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lizzie24601'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
Half a star taken off only because the opening is so slow - until you get to part 3 and it takes OFF. If you haven't read a Natasha Pulley book before, read The Watchmaker of Filigree Street or The Bedlam Stacks before this one - they both are better introductions to her writing style since they start off a bit quicker and are written more chronologically. Then come back and enjoy this one. :)
Graphic: Gaslighting and War
Moderate: Child death, Death, Gun violence, Physical abuse, Slavery, Torture, Violence, Kidnapping, Grief, Murder, Fire/Fire injury, Colonisation, and Injury/Injury detail
Minor: Genocide, Self harm, Sexism, Blood, Death of parent, and Alcohol
clarabooksit's review against another edition
- 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
4.25
Graphic: Animal cruelty, Animal death, Child death, Death, Gun violence, Mental illness, Sexism, Violence, Kidnapping, Murder, and War
Moderate: Slavery, Xenophobia, Blood, Fire/Fire injury, Alcohol, Colonisation, Injury/Injury detail, and Classism
Minor: Homophobia, Racism, and Suicide
cameronreads's review against another edition
4.0
Two half stars were taken off for me - one because the way that time travel was written, although the right way to make the story work, is the one way I hate for time travel to be written. I love it when time travel is more along the lines of what David Lewis theorised as possible, rather than time travellers having the ability to change the future from the past etc. Still, it made for the right kind of story, so only half a star off for that. A second half star off because I wanted just a bit more feeling out of the characters. I think the emotions they were feeling here were so big that they needed a bit more description or emphasis. I wanted to feel the emotions with the characters, and I just didn't really. Mostly I wanted to see more passion out of the main relationship in here, I think just a little more development could have really added to the impact.
Still, I loved this so much more than I expected to, and I would 100% recommend.
Graphic: Child death, Death, Gore, Slavery, Violence, Blood, Medical content, Kidnapping, Murder, Fire/Fire injury, War, and Injury/Injury detail
Moderate: Cursing, Gun violence, Misogyny, Self harm, Grief, and Colonisation
Minor: Suicide, Torture, Vomit, and Alcohol
cocacolor's review against another edition
- Plot- or character-driven? Plot
- Loveable characters? It's complicated
- Diverse cast of characters? It's complicated
4.5
Graphic: Animal death, Death, Gore, Hate crime, Violence, Kidnapping, Fire/Fire injury, Gaslighting, Colonisation, War, and Injury/Injury detail
Moderate: Child death, Confinement, Emotional abuse, Gun violence, Homophobia, Panic attacks/disorders, Physical abuse, Racism, Rape, Sexism, Suicide, Blood, Murder, and Classism
Minor: Genocide and Alcohol
On rape:btrz7's review against another edition
- Plot- or character-driven? A mix
- Loveable characters? Yes
- Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes
5.0
Graphic: Animal death, Child abuse, Child death, Death, Gun violence, Infidelity, Misogyny, Physical abuse, Racism, Self harm, Sexual assault, Slavery, Forced institutionalization, Medical content, Kidnapping, Fire/Fire injury, Gaslighting, Colonisation, War, and Injury/Injury detail
lilifane'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
I did not expect this tbh. I couldn't remember how this book ended up on my TBR pile, and the only thing I did remember was that there was time travel involved in the plot. This is usually enough for me to be interested. But I was skeptical when I started reading because I didn't know what to think about the beginning. But when things stated.... moving, I fell in love with the setting and the atmosphere and the writing, and then I got attached to the characters and that was kind of too much for my poor little heart. It was shattering to pieces every few pages, and I was having one emotional breakdown after the other. And even though I guessed a lot of the mysteries early on, it made everything even more emotional. Plus, the ending kept me on my toes until the very last page, and this is something that doesn't happen often.
Be warned, though, this book is gruesome. It takes place during a war and all the horrors you can think of will be described in details. It was hard to read sometimes, but it made everything very believable and kept the stakes pretty high. (I like to pretend that one scene especially didn't happen, though. It was not the most bloody scene but a very much unnecessary one in my opinion.)
I will have to reread the book at some point knowing what I know now and also note down all those beautifully heartbreaking quotes.
Graphic: Animal cruelty, Animal death, Child death, Confinement, Death, Gore, Gun violence, Panic attacks/disorders, Physical abuse, Suicide, Torture, Violence, Blood, Medical content, Kidnapping, Fire/Fire injury, War, and Injury/Injury detail
seanml'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
5.0
Graphic: Death, Gun violence, Panic attacks/disorders, Physical abuse, Violence, Murder, Fire/Fire injury, and Gaslighting
Moderate: Animal death, Child death, Confinement, Cursing, Emotional abuse, Mental illness, Misogyny, Self harm, Slavery, Blood, Medical content, and Kidnapping
Minor: Genocide, Sexism, Sexual content, Suicidal thoughts, Death of parent, Alcohol, and Colonisation