writer_a_fox's review
- Plot- or character-driven? Plot
- Strong character development? No
- Loveable characters? Yes
- Diverse cast of characters? Yes
4.5
Graphic: Blood and Violence
Moderate: Death
Minor: Death of parent
annemaries_shelves'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
3.75
Kith & Kin is basically just a fun time.
As a more recent fan of the Critical Role world, I was excited to read a novel featuring the earlier experiences of Vax and Vex – two of my favourite characters (though really they’re all my favourites).
From a fantasy YA standpoint, K&K is nothing special or unique. But it is fun, with plenty of action, quips, (easy to figure out) plot twists, and emotional moments (especially the flashbacks). And from a CR perspective, it’s a fan-freaking-tastic time. I enjoyed some of the extra worldbuilding and gained a better understanding of how jaded the twins became by the beginning of Vox Machina. While the twins were initially on opposite sides of a larger conflict, I appreciated that the author didn’t drag it out and had them resolve their issues and work together – the strength of their relationship is largely dependent on the trust they’ve built and the open communication they (try to) maintain.
I recommend picking up the audiobook if you can – Robbie Daymond (aka Dorian Storm in Exandria Unlimited and early Campaign 3) is the narrator, with Liam O’Brien and Laura Bailey reprising their characters’ voices. Basically, I imagine Dorian as an older bard telling this tale to his audience. I will say - it was hard to contain my reactions to some scenes while in public!
Finally - I'm a big fan of Thorn and can’t forgive the author for going fade-to-black in *that* scene with Vax….
Moderate: Emotional abuse, Grief, Murder, Violence, Injury/injury detail, Blood, and Death of parent
perleerose's review against another edition
- Plot- or character-driven? Character
- Strong character development? Yes
- Loveable characters? Yes
- Diverse cast of characters? Yes
- Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes
4.5
definitely better if you know critical role from the stream or tv show first tho, wouldn’t recommend trying to get into critical role by starting with this book
Graphic: Death, Death of parent, Injury/injury detail, Blood, and Violence
achingallover'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
4.5
Graphic: Animal cruelty, Blood, Child abuse, Death, Death of parent, Grief, Injury/injury detail, Sexual harassment, and Violence
ilucam'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? Yes
2.5
The central conflict felt contrived, with tenuous in-world rationale to continue it. I kept wanting to yell at Vex and Vax, " just talk to each other!"
Being invested in characters' situations is hard when we know they're going to be relatively ok when we next meet them. This is a problem with prequels in general, rather than with with this title in particular, but I was already having a hard time staying interested in the plot due to my first point.
The pacing is unbalanced; some scenes feel drawn out while others are over too quickly, and it makes for an odd experience.
The flashbacks to Syngorn and Byroden are great additions, and having the full story of how Vax got wrapped up with the Clasp is nice, but this book, even with cast performances, is a bit disappointing.
Graphic: Blood, Gore, Torture, and Violence
Moderate: Child abuse
etoothpaste's review
- Plot- or character-driven? Character
- Strong character development? Yes
- Loveable characters? Yes
- Diverse cast of characters? It's complicated
- Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes
4.0
Graphic: Child abuse and Blood
Moderate: Sexual harassment
egfrith'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? Yes
4.0
Graphic: Blood, Death of parent, Grief, and Violence
droggelbecher42's review against another edition
- Plot- or character-driven? Character
- Strong character development? Yes
- Loveable characters? Yes
- Diverse cast of characters? Yes
- Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes
5.0
I cried, I got incredibly angry, I laughed and smiled.
Some of my favourite things about it (no spoilers):
- incredibly organic sibling dynamic, both full of bickering and true care
- the audiobooks narration by Robbie Daymond with voices from Laura & Liam
-> incredibly immersive, I forgot that an adorable little girl was in fact also spoken by him
-> the twins voices, as a fan of campaign 1 I just missed their in character voices, but even without that aspect it just added to the immersion
- complex issues and characters
-> I don't want to spoil anything, but there is a issue that is portrayed in a very unique way, giving equal times to both sides of the story.
- flashbacks!
-> They were well timed and made me appreciate the characters more, while also givivng more perspective to their flaws
- lgbtq+ representation
Tl;dr:
Good book, beautifully told story, not only for fans of campaign 1 & critical role, but also for fans of fantasy stories, intrigue and family dynamics
Graphic: Death of parent, Murder, Violence, Blood, and Cursing
Moderate: Abandonment, Grief, Bullying, Racism, and Xenophobia
Minor: Animal cruelty and Slavery
Includes some themes of terrible family dynamics, trust issues and feeling worthless