elspethmigliore'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? Yes
4.0
all of the characters are hilarious and unique and i very much appreciate monty’s growth. i’m excited to finally read the rest of their stories.
definitely reread material ✅
Graphic: Vomit, Chronic illness, Medical content, Gore, Sexual harassment, Gun violence, Blood, Violence, Alcohol, Alcoholism, Injury/Injury detail, Toxic relationship, Homophobia, Emotional abuse, and Domestic abuse
Moderate: Child abuse and Slavery
Minor: Abandonment and Panic attacks/disorders
ekfaltesek's review
- 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
4.0
Minor: Homophobia, Grief, Child abuse, Vomit, Violence, Suicidal thoughts, Racism, Physical abuse, Kidnapping, Gun violence, Death of parent, Bullying, Blood, Biphobia, and Alcoholism
redroseses's review
- Plot- or character-driven? A mix
- Strong character development? Yes
- Loveable characters? Yes
- Diverse cast of characters? Yes
4.75
Graphic: Child abuse, Misogyny, Kidnapping, Vomit, Injury/Injury detail, Alcohol, Violence, Religious bigotry, Racism, Physical abuse, Homophobia, Gun violence, and Blood
Moderate: Death of parent, Blood, Classism, Child abuse, and Death
Minor: Cursing, Fire/Fire injury, Forced institutionalization, Slavery, and Infidelity
lady_of_books'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? Yes
4.5
Graphic: Medical content and Kidnapping
Moderate: Alcohol, Blood, Child abuse, Forced institutionalization, and Alcoholism
Minor: Physical abuse, Abandonment, and Vomit
nordicat'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? Yes
3.75
Graphic: Homophobia, Alcoholism, Child abuse, and Physical abuse
Moderate: Medical content, Violence, Racism, and Vomit
mickij'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? Yes
5.0
Beyond that, I suppose I should talk about the book. This book is utterly fascinating for a variety of reasons. For one, it's grounded in history but it's not bleak for the characters of color. Slavery is mentioned, as it somewhat has to be for a book set in the 19th century, it's not weighing heavily on the narrative. A second thing is that
Graphic: Panic attacks/disorders, Body horror, Physical abuse, Medical content, Injury/Injury detail, Death of parent, War, Police brutality, Alcohol, and Racial slurs
Moderate: Child abuse, Deadnaming, Chronic illness, Vomit, and Racism
Minor: Alcoholism, Religious bigotry, Sexism, and Forced institutionalization
joyfulfoodie'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? Yes
5.0
The characters are lovable and evolve nicely through the book.
Graphic: Chronic illness, Biphobia, Child abuse, Classism, Colonisation, Physical abuse, Death of parent, Alcohol, Alcoholism, Bullying, Emotional abuse, Gaslighting, Homophobia, and Racism
Moderate: Forced institutionalization, Blood, and Injury/Injury detail
Minor: Vomit, Fire/Fire injury, Infidelity, Slavery, and Suicidal thoughts
froggydanny'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: Blood, Injury/Injury detail, Racism, and Alcohol
Moderate: Homophobia, Biphobia, Child abuse, Physical abuse, and Vomit
Minor: Medical content
kaz_brekker1'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: Violence, Physical abuse, Alcoholism, and Domestic abuse
Moderate: Homophobia, Vomit, Racism, Gun violence, and Biphobia
nonnavlis's review
- Plot- or character-driven? Character
- Strong character development? Yes
- Loveable characters? Yes
- Diverse cast of characters? It's complicated
- Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes
4.5
It was also lovely to see some unexpected disability representation later in the story! (I am not considering this is a spoiler as it's something I would've wanted to know as a disabled person, but sorry if anyone feels a bit cheated in my saying so).
The only problem I had with it was the handling of racial tension within the story. I respect the author's desire for some diversity and their certainly earnest and well-meant attempt at handling it, but it did feel pretty simplistic and glossed over in a way I expect a reader of colour would find even more awkward/uncomfortable than I did as a white reader. It's unfortunately one of those stories that probably would've benefited heavily from some sensitivity readers that it seems it did not have. The fact that the author even has an author's note chapter at the end of the book dedicated to summarizing her historical research and influences (where she refers to slave-owners as masters rather than enslavers which felt to me like a pretty glaring sign of lack of knowledge in this area), but still fumbled this as much as she did is why I've removed half a star from my rating. I did see after finishing that this is part of a series so I'm hoping it will be handled better in future stories, since we all have room to learn.
Graphic: Alcohol, Injury/Injury detail, Mental illness, Suicidal thoughts, Alcoholism, Physical abuse, and Child abuse
Moderate: Slavery, Vomit, Kidnapping, Homophobia, Self harm, Sexism, Colonisation, Ableism, Classism, Blood, Cursing, Sexual content, and Racism
Minor: Fire/Fire injury, Gun violence, Forced institutionalization, and Infidelity