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liokamino'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: Ableism, Addiction, Alcoholism, Body horror, Body shaming, Child abuse, Child death, Chronic illness, Confinement, Cursing, Death, Fatphobia, Genocide, Gore, Hate crime, Homophobia, Misogyny, Panic attacks/disorders, Pedophilia, Physical abuse, Racial slurs, Racism, Rape, Self harm, Sexism, Sexual assault, Sexual content, Sexual violence, Slavery, Suicidal thoughts, Torture, Toxic relationship, Transphobia, Xenophobia, Blood, Vomit, Grief, Religious bigotry, Medical trauma, Death of parent, Murder, Lesbophobia, Outing, Alcohol, Sexual harassment, Colonisation, War, Injury/Injury detail, Classism, and Pandemic/Epidemic
thesunthesunthesunthesun's review against another edition
- Plot- or character-driven? Character
- Strong character development? It's complicated
- Loveable characters? It's complicated
- Diverse cast of characters? Yes
- Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes
5.0
My partner thrust this book in my hands yesterday with the request to read "just chapter one, and then let me know what you think :)". I finished it in 2 days (mostly because general life got in the way). I'm still reeling. This book is etched into my brain now.
Graphic: Addiction, Alcoholism, Biphobia, Death, Drug use, Emotional abuse, Hate crime, Homophobia, Suicidal thoughts, Torture, Violence, Blood, Trafficking, Medical trauma, Death of parent, Murder, Lesbophobia, Cultural appropriation, Alcohol, Colonisation, War, and Injury/Injury detail
Moderate: Animal cruelty, Animal death, Child abuse, Child death, and Cannibalism
keen'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
4.0
Graphic: Homophobia, Violence, Colonisation, and War
Moderate: Alcoholism and Torture
becky_hofer's review against another edition
- 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? Yes
5.0
Graphic: Homophobia, Misogyny, Racism, Sexism, Torture, Violence, Death of parent, Murder, Lesbophobia, Colonisation, and War
hexillith'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: Homophobia, Torture, Colonisation, War, and Pandemic/Epidemic
Moderate: Pedophilia, Racism, Rape, and Religious bigotry
sersi'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
Moderate: Homophobia, Torture, Murder, Lesbophobia, Colonisation, and Injury/Injury detail
honeypunk's review against another edition
- Plot- or character-driven? Plot
- Strong character development? No
- Loveable characters? No
- Diverse cast of characters? Yes
- Flaws of characters a main focus? No
2.5
'Since a time before Baru could remember how to remember the market had filled the Iriad docks, the most noisy and joyous thing in the world.'
It made the experience much more difficult, and this combined with learning new fantasy terms and jargon spun me out.
However, I was really intrigued by the premise of the story, watching a character go through her country being colonised and her grapple for power. I began to enjoy the book, but halfway through this fell flat again.
I found my interest lost with the intracacies of war. The war felt like the protagonist, and Baru the side character who is watching it all come together. I am told about battles or political alliances falling apart , lists of Duke names I have no personality to match to, so I don't feel like I'm experiencing it.
Unfortunately even when
Graphic: Homophobia, Torture, and Lesbophobia
swordrager'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
4.5
Graphic: Homophobia, Violence, Colonisation, War, and Classism
Moderate: Alcoholism, Child death, Suicidal thoughts, and Torture
aileron'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
4.0
Graphic: Death, Genocide, Gore, Homophobia, Violence, Murder, Lesbophobia, Fire/Fire injury, Colonisation, War, and Injury/Injury detail
Moderate: Animal death, Racism, Sexual violence, Torture, Forced institutionalization, Blood, Medical content, Grief, Death of parent, and Pandemic/Epidemic
Minor: Alcoholism, Confinement, Pedophilia, and Suicidal thoughts
bloodbrooxv's review against another edition
- Plot- or character-driven? Plot
- Strong character development? Yes
- Loveable characters? It's complicated
- Diverse cast of characters? Yes
- Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes
4.5
The worldbuilding was thrilling and I adored all of the political intrigues, even tho i felt a bit lost with all of the names and plot threads (probably because I'm not a native speaker).
Baru was such a compelling and complex character to follow, especially towards the end. Her conflict is realistic and speaks volumes when we consider how colonialism is the main theme in this novel. The other characters were a bit flat, but I particularly liked both Tain Hu and Murie Lo.
The thing that bugs me the most about this book is probably the fact that it prefers telling you things rather than showing you, which isn't always necessarily bad. For example, even tho the other characters' motivations are clearly stated in the story, we don't really see how the consequential events play out, but rather we get to know about them through Baru.
Overall i really loved this book, the ending BROKE ME and i can't wait to read the second one.
Graphic: Death, Homophobia, Violence, Murder, Colonisation, and War
Moderate: Animal death and Torture
Minor: Rape