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alphabetseeds's review against another edition
adventurous
challenging
hopeful
slow-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? Plot
- Strong character development? Yes
- Loveable characters? Yes
- Diverse cast of characters? Yes
- Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes
3.0
Strong classic fantasy vibes - reminded me quite a bit of Mary Stewart's Merlin books in storytelling and tone. The writing often takes on lyrical, parable-style vibes, and it can feel very historical-mythic in that sense with a grounded, believable setting. Lovely to read a book like this with queer characters/relationships that are just natural and accepted.
What kept me from loving this book is that because of the more detached style of writing, I often had a hard time connecting with the characters' emotional states. The magic system - and I use that loosely - also follows fairly strict archetypes, where fire-blooded people are ruled by passion and intuition, and earth-blooded people are connected to the world around them and are very stoic and grounded, and it often overruled other character personality traits that may be present. It also has a pretty slow pace, so sometimes I'd get a little lost in the meandering narrative.
I have the rest of the series so I will continue on. I'd like to see where this all goes.
What kept me from loving this book is that because of the more detached style of writing, I often had a hard time connecting with the characters' emotional states. The magic system - and I use that loosely - also follows fairly strict archetypes, where fire-blooded people are ruled by passion and intuition, and earth-blooded people are connected to the world around them and are very stoic and grounded, and it often overruled other character personality traits that may be present. It also has a pretty slow pace, so sometimes I'd get a little lost in the meandering narrative.
I have the rest of the series so I will continue on. I'd like to see where this all goes.
Content Warnings
Graphic: Violence
Moderate: Drug abuse
jjjreads's review against another edition
adventurous
dark
hopeful
sad
slow-paced
- 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
Content Warnings
Graphic: Ableism, Addiction, Animal death, Body shaming, Child abuse, Child death, Confinement, Death, Drug abuse, Drug use, Eating disorder, Gore, Mental illness, Panic attacks/disorders, Physical abuse, Slavery, Suicidal thoughts, Violence, Xenophobia, Blood, Medical content, Kidnapping, Grief, Murder, Abandonment, Colonisation, War, and Classism
Moderate: Abandonment and Alcohol
Minor: Child abuse, Panic attacks/disorders, Rape, Self harm, Sexual assault, Sexual content, Sexual violence, Suicide, Pregnancy, and Sexual harassment