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emily_mh'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
The characters were definitely the strength of this book. The two POV characters, Eris and Sona, were distinct from the off which was a great sign. It only got better when the narrative drew out their complexities. Both are filled with anger and the purpose of toppling Godolia. Eris has been trained to be a leader and feels so much responsibility and love for her crew. Her emotions feel like a vulnerability for her and so she grows thorns even though she just wants to be soft. I felt particularly compelled by Sona, though, being a person straddling the lines between human and bot and desperately trying to land as the former. She is terrified of herself and what she’s done, so her deepest wish is to be loved regardless. I found the scenes where she grapples with herself so heartfelt. I just got so attached to both MCs in a way that doesn’t often happen to me. I think the raw writing style really showcased the emotional state of the characters, giving the reader something real to resonate with.
Because Eris and Sona were such dynamic characters, the romance they shared was utterly believable. While there is instant attraction (at least on Sona’s part), it wasn’t instalove. Instead, Mikuta makes sure to include a range of scenes where the MCs explore and deepen their connection. The tension she crafted was spot-on. In my opinion, this was a good execution of the enemies-to-lovers trope.
In terms of world-building, I understood why the mechas were created and how they shaped the world as it was in this book. However, there was bigger-picture context missing in terms of how far in the future we were and what the global situation was. I also wanted more description of how religious colonisation impacted culture in Godolia and beyond. I was interested to know if religious and political conformity meant cultural conformity as well, as there was some evidence to the contrary in this book. I wanted to know what clothes, food, languages, etc. existed and why. So in this way the world-building was not fully realised and ended up being a bit plain.
Graphic: Death, Physical abuse, Violence, Murder, and Colonisation
Moderate: Child death, Confinement, Cursing, Gun violence, Torture, Blood, Vomit, Grief, Death of parent, Fire/Fire injury, War, and Injury/Injury detail
Minor: Ableism, Animal death, Child abuse, Physical abuse, Self harm, Sexual content, Medical content, and Alcohol
Moderate: loss of a loved one Minor: gamblingkaylamoran'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
3.75
Graphic: Torture and Blood
Moderate: Body horror, Death, Gore, Grief, Medical trauma, Murder, Fire/Fire injury, and Injury/Injury detail
Minor: Confinement and Genocide
audreyreadz'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 horror, Gore, Torture, Blood, Kidnapping, Religious bigotry, Medical trauma, Murder, Fire/Fire injury, War, and Injury/Injury detail
Moderate: Panic attacks/disorders, Grief, and Classism
salemander's review against another edition
5.0
to be serious for a moment this book has some incredible dialogue around war and how children play such a huge role in it and goddamn is it fucking devastating. just heartbreaking and all too real.
now please give them the chance to be fucking happy in the next book PLEASE
Graphic: Body horror, Child death, Death, Genocide, Gore, Torture, Violence, Blood, Grief, Medical trauma, War, and Injury/Injury detail
oliverreeds's review against another edition
- Plot- or character-driven? Character
- Strong character development? Yes
- Loveable characters? Yes
- Diverse cast of characters? Yes
4.25
Graphic: Body horror, Bullying, Child death, Confinement, Death, Gore, Gun violence, Torture, Violence, Blood, Police brutality, Grief, Death of parent, Murder, Fire/Fire injury, Alcohol, War, and Injury/Injury detail
recycled_personalities'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
4.75
Graphic: Body horror, Child abuse, Child death, Cursing, Death, Gore, Gun violence, Physical abuse, Slavery, Torture, Violence, Blood, Medical content, Grief, Religious bigotry, Medical trauma, Death of parent, Murder, Fire/Fire injury, War, Injury/Injury detail, and Classism
Moderate: Ableism, Addiction, Alcoholism, Bullying, Confinement, Mental illness, Panic attacks/disorders, Physical abuse, Toxic relationship, Medical content, Kidnapping, Mass/school shootings, Abandonment, and Alcohol
rainbcwboy's review against another edition
- Plot- or character-driven? A mix
- Strong character development? Yes
- Loveable characters? Yes
- Diverse cast of characters? It's complicated
- Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes
4.75
Moderate: Child death, Death, Violence, Grief, Murder, and War
jessi21'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
4.75
Graphic: Child death, Death, and War
Moderate: Vomit and Grief
Minor: Death of parent
puttingwingsonwords'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
4.0
Graphic: Child abuse, Child death, Confinement, Death, Genocide, Gore, Gun violence, Torture, Violence, Xenophobia, Blood, Grief, Death of parent, Murder, War, and Injury/Injury detail
Moderate: Body horror
Minor: Sexual content and Alcohol
moonytoast's review against another edition
- Diverse cast of characters? Yes
1.5
i think the worldbuilding really falls flat, especially the introduction of this 'religion' around the Windups and then it means absolutely nothing to the consequences of the universe other than one (1) vaguely pseudo-religious holiday that is more about a nation celebrating its might than anything.... also there are certain things that make it feel not at ALL centuries removed from our current culture. it's difficult for me to believe that this story takes place in a war-torn world where there's one all-powerful governing force that decimated its enemies, hundreds of years removed from our own time, while having the characters speak and behave like modern kids/teens while drinking hot chocolate and reading old romance novels (because i guess there aren't books anymore?).
additionally, i had several issues with the characters. i really feel like this tries to lay on the found family dynamic a bit thick, with a level of annoying hijinks that eventually lose their comedy and become bland and repetitive. milo was especially disappointing, because i was hoping for a much more nuanced reaction to eris' return to camp with sona in tow.... that did not happen at all. his reaction and the way his character is treated in the narration felt weirdly overzealous and then set up an entirely predictable subplot for this character, who becomes reduced to a two-dimensional draco malfoy-esque nuisance (my sincerest apologies for the hp reference, it was the only thing that came to mind to describe how i felt about this character and how he was framed by the story). he could have been sidelined so much better than he was in order to make way for the relationship between eris and sona. all the other characters, even eris and sona in some ways, suffer similar fates to being not fully-realized and complex characters. SPOILER INCOMING: i can't remember which kid it was, but one of them dies and i didn't really care at all or apparently even remember the kid's name. maybe he was the one that sat on the top of the bookshelf? who's to say? i shouldn't need to say this, but killing off a member of a found family group in something that is supposed to be a dramatic and pivotal moment should elicit more emotion than just, "oh. that sucks."
all in all, this book reminds me far too much of legend by marie lu, which i think is the much better story when it comes to both worldbuilding and character work.
Graphic: Body horror, Death, Gun violence, Torture, Violence, Blood, and Injury/Injury detail
Moderate: Medical content, Grief, Death of parent, and Murder