katbenimble'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
4.5
Overall, I loved the characters and the magic and also the revolution piece. Will be very interested to see where the story goes in book 2!
Moderate: Police brutality, Classism, Bullying, Death, Homophobia, Misogyny, Religious bigotry, and Gun violence
Minor: Abortion, Sexual assault, and War
verinvaldez's review against another edition
- Plot- or character-driven? Plot
- Strong character development? No
- Loveable characters? No
- Diverse cast of characters? Yes
- Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes
2.0
As other reviews have said, the magic system is the exact same as bending in ATLA. A certain plot point was taken directly from ATLA.Â
Spoiler
There is a reveal where the waterweaver main character Nehal accidentally bloodweaves and bloodweaving is highly forbidden and kept secret, I'm pretty sure the reason she gets kidnapped at the end of the book is because she is a bloodweaver and she is going to be used by the enemy kingdom as a weapon.Nehal was a very irritating character, highly stubborn and I found her impossible to like as she appears to be completely disconnected from reality, failing to understand the consequences of her actions and only proceeds to get even angrier when things don't go her way. Nico barely felt like a character, he has somewhat progressive opinions in this world but he just does whatever the plot is asking of him and most of the time he's just pining after Giorgina. Giorgina was the most interesting character to me because she is far more grounded in reality than Nehal and Nico are, however she wasn't compelling.
I am not invested enough in these characters or this world to have any interest in reading the upcoming second book in this duology. Absolutely nothing is resolved by the end of this book, it is all just setup for the next book so don't expect a satisfying ending going into this.
On the positive side, I enjoyed reading a book where the setting is inspired by Egypt, the descriptions of the clothing were fascinating and the political ideas were interesting but the themes weren't married together well.
Graphic: Sexism, Misogyny, and Confinement
Moderate: Homophobia, Lesbophobia, Violence, Classism, and Biphobia
Minor: War, Gun violence, Abortion, Grief, and Kidnapping
fromjuliereads's review against another edition
- Plot- or character-driven? N/A
- Strong character development? No
- Loveable characters? No
- Diverse cast of characters? Yes
- Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes
2.75
My biggest thought right now: not sure why the magic system was literally lifted out of Avatar the Last Airbender with the only change being "bending" called "weaving" instead...
Graphic: Misogyny, Police brutality, Sexism, and Gaslighting
Moderate: War, Confinement, Emotional abuse, Homophobia, Lesbophobia, Fire/Fire injury, Abortion, Classism, Grief, Gun violence, Outing, Physical abuse, Pregnancy, Death, Injury/Injury detail, Murder, Stalking, and Violence
internationalreads's review against another edition
- Plot- or character-driven? Plot
- Strong character development? No
- Loveable characters? Yes
- Diverse cast of characters? Yes
- Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes
3.5
Graphic: Grief, Infidelity, Panic attacks/disorders, Police brutality, Sexism, Violence, Alcohol, Classism, Injury/Injury detail, Misogyny, Abandonment, Blood, Gun violence, Death, and Murder
Moderate: Abortion
ender24'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: Abandonment, Alcohol, Classism, Domestic abuse, Gaslighting, Gore, Murder, Sexual assault, Toxic friendship, War, Xenophobia, Ableism, Biphobia, Blood, Bullying, Child abuse, Child death, Fire/Fire injury, Genocide, Infidelity, Toxic relationship, Alcoholism, Grief, Gun violence, Lesbophobia, Mass/school shootings, Mental illness, Miscarriage, Misogyny, Outing, Pedophilia, Physical abuse, Religious bigotry, Sexual harassment, Sexual violence, Abortion, Adult/minor relationship, Confinement, Cursing, Death, Death of parent, Hate crime, Homophobia, Injury/Injury detail, Kidnapping, Police brutality, Pregnancy, Rape, Sexism, and Violence
blkbbyfem's review against another edition
- Plot- or character-driven? A mix
- Strong character development? It's complicated
- Loveable characters? It's complicated
- Diverse cast of characters? Yes
- Flaws of characters a main focus? It's complicated
3.5
To be honest, I found myself extremely annoyed for the first 60% of this book. Both fmc were annoying. Nehal was so selfish and a tad naive while GiorginaÂ
had a lot of internal conflict. Although I found them annoying, I thought their struggles were authentic, relevant and interesting given their family dynamics. I also enjoyed how their characters develop. The conflict they had to experience was perfectly done and Iâm really looking forward to how the story continues and whatâs next for the ladies.Â
Other thoughts: there were a lot of characters to keep up with but I enjoyed what personality each of them brought. The men were horrible and Elsbai deserves credit for authenticity. There was also a lot of repetitive description ie âwide dark eyesâ, a little variety or less description would have been okay.Â
Graphic: Violence and Gun violence
Moderate: Sexism and Sexual harassment
Minor: Abortion and Homophobia
starrysteph's review against another edition
- Plot- or character-driven? Plot
- Strong character development? No
- Loveable characters? It's complicated
- Diverse cast of characters? Yes
- Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes
2.5
Graphic: Sexual assault, Murder, Sexual harassment, Classism, Body shaming, War, Abortion, Misogyny, Gun violence, Death, Homophobia, Confinement, Lesbophobia, Police brutality, Sexism, and Grief
teatowel'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
3.5
Moderate: Physical abuse, Sexual assault, War, Gun violence, Hate crime, Homophobia, Misogyny, Death, Fire/Fire injury, Police brutality, and Violence
powellki's review against another edition
- Plot- or character-driven? A mix
- Strong character development? Yes
- Loveable characters? It's complicated
- Diverse cast of characters? Yes
- Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes
5.0
Graphic: Misogyny and Police brutality
Moderate: Blood, Death, Fire/Fire injury, Grief, Gun violence, Hate crime, and Homophobia
mxkanteven's review against another edition
- Plot- or character-driven? Character
- Strong character development? No
- Loveable characters? Yes
- Diverse cast of characters? Yes
- Flaws of characters a main focus? No
5.0
That is all.
This book is perfection, I have no notes and I want the sequel yesterday.
Itâs exploration of social misogyny and the relationship between oppressive policies and religious prejudice is nothing short of skillful.
Beyond just that, Hadeerâs commentary on privilege and privileged peopleâs apathy and cowardice regarding challenging  social inequity is brilliant.
Graphic: Misogyny and Violence
Moderate: Sexual harassment, Lesbophobia, Police brutality, and Gun violence
Minor: Homophobia