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kelsokake'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
3.5
It's an incredibly rich world with an obvious history and different cultures, but I do feel like it could have been explained a bit differently. I often found myself a bit confused about locations, titles, and characters. I really and truly feel like this book would have benefited from providing a reference point - a list of important characters and their titles and/or at the very least a map would have helped to alleviate a lot of my confusion. With how much time was spent naming specific cities and their distance from each other, a map would have really helped to put things into perspective.
The characters were my favorite part of this. Even though I hated him in the beginning, I grew to love Remy. He's hilarious, incredibly thoughtful and giving, and has the lowest sense of self-esteem I've seen in a long time. Watching his character grow and develop more confidence and self-worth was so rewarding.
Xiodan and Malekh's dynamic is so perfect too, especially when you add in Remy. Malekh is so sweet to Xiodan and has the perfect asshole/love dynamic with Remy that I absolutely love.
The plot was interesting and definitely kept me reading. I was actually surprised by the reveal at the end; I was thinking something completely different throughout the book. I won't say that this lived up to the high expectations I gave it in my mind, but I definitely enjoyed reading it and I've already placed a hold on the sequel in Libby!
Graphic: Violence, Blood, and Injury/Injury detail
Moderate: Child death, Confinement, Panic attacks/disorders, Dementia, and Abandonment
Minor: Addiction and Alcohol
banannafox's review
- Plot- or character-driven? A mix
- Strong character development? It's complicated
- Loveable characters? Yes
- Diverse cast of characters? Yes
- Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes
4.0
Moderate: Body horror, Bullying, Child abuse, Child death, Death, Emotional abuse, Gore, Physical abuse, Sexual assault, Sexual content, Violence, Blood, Medical content, Dementia, Death of parent, Pregnancy, Abandonment, Injury/Injury detail, and Pandemic/Epidemic
Minor: Animal death, Confinement, Miscarriage, Vomit, Grief, and Classism
ruthlessreads'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
4.0
Graphic: Body horror, Bullying, Child abuse, Death, Drug use, Emotional abuse, Gore, Physical abuse, Violence, Blood, Medical content, Abandonment, Alcohol, and Injury/Injury detail
Moderate: Animal death, Biphobia, Grief, Death of parent, Gaslighting, and Pandemic/Epidemic
Minor: War
shector1's review against another edition
- Plot- or character-driven? A mix
- Loveable characters? Yes
- Diverse cast of characters? Yes
- Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes
4.75
Graphic: Toxic relationship, Violence, Grief, Murder, Abandonment, and Injury/Injury detail
Minor: Adult/minor relationship and Sexual content
vigil's review
- Plot- or character-driven? Plot
- Strong character development? Yes
- Loveable characters? Yes
- Diverse cast of characters? Yes
- Flaws of characters a main focus? It's complicated
4.25
i have my fair share of issues about this book, but everytime i wasn't reading it, i was thinking about reading it. i never had a bad moment with this book, despite many warning that it starts to hit it's stride 20% into it. i was invested from page one essentially.
for my critiques, i'll say there is the issue with repetitive word choice, (there's only so many times i can read the word attractive) prose that definitely has it roots in YA despite being an adult book, and too much telling rather than showing in the romance. i think was written for zidan and remy, along with what has been set up for them is great, both individually and character wise. the same unfortunately cannot quite be said for xiaodan, who i feel got the short end of the stick. i know that she likes remy, and her fiance, i know several objective facts about her, but very little beyond that. that lack of interiority unfortunately spread to the relationship somewhat, leaving me fine with her interactions with her love interests, but never truly satisfied in the same way remy and malekh's do. however, this is the first book in what i presume to be a series, and that i expect that there will be more on xiaodan, especially with the events of the ending, a part of the book that really stood out for me.
that's not to say i didn't enjoy the relationship, because i absolutely did. they were always engaging to have on page, and i don't have any specific complaints about them (aside from the issue with xiaodan above). more fantasy authors should include sex scenes in their books.
plotwise, i had a fun time. i think this book would work excellent in a graphic novel or animation format because of how high-action it was. the rot plotline was a good opener for the series,
Graphic: Adult/minor relationship, Animal death, Body horror, Bullying, Child abuse, Child death, Confinement, Cursing, Death, Emotional abuse, Gore, Mental illness, Panic attacks/disorders, Rape, Sexual assault, Sexual content, Toxic relationship, Violence, Blood, Dementia, Death of parent, Murder, Abandonment, War, and Injury/Injury detail
ashlikes's review
- Plot- or character-driven? A mix
- Strong character development? No
- Loveable characters? It's complicated
- Diverse cast of characters? Yes
- Flaws of characters a main focus? No
3.75
Graphic: Body horror, Cursing, Death, Gore, Sexual content, Violence, Blood, Grief, Alcohol, War, and Injury/Injury detail
Moderate: Ableism, Child abuse, Child death, Chronic illness, Confinement, Domestic abuse, Drug use, Emotional abuse, Infidelity, Mental illness, Panic attacks/disorders, Physical abuse, Sexual assault, Sexual violence, Terminal illness, Torture, Toxic relationship, Medical content, Dementia, Kidnapping, Death of parent, Schizophrenia/Psychosis , and Fire/Fire injury
Minor: Adult/minor relationship, Animal cruelty, Animal death, Misogyny, Pedophilia, Vomit, Police brutality, Pregnancy, and Abandonment