enigma104's review against another edition
5.0
Took me a while to get into it, but this book is amazing. I love the characters and their development and all the plot twists that came my way took me by surprise!
juniperbranches's review against another edition
adventurous
challenging
dark
emotional
hopeful
inspiring
mysterious
reflective
sad
medium-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? Character
- Strong character development? Yes
- Loveable characters? Yes
- Diverse cast of characters? Yes
- Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes
4.0
The Atikbar is a challenge open to all citizens to select the wardens that will rule for the next 10 years. Open to anyone with the right blood that is. When three young women from across the three races of the empire come together through love and friendship, they are swept along with the tide winds of change. I loved the queer enemies to lovers storyline, and I found the magical world building to be really well done. I’ve ordered the next book in the trilogy and I can’t wait to dig in!
kylosten's review against another edition
adventurous
dark
emotional
medium-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? Yes
4.5
Content Warnings
Graphic: Classism, Xenophobia, and Addiction
Moderate: Slavery, Sexual content, Child abuse, Mental illness, Violence, Emotional abuse, and Racial slurs
Minor: Injury/Injury detail, Genocide, Grief, Gun violence, and Suicidal thoughts
smurthy_8's review against another edition
slow-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? Character
- Strong character development? Yes
- Loveable characters? No
- Diverse cast of characters? Yes
- Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes
2.25
natmoses's review against another edition
4.0
I loved this storyline and am excited to continue the trilogy. The parallels of the prejudices and biases experienced in the story to that in real life were immaculate. Saara writes beautifully and I had a good time with this book. My negatives are few. One is that I wanted a little more depth to the relationships. I'm all about knowing other people's feelings, and I felt like the interpersonal connections weren't delved into enough for my personal preference. I also just wasn't sucked in to this book as I am with others and felt it was progressing slowly at times, which is what prevented this from being 5 stars for me. I'm very hopeful for the next books in the series as I think without the need for as much world building that it will progress more quickly.
maysbonsai's review against another edition
5.0
Saara is such a brilliant writer. With a fast paced start despite so much background information, Saara crafts this beautiful, incredibly dense world that is full of plot
twists and beautiful relationships. I loved Sylah and Anoor; they both had such intense and brutal character arcs!! Hassa was my fave, though - our underrated enby. Fuck you, Jond. I’ll probably come back to write a more
coherent review when i’m over this, but in the meantime, everyone must read :,) do it right now!!
twists and beautiful relationships. I loved Sylah and Anoor; they both had such intense and brutal character arcs!! Hassa was my fave, though - our underrated enby. Fuck you, Jond. I’ll probably come back to write a more
coherent review when i’m over this, but in the meantime, everyone must read :,) do it right now!!
zalesbian's review against another edition
adventurous
dark
medium-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
4.0
Hunger Games meets The Owl House meets Rue from Euphoria.
A slow start but I enjoyed the end enough to look forward to the next book in the series. I'm hoping the story and writing gets darker as the series goes on.
A slow start but I enjoyed the end enough to look forward to the next book in the series. I'm hoping the story and writing gets darker as the series goes on.
izzyproudfoot's review against another edition
4.0
3.5 stars. ***I keep thinking about this book days after****
I feel like I've been reading this book forever. The beginning was a struggle for me it was quite poetic and rhythmic to start with which I wasn't looking for. I was wondering if the whole writing style was like this but it isn't. I was a little confused at first because this particular fantasy world is unique so it was hard to take it all in and remember what certain things were or meant. Underneath that confusion I was really intrigued to see where it would go.
It was a slow burn but I feel like this is just setting everything up. I didn't particularly like the characters but I could understand given the situations they found themselves in. I didn't like the romantic relationships as they felt forced and then completely out of nowhere.
What I really liked was the set up of the world. I want to know more about that. I like the magic system, I wish we got to see more of that. I liked the different classes and I found each one really uniquely interesting and I'd like to learn more about them too.
I like the word 'Tidewind' it's a really powerful word and I'd hate to be caught in one.
My favourite character was Hassa which is a shame because I felt like we never learnt much about her but she's a really good friend and she's really interesting.
It's hard to give this a star rating because it does feel really long but it was really interesting. If book two was out already I'd be buying it to read right now. I'm hopeful when it does come out at the end of this month I remembered enough of this book to dive right into it.
I feel like I've been reading this book forever. The beginning was a struggle for me it was quite poetic and rhythmic to start with which I wasn't looking for. I was wondering if the whole writing style was like this but it isn't. I was a little confused at first because this particular fantasy world is unique so it was hard to take it all in and remember what certain things were or meant. Underneath that confusion I was really intrigued to see where it would go.
It was a slow burn but I feel like this is just setting everything up. I didn't particularly like the characters but I could understand given the situations they found themselves in. I didn't like the romantic relationships as they felt forced and then completely out of nowhere.
What I really liked was the set up of the world. I want to know more about that. I like the magic system, I wish we got to see more of that. I liked the different classes and I found each one really uniquely interesting and I'd like to learn more about them too.
I like the word 'Tidewind' it's a really powerful word and I'd hate to be caught in one.
My favourite character was Hassa which is a shame because I felt like we never learnt much about her but she's a really good friend and she's really interesting.
It's hard to give this a star rating because it does feel really long but it was really interesting. If book two was out already I'd be buying it to read right now. I'm hopeful when it does come out at the end of this month I remembered enough of this book to dive right into it.
jeninmotion's review against another edition
adventurous
fast-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? Character
- Strong character development? Yes
- Loveable characters? Yes
- Diverse cast of characters? Yes
- Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes
5.0
pinkyreads101's review against another edition
4.0
couldn't decide between 3.75 or 4 stars but i ended settling on 4 stars but on the lower end sylah and anoor greatest love story ever we killed ourselves