m4rtt4'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
2.5
The world-building was quite poorly done, it took me ages to understand how the magical system works. There were so many words in Welsh that weren't translated, even Welsh creatures whose appearances still remain a mystery to me. There were too many fighting scenes for my taste, and I'm not sensitive to violence or injuries — I just don't give a fuck about who hit whom and when and how. Neither did I like the romantic aspects of the story; why must every female YA protagonist always have a love interest? Also I was promised a (boarding) school setting, but everything academic was slowly disposed of as the plot thickened :(
Positive aspects of the book would be its natural diversity in characters, the existence of Selwyn (my favourite character <3) and the subplot about Rootcraft and Bree's family history. I really wish the book had focused more on that, based on the short scenes I am already way more interested in Rootcraft than I ever could be in King Arthur and his knights' descendants. Applause to Deonn for creating such an original fantasy experience, I find it so unfortunate I wasn't able to enjoy it. I really wanted to :(
(tbh I have no idea why I listened through the whole 18 hours despite thinking about DNFing literally every half an hour. guess I really had my hopes up for nothing..)
Graphic: Death of parent, Panic attacks/disorders, Injury/injury detail, Racism, Violence, Death, Grief, and Medical content
Moderate: Blood, Police brutality, Kidnapping, Car accident, Rape, Mental illness, and Slavery
wraith_demjin'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? It's complicated
4.5
Graphic: Mental illness, Death of parent, Grief, and Racism
Moderate: Murder, Racial slurs, Rape, Violence, Blood, Car accident, and Slavery
roaming_reader'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
5.0
I enjoyed following Bree's journey in this story. Some of the themes are complicated, but are faced head-on, which I appreciate. There is diversity within the cast of characters, and there is also a fair bit of LGBTQIA+ representation!
If you are interested in historical myths and legends, magic and a bit of mystery, I thoroughly recommend this book.
Graphic: Death of parent, Death, and Racism
Moderate: Mental illness
Minor: Sexual assault
hailslynn'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? It's complicated
5.0
Graphic: Grief, Death of parent, Death, Violence, and Racism
Moderate: Colonisation, Classism, Mental illness, Pregnancy, Blood, Medical content, Slavery, Panic attacks/disorders, Misogyny, Injury/injury detail, and Police brutality
lovebugger's review
- Plot- or character-driven? Character
- Strong character development? Yes
- Loveable characters? Yes
- Diverse cast of characters? Yes
- Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes
4.75
Graphic: Car accident, Gore, Abandonment, Blood, Body horror, Grief, Racism, War, Violence, Death, and Death of parent
Moderate: Homophobia, Mental illness, Panic attacks/disorders, Physical abuse, Toxic relationship, Medical content, and Misogyny
a_libra_library's review against another edition
- Plot- or character-driven? A mix
- Strong character development? Yes
- Loveable characters? Yes
- Diverse cast of characters? It's complicated
- Flaws of characters a main focus? N/A
5.0
Graphic: Death, Medical trauma, Mental illness, Panic attacks/disorders, Racism, Colonisation, Death of parent, Emotional abuse, Rape, Blood, Body horror, Car accident, Child abuse, Child death, Classism, Cursing, Grief, Injury/injury detail, Slavery, Suicidal thoughts, Violence, and War
Minor: Sexual content
soniajoy98'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
5.0
Graphic: Sexism, Violence, War, Slavery, Death, Blood, Death of parent, Kidnapping, Fire/Fire injury, Grief, Gore, Injury/injury detail, Mental illness, Misogyny, and Racism
Moderate: Rape, Sexual harassment, Classism, Colonisation, Forced institutionalization, and Infidelity
Minor: Car accident, Child abuse, Cursing, and Transphobia
btg'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
Graphic: Grief, Violence, Mental illness, and Death
Moderate: Slavery and Car accident
Minor: Gaslighting and Transphobia
aibird's review
- Plot- or character-driven? Character
- Strong character development? Yes
- Loveable characters? Yes
- Diverse cast of characters? Yes
- Flaws of characters a main focus? It's complicated
5.0
Graphic: Death of parent
Moderate: Death, Mental illness, Racism, Sexism, Sexual violence, Classism, Injury/injury detail, Slavery, and Violence
flyintothestorm'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? It's complicated
4.0
Graphic: Death, Death of parent, and Racism
Moderate: Sexism, Infidelity, Mental illness, Murder, Panic attacks/disorders, Blood, Car accident, Death, Rape, Slavery, Transphobia, Violence, and War