development? No
- Loveable characters? It's complicated
- Diverse cast of characters? It's complicated
- Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes
4.75
So the narrative style of this series REALLY wasn’t for me in the first two books, but man was this a satisfying ending. I truly began to care about these characters because their past selves vs present selves finally made sense.
I have never wanted to give a fictional character a Disney channel bullying style swirlie as much as I do Fox Pahlavi. Fuck that guy fr
Overall I don’t know that I’d recommend this series bc the first two books kinda dragged but 5 stars solely for the lovely wrap up of this story. I’d actually love a set of short stories in this universe (without the flashback slog)
My only real critique besides style: the choice to use he/him pronouns in flashbacks for a trans woman character for 2.5 books was … a bit strange. I get that we were watching her discover that being trans was a thing in this universe & come out to her friends when she was comfortable, but it felt crazy realizing I’d pretty much been misgendering her every time I spoke about the last two books. Especially considering most of the series is set up as flashbacks from a future in which she is fully out to the other characters. To my knowledge, you wouldn’t misgender a person in a story from back in high school just bc they used different pronouns back then, so I’m a bit uncomfortable with the whole thing. Feels like the same rules should apply here but idk
I have never wanted to give a fictional character a Disney channel bullying style swirlie as much as I do Fox Pahlavi. Fuck that guy fr
Overall I don’t know that I’d recommend this series bc the first two books kinda dragged but 5 stars solely for the lovely wrap up of this story. I’d actually love a set of short stories in this universe (without the flashback slog)
My only real critique besides style: the choice to use he/him pronouns in flashbacks for a trans woman character for 2.5 books was … a bit strange. I get that we were watching her discover that being trans was a thing in this universe & come out to her friends when she was comfortable, but it felt crazy realizing I’d pretty much been misgendering her every time I spoke about the last two books. Especially considering most of the series is set up as flashbacks from a future in which she is fully out to the other characters. To my knowledge, you wouldn’t misgender a person in a story from back in high school just bc they used different pronouns back then, so I’m a bit uncomfortable with the whole thing. Feels like the same rules should apply here but idk
Graphic: Murder, Misogyny, War, and Transphobia
literary_han's review against another edition
adventurous
dark
emotional
hopeful
mysterious
medium-paced
- 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
Graphic: Death
Moderate: Transphobia, Child death, Suicide attempt, and Suicidal thoughts
maralaene's review against another edition
challenging
dark
emotional
sad
tense
fast-paced
4.75
This was by far my favorite of the three. I laughed and cried and couldn’t put it down or stop thinking about it. If you were ever debating whether to keep reading, keep going just for this one.
Some of the things I could predict, but it didn’t detract from the story. Finally seeing more of the pieces come together made it worth it.
I think one of my favorite things so far about this world of magic is how it was written. I love her fantastic way of writing it from the perspective of the characters who have not sometimes realized what magic is happening, such as with compulsion, and so the reader is not privy to it either. I absolutely loved that aspect and I think a reread would prove incredibly insightful!
Some of the things I could predict, but it didn’t detract from the story. Finally seeing more of the pieces come together made it worth it.
I think one of my favorite things so far about this world of magic is how it was written. I love her fantastic way of writing it from the perspective of the characters who have not sometimes realized what magic is happening, such as with compulsion, and so the reader is not privy to it either. I absolutely loved that aspect and I think a reread would prove incredibly insightful!
Moderate: Death and Murder
Minor: Transphobia
xoxlululuxox's review against another edition
adventurous
challenging
dark
emotional
mysterious
tense
fast-paced
- 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
This book, just wow. I cannot get over how amazingly well everything came together to finish this story.
The timelines finally connected and the characters all - eventually - met up again.
I loved the twists and turns, how we as the reader could pick up on things that were relevant to the present from the retelling of the past and how some things just clicked into place.
I truly adore Teas strength and loved watching her go through her journey to see how she ended up the way she did. Her relationships all tied into her unravelling and also how she came back together.
The bard told the story his perspective wonderfully as well.
The writing was truly stunning and if the first book of this series wasn't so slow (granted this is necessary) I would have loved the series so much more.
Graphic: Death
Minor: Transphobia
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