maregred'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
3.5
Graphic: Death, Death of parent, Animal death, Gore, and Torture
Moderate: Violence, Slavery, Grief, Fire/Fire injury, Alcohol, Classism, Stalking, War, Injury/Injury detail, and Infidelity
Minor: Sexual violence, Pregnancy, and Child death
readwthsam's review against another edition
- Plot- or character-driven? Plot
- Strong character development? It's complicated
- Loveable characters? It's complicated
- Diverse cast of characters? Yes
- Flaws of characters a main focus? No
3.25
albeit i did like the cast of characters, i feel as if there were a tad stereotypical (?) and the pov switching was a little distracting and hard to keep up with in the beginning, which then made it quite difficult to catch on to what the main conflict was. however the overall plot itself was interesting
undecided if i want to read the second book later this year
ps: also i read this for a school project hence why i dragged out how long i read it lol
Graphic: Violence, Animal death, and Torture
Moderate: Death of parent, Slavery, Ableism, and Bullying
Minor: Rape, Sexual assault, and Alcoholism
danreadsitall'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? No
4.0
Nicola Barber narrated and she did a fantastic job. Terrific work.
Reasons to read:
-The timeline for future events in the book are on a more sensible scale, hope that means that the entire cast can age in the story
-Decent number of the cast are not the traditional MC archetypes
-Story does not sugar coat things and carries the brutality of combat on the characters
-Different take on magic in this setting
-Math showed the true threat, cursed math
-Lots of cool creatures
Cons:
-Worse spiders and wasps
-Bit rough on the animals
Moderate: Death of parent
Minor: Animal death
blessjessmess'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: Animal death
Moderate: Violence and War
Minor: Death of parent
fenemiestolovers'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? No
3.75
Graphic: Animal death, Blood, Bullying, Death, Death of parent, Classism, Pregnancy, Ableism, Child death, Grief, Misogyny, Murder, Torture, Violence, and War
Moderate: Incest, Injury/Injury detail, and Abortion
Minor: Sexual violence, Vomit, Fatphobia, Sexual content, and Rape
nebulasaurus's review against another edition
- Plot- or character-driven? A mix
- Strong character development? No
- Loveable characters? No
- Diverse cast of characters? No
- Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes
2.75
Graphic: Bullying, Cursing, Fire/Fire injury, Gore, Sexual assault, Blood, Death, Stalking, Violence, Alcohol, Animal cruelty, Animal death, Death of parent, Grief, Murder, Alcoholism, Physical abuse, Religious bigotry, and Abandonment
schnaucl's review against another edition
- Plot- or character-driven? Plot
- Strong character development? It's complicated
- Loveable characters? Yes
- Diverse cast of characters? It's complicated
- Flaws of characters a main focus? No
4.25
Spoiler
I can see what what Rollins was going for with Kanthe's twin brother, and I wish it had been done with more subtlety instead of turning him into an actual sadist who doesn't understand or care his actions would be perceived by the people he will rule or the soldiers he will one day command. All of the antagonists are rather one dimensional, in fact. For the most part they're open (at least in their private thoughts) about just wanting power, they don't even try to convince themselves that they want what's best for the country or even their faction (which would coincidentally also mean they become more powerful. They just want power to be powerful. It may be an honest motivation, but it's not an interesting one.The beginning of the book was especially compelling. The set up with Nyx, her school and family was interesting and richly drawn. I was definitely the most interested in her story, although Kanthe's story was also compelling. I was less interested in Rhaif, but perhaps he'll grow on me. The bats were fascinating, and the jungles were richly drawn.
I will also say I'm not a huge fan of alternate fantasy spellings (let's add some extra y's to words!). Fortunately it was mostly, though not entirely, confined to the "quotes" at the beginning of the sections which read like fantasy old English.
Graphic: Misogyny, Sexual harassment, Torture, Violence, Animal cruelty, Animal death, Bullying, Death, and Sexual violence
Moderate: Death of parent, Physical abuse, Sexual violence, Bullying, Fire/Fire injury, Pregnancy, Slavery, and Child death
Minor: Alcoholism and War
katherineguild35'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: Violence, Animal cruelty, Animal death, Body horror, Grief, Blood, Child death, Death of parent, Gore, Medical content, and Murder
Minor: Pregnancy and Sexual content
pvbobrien's review against another edition
- Plot- or character-driven? Character
- Strong character development? No
- Loveable characters? It's complicated
- Diverse cast of characters? Yes
- Flaws of characters a main focus? No
2.0
Graphic: Child death, Sexual harassment, Pregnancy, Medical content, Torture, and Violence
Moderate: Sexual violence, Ableism, Slavery, Murder, Gore, Grief, Bullying, Animal death, Child abuse, Alcohol, and Animal cruelty
Minor: Death of parent and Rape
sff180's review against another edition
- Plot- or character-driven? A mix
- Strong character development? No
- Loveable characters? It's complicated
- Diverse cast of characters? Yes
- Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes
3.0
Graphic: Violence, Fire/Fire injury, Blood, Death, War, Murder, and Torture
Moderate: Death of parent, Animal death, and Slavery