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linhsreadinghour'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
4.75
I never knew Fonda was going to take the story and I enjoyed watching it all unfold. I had 0 predictions and was emotionally distraught over several part of the book. I shouted in disbelief twice, jaw hung open in several moments, and cried at the last 100 pages 😭
Knocked off 0.25 because of the massive time skips. I need it slapped in the page how much time has passed because I can’t do maths. This book spans over 3 years I believe?
Graphic: Death, Drug abuse, Drug use, Gore, Gun violence, Violence, Grief, Car accident, Fire/Fire injury, War, and Injury/Injury detail
Moderate: Addiction, Sexual content, Suicide, Medical content, Abortion, and Pregnancy
Minor: Domestic abuse, Homophobia, Pedophilia, Rape, and Sexual assault
rnbhargava'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
4.5
Graphic: Alcoholism, Bullying, Confinement, Death, Domestic abuse, Drug abuse, Drug use, Emotional abuse, Gore, Gun violence, Misogyny, Pedophilia, Racial slurs, Racism, Sexual content, Toxic relationship, Violence, Xenophobia, Blood, Police brutality, Medical content, Trafficking, Grief, Medical trauma, Car accident, Abortion, Pregnancy, Gaslighting, Toxic friendship, War, Injury/Injury detail, and Classism
There is drug use in relation to the power abilities central to the story, there’s an abortion. There’s an early death of grandparent rather than parent. Misogyny is present with the intent to “protect” those without abilities yet that “weakness” is based on a cultural fallacy. There’s a relationship between two male characters that does become sexual. There’s varying attitudes around it, one of which is dismissing it as a phase. There are also plenty of relationship betrayals of varying levels. There is also one major action carried out by a main character that could be thought of as unforgivable and monstrous that leaves a specific child in his care.maelikesbooks's review against another edition
- Plot- or character-driven? Plot
- Strong character development? Yes
- Loveable characters? Yes
- Diverse cast of characters? It's complicated
- Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes
4.75
Graphic: Addiction, Cursing, Death, Drug abuse, Drug use, Gun violence, Sexual content, Suicidal thoughts, Violence, Kidnapping, Grief, Car accident, and Murder
Moderate: Blood, Abortion, and War
mikarala's review against another edition
- Plot- or character-driven? Plot
- Strong character development? Yes
- Loveable characters? Yes
- Diverse cast of characters? Yes
- Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes
4.0
However, this expansion sometimes came at the expense of the story, in my opinion. In particular, there were sections in the middle of the story where I kept noticing chapters would end with a sort of cliff-hanger, big problem for the POV character, then we would move on to the next character, and by the time we came back, the problem had mostly resolved itself. There was often a bit too much exposition at the start of chapters to explain everything that had changed with the characters since the last time we had seen them.
Pacing issues aside, I do think this book is really well-plotted. As with the first installment, Lee does a great job of introducing conflicts and developing the motivations of different characters so that these elements converge in a very satisfying and believable way at the climax. While the middle may have felt a bit more meandering and you had to work a bit harder as a reader to get to that point, when it came it was a great culmination of the various elements of the story.
On top of that, I just really enjoy the characters in this series. They aren't typical heroes and arguably their intentions aren't really altruistic, but I think Lee does a great job of making you root for them anyways. They are flawed, but compellingly believable. I think this comese down to the great job Lee does with world-building and establishing the cultural norms of Kekon, so that even despite the extremely foreign ethical code the characters operate with, the reader can easily understand their motivations.
So, while I didn't love this as much as book 1, I am still very excited to start the final book in the trilogy. This series really has some of the best world-building I've ever encountered in a fantasy series, and it's backstopped by interesting characters and very tightly written plots.
Graphic: Death, Gun violence, and Violence
Moderate: Car accident and Abortion
cognitivedisaster'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
4.75
Take everything good about Jade War, and triple it. The characters are amazing. The world is amazing. The plot is amazing. The intrigue is amazing. The character relationships are better than any book I've ever read.
The main characters went from not greatpeople to fucking monsters. Even with their horrible actions, their self-justification makes it even more twisted. Even when you hate them though, you'll still root for them and cry for them*
The world is somehow even better than the last book, with a new country, and with it, new perspectives on how the main charcters affect the world
If Jade War was the godfather in a fantasy setting, this is the godfather 2 in a fantasy setting (especially with the arc of <Shae>)
*except for <Hilo>. Fuck that guy
Graphic: Violence, Xenophobia, Death of parent, and Murder
Moderate: Torture, Kidnapping, Car accident, and War
Minor: Hate crime, Rape, and Alcohol
talonsontypewriters'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: Addiction, Death, Drug use, Gore, Gun violence, Racism, Suicidal thoughts, Torture, Violence, Xenophobia, Medical content, Grief, Car accident, Murder, Fire/Fire injury, War, and Injury/Injury detail
Moderate: Ableism, Misogyny, Sexism, Sexual content, Suicide, Kidnapping, Abortion, Pregnancy, Alcohol, and Colonisation
Minor: Alcoholism, Animal death, Cancer, Child abuse, Domestic abuse, Homophobia, Infidelity, Pedophilia, Rape, Excrement, and Vomit
lolailons'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? No
5.0
Graphic: Death, Gun violence, Violence, and Murder
Moderate: Torture, Car accident, Abortion, and Pregnancy
Minor: Rape
sullyniow'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? No
4.25
Minor: Gun violence, Hate crime, Suicidal thoughts, Blood, Car accident, Abortion, and Murder
stonebm'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: Death, Suicidal thoughts, Torture, Blood, Car accident, and Cultural appropriation
Moderate: Drug abuse, Drug use, Medical content, Abortion, Murder, and Pregnancy
Minor: Domestic abuse, Pedophilia, Rape, and Sexism