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the_bookish_babee's review
adventurous
challenging
emotional
hopeful
medium-paced
- 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
Content Warnings
Graphic: Grief
Moderate: Violence, Trafficking, Kidnapping, Abandonment, War, and Classism
Minor: Death, Sexual assault, and Sexual harassment
mollybrector's review against another edition
adventurous
emotional
funny
hopeful
medium-paced
- 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
I really enjoyed this story but, like others, felt the abrupt ending left me a bit surprised. I wanted an easy read to get back into reading and this covered it. I enjoyed reading the descriptions of the scenery and food but do understand that isn’t for everyone. I think some of the character interactions could have been fleshed out a bit more. I will say the plot twist actually surprised me and I’ve not had that in a while.
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.
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.
Content Warnings
Minor: Death, Sexual assault, Trafficking, Murder, and Abandonment
erikagibson126's review against another edition
adventurous
emotional
mysterious
tense
medium-paced
- Strong character development? Yes
- Diverse cast of characters? Yes
4.25
Content Warnings
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
adventurous
emotional
hopeful
medium-paced
- 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
Content Warnings
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
ourxstorybegins's review against another edition
adventurous
emotional
inspiring
tense
medium-paced
- 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
Okay okay so the only reason that this didn’t get 5 stars from me is because it had a really slow start and was hard to get into. But once I was in, I was IN. This is book one in a series about a girl who was chosen to be the royal Name-Bearer but when it’s time for her to do said bearing, things do not go well and she ends up having to run away, change her identity, etc. etc. for a variety of reasons. From there, this book really focuses on the friendships she makes (and after 10 years of living in basically seclusion where she isn’t allowed to HAVE an identity of any sort, that’s huge) and her starting to figure out who she is when she can’t be the Name Bearer. I finished this and IMMEDIATELY started book 2 because I simply must know more.
Content Warnings
Graphic: Bullying, Confinement, and Violence
Moderate: Misogyny, War, and Injury/Injury detail
Minor: Sexual assault, Slavery, Trafficking, and Abandonment
naomiysl's review against another edition
adventurous
challenging
emotional
mysterious
fast-paced
- 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
5.0
At once fresh and new as well as like a warm hug from an old friend to those of us who grew up on Tamora Pierce and the like. This story reads as if an unhinged tumbler post writing prompt was taken in several different directions at once, and then stirred with lovely badass warrior woman vibes.
Content Warnings
Graphic: Violence, Xenophobia, Abandonment, and War
Moderate: Bullying, Sexism, and Sexual violence
Minor: Slavery
charliebites's review against another edition
adventurous
challenging
emotional
funny
hopeful
inspiring
lighthearted
relaxing
tense
fast-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? A mix
- Strong character development? N/A
- Loveable characters? Yes
- Diverse cast of characters? Yes
- Flaws of characters a main focus? No
4.75
Content Warnings
Moderate: Bullying, Emotional abuse, Physical abuse, and Trafficking
Minor: Sexual assault, Slavery, Kidnapping, Murder, Abandonment, Sexual harassment, and Injury/Injury detail
sopajoh's review
adventurous
emotional
funny
hopeful
inspiring
medium-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? A mix
- Strong character development? Yes
- Loveable characters? Yes
- Diverse cast of characters? Yes
4.5
Very few books I have read span as much time as this one does. I loved watching the characters grow up from children to young women coming into their own.
While not an egregious cliffhanger, there's a lot unresolved by the end. So glad the sequel is already out!
While not an egregious cliffhanger, there's a lot unresolved by the end. So glad the sequel is already out!
Content Warnings
Moderate: Xenophobia
Minor: Rape, Slavery, Trafficking, Kidnapping, Abandonment, and War
Content warning spoiler:batesbarb's review
adventurous
medium-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? Plot
- Strong character development? No
- Loveable characters? It's complicated
- Diverse cast of characters? No
- Flaws of characters a main focus? No
2.5
I really wanted to love this book. The premise was intriguing, and I'm a sucker for a non-European fantasy story. Unfortunately, this just wasn't well done.
It's a self-published debut novel, and it really shows. The story seems very confused about who the audience is. It was publicized as an adult fantasy novel, but the writing feels like middle-grade or very young YA. There is basically no swearing or sexual content (there are one or two very chaste kisses), but there's plenty of violence, and the last 1/5th or so is extremely heavy on the threatened sexual violence. The author doesn't trust her readers to make any connections anywhere on their own, so everything is spelled out explicitly, often multiple times. I listened to the audiobook, and the narrator's style did not help matters at all. She sounded like she was telling a story to young, not very bright child. She also frequently just completely mispronounced fairly common words.
