cateyeschloe's review against another edition
- Plot- or character-driven? A mix
- Strong character development? It's complicated
- Loveable characters? Yes
- Diverse cast of characters? No
- Flaws of characters a main focus? No
4.75
Graphic: Domestic abuse, Classism, War, Fire/Fire injury, and Slavery
Moderate: Child death, Gun violence, and Injury/Injury detail
Minor: Confinement and Blood
augustar14's review
- 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
4.25
Graphic: Classism, Confinement, Fire/Fire injury, Gaslighting, Mental illness, Child death, Death, Gore, Gun violence, Injury/Injury detail, Alcohol, Blood, Colonisation, Cursing, Forced institutionalization, Murder, War, Grief, Slavery, Torture, and Violence
Moderate: Misogyny, Death of parent, Racism, and Sexism
breadwitchery'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: Death, Gun violence, War, and Violence
Moderate: Child death, Slavery, Murder, Fire/Fire injury, Confinement, Animal death, and Xenophobia
Minor: Suicide, Homophobia, Rape, Cursing, Alcohol, and Sexual content
cocacolor's review against another edition
- Plot- or character-driven? Plot
- Loveable characters? It's complicated
- Diverse cast of characters? It's complicated
4.5
Spoiler
even after Joe/Jem regains all his memories, it's difficult to place his relationship with Kite in the context of his marriages to Alice / Madeleine, and what Agatha and Jem also felt for each other is a mysterySpoiler
When does Kite reckon with the consequences of killing a teenage boy? A freak change killing off Toby and Alice and dropping children into Kite and Joe's laps seems like a cop-out way to give them a nuclear family.Graphic: Gore, Violence, War, Colonisation, Animal death, Death, Hate crime, Fire/Fire injury, Gaslighting, Injury/Injury detail, and Kidnapping
Moderate: Confinement, Racism, Emotional abuse, Gun violence, Murder, Panic attacks/disorders, Rape, Suicide, Blood, Child death, Classism, Homophobia, Physical abuse, and Sexism
Minor: Alcohol and Genocide
On rape:Spoiler
though the narrative seems to acknowledge that the main character is forced into sex by his wife, it stops short of condemning her.Spoiler
The aforementioned wife is one of the only Black characters in the novel, and also killed off in order to give the white and white-passing main couple her children.kerrymur's review against another edition
- Plot- or character-driven? A mix
- Strong character development? It's complicated
- Loveable characters? It's complicated
- Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes
3.5
Graphic: Fire/Fire injury, Violence, War, Death, and Gun violence
Moderate: Animal death, Confinement, Child death, and Slavery
anxiousnachos's review against another edition
- Plot- or character-driven? A mix
- Strong character development? Yes
- Diverse cast of characters? Yes
5.0
“You’re my family! You were family before any of them. I’ve missed you even when I didn’t remember you. Everything I’ve done since losing you has been about getting back to you.”
Please excuse me whilst I go scream.
Content warnings: slavery, graphic depictions of war, graphic depictions of blood/gore, epilepsy, amnesia, murder, violence, child death, burn injury, lashing injury, physical abuse, imprisonment, rape
Graphic: Death, Fire/Fire injury, Injury/Injury detail, Murder, Blood, Child death, Gore, Gun violence, Physical abuse, and War
Moderate: Confinement, Rape, and Slavery
lilifane'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
I did not expect this tbh. I couldn't remember how this book ended up on my TBR pile, and the only thing I did remember was that there was time travel involved in the plot. This is usually enough for me to be interested. But I was skeptical when I started reading because I didn't know what to think about the beginning. But when things stated.... moving, I fell in love with the setting and the atmosphere and the writing, and then I got attached to the characters and that was kind of too much for my poor little heart. It was shattering to pieces every few pages, and I was having one emotional breakdown after the other. And even though I guessed a lot of the mysteries early on, it made everything even more emotional. Plus, the ending kept me on my toes until the very last page, and this is something that doesn't happen often.
Be warned, though, this book is gruesome. It takes place during a war and all the horrors you can think of will be described in details. It was hard to read sometimes, but it made everything very believable and kept the stakes pretty high. (I like to pretend that one scene especially didn't happen, though. It was not the most bloody scene but a very much unnecessary one in my opinion.)
I will have to reread the book at some point knowing what I know now and also note down all those beautifully heartbreaking quotes.
Graphic: Animal cruelty, Animal death, Blood, Child death, Confinement, Death, Fire/Fire injury, Gore, Gun violence, Injury/Injury detail, Kidnapping, Medical content, Panic attacks/disorders, Physical abuse, Torture, Suicide, Violence, and War
seanml'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: Death, Fire/Fire injury, Gaslighting, Gun violence, Murder, Panic attacks/disorders, Physical abuse, and Violence
Moderate: Animal death, Blood, Child death, Confinement, Cursing, Emotional abuse, Kidnapping, Medical content, Mental illness, Self harm, Misogyny, and Slavery
Minor: Alcohol, Colonisation, Death of parent, Genocide, Sexism, Sexual content, and Suicidal thoughts