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bwray1'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? No
4.5
Moderate: Blood
major_tom'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? No
2.75
At first, I was afraid the lore would be too confusing - I am not very familiar with space-related fiction and never had much interest in it. Here, the story started straight away - I liked how we discovered things along the way, without long and boring history lessons. Each chapter has a short passage before it, which could be a letter, a quote, or other short piece that gave more insight into the world. I love good exposition and, I’m my opinion, Linden A. Lewis here did a great job.
The main character are interesting, flawed and have their own priorities and desires. There are some flaws, but I’ll talk about them later.
I loved how unique this world is. It really stands out with how logical historical development of each nation is.
However, I got quite disappointed by the end. The ending felt rushed, used mostly explanation rather than exposure, and gave a bit of flat character development. I saw how some things before could be linked to the plot twists, but still it wasn’t satisfactory. I felt that the ending was made that way to create reason for the next book. I am afraid that the next books will turn to obvious conflicts and will greatly worsen in world-building. In my opinion, the book by itself is great as stand-alone (if the ending was changed). I hope I’m wrong, because I still enjoyed it most of the way.
Graphic: Body horror, Bullying, Child abuse, Emotional abuse, Misogyny, Racism, Slavery, Violence, Blood, War, and Injury/Injury detail
catsy2022'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? No
4.0
Graphic: Child abuse, Confinement, Death, Violence, Blood, Kidnapping, Medical trauma, and War
Minor: Vomit
ericadawson'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
3.75
This review contains spoilers--and my opinion is overall impacted by the fact that I wasn't able to finish this in a timely fashion.
I enjoyed The First Sister, although the triple POV felt off-balance to me as I much preferred First Sister's perspective over Lito's and Hiro's, but we inevitably got more of Lito and Hiro's development than First Sister's.
The plot is enjoyable, and there are many moving parts without those parts colliding and making the reading experience confusing or unclear. I enjoyed the worldbuilding because it didn't feel too large like in some other scifis, but it wasn't contained to just Earth and the Moon like some others. The history was rich without being overwhelming, and the author did a good job of staying focused on the parts of the lore that were actually relevant (although I did forget sometimes that this was a war over resources, first and foremost). I felt Lito's transition to treason was a bit speedy, but both Hiro's and First Sister's plot twists were excellent.
The voice was strong, the pacing good, and the internal and external conflicts felt real. A very enjoyable book.
Moderate: Death, Misogyny, Sexual violence, Violence, Blood, and War
Minor: Sexual content
kaylamoran'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
Graphic: Body horror, Confinement, Genocide, Gore, Sexual assault, Torture, Forced institutionalization, Blood, Medical trauma, Gaslighting, and Injury/Injury detail
Moderate: Xenophobia, Religious bigotry, and War
Minor: Racism, Transphobia, Vomit, and Murder
rebeccajost'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
Graphic: Child abuse, Death, Emotional abuse, Transphobia, Violence, Blood, Medical trauma, Murder, Gaslighting, Dysphoria, and Classism
Moderate: Confinement, Gun violence, Racial slurs, Torture, Medical content, Trafficking, and Death of parent
implied adult/minor relationship, regarding trasphobia & dysphoria:bookwisp'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? It's complicated
3.5
Graphic: Violence, Blood, and Medical trauma
Moderate: Sexual assault
mandkips'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
3.0
Graphic: Violence, Blood, and Medical trauma
Moderate: Sexual assault and Sexual violence
Minor: Sexual content and Transphobia
caseythereader'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
- This is one of those dual POV books where you're always eager to return to the action of whoever's storyline you're in. Both First Sister and Lito's stories were so gripping.
- There are a couple of great plot twists: even if you see them coming, this book is fantastically plotted.
- I feel like I am not doing this book justice, lol. It's great! Just hard to condense into an IG caption. If you love space opera and romance and discussing power and inequality through sci-fi, go get it!
Graphic: Cursing, Death, Gore, Gun violence, Violence, Blood, Medical content, Grief, Murder, Alcohol, War, and Injury/Injury detail
Moderate: Sexual content
readmeaplant's review against another edition
5.0
Moderate: Death, Rape, Sexual assault, Blood, Medical trauma, and Injury/Injury detail