The story as a whole reads like a series of events with no real connection to each other. Everything is told, and nothing is ever shown. The main character forms friendships/budding romances that we are told (over, and over, and over) are deep and profound connections, but these friends just leave 2/3 of the way through the book, and it seems to have no actual effect on our protagonist.
It's also clear that this book is the setup for a series, there's an enormous amount of exposition and setup, but absolutely none of the plot threads or character beats get resolved at all. The book doesn't so much end as it just stops, literally in the middle of a conversation. I honestly thought that there was a glitch in my copy of the audiobook until I checked the reviews.
With a thorough and professional editor this, and the assumed sequel could probably have been made into a really compelling story, but as it is, this feels like beta reading someone's first or second draft of a story.
It's a self-published debut novel, and it really shows. The story seems very confused about who the audience is. It was publicized as an adult fantasy novel, but the writing feels like middle-grade or very young YA. There is basically no swearing or sexual content (there are one or two very chaste kisses), but there's plenty of violence, and the last 1/5th or so is extremely heavy on the threatened sexual violence. The author doesn't trust her readers to make any connections anywhere on their own, so everything is spelled out explicitly, often multiple times. I listened to the audiobook, and the narrator's style did not help matters at all. She sounded like she was telling a story to young, not very bright child. She also frequently just completely mispronounced fairly common words.
The story as a whole reads like a series of events with no real connection to each other. Everything is told, and nothing is ever shown. The main character forms friendships/budding romances that we are told (over, and over, and over) are deep and profound connections, but these friends just leave 2/3 of the way through the book, and it seems to have no actual effect on our protagonist.
It's also clear that this book is the setup for a series, there's an enormous amount of exposition and setup, but absolutely none of the plot threads or character beats get resolved at all. The book doesn't so much end as it just stops, literally in the middle of a conversation. I honestly thought that there was a glitch in my copy of the audiobook until I checked the reviews.
With a thorough and professional editor this, and the assumed sequel could probably have been made into a really compelling story, but as it is, this feels like beta reading someone's first or second draft of a story.
Content Warnings
Moderate: Sexual violence, Slavery, Violence, Trafficking, and Abandonment
starrysteph's review against another edition
adventurous
lighthearted
tense
fast-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? Plot
- Strong character development? Yes
- Loveable characters? Yes
- Diverse cast of characters? Yes
- Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes
3.75
I truly enjoyed The Name-Bearer! It was vibrant, creative, and filled with generous sprinklings of Latin American culture.
We follow the Name-Bearer, a young girl who was selected as a baby to fulfill a critical royal role: deliver royal names from the magical Flowers of Prophecy. Her identity is stripped alongside her birth name; she knows nothing of life outside the palace. But when her first naming ceremony doesn’t go as planned - and she receives an unexpected prophecy instead, putting her in grave danger - she must journey away from all she’s known and find the true heir to the throne.
The world was so fun and colorful; I could picture every scene and character. I thought the depictions of strong & healthy friendships alongside budding romances were so lovely. There are a lot of potential romantic pairings and I would have been happy wherever we landed.
The main character’s journey with her identity - her entire sense of self and her place in the world - unfolded in a beautiful way. Her entire life is dictated by those above her; she is marginalized and powerless. I loved watching her slowly cement her personhood and discover who exactly she is outside of the expectations placed on her.
There were some clumsier elements - the editing seemed to be lacking (typos/other issues on a significant number of pages) and some plot points moved far too quickly. The story spans 10 years, and considering the large amount of characters and events, I think it could have perhaps been better served being split up into multiple books with more time to linger and develop the characters and storylines.
Overall though, Natalia Hernandez is bringing a fresh voice to the fantasy genre and I think her ideas are spectacular. I know she will continue to strengthen as a writer and I’m excited to witness her journey.
CW: violence, bullying, sexual assault (mention), confinement, trafficking, kidnapping, child abuse, death, xenophobia, classism, grief, abandonment, war, slavery
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Content Warnings
Graphic: Bullying, Child abuse, Confinement, Death, Sexual assault, Slavery, Violence, Xenophobia, Trafficking, Kidnapping, Grief, Abandonment, War, and Classism