Scan barcode
aloeread's review against another edition
- Plot- or character-driven? Character
- Strong character development? It's complicated
- Loveable characters? No
- Diverse cast of characters? No
- Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes
3.0
Graphic: Death, Fatphobia, Rape, Sexual assault, Sexual content, Sexual violence, Slavery, Suicide, Torture, and Trafficking
addedtbr's review against another edition
- Plot- or character-driven? A mix
- Strong character development? Yes
- Loveable characters? It's complicated
- Diverse cast of characters? It's complicated
- Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes
4.25
Graphic: Alcoholism, Body shaming, Bullying, Confinement, Cursing, Death, Fatphobia, Physical abuse, Rape, Sexism, Sexual assault, Sexual content, Sexual violence, Slavery, Torture, Toxic relationship, Violence, Blood, Trafficking, Kidnapping, Abortion, Death of parent, Murder, Pregnancy, Sexual harassment, Injury/Injury detail, and Classism
amallard's review against another edition
- Plot- or character-driven? Plot
- Strong character development? Yes
- Loveable characters? No
- Diverse cast of characters? Yes
- Flaws of characters a main focus? It's complicated
3.0
4am: Wake
4am-9am: Wonder why I am awake
9am-7pm: Work on a project that's going nowhere
7pm-11pm: Read lizardman smut
I'm not into lizardmen. Meoraq did nothing for me. How do I justify this behaviour to myself? To the ones who love me?
Graphic: Animal cruelty, Animal death, Body horror, Body shaming, Bullying, Confinement, Cursing, Death, Fatphobia, Misogyny, Physical abuse, Rape, Sexism, Sexual assault, Sexual content, Sexual violence, Slavery, Torture, Violence, Xenophobia, Blood, Trafficking, Kidnapping, Religious bigotry, Abortion, Murder, Abandonment, Sexual harassment, and Injury/Injury detail
devilbunny6'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: Body shaming, Child abuse, Death, Rape, Sexual content, Slavery, Suicide, Torture, Toxic relationship, Violence, Death of parent, Murder, Pregnancy, and Injury/Injury detail
nofys'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
Graphic: Sexual assault, Sexual content, and Sexual violence
Moderate: Child death, Death, Fatphobia, and Slavery
Minor: Pregnancy
roxanne_can_read's review against another edition
- Plot- or character-driven? Character
- Strong character development? Yes
- Loveable characters? It's complicated
- Flaws of characters a main focus? It's complicated
5.0
Graphic: Animal death, Fatphobia, Rape, Sexual assault, Sexual content, Sexual violence, Slavery, Toxic relationship, Violence, and Sexual harassment
Moderate: Body horror, Body shaming, Bullying, Child death, Death, Emotional abuse, Gore, Physical abuse, Sexism, Suicide, Torture, Blood, Medical content, Kidnapping, Grief, Religious bigotry, Pregnancy, Injury/Injury detail, and Pandemic/Epidemic
Minor: Vomit, Grief, Death of parent, and War
lilehmoo's review against another edition
- Plot- or character-driven? Character
- Strong character development? Yes
- Loveable characters? It's complicated
- Diverse cast of characters? It's complicated
- Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes
5.0
Graphic: Death, Physical abuse, Rape, Sexual assault, Sexual content, Sexual violence, Slavery, Suicide, Torture, Violence, and Murder
Moderate: Child death, Fatphobia, Death of parent, Pregnancy, and Colonisation
Minor: Addiction
If you're considering reading this book please be sure to read the content warnings first. I took over a year to finish the last chapter of this book because I loved it so much and didn't want it to end. The story is strange at times but it's incredibly well done. The world-building and religious themes blew me away. That said, I don't think I can actually recommend this book to anyone I know. It's dark, slow, and pretty brutal. I'd say you need to be in the right frame of mind for it.greystory's review against another edition
- Plot- or character-driven? A mix
- Strong character development? Yes
- Loveable characters? It's complicated
- Diverse cast of characters? No
- Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes
4.0
Am I glad that I read this book? Yes
Was this a good story? Yes
Did I enjoy reading it? Some parts significantly more or significantly less than others
Will I ever reread it? Unlikely
Would I recommend it? Maybe - with sufficient warning
Mr Yao and Maria and the rest of the women deserved so much better. Amber was a better person than I am. Meoraq has a sort of redemption arc as he's slowly forced to re-evaluate everything he's ever known and question what he "knows" to be true based on his faith and dumaqi society. I kinda wish we had a bit more at the end about what Meoraq and Amber's next steps were gonna be.
