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nicodaa's review against another edition
- Plot- or character-driven? Plot
- Strong character development? It's complicated
- Loveable characters? No
- Diverse cast of characters? Yes
- Flaws of characters a main focus? It's complicated
3.5
Graphic: Death, Gore, Violence, Blood, and Murder
Moderate: Cursing, Self harm, Stalking, War, and Injury/Injury detail
Minor: Torture, Vomit, and Grief
anniereads221's review against another edition
- Loveable characters? Yes
5.0
Graphic: Death, Gore, Violence, Blood, Grief, Murder, and Injury/Injury detail
Moderate: Transphobia
neighborhoodbeanreads's review against another edition
- Plot- or character-driven? Plot
- Strong character development? N/A
- Loveable characters? It's complicated
- Diverse cast of characters? N/A
- Flaws of characters a main focus? No
4.0
Plot: I thought the plot of this book was well-thought out and had the right amount of twists/turns, I think the pacing could have been a bit better-- it was pretty slow in the beginning and shot-up fairly quickly. I'm excited to read the sequel!
Graphic: Death, Homophobia, Sexism, and Dysphoria
Moderate: Gore, Kidnapping, War, and Injury/Injury detail
Minor: Sexual assault
lolajh'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: Body horror, Death, Gore, Mental illness, Torture, Violence, Blood, Grief, Murder, and Schizophrenia/Psychosis
Moderate: Transphobia
bloodyvalentine's review against another edition
- Plot- or character-driven? A mix
- Strong character development? Yes
- Diverse cast of characters? Yes
5.0
There’s few books where I’d say that the main character is one of my favorites, but this one is definitely one of them. I started on the second one as soon as I could and I can’t wait to see how the story continues.
Graphic: Gore, Torture, Violence, Blood, Murder, and Injury/Injury detail
Moderate: Alcohol
salainen's review against another edition
- Plot- or character-driven? A mix
4.0
Graphic: Death, Gore, Blood, and Murder
Moderate: Torture, Transphobia, Death of parent, and War
gayghostprince'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
once I started, I was shocked that I couldn't do anything but keep reading. my sleep schedule is wrecked, but it was worth it. I checked it out from the library and once I finished? i immediately bought physical copies of the first and second books.
the tender moments between Sal and their love interest? fluffy and heartwarming. the tension of being in a castle surrounded by people dead set (pun intended) on killing you? pulse quickening.
Moderate: Gore
Minor: Transphobia
only shitty people are transphobic don't worrytaliahsbookshelf'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? It's complicated
4.0
The best way to describe this book would be if you took the competition from the Selection, the murder game from the Hunger Games, a magic system that felt almost kind of loosely related to something you might read in Shadow and Bone, and then threw in Skyrim's Dark Brotherhood storyline (yes, I am quite confident that is where the idea for the third test is from and will hear no criticism on this point).
As for the writing, despite what I'm seeing a lot of people claiming, it's not similar to SJM or Leigh Bardugo? I just didn't get that comparison. I think all three of these writers are unique and have very different writing styles, and I wouldn't lump them all into the same category. (Additionally, those of you who continue to compare this book to ACOTAR, besties, do you understand that a) ACOTAR was not SJM's first book, and her writing style did develop significantly from her actual first book and b) SJM is... questionably good at writing? But that's pretty debatable and not what my point is here.)
Now, onto the characters. I liked the characters. I liked the almost impersonalized way of developing the background characters. Everyone wore masks, and physical appearances weren't as important as in a lot of other books. Readers get to make up our own assumptions and ideas. I get some people's point when suggesting that it can be hard to track who is who when everyone is just a number for the majority of the book, but... if you take the time to write it out, or just keep track of things, or color code, or whatever works for you, it's actually not that difficult at all. If you can understand the different Grisha and keep them straight, you can keep 1-23 separated especially since most of them die.
The main love interest, Elise, was... certainly a love interest. I think this was the most boring part of the book for me. I liked that Elise is unlabeled queer, but the relationship between her and Sal felt almost rushed, and not well developed. I wasn't sold on their feelings for each other, and it was kind of boring to read through the "romantic" parts. I found myself no longer paying attention and kind of zoning out during these parts, but everything else kept me engaged, so I can't complain too much.
Onto my biggest frustration with other reviewers: I was reading through reviews and trying to condense my thoughts when I came across a few suggesting that Sal's gender identity (gender fluidity) was "pointless, distracting, and not important to the plot." Hey, guys, I hate to break it to you, but someone's gender identity doesn't actually have to be a main plot point! Shocker, I know, that people exist with characteristics and life events outside of just their sexuality and/or gender identity. It's good to sometimes read a book where the main character is coming to terms with their identity, or growing into it, or facing huge hurdles as a result of it. But this isn't that book. Instead, it's a novel with a plot line totally separate, and our main character happens to be genderfluid. I personally prefer reading these types of books, because you can be LGBTQIA+ without it being the main point of your story. It's a part of you, rather than the main point of your life.
I actually really liked this book. It was recommended to me by a creator on TikTok, and it looked semi-interesting. Y'all. When I tell you this book blew my mind, I mean it. The twist with Ruby (I'm leaving it at that because Ruby is my favorite character - I will fight anyone who says otherwise) was so well-crafted. I was jumping back through my annotations and realized that Linsey Miller hid the most obvious conversations and tiny details in the most obvious places, but it worked really, really well.
The reason I didn't give this book a five star review was because although I really enjoyed the premise and the competition and the characters (Ruby especially), the magic system was just confusing and very poor, not well explained, and didn't have understandable rules (if you are looking for a book with a solid magic system, this isn't it), and the romance (if you could even really call it that - see above) was weak and I didn't sense any real chemistry.
Was this the best book I've ever read? No. But it didn't have to be. It was good and I enjoyed reading it. I looked forward to times when I could just sit down and read it for a while. I found it easy to get lost in the plot and lose track of time because I was so invested. This got me out of a reading slump, and I think that's pretty important for a lot of people.
Spoilers:
High-level spoiler:
Graphic: Death, Blood, and Murder
Moderate: Gore and Violence
Minor: Torture, Transphobia, Grief, and Abandonment
mar's review against another edition
- Plot- or character-driven? Character
- Loveable characters? Yes
- Diverse cast of characters? Yes
5.0
Graphic: Death, Gore, Violence, Blood, Grief, and Murder
Moderate: Genocide and Torture
Minor: Transphobia