miaaa_lenaaa'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
Paige why do you have such inappropriate taste in men???
Graphic: Child death, Death, Grief, Physical abuse, Slavery, Violence, and Blood
nerdybookqueen's review against another edition
- Plot- or character-driven? A mix
- Strong character development? No
- Loveable characters? No
- Diverse cast of characters? It's complicated
- Flaws of characters a main focus? N/A
The only reason I didn't DNF this is I had nothing else to read.
I remember mostly enjoying Priory, so I thought I would try the author's other series. I regret doing so.
There is something...very icky about a white woman writing a narrative of other white people becoming slaves/having segregation, combined with, as I saw one other reviewer point out, the fact their "masters" were POC. Gross. One of the rare times I wish I could say "no" to there being a diverse cast.
Combine that with the whole "striped of a name and replaced with a number that is branded into her, where she and others like her have to work to survive until they die or are killed?" That sounds an awful lot like a historical event that maybe shouldn't be copied as a plot point by a Christian (or at least raised Christian) author. (She mentions this in response to an anon on her tumblr)
Added to this mess is the fact that her two love interest options are a human man who was an adult when she was like 6, or the man who OWNS her, invades her mind and manipulates the shit out of her, so we have some stunning love interest options here. But clearly it's okay because he calls her by her name and feeds her. The bar is in hell. And maybe it was just because I was so skeeved out but the options, but the romance was also just suddenly there?
Beyond that, the plot was really not that exciting, the writing was a bit too dense, with a lot of info dumping and a lot of jumping back and forth in time without clear distinction which drives me nuts. I had trouble tracking what was going on, there were several times I had to reread parts and figure out what was happening.
I will not be reading the rest of the series, and I may need to reread and reassess Priory as well.
Graphic: Child death, Racism, Death, Murder, Confinement, Kidnapping, Trafficking, Violence, and Antisemitism
Moderate: Gaslighting, Blood, Sexual violence, Sexual assault, Drug use, and Toxic relationship
Minor: Addiction, Fire/Fire injury, and Police brutality
katievallin'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: Cursing, Violence, War, Physical abuse, Slavery, Hate crime, Injury/Injury detail, Child death, Emotional abuse, Fire/Fire injury, Grief, Gun violence, Kidnapping, Police brutality, Blood, Bullying, Drug use, Murder, and Death
Moderate: Colonisation, Domestic abuse, Alcohol, Medical content, and Trafficking
Minor: Vomit, Torture, Addiction, and Death of parent
lisa00's review against another edition
- Plot- or character-driven? Plot
- Strong character development? No
- Loveable characters? No
- Diverse cast of characters? No
- Flaws of characters a main focus? It's complicated
2.5
Graphic: Blood, Physical abuse, Mass/school shootings, Slavery, Injury/Injury detail, Hate crime, Gun violence, Kidnapping, Medical content, Violence, Murder, Torture, Eating disorder, Classism, Child death, Xenophobia, and Police brutality
Minor: Cannibalism
henneyce's review against another edition
Moderate: Child abuse, Child death, and Violence
martinatan's review against another edition
- Plot- or character-driven? Plot
- Strong character development? It's complicated
- Loveable characters? No
- Diverse cast of characters? No
- Flaws of characters a main focus? No
2.75
I didn’t have too much interest in the plot setup in the first place, was mostly interested in how the world building would turn out. Evidently, worldbuilding still depends on interesting and complex character motivations to feel realistic and satisfying, and this story does not have such characters. I’m disappointed that the protagonist’s relationships with male characters could be so predictable and hollow.
The wrap-up of this book was a rushed mess. I found myself so uninterested in the final showdown because it felt breezed over, and had no satisfying emotional climaxes concerning the protagonist’s relationships with any others. The progressions of some of these relationships made very little sense and mainly seeking to fulfill tropes and set the stage for -dramatic and unnecessarily sarcastic dialogue.
The romantic subplots were on the whole lacking in depth and developed poorly, I feel like
Graphic: Sexual content and Sexual violence
Moderate: Sexual harassment, Blood, Child death, Colonisation, and Death
agentsofromanov'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
5.0
Graphic: Death, Blood, Child death, Colonisation, Forced institutionalization, and Slavery
whatjasread'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
4.0
• I adore Paige and Arcturus and the entire gang
• I think I cried twice which surprised me
• bit info dumpy at the start but gradually improves once the action starts
• don’t know if or when I’ll get to the next book but I won’t rule it out!
TWs: blood, child death, vomiting, gore, gun violence, kidnapping, medical content (inc. needles), drugging, murder, sexual assault, slavery (inc. master/slave relationships), torture, violence, xenophobia
Graphic: Murder, Child death, Gore, and Blood
Moderate: Vomit, Torture, Violence, Physical abuse, Medical content, Sexual assault, Slavery, Kidnapping, and Gun violence
Minor: Drug abuse, Drug use, and Xenophobia
bookishchef'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
3.25
Up until about 60-70% of this book, I was ready to give it five stars.
I absolutely loved it.
But then it slowly but steadily started shitting the bed.
2. The rebound turned SA scene was completely unnecessary, and seemed like a weird attempt to bestow the main character with more trauma than she already had (and make her be pitied by Warden and the reader).
3. Loss of virginity being described as "an uppercut to the stomach". I hate this trope so much. No, having sex for the first time does not feel like dying. It might hurt (for many people it does not even do that). But it won't feel like being torn in half god dammit.
The average period cramp feels way way way worse unless you have a medical condition like vaginismus.
4. The main character falling in love with her captor/slave master does not sit quite right with me. Even if he treated her nicely, that is still a weird power inbalance that should never lead to a relationship.
5. Teenagers falling for century old creatures just makes me roll my eyes at this point. It weirds me out a bit, and it has been done so so so many times at this point.
Maybe I could deal with it if both characters seemed to be at the same level mentally, but Warden is practically a deity compared to Paige. Not immortal, but infinitely more intelligent and quite obviously so so so much older (and not to forget, her literal owner). From the way he behaves, to the way he speaks: it has middle aged man dating teenager vibes.
So yeah. This was a fun but very mixed bag. I ordered book 2 when I was about 60% into the book because I was sure I would love it at that point. But now that love has become a begrudging like.
I enjoyed this book for the most part, but some things cannot be unseen once you see them.
Graphic: Death, Drug use, Injury/Injury detail, Slavery, and Violence
Moderate: Child death, Classism, Cursing, Kidnapping, Murder, Sexual assault, Sexual content, and Toxic friendship
Minor: Animal cruelty, Gun violence, Police brutality, and Torture
readandfindout's review against another edition
3.25
Themes: 2 stars
Characters: 4 stars
Plot: 4 stars
Worldbuilding: 3.5 stars
Graphic: Death, Slavery, Violence, Blood, Confinement, Physical abuse, Torture, Trafficking, Kidnapping, Murder, Police brutality, Child death, Emotional abuse, Gore, and Xenophobia
Moderate: Sexual assault and Gun violence