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taratearex'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? No
4.0
Reread 2024
I really enjoy this little novella! Despite being a novella, it's dense with worldbuilding and strong characters, the world feels fully realized, yet leaves so many questions that it could have easily been a full length novel delving deeper. The writing is also dense, at times a bit hard to follow or doesn't quite flow, but still quite enjoyable and I look forward to more from this author. I absolutely loved the queer normative world and nonbinary and trans main characters, would love for a this to be a series of novellas in this universe.
The audiobook is excellent, read by one of my favorite narrators Fajer Al-Kaisi. My first read was the audiobook alone and given the dense worldbuilding, I preferred having the physical book this time, but I still listened to the audiobook because I just love the narration.
Graphic: Child death, Death, Blood, Medical content, and Injury/Injury detail
Moderate: Genocide, Gore, Racism, and Xenophobia
caseyaboutthroughout's review against another edition
- Plot- or character-driven? Plot
- Strong character development? It's complicated
- Loveable characters? Yes
- Diverse cast of characters? Yes
- Flaws of characters a main focus? No
3.5
Takes a bit of focus to grasp the political landscape of the story. Philosophical and complex. I feel like I’d have to read it more than once to fully appreciate.
Moderate: Body horror and Dysphoria
Minor: Genocide and War
zydecovivo'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? No
4.0
Graphic: Child death, Death, Racism, Xenophobia, Blood, Medical content, Medical trauma, and Pandemic/Epidemic
Moderate: Bullying, Genocide, Hate crime, Violence, Police brutality, Fire/Fire injury, Colonisation, Dysphoria, and Injury/Injury detail
Minor: War
mnstarr'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? It's complicated
5.0
Graphic: Child death, Death, Xenophobia, Blood, Medical content, and Pandemic/Epidemic
Moderate: Child abuse, Genocide, and Dysphoria
Minor: Torture and Death of parent
flyinglark'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
3.75
I enjoyed how Firuz was a relatively "normal" protagonist, a thirty-year-old provider for their family who fled from their home country and does not rock the boat. Jamnia also highlights the nuances of immigration and being prideful of one's culture, as they mention, "[w]hat does it mean to be oppressed when you were once an oppressor."
I look forward to future work from this author, especially future works in this world.
Graphic: Body horror, Child death, Death, Blood, and Medical content
Moderate: Racism, Colonisation, Dysphoria, and Injury/Injury detail
Minor: Genocide, Physical abuse, Vomit, and Fire/Fire injury
talonsontypewriters'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? It's complicated
4.0
Graphic: Body horror, Child death, Death, Gore, Violence, Xenophobia, Blood, Medical content, Injury/Injury detail, and Pandemic/Epidemic
Moderate: Genocide, Self harm, Colonisation, Dysphoria, and War
Minor: Animal death, Vomit, Death of parent, and Fire/Fire injury
bea__reads's review against another edition
4.5
Graphic: Body horror, Death, Self harm, Violence, Blood, Medical content, Medical trauma, Murder, Injury/Injury detail, and Pandemic/Epidemic
Moderate: Genocide, Xenophobia, Fire/Fire injury, and Colonisation
Minor: Child death, Torture, and Dysphoria
letsgolesbians's review
- Plot- or character-driven? Plot
- Strong character development? Yes
- Loveable characters? Yes
- Diverse cast of characters? Yes
- Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes
3.75
confession: i do not world build in my head when i read books. i rarely imagine the characters. which is one of the reasons i rarely read adult fantasy and i am not really the person to listen to when it comes to adult fantasy—i can’t tell you if the magic system or world or conflict made sense because it usually doesn’t make sense to me anyway. i can talk to you for hours about the magic systems in disney movies but that’s about it.
what i can tell you is that i loved the nuance in this book—the protagonist and antagonist are not hero and villain, the problem has been caused by an attempt at healing, and the problem is solved in a way that does not make the protagonist a winner.
in the author’s note, they say they didn’t initially intend to examine the question “what does it mean to be oppressed when you were once an oppressor?” but found themself writing about it as they deepened the story. i think the question, which firuz (the mc) asks themself several times throughout the book, strengthened the story and the character development. jamnia relates it to their being persian and persian history, and about unlearning things they originally never questioned about empire.
this is a quick read and i recommend it for fellow queer folks who want or need to step into a queernormative world.
photo review here: https://www.instagram.com/p/C5GmLQLr6VQ/?igsh=NzBmMjdhZWRiYQ==
Graphic: Self harm, Medical content, and Colonisation
Moderate: Genocide
prosenheim'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? It's complicated
4.0
Moderate: Child abuse, Genocide, Gore, Physical abuse, Violence, Blood, Medical content, and Religious bigotry
Minor: Self harm
eni_iilorak's review against another edition
- Plot- or character-driven? Character
- Strong character development? Yes
- Loveable characters? Yes
- Diverse cast of characters? Yes
Graphic: Death, Racism, Blood, Medical content, Dysphoria, and Pandemic/Epidemic
Moderate: Animal death, Bullying, Child death, Genocide, Colonisation, Injury/Injury detail, and Classism
Minor: Hate crime, Police brutality, and Fire/Fire injury