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diana_raquel's review against another edition
adventurous
emotional
funny
medium-paced
- 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
Content Warnings
Graphic: Cursing, Death, Physical abuse, Sexual content, Torture, Violence, Blood, Kidnapping, Murder, War, and Injury/Injury detail
Moderate: Child abuse and Racism
Minor: Bullying, Grief, Death of parent, Pregnancy, and Alcohol
pitsikakku's review
adventurous
emotional
lighthearted
mysterious
fast-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? Plot
- Strong character development? No
- Loveable characters? Yes
- Diverse cast of characters? Yes
- Flaws of characters a main focus? No
2.25
Content Warnings
Graphic: Sexual content, Torture, Violence, and War
softcartilage's review against another edition
adventurous
emotional
hopeful
lighthearted
mysterious
tense
medium-paced
- 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
I'm ended up much more fond of this book than I expected, considering I'm pretty sure I've been putting off reading it for a few years for no real reason. As nice as it would have been to read it sooner, I feel like now was as fantastic a time to do so as any.
I know that I've seen people both wish more time was spent on the worldbuilding of the novel and the romance. The worldbuilding I do agree with, though not that some people felt the queernorm aspects lacked description. If anything, that's very often the appeal of queernorm and very casual mentions of aspec and trans characters (as well as polyamorous characters, gods bless, I was ridiculously excited about that) and the ways in which the world is shaped to fit the needs of them is absolutely amazing.
It's not that I wouldn't like knowing more but that the way in which I'd like to know more is more I'd also love to read an in-universe history book going over sexuality and gender, not the book itself to address it. I think the saying is "everyone knows what a horse is", if the way that queerness was such a normal and accepted part of the world required detailed explanation, it wouldn't be treating it as normal.
The romance I agree with more but I was very happy with how the romance played out. Other than I have very little patience of extended miscommunication and wallowing, though this did not try my patience anywhere near as much as most books where miscommunication plays a key part.
I feel like the focus given to other characters and making them solid and detailed, as well as the focus on the main couple as individuals, was a good trade-off to having more romance. Plenty of romances don't do that and suffer for it. I was a little sad that it ended when it did, though I do know it's a good place to end things.
As for the characters, I deeply adore almost all of them we spend much time with and am a little sad we don't spend more time on Sarrica's children. It makes sense given the plot but still.
Rene and Tara are my favorite in the novel by far because I am legally obligated to like a side character the most and both of them are precious beyond words.
Honestly, if anything, I'm most sad we didn't get more detail on linguistic and cultural differences considering how important they are to the story. Compared to other novel I love where translation plays a vital role, this felt relatively light on that somehow.
Overall, I enjoyed this enough to read the entire thing instead of sleeping and gave myself a horrible migraine partway through that I had to push through to get to the end.I see you, Sarrica. Chronic headache gang.
I very much recommend checking it out if it at all interests you.
I know that I've seen people both wish more time was spent on the worldbuilding of the novel and the romance. The worldbuilding I do agree with, though not that some people felt the queernorm aspects lacked description. If anything, that's very often the appeal of queernorm and very casual mentions of aspec and trans characters (as well as polyamorous characters, gods bless, I was ridiculously excited about that) and the ways in which the world is shaped to fit the needs of them is absolutely amazing.
It's not that I wouldn't like knowing more but that the way in which I'd like to know more is more I'd also love to read an in-universe history book going over sexuality and gender, not the book itself to address it. I think the saying is "everyone knows what a horse is", if the way that queerness was such a normal and accepted part of the world required detailed explanation, it wouldn't be treating it as normal.
The romance I agree with more but I was very happy with how the romance played out. Other than I have very little patience of extended miscommunication and wallowing, though this did not try my patience anywhere near as much as most books where miscommunication plays a key part.
I feel like the focus given to other characters and making them solid and detailed, as well as the focus on the main couple as individuals, was a good trade-off to having more romance. Plenty of romances don't do that and suffer for it. I was a little sad that it ended when it did, though I do know it's a good place to end things.
As for the characters, I deeply adore almost all of them we spend much time with and am a little sad we don't spend more time on Sarrica's children. It makes sense given the plot but still.
Rene and Tara are my favorite in the novel by far because I am legally obligated to like a side character the most and both of them are precious beyond words.
Honestly, if anything, I'm most sad we didn't get more detail on linguistic and cultural differences considering how important they are to the story. Compared to other novel I love where translation plays a vital role, this felt relatively light on that somehow.
