casthefanby'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: Death, Blood, Murder, Injury/Injury detail, Child abuse, and Body horror
Minor: Death of parent, Alcohol, Homophobia, Animal death, and Confinement
that_boi_eliza's review against another edition
- Plot- or character-driven? Character
- Strong character development? It's complicated
- Loveable characters? Yes
- Diverse cast of characters? Yes
- Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes
4.5
Graphic: War, Suicide, Alcoholism, Blood, Violence, Xenophobia, and Alcohol
Moderate: Trafficking, Classism, Misogyny, Rape, Physical abuse, Injury/Injury detail, Sexual violence, Animal death, Cursing, Gore, Drug use, and Death
Minor: Ableism and Confinement
tinysierra's review against another edition
- Plot- or character-driven? A mix
- Diverse cast of characters? Yes
- Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes
4.75
There was a mix of character driven and plot driven moments. I felt like there was a lot of slow/medium paced moments where there was more focus on character development/interactions but it did pick up in some places with more plot related aspects. It kept my attention either way.
The timeline hopped around a bit, jumping back into the past and then forward into the present. Slowly putting the pieces together. The chapters had the date along with experts from in world media (like journal entries), which really added to my immersion.
I liked Xiala and Serapio’s chapters the most. It was nice to see the story through a blind characters perspective. I hope to see more about Xiala’s powers in the next book.
In this book, queer characters are accepted in some of the societies but not others. There are characters that use neopronouns (xe/xir)! Xiala mentions that she takes pleasure with “men, women, and other genders” which I assume means that she’s bi or pan.
I guess I didn’t expect to see fuck and shit in a fantasy book because they usually have fantasy curses. Xiala even says “Mother Seas” instead of “God” so that part felt… kind of jarring?
The ending was fast and admittedly a little anticlimactic but I don’t find myself feeling disappointed. I’m curious about where the story is going.
Graphic: Body horror, Child abuse, Death, Colonisation, Alcoholism, Violence, Classism, Murder, Physical abuse, Addiction, Alcohol, Blood, Death of parent, Gore, and Injury/Injury detail
Moderate: Confinement, Drug use, War, Suicide, Homophobia, Biphobia, and Lesbophobia
Minor: Animal death, Infidelity, Sexual content, Vomit, and Abandonment
itisnatal'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
4.75
Graphic: Alcohol, Animal death, Blood, Body horror, Death, Suicide, Child abuse, Confinement, and Drug use
catsy2022'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? No
4.5
Graphic: Death, Gore, Blood, Animal death, Confinement, Murder, Religious bigotry, and Injury/Injury detail
Moderate: Xenophobia
Minor: Suicide, Sexual content, and Death of parent
sup3r_xn0va_maya'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? Yes
4.5
I want to like aspects of the blind representation but upon a closer look the blind main character kind of falls into the "magical disabled persons" trope and I don't like that very much.
"Typically, the disabled characters are limited to four types: the “magical cripple,” the “evil cripple,” the “inspirational cripple” and the “redemptive cripple.” Magical cripples transcend the limitations of the human body and are almost divinelike. They make magical things happen for able-bodied characters."
- PBS.org
I really liked Xiala, I like how relatable Serapio was, the queerness, and the addition or introduction of a third gender.
This was a really good read and I can't wait to dig into the next book in the series.
I'm giving this 4.5 stars out of 5
Graphic: Blood, Child abuse, Death, Gore, Injury/Injury detail, Kidnapping, Murder, Abandonment, Confinement, Alcohol, Alcoholism, Animal death, Body horror, Physical abuse, Death of parent, and Violence
tahsintries's review against another edition
4.75
Moderate: Blood, Confinement, Death of parent, Genocide, Religious bigotry, and Animal death
Minor: Rape and Sexism
alichan459'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
3.75
Graphic: Body horror
Minor: Physical abuse, Rape, Emotional abuse, Alcoholism, Violence, Confinement, Death, Gore, Death of parent, Murder, and Sexism
alexalily's review against another edition
- Plot- or character-driven? A mix
- Strong character development? No
- Loveable characters? Yes
- Diverse cast of characters? Yes
- Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes
5.0
Graphic: Confinement, Physical abuse, Self harm, Child abuse, Death, and Blood
Moderate: Injury/Injury detail, Self harm, Violence, Animal death, and Murder
Minor: Alcohol and Drug use
bunny_boy's review against another edition
- Plot- or character-driven? A mix
- Strong character development? It's complicated
- Loveable characters? It's complicated
- Diverse cast of characters? Yes
- Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes
5.0
Moderate: Cursing, Death, Injury/Injury detail, Confinement, and Violence
Minor: Death of parent, Xenophobia, and Sexual content