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imds's review against another edition
- Strong character development? Yes
- Loveable characters? Yes
- Diverse cast of characters? Yes
- Flaws of characters a main focus? It's complicated
3.5
Graphic: Confinement, Death, Emotional abuse, Self harm, Suicidal thoughts, Torture, Violence, Blood, Kidnapping, Grief, Murder, and Colonisation
kittykels's review against another edition
- Strong character development? Yes
- Loveable characters? Yes
- Diverse cast of characters? Yes
5.0
Graphic: Death, Panic attacks/disorders, and Suicidal thoughts
Moderate: Torture, Violence, and War
Minor: Sexual content
aformeracceleratedreader's review against another edition
4.25
Def read trigger/content warnings especially if you struggle with mental health.
Graphic: Child death, Death, Emotional abuse, Mental illness, Suicidal thoughts, Toxic relationship, Violence, Grief, Murder, Fire/Fire injury, Gaslighting, and Injury/Injury detail
Moderate: Self harm
casey_h'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
5.0
And don't get me started on the characters! Everyone had such an intense and unique personality that they felt like real, tangible people. Every person had their own strengths, weaknesses, and traumas to heal from and they were just so human and relatable. I just want to give Malik a hug :(
The representation as well is fantastic, and gets much more nuanced in this book than the first, especially the LGBTQ+ rep. The mental health rep was a lot deeper and more intense in this one too.
All in all, fantastic, I loved it so much, I'm sad it's over, and I hope that this DOES get made into a tv series at some point still bc it would be AMAZING!
Graphic: Animal death, Mental illness, Panic attacks/disorders, Racism, Torture, and Violence
megdconway's review against another edition
2.0
Graphic: Emotional abuse, Mental illness, Panic attacks/disorders, Self harm, Suicidal thoughts, Torture, Violence, Suicide attempt, and Murder
Moderate: Death, Slavery, Trafficking, Fire/Fire injury, War, and Injury/Injury detail
Minor: Child abuse, Racial slurs, Grief, and Death of parent
bookishmillennial'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
I buddy read this with a friend and we really enjoyed it, maybe even more than the first book in the duology! It was a fantastic way to end the duology and we saw characters confront their pain/trauma and ultimately grow from it. I felt satisfied with this conclusion and think other readers will too!
I would love to see this adapted to a limited series or a movie!!
Graphic: Death, Emotional abuse, Self harm, Suicidal thoughts, Violence, and Grief
Minor: Sexual content
toy_masterpiece'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
*Spoilers for the first book*
Dude, if the first book was a 5/5, this one is a 6/5. In this book, we get to see our heros seriously grapple with their internal demons as the world falls apart around them. Karina with her inferiority complex, her loneliness, her self-destructive tendencies, her grief and Malik with his anxiety, his trauma from childhood, his very negative sense of self, and his loneliness.
First and foremost, the voice actors continue to put their whole chests into this performance. Oh my god. We're back with Jordan Cobb (Karina), A.J. Beckles (Malik), and surprise, Bahni Turpin. Like not only do they deliver in drawing you into their world and into their minds, but the dialogue delivery goes so hard. Most notably, Beckles' performance of Fareed (the antagonist) is excellent. Makes me want to slap something. And Cobb really made me fall in love with Karina, more of which I'll discuss later. Like all the performances go so well with Brown's quirky dialogue, and emotive writing style.
Don't even get me started on the writing. The world-building, the magic system, the stakes! So expertly choreographed to form this story.
On the less fantastic side of things, Brown tackles some themes of suicical ideation, generational trauma, having a faith crisis, and grooming to name a few, like how do you juggle all that in a duology? Idk, but Brown did it.
Also a sprinkling of autistic rep, queer rep, diversity in hair texture/style, culture and food, gender, and sexuality.
Lastly, these characters, Karina and Malik, so flawed, so compelling, lemme talk about it. Karina: she always has to have the last word, she is resilient to a fault, she is so so caring and that really comes through in the voice. Malik: constantly battling with his inner demon who isn't even as bad as his actual inner demon while being subject to the expert manipulation of Fareed. They make mistakes, they doubt themselves, each other, their friends. It's good stuff, I assure you.
5/5
Graphic: Panic attacks/disorders, Self harm, and Suicidal thoughts
Moderate: Death, Torture, Toxic relationship, Violence, Grief, and Sexual harassment
Minor: Confinement, Domestic abuse, Trafficking, and Death of parent
grooming, nice guy syndromenettle_'s review against another edition
- Plot- or character-driven? Plot
- Strong character development? Yes
- Loveable characters? It's complicated
- Diverse cast of characters? Yes
- Flaws of characters a main focus? It's complicated
4.75
It has a more deep dive into the same topics so many fantasy YA books have so don’t run away because of the content warnings.
Minor: Animal death, Child abuse, Confinement, Cursing, Death, Domestic abuse, Emotional abuse, Gore, Homophobia, Mental illness, Panic attacks/disorders, Physical abuse, Racism, Self harm, Sexism, Sexual content, Sexual violence, Slavery, Suicidal thoughts, Suicide, Torture, Transphobia, Violence, Blood, Trafficking, Kidnapping, Grief, Suicide attempt, Death of parent, Murder, Fire/Fire injury, Abandonment, War, Injury/Injury detail, and Classism
melinajoy'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
4.75
Wow did I love this book! It's book 2 and I found it answered a lot of questions I'd had in the first book and was also just easier to understand. Karina and Malik are amazing characters and I also love Ife. A story of perseverance!
I appreciate how the author presents Malik's mental illnesses, his anxiety, and his self harm, suicidal thoughts/attempts.
I love Karina's queerness.
And I just appreciate most of the characters' tenacity, will, and how very much themselves they are.
I loved the journey we go through with them all separately and then together.
I WISH we got a third book and that this wasn't a duology. We need a part 3 of them living their lives! But I guess I'll just deal with the end chapter.
This book is definitely getting added to my favorites list!
*This book is graphic and contains a lot of trauma. Please check content warnings*.
Graphic: Emotional abuse, Mental illness, Panic attacks/disorders, Racial slurs, Self harm, Suicidal thoughts, Trafficking, and Suicide attempt
Moderate: Confinement, Violence, Kidnapping, Grief, Death of parent, Murder, and Gaslighting
Minor: Chronic illness and Injury/Injury detail
CW: groominglochanreads'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
Graphic: Death, Racial slurs, Self harm, Torture, Violence, Grief, War, and Injury/Injury detail
Moderate: Panic attacks/disorders, Suicidal thoughts, and Colonisation