The religious stuff all really annoyed me at first but it's so integral to the plot and whole point of the story that it wouldn't remotely be the same book without it.
One thing I came to realize very quickly while reading this is that, while there's a lot written here, everything is ultimately tied together somehow and Smith doesn't include filler. No matter how irrelevant or long-winded or something of a sidenote something felt, it would eventually come up again. There were a few bits here and there that I felt like could have been trimmed down but really, the story is jam packed with tons of tie-ins and call-backs and reflections on past thoughts and behavior.
The sheer idiocy of Scott and how he manages to become a leader is laughable and unrealistic. That's what I want to say. The insidious way he inserts himself with sheer entitlement and insistence until there's no questioning that he's seen as in charge is absurd but also terrifying. I only need remind myself of the US Government if I have doubts about Scott managing to do this. I only need to think about a specific cheeto that insisted on leadership, who I also thought was laughable and unrealistic, until it wasn't. Scott's even got similar shitty view of women, violent temper tantrums, lies, deceit, and gaslighting. It was terrifying to look around and feel like you've just learned you're in a twilight zone episode but that's exactly what happened and that's exactly what happened to Amber.
The way everyone dogpiles on their dislike of Amber is disgusting, terrifying, and depressing. It gave me serious school bullying vibes and I am at once in disbelief at how these people can treat her the way they do and disappointingly familiar with it. I want to scream HOW and WHY but I know how, I know why. I wasn't too happy with the fact that Amber lost weight but at least people didn't stop hating her because it turns out they were shitty people all along and it doesn't matter what someone weighs after all, they will always find a reason to not like you if they want to.
One last thing I want to make sure I touch base on is the communication and translation. I remember hearing that this was a great book for an alien species learning to communicate with humans without the help of a magical translator or some other device. Kind of? True to word, there is no magical translator chip or ear worm or whatever to make communication easy between the two.
Ultimately, I liked the way the two languages were handled the latter half of the book where they're written plainly for the reader but there's reminders that the characters don't always understand each other or things don't always translate. That was nice. Getting there, however, wasn't realistic. Even with full immersion, it's expected to take at least a few months to learn another language, not two weeks or the freaking one week that happens at one point.
There's so much more I could say about this but I think I'm going to leave this here for now.
Graphic: Body shaming, Fatphobia, Genocide, Misogyny, Rape, Sexism, Sexual assault, Sexual violence, Slavery, Violence, Xenophobia, Trafficking, Kidnapping, Murder, and Injury/Injury detail
Moderate: Bullying, Child death, Confinement, Death, Panic attacks/disorders, Suicide, Grief, Religious bigotry, and Pregnancy
Minor: Death of parent
caseymac's review against another edition
- Plot- or character-driven? A mix
- Strong character development? Yes
- Loveable characters? Yes
- Diverse cast of characters? No
- Flaws of characters a main focus? It's complicated
5.0
This single book reads like an epic fantasy series- it’s complex and well-planned with tons of world building, a gruelling hero’s journey… but it’s one book from just 2 POVs with an honestly really lovely romance plot.
This book is also awful. It repeatedly and emphatically illustrates the worst people can be in great detail. If this were a film it would have been far too violent for me to watch. There is slavery, trafficking, and violent SA galore in this book. It’s hard to read but I don’t think it’s gratuitous.
I saw one review that said the author could have used an editor and that some of the characters had a straight line rather than a baritone arc. I think that is probably true- but I honestly don’t think that detracts at all. This book is GOOD- so good I literally stayed up all night reading.
You may find the slow start once it gets to Meoraq’s bit frustrating (I did!) but stick with it.
Graphic: Ableism, Body shaming, Bullying, Confinement, Death, Domestic abuse, Emotional abuse, Fatphobia, Gore, Misogyny, Physical abuse, Rape, Sexism, Sexual assault, Sexual content, Sexual violence, Slavery, Suicide, Torture, Violence, Blood, Trafficking, Kidnapping, Grief, Medical trauma, Murder, Pregnancy, Abandonment, Injury/Injury detail, and Pandemic/Epidemic
Moderate: Animal death, Child death, Toxic relationship, Vomit, Religious bigotry, Abortion, Death of parent, and Classism
agraves16'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
Graphic: Body shaming, Bullying, Child death, Cursing, Death, Gore, Physical abuse, Rape, Sexual assault, Sexual content, Slavery, Suicide, Toxic relationship, Blood, Kidnapping, Grief, and Injury/Injury detail
Moderate: Animal cruelty, Animal death, Drug abuse, Drug use, Sexism, Medical content, Abortion, Death of parent, Pregnancy, and Classism