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fanboyriot'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, Child death, Death, Gore, Gun violence, Torture, Violence, Blood, Grief, Murder, War, and Injury/Injury detail
Moderate: Child abuse, Confinement, Cursing, Emotional abuse, Genocide, Panic attacks/disorders, Physical abuse, Medical content, Kidnapping, Medical trauma, and Fire/Fire injury
Minor: Bullying, Self harm, Slavery, and Death of parent
thewillowwood'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: Body horror, Death, Torture, Violence, Blood, Grief, Death of parent, Murder, and War
Moderate: Gore, Gun violence, Panic attacks/disorders, Fire/Fire injury, and Injury/Injury detail
Minor: Child death, Physical abuse, and Vomit
emerentina's review against another edition
- Strong character development? Yes
- Loveable characters? Yes
- Diverse cast of characters? Yes
- Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes
4.25
Graphic: Death, Gore, Physical abuse, Torture, Violence, Blood, Grief, Murder, War, and Injury/Injury detail
Moderate: Body horror, Child death, Confinement, Genocide, Gun violence, Vomit, Kidnapping, Medical trauma, Death of parent, Fire/Fire injury, Alcohol, and Colonisation
Minor: Misogyny and Sexual content
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: gamblinghue's review against another edition
2.0
Graphic: Physical abuse, Violence, Murder, Toxic friendship, and War
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
qraveline'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? Yes
5.0
Graphic: Genocide, Torture, Violence, and Murder
Moderate: Physical abuse, Xenophobia, and War
Minor: Suicidal thoughts
foreverinastory'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
Rep: Asian bisexual female MC, Asian lesbian female MC with an eye implant, Asian genius female side character, queer normative world.
CWs: Blood, body horror, child death, death, fire/fire injury, gore, grief, gun violence, injury/injury detail, kidnapping, medical content and unconsented medical experimentation, murder, torture, violence, war. Moderate: Car accident, colonisation, confinement, cursing, death of parent, emotional abuse, genocide, medical trauma, mental illness (anxiety and PTSD), police brutality, physical abuse, self-harm, toxic relationship, xenophobia. Minor: Panic attacks, vomit.
Graphic: Body horror, Child death, Death, Gore, Gun violence, Torture, Violence, Blood, Medical content, Kidnapping, Grief, Murder, Fire/Fire injury, War, and Injury/Injury detail
Moderate: Confinement, Cursing, Emotional abuse, Genocide, Mental illness, Physical abuse, Self harm, Toxic relationship, Xenophobia, Police brutality, Medical trauma, Car accident, Death of parent, and Colonisation
Minor: Panic attacks/disorders and Vomit
cottlestonpie's review against another edition
- Plot- or character-driven? Character
- Strong character development? It's complicated
- Loveable characters? It's complicated
- Diverse cast of characters? It's complicated
- Flaws of characters a main focus? No
2.75
Graphic: Death, Emotional abuse, Gun violence, Panic attacks/disorders, Physical abuse, Self harm, Suicidal thoughts, Torture, Toxic relationship, Violence, Forced institutionalization, Xenophobia, Blood, Grief, Murder, Gaslighting, Toxic friendship, Dysphoria, War, and Injury/Injury detail
Moderate: Body horror, Bullying, Child abuse, Confinement, Genocide, Gore, Mental illness, Kidnapping, Death of parent, Fire/Fire injury, Abandonment, and Alcohol
Minor: Cursing, Infidelity, Sexual content, Vomit, and Stalking
starccato'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
4.0
Graphic: Body horror, Child abuse, Child death, Death, Gore, Gun violence, Physical abuse, Torture, Violence, Blood, Medical content, Grief, and Murder
Moderate: Confinement, Emotional abuse, Self harm, Slavery, Toxic relationship, Religious bigotry, Death of parent, Fire/Fire injury, and Abandonment
Minor: Cursing, Mental illness, Panic attacks/disorders, Suicidal thoughts, Vomit, and Stalking