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the_bookish_babee's review
- 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
3.0
Graphic: Grief
Moderate: Violence, Trafficking, Kidnapping, Abandonment, War, and Classism
Minor: Death, Sexual assault, and Sexual harassment
mollybrector'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? No
4.5
The writing and pacing gives away this is Natalia Hernandez’s first book. This is not a bad thing in my eyes. I believe this author has a skill that will only flourish as she hones her craft. I look forward to continuing the series and seeing what happens next for our Name Bearer.
Minor: Death, Sexual assault, Trafficking, Murder, and Abandonment
elliott_the_clementine'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
4.25
Graphic: Violence, Xenophobia, Blood, Trafficking, Kidnapping, and War
Moderate: Sexual harassment
Minor: Pedophilia, Rape, Sexual assault, and Sexual violence
linze18'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: Bullying and Violence
Moderate: Panic attacks/disorders and Murder
Minor: Trafficking and Sexual harassment
nrchambers'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
3.75
It was a little rough specifically because of the in-world hatred of 'others' (reading this when multiple genocides are ongoing in Gaza, Sudan, Congo, etc). So I'm hoping a lot of the characters do some personal growth in book 2.
Graphic: Violence and War
Minor: Bullying, Emotional abuse, Sexual assault, Torture, and Trafficking
lisamsalgado'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
5.0
Moderate: Death, Vomit, and War
Minor: Rape, Sexual assault, Slavery, and Trafficking
erikagibson126's review against another edition
- Strong character development? Yes
- Diverse cast of characters? Yes
4.25
Graphic: Child abuse, Confinement, Violence, Kidnapping, Abandonment, and War
Moderate: Bullying, Emotional abuse, Physical abuse, Slavery, Trafficking, and Injury/Injury detail
Minor: Rape, Sexual assault, Sexual violence, and Sexual harassment
mandareads222'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
3.75
Graphic: Bullying, Death, Infidelity, Slavery, Violence, Blood, Medical content, Medical trauma, Murder, and Injury/Injury detail
Moderate: Confinement, Sexual violence, Trafficking, Kidnapping, Grief, Pregnancy, Fire/Fire injury, Abandonment, Alcohol, and War
Minor: Animal cruelty, Pedophilia, Rape, Sexual assault, Torture, Excrement, and Vomit
bkwrm1317'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
3.5
The following is a personal review, and does not reflect judging for Indie Ink 2024 judging I completed:
This was a really interesting novel, although there were odd breaks in the progress of the overall story arc as the protagonist went from one place (geographically) to another. This created a slightly disjointed/jarring reader experience for me, and also made the pacing feel slower than it would have otherwise, I think. I'd suggest the pacing of the novel is slow/medium, with some sections more solidly in each category.
The world building, magic system, and overall story was distinctive, if not unique. I wasn't particularly compelled by the use of Spanish words/how they were integrated - it didn't feel as thoughtful as some other Latine bilingual authors' works are in their use of English and Spanish words.
The end of the novel represents a fairly unsatisfying cliffhanger for me personally, as a reader, but would likely feel more compelling for other readers.
All CWs as mild, as there is either a brief/not emotionally intense engagement in the text with the CW, or it is threatened/mentioned, but not done (e.g. sexual harassment rather than sexual violence, as it was a verbal threat towards the protagonist, but not one that was carried through or anywhere near that).
Minor: Bullying, Death, Blood, Trafficking, and Sexual harassment
ladymickbeth's review against another edition
- Plot- or character-driven? Character
3.0
World building: 4/5
Characters: 4.5/5
Writing: 3.75/5
Grammar/editing: 2/5
In general, I enjoyed this book and the unique premise. Unfortunately, I don’t think this book was edited at all. There was some expositional elements repeated when they didn’t need to be, and there were a ridiculous amount of typos and missing or incorrect punctuation marks. There were also quite a few run-on sentences. The obvious lack of editing took me out of the story often.
Graphic: Violence, Kidnapping, and Murder
Moderate: Confinement, Slavery, Violence, and Trafficking
Minor: Bullying, Physical abuse, Rape, Sexual assault, Sexual content, Sexual violence, Torture, Blood, Alcohol, War, and Injury/Injury detail