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_shonahenderson's review against another edition
- Plot- or character-driven? Plot
- Strong character development? It's complicated
- Loveable characters? Yes
- Diverse cast of characters? Yes
- Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes
3.75
Graphic: Addiction, Death, Genocide, Gun violence, Slavery, Violence, Trafficking, Kidnapping, Murder, Sexual harassment, and Injury/Injury detail
Moderate: Drug use, Death of parent, Fire/Fire injury, and Toxic friendship
imaginary_space's review against another edition
- Plot- or character-driven? Plot
- Strong character development? No
- Loveable characters? It's complicated
- Diverse cast of characters? Yes
- Flaws of characters a main focus? No
3.0
What I liked:
- The world building - European inspired, plus a fantasy story set (mainly) in a big city, that's a nice diversion from the majority of books in the genre. If you know any more books, don't hesitate to point me in their direction!
- Also, I liked the Grisha magic.
- I like stories about ragtag bands/found families doing things (okay, crime) together.
- It was so well written that I found the plot interesting and wanted to know not so much what would happen next, but how it would happen.
- I started to appreciate Inej and Kaz once I stopped thinking about their age and just embraced how utterly, unapologetically edgy they are. Teenage me would have probably loved them.
- Jesper is quite the cinnamon roll, and I enjoyed him as a character. He was the most believable and most interesting (and layered) of the bunch.
- There was some entertaining dialogue.
What was meh:
- Even though interestingly written, the plot didn't hold any major surprises.
- Nina and Matthias were annoying, even more so because there wasn't ever any real doubt about the outcome. Also, very tropey romance story.
- Yes, growing up in a slum ages people beyond their years. Sure, I get that. But at times it was just too unbelievable, especially with the way they talked sometimes.
- Even more unbelievable that Kaz managed to have this badass mysterious reputation for being a criminal genius when apparently every other major player in that city was an adult. I would have gotten it if the gang members in the slums were all roughly about the same age. But like this it makes very little sense.
- Towards the end, I was pretty annoyed by the twentieth "... BUT they had seen it coming!" surprise. Especially since there was very few foreshadowing.
- There was some pretentious edgy dialogue. It's a fine line.
Overall, I wasn't too emotionally engaged, but I did enjoy it enough to probably read the second book in the series.
Graphic: Death
Moderate: Animal death, Violence, and Toxic friendship
Minor: Physical abuse, Racism, Rape, Sexual violence, Slavery, Torture, Kidnapping, Grief, and Classism
danicampbell0506'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: Child abuse and Abandonment
Moderate: Child death, Death, Drug abuse, Emotional abuse, Mental illness, Panic attacks/disorders, Racism, Toxic relationship, Violence, Forced institutionalization, Grief, Death of parent, Murder, Gaslighting, and Toxic friendship
szuum's review against another edition
- Plot- or character-driven? A mix
- Strong character development? No
- Loveable characters? No
- Diverse cast of characters? No
- Flaws of characters a main focus? It's complicated
3.0
Graphic: Addiction, Animal cruelty, Animal death, Child death, Chronic illness, Confinement, Death, Drug abuse, Gun violence, Misogyny, Sexism, Sexual assault, Slavery, Toxic relationship, Violence, Xenophobia, Trafficking, Kidnapping, Religious bigotry, Murder, Cultural appropriation, and Toxic friendship
Minor: Torture, Death of parent, and Sexual harassment
lauralintunen's review against another edition
- Plot- or character-driven? A mix
- Strong character development? It's complicated
- Loveable characters? No
- Diverse cast of characters? Yes
- Flaws of characters a main focus? It's complicated
4.0
Graphic: Child death, Death, Drug use, Physical abuse, Slavery, Violence, Trafficking, Murder, Fire/Fire injury, and Injury/Injury detail
Moderate: Addiction, Confinement, Gun violence, Medical content, Kidnapping, and Toxic friendship
Minor: Ableism, Vomit, Religious bigotry, and War
cleo_wylde'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
4.25
Graphic: Ableism, Addiction, Animal cruelty, Animal death, Bullying, Child death, Confinement, Death, Drug use, Emotional abuse, Gore, Gun violence, Mental illness, Physical abuse, Sexual violence, Slavery, Violence, Blood, Medical content, Trafficking, Death of parent, Murder, and Toxic friendship