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citrus_seasalt's review against another edition
adventurous
medium-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? Plot
- Strong character development? It's complicated
- Loveable characters? No
- Diverse cast of characters? It's complicated
- Flaws of characters a main focus? It's complicated
2.75
2.75 stars. The Brilliant Death was a book that captivated me with its premise, but I didn’t really enjoy it as much as I thought it would. Firstly, I found the way the story tackled gender and identity to be a mixed bag. Gender seemed to be almost intrinsically tied to sex, and with Cielo especially, there was more of an emphasis on that than expression/presentation(which made for a few uncomfortable sentences?). It felt pretty gender norm-y, which I would’ve expected from the macho, sexist dudes of the story but not in regards to the POV of our genderqueer protagonist. (To be fair though, this book was published in 2018, and the author writes under a different name now so I presume from the deadname on the cover they didn’t have as much of an understanding of gender, perhaps their own, and that impacted Teo and Cielo’s characterization.) By the end, though, there was more of a dissection/discussion of gender and I felt it improved.
Magic/power system was basically nonexistent here, too. We got a vague idea of Teo’s limitations(which were improved upon more, oddly, when they got a sort-of-power-upgrade towards the end), and I thought their abilities were silly. I can’t really take seriously a person that points a hand or finger at a foe and poof! now they’re a music box or some other fancy-schmancy object of choice. (If it actually described how a person or entity was altered by it, bit by bit, I probably would’ve been able to take it seriously.)
I was also on-the-fence about the main romance, which was a disappointment because it was actually a factor that drew me in based on what I heard of the book. It was very inta-lust(romantic feelings weren’t developed until later), and as a result I felt Cielo and Teo’s relationship moved a little too quickly until the end. But, there were some sweet moments, I’ll admit: I’m a sucker for love interests who put themselves on the line for whoever they love, and this was no exception. (Cielo was a pretty average “sarcastic, handsome dark-haired love interest” archetype though. To those who love that kind of thing, great, you will absolutely eat this up, but I’m not one of those people. To each their own.)
I also didn’t like the plot. It felt very Typical YA, there wasn’t a single twist I was surprised by and the characters overall fell very flat.
Even with its flaws, though, it was immensely enjoyable and I lost track of my pages until I reached the end and stared at my copy stunned at my progress. So…maybe it’s too harsh to call it a bad book, but don’t call it top-notch fiction either.
Magic/power system was basically nonexistent here, too. We got a vague idea of Teo’s limitations(which were improved upon more, oddly, when they got a sort-of-power-upgrade towards the end), and I thought their abilities were silly. I can’t really take seriously a person that points a hand or finger at a foe and poof! now they’re a music box or some other fancy-schmancy object of choice. (If it actually described how a person or entity was altered by it, bit by bit, I probably would’ve been able to take it seriously.)
I was also on-the-fence about the main romance, which was a disappointment because it was actually a factor that drew me in based on what I heard of the book. It was very inta-lust(romantic feelings weren’t developed until later), and as a result I felt Cielo and Teo’s relationship moved a little too quickly until the end. But, there were some sweet moments, I’ll admit: I’m a sucker for love interests who put themselves on the line for whoever they love, and this was no exception. (Cielo was a pretty average “sarcastic, handsome dark-haired love interest” archetype though. To those who love that kind of thing, great, you will absolutely eat this up, but I’m not one of those people. To each their own.)
I also didn’t like the plot. It felt very Typical YA, there wasn’t a single twist I was surprised by and the characters overall fell very flat.
Even with its flaws, though, it was immensely enjoyable and I lost track of my pages until I reached the end and stared at my copy stunned at my progress. So…maybe it’s too harsh to call it a bad book, but don’t call it top-notch fiction either.
Content Warnings
Moderate: Death, Homophobia, Sexual content, and Violence
Minor: Sexism
therainbowshelf's review against another edition
adventurous
emotional
tense
slow-paced
- 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? It's complicated
4.0
A fun fantasy read. I don't love political intrigue, it's one of my least favorite features of fantasy books, but this book was still fun even witu the heavy focus on the ruling families drama. Loved having a gender fluid witch protagonist and a protagonist exploring her identity.
Content Warnings
Graphic: Bullying, Child death, Confinement, Death, Homophobia, Sexism, Torture, Violence, Blood, Medical content, Grief, Murder, Dysphoria, and Classism
Moderate: Death of parent
Minor: War
Poisoning, death of siblingmalloryfitz's review
- Plot- or character-driven? A mix
- Strong character development? Yes
3.5
Content Warnings
Moderate: Death, Homophobia, Misogyny, Physical abuse, Sexism, Torture, Violence, Blood, Grief, Death of parent, and Murder
Minor: Pregnancy and Lesbophobia
looney_moons's review against another edition
adventurous
emotional
hopeful
inspiring
fast-paced
- Strong character development? Yes
- Loveable characters? Yes
- Diverse cast of characters? It's complicated
- Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes
4.75
This book is so incredible. It’s fun, it’s fast, it’s the only thing I can think about. More than anything, it’s an incredible exploration of perception and the act of being perceived and what this means for the world’s understanding of you. As a non binary person, seeing the fluidity of gender expressed through gender was quite possibly the most affirming thing I’ve ever read in my life. Only thing is that I feel like it took a long time to get to the climax and then it was solved really quickly, but I’m honestly willing to look away from that because of how fantastic this book is.
Content Warnings
Graphic: Torture
Moderate: Death, Homophobia, and Sexism
Tackles gender dysphoria without explicitly tackling gender dysphoria