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iamtheland'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
4.5
Graphic: Death, Eating disorder, Hate crime, Mental illness, Panic attacks/disorders, Racism, Self harm, Sexual violence, Violence, Xenophobia, Blood, Police brutality, and Suicide attempt
blakeisslaying's review against another edition
- Plot- or character-driven? A mix
- Strong character development? Yes
- Loveable characters? It's complicated
- Diverse cast of characters? Yes
5.0
Graphic: Death, Eating disorder, Genocide, Gun violence, Hate crime, Mental illness, Panic attacks/disorders, Self harm, Suicidal thoughts, Suicide, Toxic relationship, Violence, Xenophobia, Police brutality, Grief, Suicide attempt, Abandonment, and Injury/Injury detail
kb720's review against another edition
- Plot- or character-driven? A mix
- Strong character development? Yes
- Loveable characters? Yes
- Diverse cast of characters? Yes
4.25
Graphic: Panic attacks/disorders, Self harm, Suicidal thoughts, Suicide, Xenophobia, and Suicide attempt
Moderate: Body horror, Death, Eating disorder, Genocide, Hate crime, Racism, Sexual content, Forced institutionalization, Islamophobia, and Grief
bean_7088's review against another edition
- Plot- or character-driven? Character
- Strong character development? It's complicated
- Loveable characters? It's complicated
- Diverse cast of characters? Yes
- Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes
Wanna be sad about the human race? Wanna feel fairly hopless? This one is for you!
It does end on a hopeful note... but like that hopefulness is somewhat undercut by the way the character speakin treated.
This one had a lot of tense scenes I wanted to hide from. I had to stop a lot and explain what was going on to my roommate so I could get those jitters out. Like, a televised "discussion" between two different sides of the alien personhood debate. A hearing where unknown evidence comes up.
Anyways, it was still really good.
I'm not sure how I felt about Kaveh. And I'm not sure if it was how he was written or just his voice actor 😅 I'm sure the guy is normally fine, but the main voice actor Stephanie Willis is so incredible that switching to him is quite jarring.
Waring that Cora goes through a lot, this poor kid traumatized over and over. And Stephanie Willis will make you feel it. Listening to Cora's Panic attacks was very distressing.
The ending left on such a wild note I am excited to see where the 3rd book will go. Now I just have to wait 7 months 🥲
Graphic: Death, Gore, Gun violence, Hate crime, Mental illness, Panic attacks/disorders, Racial slurs, Racism, Self harm, Sexism, Suicidal thoughts, Suicide, Toxic relationship, Violence, Xenophobia, Police brutality, Islamophobia, Grief, Medical trauma, and Suicide attempt
Lindsay Ellis does a big Content Warning before everything starts. At least in the audio book.meremeth'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
Untreated PTSD is a debilitating experience, it turns you so disfunctional. It felt nice to read a character that is actually experiencing the effects of the serious trauma she went through in the first book. (Rare for sci fi!!)
Also, I genuinely felt politically challenged by this book. It guides you through some really interesting political thought.
I can't wait for the next book, I'm so desperate for more from this series. This one's a definite improvement on the first book, which makes sense as it was a debut!
Graphic: Gun violence, Self harm, and Suicidal thoughts
Moderate: Hate crime, Kidnapping, and Injury/Injury detail
Minor: Addiction, Alcoholism, Forced institutionalization, and Antisemitism
kanonkita'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
4.75
That being said, maybe avoid the audiobook unless you really enjoy listening to tremulous female voices shouting "No no no" over and over again ever few minutes. The computerized sound effect that was put over the Amygdalans' voices in the audiobook could also be grating at times and made it difficult to hear them if there was any background noise while I was listening.
Overall, I would recommend it, but do pay attention to the content warning Ellis provides at the beginning of the novel.
Also, a note that I have not seen this book listed as LGBTQ+ in many places, which I can only chalk up to bi erasure. Cora is bisexual, and it seems unfair that this gets overlooked just because she has a heterosexual romance, especially given that it occurs alongside her very queer relationship with an alien who only uses he/him pronouns out of convenience.
Graphic: Addiction, Body horror, Confinement, Death, Gore, Gun violence, Hate crime, Mental illness, Panic attacks/disorders, Racial slurs, Racism, Self harm, Sexual content, Suicidal thoughts, Violence, Xenophobia, Blood, Antisemitism, Islamophobia, Mass/school shootings, Medical trauma, Suicide attempt, Abandonment, and Injury/Injury detail
ling_prof's review against another edition
- Plot- or character-driven? A mix
- Strong character development? Yes
- Loveable characters? It's complicated
- Diverse cast of characters? Yes
- Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes
4.0
Graphic: Death, Mental illness, Panic attacks/disorders, Self harm, Sexual content, Suicidal thoughts, Suicide, Toxic relationship, Xenophobia, Blood, Suicide attempt, and Toxic friendship
Moderate: Addiction, Alcoholism, Drug abuse, Gun violence, Hate crime, Racial slurs, Racism, Violence, Islamophobia, Medical trauma, and Injury/Injury detail
Minor: Forced institutionalization
lastcomment314's review against another edition
- Plot- or character-driven? Character
- Strong character development? Yes
- Loveable characters? It's complicated
- Diverse cast of characters? Yes
- Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes
4.5
Graphic: Body horror, Mental illness, Panic attacks/disorders, Self harm, Suicidal thoughts, Xenophobia, Grief, and Injury/Injury detail
Moderate: Death, Genocide, Gun violence, Hate crime, Sexual content, Violence, Blood, Excrement, Police brutality, Islamophobia, Suicide attempt, and Murder
madmadmaddymad'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
Somewhere around the 200 pg mark we get the reveal that
Lindsay please. I just wanted a quirky alien/human romance. Please have him snap out of it.
New characters introduced in this book really won me over. I find Kaveh to be extremely easy to love, and he treats Cora well. He also treats Nikola well! He’s probably my new favorite character, even if he can be a little bit of a goofball, and his positive outlook can get in the way of the realism sometimes, I found myself smiling like an idiot when I read from his perspective. I also liked watching the budding romance(?) between Kaveh and Nikola. Maybe that’s not what the author intended, but I felt that they had just as strong of a connection as Ampersand and Cora’s. (Maybe stronger!)
This series reminds me of Lilith’s Brood by Octavia Butler, not in the plot or the themes necessarily, but just the general vibe. The lens it casts on human nature and the argument of what makes someone a person, how society can endure when we come face-to-face with a spacefaring civilization whose goals are different than our own. It’s insightful and enthralling and I hope to read more of this series!
Also, literally, the sex between human characters was so. Uncomfortable. Please, for the monsterfuckers. Two entire books and nothing more intimate than cuddling has happened! I’M WAITING.
Graphic: Mental illness, Panic attacks/disorders, Self harm, and Suicidal thoughts
Moderate: Hate crime and Xenophobia
Minor: Rape
jjreads331's review against another edition
- Plot- or character-driven? A mix
- Strong character development? It's complicated
- Loveable characters? Yes
- Diverse cast of characters? Yes
- Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes
4.0
Graphic: Body horror, Death, Gore, Mental illness, Panic attacks/disorders, Self harm, Suicidal thoughts, Suicide, Violence, Xenophobia, Blood, Medical content, Grief, Medical trauma, Suicide attempt, and Injury/Injury detail
Moderate: Confinement, Eating disorder, Gun violence, Hate crime, Racial slurs, Police brutality, Antisemitism, Medical content, Religious bigotry, Abandonment, and Colonisation