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themoodreader'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
5.0
Moderate: Death and Blood
Minor: Confinement, Death, Blood, Kidnapping, Murder, Alcohol, and Injury/Injury detail
kassidyreads'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: Animal death, Death, Physical abuse, and Violence
Moderate: Body horror, Gore, and Blood
Minor: Alcohol
fullybookedlola's review against another edition
- Plot- or character-driven? Character
- Strong character development? Yes
- Loveable characters? It's complicated
- Diverse cast of characters? Yes
- Flaws of characters a main focus? It's complicated
4.5
Graphic: Death, Violence, Blood, Murder, and Fire/Fire injury
Moderate: Animal death, Sexual assault, Grief, Alcohol, and Sexual harassment
Minor: Death of parent
booksthatburn'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
The worldbuilding is gradual, with Yumeko often serving as the mouthpiece because she's excited to explain whatever now-relevant thing the monks had taught her. Having two main characters with occasional other points of view for brief stretches allows for a lot of worldbuilding conveyed through the different ways they view what's happening. Occasionally when the perspective switches there will be an overlap in the scenes to convey at least what the second narrator thought about what happened, with only minor duplications when describing the events.
A few minor characters are portrayed in frustrating ways, such as in an early incident where a canonically fat character describes a (now dead) yōkai as the only one who ever loved him. He’s then almost immediately killed. I think his size was supposed to indicate that he used his wealth to hoard resources, especially when a later section comments on how farmers often starve for at least part of each winter, but it comes across as fatphobic when combined with his lament.
The three narrators for the audiobook work well, with one narrator each for Yumeko's and Kage Tatsumi's perspectives, then the third narrator for other points of view. The plot follows their travels from one temple to another, and the battles they fight along the way. By the time they get there, several events have created a new goal for them which I assume is the subject of the next book. The overarching goal of the trilogy as previewed here is to keep anyone from using a scroll (which was split into pieces and hidden at several temples) to summon the Kami dragon. I'm very interested in where this goes next, I enjoyed the characters and the cliffhanger ending promises answers which I very much want.
Graphic: Confinement, Death, Emotional abuse, Gore, Physical abuse, Violence, and Blood
Moderate: Body horror, Self harm, Sexism, Kidnapping, Alcohol, and Classism
Minor: Body shaming, Fatphobia, Suicide, and Torture
singalana'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? It's complicated
4.5
Minor: Animal cruelty, Animal death, Body horror, Death, Physical abuse, Violence, Blood, Murder, Fire/Fire injury, Alcohol, and Injury/Injury detail
lolaslalaland's review against another edition
4.75
I loved how there were a lot of Japanese words inserted into dialogues and translated in a very fluid way so that it can make sense to anyone who does not know what the words mean (for an anime dork like me though it just brought me so much joy and made me feel knowledgeable 😂).
I absolutely loved the characters I thought they were so adorable, especially the kind of grumpy/sunshine thing between Tatsumi and Yumeko 🖤. I would summarize this book as the beginning of an unexpected adventure with the fate of the world hanging in the balance, unexpected friendships a long the way and keeping secrets from one another. Also, Okame was my favorite. His sarcasm and manners were *chef's kiss* would definitely drink sake with that man.
Moderate: Blood
Minor: Sexism
tragedies's review against another edition
- Plot- or character-driven? Plot
- Strong character development? It's complicated
- Loveable characters? Yes
- Diverse cast of characters? It's complicated
- Flaws of characters a main focus? It's complicated
5.0
It's my first time reading Julie Kagawa's work, and I'm so happy I finally gave it a shot. I can't wait to see where the story goes from here.
Reread (July 10, 2022): Loved this just as much as the first time I read it, if not more. Yumeko, Tatsumi, and the rest of the gang feel like old friends, and the writing is still as beautiful and immersive as I remember it to be. I honestly can't remember why I originally rated this four stars? I love everything about it! Can't wait to reread the next one. Hopefully, I can finish it soon, so I can finally start on the last book.
Graphic: Body horror, Death, Emotional abuse, Gore, and Blood
ceilidhwilliams's review against another edition
- Plot- or character-driven? Plot
- Strong character development? It's complicated
- Loveable characters? Yes
- Diverse cast of characters? No
- Flaws of characters a main focus? No
5.0
Graphic: Body horror, Death, Gore, Blood, and Murder
teri_b'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
The story is actually more gory and bloody than I perceived it previously.
But you cannot not come to love Yokemi and root for Tatsumi and little Suki. Hers is the hardest story I have come across in my reading for quite a while.
Beautiful also, how all the storylines come together by the end of the book and open up to more mysteries and the question of what happens now.
This time round I struggled with the narrator's voices. Something just did not really gel with me.
Graphic: Death, Emotional abuse, Gore, Physical abuse, and Blood
mind control, mental abuse, demons, blood magictheyorkshirebookshelf'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
5.0
Minor: Gore, Violence, and Blood