zachedwards89's review
3.0
Couldve used one last pass with an editor. Lot of mistakes in the last 25% of the book.
faithoover's review
adventurous
funny
mysterious
medium-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
4.5
This book was incredible!! Sal is a main character everyone can relate to, and who doesn’t love a sarcastic and smart-ass main character? I’m also a sucker for a big reveal so I loved the way the book reads, like Sal is telling you the story herself and hinting at the twist the whole time.
steph_sosa's review
adventurous
challenging
emotional
mysterious
tense
medium-paced
- 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? It's complicated
4.0
Loved this book! It had some great and easy to understand writing while still holding that high fantasy element. Read almost like mad max to me at times. Sal the cacophony is funny, violent, but also has complex emotions and her inner monologues bring the story to life. The only reason this book is not getting a 5 star from me is because the romance at times felt a little forced/out of place, and the book was so damn long. I don’t think there were areas to cut anything out with, aka no filler chapters, but it was just a hefty read that required commitment.
unavezmas's review
- Plot- or character-driven? Character
- Strong character development? Yes
- Loveable characters? Yes
- Diverse cast of characters? Yes
- Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes
4.25
I enjoyed it way more than I thought I would. Before book started Sal was betrayed and her objective throughout the book is to track down those who had wronged her and make them pay. We don't know any details about the betrayal (not at the start anyway). The majority of the book is Sal telling the story of her life to Revolitionary general before she gets executed. Yeah, she doesn't say the truth won't, not all of it anyway. Also Sal is badass bisexual 🏳️🌈. I won't say any more.
I personally don't like books where tbe biggest part is one character telling the other the story of their life. Because you know they won't die because how else they would be telling the story of their life? I skipped chapters with the Revolutionary general whose name I didn't bothered to remember. I don't care about her.
I biggest appeal of the book for me was Sal herself. She's clearly been hurt by the betrayal. And her girlfriend wants to fix her but she doesn't know how. Neither does Sal for that matter. ALSO SAL HAS TALKING GUN. She's so convinced she's a bad person and doesn't deserve good things. 🤕
The country in question is called Scar. Both Revolutionaries and the Imperials were fighting over it for as long as anyone can remember. Both are ready to commit terrible atrocities in the name of justice. Oh and the magic here is based on Barter. To get something, you need to give something away.
I'll probably check other books in the series. Hopefully soon though nobody knows.
I personally don't like books where tbe biggest part is one character telling the other the story of their life. Because you know they won't die because how else they would be telling the story of their life? I skipped chapters with the Revolutionary general whose name I didn't bothered to remember. I don't care about her.
I biggest appeal of the book for me was Sal herself. She's clearly been hurt by the betrayal. And her girlfriend wants to fix her but she doesn't know how. Neither does Sal for that matter. ALSO SAL HAS TALKING GUN. She's so convinced she's a bad person and doesn't deserve good things. 🤕
The country in question is called Scar. Both Revolutionaries and the Imperials were fighting over it for as long as anyone can remember. Both are ready to commit terrible atrocities in the name of justice. Oh and the magic here is based on Barter. To get something, you need to give something away.
I'll probably check other books in the series. Hopefully soon though nobody knows.
alyram4's review against another edition
4.0
4.25/5 stars
I actually really liked this a lot more than I thought I would. I thought that the synopsis was what really made me try it, but there was something in the back of my head telling me it might fall flat. Luckily, it didn't do that. This is a pretty hefty book by the way! Over 700 pages, so you'd think it would have trouble pacing wise and repeating the same events over and over again. Surprisingly, this did the exact opposite. It had really good pacing, save for some slowness in some middle bits. I loved how graphically detailed scenes and fights were. I also enjoyed that this took place with us hearing Sal's version of events. Knowing throughout the whole book that this is what SHE was saying was the truth, it only makes you wonder how much of it was fabricated or left out. One thing I didn't quite enjoy was the ending, as I felt it could've ended a bit earlier and just be a standalone. Seeing as there will be a sequel, I'm sure that this can still be read alone in the future. I actually do recommend this, just don't let Sal's lack of empathy for humankind let you down.
ARC given to me by the publisher in exchange for an honest review. All thoughts and opinions are my own.
I actually really liked this a lot more than I thought I would. I thought that the synopsis was what really made me try it, but there was something in the back of my head telling me it might fall flat. Luckily, it didn't do that. This is a pretty hefty book by the way! Over 700 pages, so you'd think it would have trouble pacing wise and repeating the same events over and over again. Surprisingly, this did the exact opposite. It had really good pacing, save for some slowness in some middle bits. I loved how graphically detailed scenes and fights were. I also enjoyed that this took place with us hearing Sal's version of events. Knowing throughout the whole book that this is what SHE was saying was the truth, it only makes you wonder how much of it was fabricated or left out. One thing I didn't quite enjoy was the ending, as I felt it could've ended a bit earlier and just be a standalone. Seeing as there will be a sequel, I'm sure that this can still be read alone in the future. I actually do recommend this, just don't let Sal's lack of empathy for humankind let you down.
ARC given to me by the publisher in exchange for an honest review. All thoughts and opinions are my own.
mayalecuna's review against another edition
adventurous
funny
mysterious
tense
medium-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? Plot
- Strong character development? No
- Loveable characters? It's complicated
- Diverse cast of characters? Yes
- Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes
3.5
On paper, everything I would want. I fantasy western with a cynical, asshole, masc, queer protagonist and constant running commentary. Sal the Cacophony is hot stuff and she knows it. and SO MUCH DUST EVERYWHERE! cause we’re outlaws in the desert babyyyy. but, after a while, Sal’s attempts to sound more and more insightful and have gravitas with everything she says started to fall a little flat. and she keeps making bad decisions not in the loveable i can fix her way but in the don’t do this again why are you so dumb kind of way. I did start getting gripped by the plot about 3/4 in when all the shenanigans was really going down, but that was also in part my desire to just get this book over and done with. reasonably fun read…
stripedstone's review
adventurous
dark
mysterious
tense
medium-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? Plot
3.5
pstlaurent's review against another edition
adventurous
dark
funny
tense
fast-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? A mix
- Strong character development? It's complicated
- Loveable characters? Yes
- Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes
4.0
amongstchaosshereads's review against another edition
“There are others, but the end result is that most Vagrants showing up where you live will ruin your day. Not me, of course. A girl like me tends to ruin your whole week.”
I am going to start this review (babble) by saying, I LOVE Sal .. she reminded me of two of my most favourite female characters ever, Gideon the ninth and Mia Corvere, I just instantly loved her and her blunt humour! Fit me to a T! ... Liette too, just adored her ... she was quite literally the opposite of Sal .. and them together ... *chefs kiss*
The prose was perfect. I really loved the way Sykes writes - he really captivates you.
The world building was brilliant ... I loved the world and thought it was fleshed out really well.
The magic was pretty darn cool ... I loved all the different type of mages, how their magic worked and all the different ways it worked for each.
The plot was enjoyable but I did find it quite repetitive to a point that it slightly annoyed me .. I guess that's pretty normal for this kind of revenge story but still ... I almost rated this one a 3.5 for this reason alone but that wouldn't be fair for all the reasons above. This was a solid book overall.
The characters though were probably my absolute favourite thing about this book .. especially Sal .. Sal was really what did it for me ... I do love me a badass female character!!
“In Liette's case, those words were probably something like, If it were possible to make love to books, I would.”