Overall, I enjoyed this enough to read the entire thing instead of sleeping and gave myself a horrible migraine partway through that I had to push through to get to the end.
Content Warnings
Graphic: Grief and War
Moderate: Violence, Blood, Kidnapping, and Injury/Injury detail
Minor: Physical abuse and Alcohol
gooseturnover's review against another edition
adventurous
medium-paced
- 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
3.5
World-building could've been fleshed out more but the point of the book was the interpersonal relationships in the High King's social circle and not the wider world the story's set in so I get why. Still, it feels like everything was resolved a little too easily in ways that didn't necessarily feel deserved???
Content Warnings
Graphic: Death, Torture, Violence, Blood, and Injury/Injury detail
Moderate: Child abuse, Racism, Slavery, Medical content, Alcohol, and War
Minor: Pregnancy
jjjreads's review against another edition
adventurous
dark
funny
medium-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? Character
- Strong character development? It's complicated
- Loveable characters? Yes
- Diverse cast of characters? Yes
- Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes
Content Warnings
Graphic: Body shaming, Child abuse, Confinement, Gore, Sexual content, Torture, Violence, Blood, Medical content, Kidnapping, Murder, Alcohol, War, Injury/Injury detail, and Classism
Moderate: Ableism and Animal death
diana_raquel's review against another edition
adventurous
emotional
funny
medium-paced
- 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
"Nobody who loved a hawk would be drawn to a songbird, especially not a damaged one."
I discover this book and the series in one list that listed fantasy books with LGBT+ characters. I confess, that I didn't know what to expect, but I was positively surprised. And although I could find the use of some tropes, I think that this book used these tropes in an imaginative way, and created a well-developed love story that contains action, humor, and romance in a balanced dosage. The characters, as the worldbuilding, are well-developed and interesting.
One of the things that I found interesting is the approach to gender and sex in this book. By letting people choose their identities and treating them accordingly, I think that this book created a truly equal society. That doesn't mean that society doesn't have its problems, but those problems aren't directly related to gender and sex. Isn't this interesting?
Overall, I really liked this story and will read the other books in the series. So, if you are looking for a LGBT+ fantasy story I strongly recommend this one.
I discover this book and the series in one list that listed fantasy books with LGBT+ characters. I confess, that I didn't know what to expect, but I was positively surprised. And although I could find the use of some tropes, I think that this book used these tropes in an imaginative way, and created a well-developed love story that contains action, humor, and romance in a balanced dosage. The characters, as the worldbuilding, are well-developed and interesting.
One of the things that I found interesting is the approach to gender and sex in this book. By letting people choose their identities and treating them accordingly, I think that this book created a truly equal society. That doesn't mean that society doesn't have its problems, but those problems aren't directly related to gender and sex. Isn't this interesting?
Overall, I really liked this story and will read the other books in the series. So, if you are looking for a LGBT+ fantasy story I strongly recommend this one.
Content Warnings
Graphic: Death, Physical abuse, Sexual content, Torture, Violence, and Grief
Moderate: War
Minor: Pregnancy
lady_moon's review
- Plot- or character-driven? A mix
- Loveable characters? Yes
- Diverse cast of characters? Yes
- Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes
5.0
Rep: achillean MC, achillean MC with migraine, achillean side characters, sapphic side characters, polyamorios side character, nonbinary side character, ace (only mentioned) side character, BIPOC side characters, queer-normative world
I fucking devored this, omg 😩 I didn't go in the book looking for this but THE POLITICS!! I fucking loved it, it was magnificent - there isn't anything as satisfying as a political fantasy. Allen is a new favorite character, I do wish the whole series to have been about him and Sarrica
Also, the title 🥺🥺🥺 There is no one that deserves the title golden tongue more than Allen
I fucking devored this, omg 😩 I didn't go in the book looking for this but THE POLITICS!! I fucking loved it, it was magnificent - there isn't anything as satisfying as a political fantasy. Allen is a new favorite character, I do wish the whole series to have been about him and Sarrica
Also, the title 🥺🥺🥺 There is no one that deserves the title golden tongue more than Allen
Content Warnings
Graphic: Bullying, Physical abuse, Sexual content, Violence, Alcohol, and War
Moderate: Cursing, Death, Drug use, Torture, Blood, and Grief
Minor: Death of parent and Pregnancy