Scan barcode
leeshajoy's review against another edition
- Plot- or character-driven? Plot
- Strong character development? It's complicated
- Loveable characters? It's complicated
- Diverse cast of characters? Yes
- Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes
4.5
Moderate: Body horror, Child death, Confinement, Death, and War
pagesofash's review against another edition
- Plot- or character-driven? A mix
- Strong character development? Yes
- Loveable characters? No
- Diverse cast of characters? It's complicated
- Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes
3.0
Graphic: Violence and War
Moderate: Animal death, Death, Gun violence, Infidelity, and Misogyny
Minor: Child death, Confinement, Pregnancy, and Classism
lanarkunas's review against another edition
- Plot- or character-driven? Character
- Loveable characters? Yes
- Diverse cast of characters? It's complicated
- Flaws of characters a main focus? It's complicated
4.5
Graphic: Animal death, Body horror, Body shaming, Bullying, Child abuse, Child death, Confinement, Cursing, Death, Domestic abuse, Emotional abuse, Gun violence, Infidelity, Misogyny, Physical abuse, Sexism, Sexual content, Sexual violence, Toxic relationship, Violence, Blood, Vomit, Kidnapping, Grief, Mass/school shootings, Death of parent, Murder, Pregnancy, Alcohol, War, Injury/Injury detail, and Classism
abominablesnowaro's review against another edition
- Plot- or character-driven? Character
- Strong character development? Yes
- Loveable characters? It's complicated
- Diverse cast of characters? N/A
- Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes
3.75
Graphic: Confinement, Domestic abuse, Toxic relationship, and Injury/Injury detail
Moderate: Body horror, Child death, Death, Infidelity, Physical abuse, Sexual content, Torture, Violence, Blood, War, and Injury/Injury detail
Starvationthewordsdevourer's review against another edition
- Plot- or character-driven? A mix
- Strong character development? It's complicated
- Loveable characters? No
- Diverse cast of characters? No
- Flaws of characters a main focus? It's complicated
1.0
however, i personally feel that this focus on hammering home the themes might have taken a toll on the story and its ~purely story~ aspect. the book's jam-packed w/ themes and while it's indeed--as a review puts it--bold and subversive, it's also confusing and somehow confoundingly lacking. while marya and koschei def deals w/ themes of love and power, i feel that their scope of story is not expansive enough to deal w/ life and death. the story's partly set in russia during world war ii, led by characters who fight decades long battles, yet a majority of it reads like a domestic drama of an open relationship. i wouldve liked more depiction of the gap between the end of part 2 and start of part 3: what was koschei and marya's relationship like during at least some of the interim 13 yrs? how was marya during her first few battles? a lot went into the start of the leads' relationship, but not enough was illustrated of its everyday meat and subtance. it just feels like a good chunk of the book shows things after they happen, and the few action it shows is not very substantial.
also i dont truly like any of the characters?? not asking for black-and-white characters who are all good or bad, but somehow they're all at least a lil unlikable lol. and after a winding path towards the end, i dont even rly get the ending either, and idk if it's bc im too dumb to understand or if the msg's too obfuscated at that point. this had a lot more potential and im just very sad that it wasnt explored.
Graphic: Death, Infidelity, Sexual content, and War
Moderate: Confinement, Emotional abuse, Violence, and Stalking
Minor: Child death, Kidnapping, and Injury/Injury detail