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vaporization's review against another edition
4.0
It was all right. There's not really anything to complain about but not really anything spectacular either. I liked the world and all the different elements of folklore that came into it. But I read The City Beautiful first, and I was kind of expecting a bit more. It does make sense that this was written before The City Beautiful, you can kind of tell with the maturity of the writing and themes.
kleonard's review against another edition
5.0
I loved this fantasy novel about three young people trying to find the protagonist's unusual sister and end up creating world-shaking changes through magic and love and smart thinking. The world, its magic, and its peoples are well-crafted and deep, full of detail and character. It's easy to get pulled in by the adventure and fast pacing, and the elements of hope and resistance and persistence are part of what makes falling into this story so welcome. I also love the way the character relationships evolve, and how it models a lovely romantic trio of a straight woman, a bi man, and a gay man. I hope there will be more books set in this universe from the author.
mm691984's review against another edition
adventurous
dark
emotional
mysterious
sad
tense
slow-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? A mix
- Loveable characters? No
- Diverse cast of characters? No
- Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes
2.5
I wanted so terribly to like this book. It had all good aspects: new world to build, ability to create unique characters, touch of romance, sense of family. However, I felt the author fell shy of being able to make it all come together. It is a story of an orphaned girl who remembers little of her parents during a civil war that is modeled after eastern European, Russian history and folklore. She has lived with adopted parents that are of the undead who had a young daughter also now of the undead. She has a belted embordered scarf that we learn was from her mother and gives her some magically powers that are slowly (and I do mean slowly) fleshed out over the book. I felt the story moved very slow and lost caring about the characters. The main arc is the little undead sister being kidnapped and the MC with the current overthrown Czar by her side seeking her return. It lacked action and sometimes you spent 50 words describing the look of a dead body. not grotesquely but the color of hair, the turn of a cuff, a torn pantleg, etc. Editing could have been better in these parts. The ending is rushed and then rather predictable.
camsyams's review against another edition
medium-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? Plot
- Strong character development? Yes
- Loveable characters? Yes
- Flaws of characters a main focus? No
4.5
Really good world building and engaging story — I just kinda hated the ending. I feel like we didn’t get enough time w/ our characters especially in the aftermath of their journey together.
nyanyona's review against another edition
adventurous
challenging
emotional
hopeful
fast-paced
- 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
5.0
fae_sarelfi's review against another edition
adventurous
tense
slow-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? Plot
- Strong character development? No
- Loveable characters? It's complicated
- Diverse cast of characters? It's complicated
- Flaws of characters a main focus? No
4.0
chana_aurora's review against another edition
3.0
3.5✨ Some parts I really liked and others I was rather bored by. Maybe because I listened to the audiobook and the voice choices can impact what I think about the characters. I really loved the dynamic between the 3 main characters. I like how overtime a friendship between them all truly blossomed in a way that felt natural. At times I really liked Toma while at other times I found her whinny. The world building was also solid.
saracat's review against another edition
5.0
Polydoros does it again. I adored The City Beautiful and I adored this book as well. The character and world building is just so wonderfully done. And so many of the questions that are brought up throughout the book are such deep and meaningful questions.
Even though this is a fantasy world, you can feel clearly a lot of the real world influences and inspirations that Polydoros pulled from for this novel. (Well, with what I have learned about history and other cultures it was. Depending on what any given reader has already learned about certain cultures and specific times in history it may not be as obvious.)
The ending to this book is the type that I equally love and hate. I love it for how it ends things but still leaves things for the reader to imagine. But hate it because all I ca think is how I want the author to continue to story further. However, whether or not Polydoros writes a sequel to this or not, I loved this book and hope another book is not too far in the future.
Even though this is a fantasy world, you can feel clearly a lot of the real world influences and inspirations that Polydoros pulled from for this novel. (Well, with what I have learned about history and other cultures it was. Depending on what any given reader has already learned about certain cultures and specific times in history it may not be as obvious.)
The ending to this book is the type that I equally love and hate. I love it for how it ends things but still leaves things for the reader to imagine. But hate it because all I ca think is how I want the author to continue to story further. However, whether or not Polydoros writes a sequel to this or not, I loved this book and hope another book is not too far in the future.
eficca33's review against another edition
4.0
I need to come back after I've processed some thoughts.