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barda's review against another edition
- 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? Yes
4.0
Graphic: Confinement, Death, and Self harm
Moderate: Child abuse, Violence, Blood, Grief, Murder, Fire/Fire injury, and Injury/Injury detail
Minor: Bullying
crystalisreading's review against another edition
- Strong character development? Yes
- Loveable characters? Yes
- Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes
4.0
Graphic: Death, Panic attacks/disorders, Self harm, Violence, Blood, Fire/Fire injury, and War
Moderate: Confinement, Mental illness, Forced institutionalization, Medical content, Grief, Medical trauma, Murder, and Injury/Injury detail
Minor: Animal cruelty, Bullying, and Suicide
charloforce's review against another edition
- Plot- or character-driven? Plot
- Strong character development? No
- Loveable characters? Yes
- Diverse cast of characters? It's complicated
- Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes
3.25
Graphic: Body horror, Bullying, Death, Domestic abuse, Mental illness, Panic attacks/disorders, Physical abuse, Self harm, Violence, Medical content, Grief, Medical trauma, Fire/Fire injury, and Abandonment
Moderate: Torture and Murder
Minor: War
aas'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
4.25
Graphic: Body horror, Bullying, Confinement, Death, Genocide, Gore, Violence, Blood, Grief, Murder, Fire/Fire injury, Abandonment, War, and Injury/Injury detail
kaiyakaiyo's review against another edition
- Plot- or character-driven? A mix
- Strong character development? Yes
- Loveable characters? Yes
- Diverse cast of characters? No
- Flaws of characters a main focus? It's complicated
5.0
The world building in this novel is exquisite! I love when religious institutions are called into question and have their agendas interrogated. The friendships and interpersonal connection in this book are so heartwarming yet nuanced.
I loved how Artemisia was able to step back and consider how cloying and sacrificial “chosen one” mentality is, and is able to empathize even with villains for that reason. Often in fantasy you get people chosen for or pushed into some grand fate and they kinda just… go with it. In this, Artemisia goes with it, but she also clearly articulates how shitty and painful and isolating the road will be, and how much she feels like a pawn in someone’s game. She’s tired, she forgets to eat, she realizes that caring for herself is just as important as the mission she’s on.
10/10 would recommend and I would not mind if this turned to a series (duology would be nice but I will take 3 if I must)
Graphic: Child abuse, Self harm, and Murder
Moderate: Child death and Panic attacks/disorders
Minor: Suicide
anniereads221's review against another edition
5.0
Graphic: Body horror, Bullying, Death, Violence, Blood, Murder, Fire/Fire injury, War, and Injury/Injury detail
r_a_bell's review against another edition
- Plot- or character-driven? A mix
- Strong character development? Yes
- Loveable characters? Yes
- Diverse cast of characters? No
- Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes
5.0
The way of depicts the effects of trauma and discusses it feels very real and doesn’t smack you in the face. It feels natural to the story, not forced.
I also really liked that there wasn’t a big romance or love interest. Not every story needs to revolve around one and it actually makes it more engaging. There is a romance between side characters which is cute and endearing, and helps bring a certain lightheartedness.
This is a really great book for someone who feels like they’ve outgrown YA in some ways, but can’t seem to get into adult fiction and how detached it often feels.
Graphic: Child abuse, Confinement, Death, Domestic abuse, Emotional abuse, Panic attacks/disorders, Violence, Fire/Fire injury, War, and Injury/Injury detail
Minor: Animal cruelty, Eating disorder, Gore, Self harm, Torture, Grief, and Murder
Trigger warning for animal abuse is for the most minor of mentions, it’s something I’m extremely sensitive about, so I really mean minor. Nothing is actually described it’s just mentioned to explain the behavior of an animal (who is then treated very nicely and heals from the trauma). Eating disorder isn’t really for an eating disorder, but more for disordered eating, if that makes sense. It’s not an eating disorder that’s described, but the way a character’s eating behaviors are described could be triggering for some peoplekbairbooks'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
4.75
Graphic: Animal death, Child death, Confinement, Death, Violence, Blood, Medical content, Grief, Religious bigotry, Medical trauma, Death of parent, Murder, Fire/Fire injury, War, and Injury/Injury detail
booksthatburn'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
5.0
I like the banter between Artemisia and the revenant. This is one place where the audiobook narrator's performance really shines, as it enhanced an already excellent story by making the revenant's voice pitch perfect for its characterization. Their conversations sometimes feel like banter while staying generally appropriate to the seriousness of each new situation. I was worried that Trouble (the bird) would be a gimmicky animal sidekick, but his appearances are brief and important. He has enough of a presence to keep his few contributions from coming out of nowhere, and his relatively few appearances keep the narrative from feeling like a comedic trio of possessed, possessor, and animal friend.
The worldbuilding is filled in gradually, starting with Artemisia’s incomplete understanding of the history of her home and the forces at play, then gradually filling in as she learns from the revenant and tries to stay alive.
The way this handles trauma, mental illness, and disability in the narrative is pretty great. It's a world where magic is real and very present, but while magic completely dispels some ailments it's not treated as a cure-all. Artemisia has burn scars on her hands which affect her daily existence. The way her hands healed affects her motor skills and ability to sense things like temperature. She still has panic attacks and various levels of mental distress when triggering events occur. There's a minor character who is deeply traumatized by an unrelated experience with possession, and even the revenant has a phobia borne of trauma. It's a world filled with undead, death, and violence, and the way that all the characters are either explicitly or implicitly traumatized accordingly helps it feel cohesive in a way I hadn't expected but very much appreciate.
The plot builds slowly, focusing more on Artemisia's efforts not to get caught once she has the revenant, then gradually she ends up in a position to do more with the information which became available to her. It has great "accidental hero (saint)" vibes with a plot that backs that up.
Graphic: Death, Self harm, Violence, Blood, Vomit, and Murder
Moderate: Ableism, Confinement, Mental illness, Panic attacks/disorders, Slavery, Terminal illness, Excrement, Kidnapping, Suicide attempt, Fire/Fire injury, and Injury/Injury detail
Minor: Child abuse and Suicide
headinthepages's review against another edition
- Plot- or character-driven? A mix
- Strong character development? Yes
- Loveable characters? Yes
- Diverse cast of characters? No
4.0
Graphic: Animal death, Body horror, Confinement, Death, Mental illness, Self harm, Torture, Violence, Blood, Vomit, Medical content, Religious bigotry, Medical trauma, Murder, Fire/Fire injury, Abandonment, Alcohol, and Injury/Injury detail