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mobymaize'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? Yes
4.5
Planning on reading the sequels at some point!
Graphic: Alcoholism, Body horror, Child abuse, Child death, Confinement, Cursing, Death, Emotional abuse, Genocide, Gore, Gun violence, Misogyny, Physical abuse, Rape, Self harm, Sexism, Sexual assault, Sexual violence, Slavery, Suicidal thoughts, Torture, Toxic relationship, Violence, Blood, Police brutality, Medical content, Kidnapping, Grief, Stalking, Death of parent, Murder, Fire/Fire injury, Gaslighting, Toxic friendship, Abandonment, Alcohol, Sexual harassment, War, Injury/Injury detail, and Classism
Main character uses magic by through self harm. Just a heads up.laurenbaggy's review against another edition
- Plot- or character-driven? Plot
- Strong character development? Yes
- Loveable characters? Yes
- Diverse cast of characters? Yes
- Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes
4.0
Graphic: Death, Torture, Violence, Blood, Murder, and Injury/Injury detail
Moderate: Addiction, Child death, Self harm, and Sexual assault
Minor: Addiction, Confinement, Gore, and Slavery
moondragon8's review against another edition
- 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
3.75
I'm gonna be honest: I picked this one up mostly because I dabble frequently in Fallen London, and the premise of more Weird Londons seemed very in line with my taste. Unfortunately, this was not nearly as Londony as I had hoped, despite the high rate of Londons per London, and I had forgotten I kinda hate high fantasy.
Okay, hate is a strong word. To the book's credit: the prose is strong, there's a few really beautiful lines, and the worldbuilding is very solid and interesting, and conveyed in a way that isn't overwhelming but doesn't leave you in the dark. However, to me it seemed that the focus given to the (very rich and engaging!) world meant that the characters were sort of left to the wayside.
That's not to say there weren't some fun characters. Lila, the top hat wearing wannabe-pirate, was very fun, and arguably had a little character arc. I also liked the rakish Prince Rhy, when we saw him, and there were a couple very classically Londony side characters. (The weird (Danish?) regents of White London were good villains but deeply unpleasant characters– they gave me Game of Thrones vibes, which is a part of the British literary canon I could do without. Also, vaguely weird that they're Fantasy Danish and their magical attack dog is named Holland?? Were there Implications there I wasn't getting?)
Kell, though, was kind of a blank slate, which was a bit disappointing. He did spend a good portion of the book
My final note is that I was initially a bit concerned to see that this was a trilogy, but in the end was quite satisfied with how all the plot threads wrapped up. This book was a fun step outside my comfort zone, but it didn't force me to keep reading if I wasn't feeling it, which I really appreciated. I was a little disappointed to
(...Actually, I just realized they do leave one mystery hanging— something about Kell's special knife having K. L. on it, and the mystery of his origins, is mentioned at the beginning and then kinda dropped throughout and never explained or even brought up, which is probably why I didn't recall it until literally just now. Ah well.)
Graphic: Body horror, Child death, Confinement, Cursing, Death, Gore, Gun violence, Torture, Violence, Blood, Grief, Murder, Alcohol, and Injury/Injury detail
Moderate: Sexual harassment
Minor: Sexual assault, Cannibalism, and Colonisation
veronicabaily's review against another edition
- Plot- or character-driven? Plot
- Strong character development? Yes
- Loveable characters? Yes
- Diverse cast of characters? Yes
- Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes
4.75
Moderate: Child death and War
Minor: Rape
artemisd6's review against another edition
- Plot- or character-driven? Plot
- Strong character development? It's complicated
- Loveable characters? Yes
- Diverse cast of characters? It's complicated
- Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes
4.25
Graphic: Body horror and Blood
Moderate: Child abuse and Child death
donatio'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? Yes
5.0
She is one of my favourite authors and in my opinion just a master of storytelling, I can picture clearly in my head what happens and feel with the characters who feel a little like home by now.
This is a book for the ones who like elemental magic, multiple POVs, thieees and adventures.
100% recommend
Graphic: Body horror, Torture, Violence, and Blood
Moderate: Cursing, Death, Gore, Hate crime, Sexual assault, Torture, Grief, Murder, Abandonment, and Alcohol
Minor: Child abuse, Child death, and Grief
zoeelora's review against another edition
- Plot- or character-driven? A mix
- Strong character development? Yes
- Loveable characters? Yes
- Diverse cast of characters? No
- Flaws of characters a main focus? It's complicated
4.5
Graphic: Self harm, Blood, and Murder
Moderate: Addiction, Body horror, Child abuse, Child death, Confinement, Cursing, Death, Emotional abuse, Genocide, Gore, Gun violence, Misogyny, Physical abuse, Rape, Self harm, Sexism, Sexual assault, Sexual content, Slavery, Torture, Violence, Forced institutionalization, Kidnapping, Grief, Medical trauma, Stalking, Death of parent, Murder, Fire/Fire injury, Abandonment, Alcohol, Sexual harassment, and Injury/Injury detail
sirenricobooks's review against another edition
- Plot- or character-driven? Plot
- Strong character development? No
- Loveable characters? No
- Diverse cast of characters? No
- Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes
3.0
Graphic: Body horror, Cursing, Death, Self harm, Torture, Violence, Blood, Kidnapping, Murder, Sexual harassment, War, Injury/Injury detail, Classism, and Pandemic/Epidemic
Moderate: Child death
cskye's review against another edition
- Plot- or character-driven? Plot
- Strong character development? Yes
- Loveable characters? Yes
- Diverse cast of characters? No
- Flaws of characters a main focus? No
4.0
Graphic: Blood
Moderate: Child abuse, Child death, Confinement, Cursing, Death, Gun violence, Misogyny, Torture, Violence, Kidnapping, Cannibalism, Murder, Sexual harassment, Colonisation, Injury/Injury detail, and Classism
Minor: Self harm and Sexual assault
limabeans's review against another edition
- Plot- or character-driven? A mix
- Strong character development? It's complicated
- Loveable characters? Yes
- Diverse cast of characters? Yes
- Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes
3.5
and also…i really liked kell <3
i will read the next book in the trilogy eventually, just not a priority book.
Graphic: Death, Violence, and Blood
Moderate: Body horror, Child death, and Gaslighting