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cottagecoregrandma'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
3.25
By 85% I was just ready for this book to be over, then by 92% or so I turned up the audio speed because I was just so ready for it to be over.
Graphic: Child abuse
Minor: Murder
bethann_coleates'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
5.0
Moderate: Alcoholism, Body horror, Child abuse, Child death, Domestic abuse, Physical abuse, Racism, Rape, Violence, Blood, Kidnapping, Death of parent, Murder, Fire/Fire injury, War, and Classism
annastorm's review against another edition
- Plot- or character-driven? A mix
- Strong character development? Yes
- Loveable characters? It's complicated
- Diverse cast of characters? It's complicated
- Flaws of characters a main focus? It's complicated
4.5
Graphic: Child abuse and Murder
Moderate: Child abuse, Death, Domestic abuse, and Abandonment
Minor: Rape
redpanda_reads's review against another edition
- Plot- or character-driven? A mix
- Loveable characters? Yes
- Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes
4.5
Graphic: Child abuse, Physical abuse, and Death of parent
Moderate: Alcoholism and Murder
ink_and_wings's review against another edition
- Plot- or character-driven? Character
- Strong character development? Yes
- Loveable characters? It's complicated
- Diverse cast of characters? No
- Flaws of characters a main focus? No
3.75
Graphic: Body horror, Child abuse, Death, Physical abuse, Sexism, Blood, and Death of parent
Moderate: Alcoholism, Confinement, Miscarriage, Violence, Antisemitism, Murder, War, and Injury/Injury detail
Minor: Animal cruelty
mallorypen'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? It's complicated
4.0
I also like how evil was not black and white. The tsar was entirely misunderstood, and his petulance, arrogance and cruelty were all born of despair and a literal lifetime of abuse - while I don’t think I found him entirely sympathetic at the end, I did enjoy the way Irina’s cleverness (refusing any payment but protection for herself and her people) saved him in the end. And the Staryk king was actually a super good and noble dude … by the standards of his people, not mortals. His transition from thinking he was condemning himself to an awful marriage to courting his wife was delightful, and I loved that we never learned his name.
I also enjoyed that Miryem’s name from her Staryk people was Open-Handed, and that her sense of generosity and fairness were so solid she was able to build back a kingdom with not only her powers, but her brains.
I took off a star for two reasons: the story took awhile to get really interesting, and the transitions in perspective were a little hard to decipher. The characters didn’t all have unique-enough voices to really know who was narrating right away, and trying to figure out which storyline I was in took me out of the story.
Moderate: Child abuse, Racism, Violence, and Murder
Minor: Rape, Sexual assault, and Death of parent
brassmonkey'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? Yes
3.0
Graphic: Alcoholism, Domestic abuse, Death of parent, and Murder
Moderate: Rape, Blood, Antisemitism, and Sexual harassment
Minor: Animal cruelty, Miscarriage, Stalking, and War
tak_everlasting's review against another edition
- Plot- or character-driven? Character
- Strong character development? Yes
- Loveable characters? Yes
- Diverse cast of characters? Yes
- Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes
5.0
Graphic: Animal death, Body horror, Death, Antisemitism, Death of parent, Murder, and Injury/Injury detail
scourtheatlas'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
5.0
Graphic: Murder
Moderate: Violence and Antisemitism
Minor: Rape
mar_gier's review against another edition
- Plot- or character-driven? Character
- Strong character development? Yes
- Loveable characters? Yes
- Diverse cast of characters? Yes
- Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes
4.0
All of the characters were very wordy in both their thoughts and their descriptions of things. Also, dialogue exchanges seemed few and far between at times, and I do wish that there was a bit of them.
Nonetheless, I really did adore this book. The cast of characters were all relatively likeable to some degree, and they all felt extremely distinct from one another. Like, despite the fact that the chapters and scenes weren't labeled when there was a change in POV, you could always tell within the first sentence or three. (BTW, this book is all in 1st Person with like 6 distinct POVs.)
My favorite thing was seeing all the plot threads intertwining with one another, along with all of the characters' arcs. The character development and motivations are so deeply entrenched with the former that I think it's impossible to separate the two without having the story structure collapse.
But yeah, loved this book, but it was a bit slow-paced for my liking. You should read it.
(Also, all of the TWs I listed aren't super prevalent in the book except to one character really, but I wanted to be thorough just in case.)
Moderate: Death, Domestic abuse, Emotional abuse, Gore, Violence, and Murder