elizareign'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
4.0
I don’t particularly gravitate towards fantasy books but after all the hype I’ve seen this book get I had to check it out for myself. I’m so glad I did because this book is truly for anyone who loves the found family trope and a good heist. Admittedly, the lingo is a bit confusing as first if you haven’t read the Shadow & Bone trilogy but it’s not impossible to understand by any means. I would also say it had a slow start (hence the four stars) but after about 5 chapters you really start to get into it and form a connection with these characters. Overall, this book will make for a delightful reread in the future.
Graphic: Blood, Child death, Death, Animal death, and Body horror
Moderate: Grief, Violence, and Injury/Injury detail
Minor: Panic attacks/disorders
ferlefur's review against another edition
- Plot- or character-driven? Character
- 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, Injury/Injury detail, and Death
Moderate: Violence and Sexual violence
fionamatilda'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
Graphic: Body horror, Gore, Blood, Child death, Murder, and Violence
Moderate: Addiction, Drug use, Trafficking, Torture, and Panic attacks/disorders
Minor: Sexual assault, Ableism, Religious bigotry, and War
axel_p's review against another edition
- 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
Minor: Genocide, Gun violence, Racism, Trafficking, Drug abuse, Pedophilia, Police brutality, Rape, Violence, War, Xenophobia, Death, Mental illness, Misogyny, Torture, Vomit, Sexism, Abandonment, Ableism, Addiction, Adult/minor relationship, Blood, Child abuse, Child death, Classism, Confinement, Slavery, Alcohol, Body horror, Body shaming, Grief, Hate crime, Racial slurs, Sexual assault, Sexual harassment, Sexual violence, Religious bigotry, Death of parent, Drug use, Fire/Fire injury, Injury/Injury detail, Kidnapping, Physical abuse, Medical content, and Murder
akane_shio'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
Graphic: Medical content, Mental illness, Trafficking, Violence, Drug use, Emotional abuse, Grief, Gun violence, Murder, Police brutality, Slavery, Confinement, Injury/Injury detail, Kidnapping, Addiction, Drug abuse, Abandonment, and Ableism
Moderate: Blood, Child abuse, Child death, Death, Torture, Body horror, Gore, Physical abuse, Panic attacks/disorders, Domestic abuse, Gaslighting, and Toxic relationship
Minor: Suicidal thoughts, Adult/minor relationship, Rape, and Sexual assault
abbyycadabbyy's review against another edition
5.0
At the beginning I was having a hard time with all the different characters, but after about 20% I had it down. I did think that the beginning was a little slow, but it was the buildup we needed for such a good book. Sometimes books are just slow, but this book was slow at the beginning because it had to buildup. Once I got into the book like right after the 20% mark, I finished it all in one day. I couldn't put it down. I just had to know what was going to happen next.
Normally in books there is one charcter that I love. If you know me this will come to no surprise whatsoever, but Kaz was my favorite character. The thing with multiple POV's is that normallly I only like 1-2 characters and don't really care about the rest. This book however, I was interested in all the characters POV's and what was happening with then during this huge heist.
I have never read a book like this "in the villans POV" if you will. They aren't villains as much ans they are crimnals but still, I have never really read books in a POV like this. If I have read a book in a POV of a qeastionable character normally in the POV they aren't doing their qeastionalbe thing. If that makes sense, I have read books in like a POV of drug dealers, but they we never dealing drugs while I was reading their POV. So yeah, that was a little different for me but not in a bad way.
I would say when it comes to ships, I have the typical ships that is seems the author is trying to push. Although
Spoiler
I thought the LGBTQ couple was gunna be Nina and Inej. I was a little bummed that it wasn't because they would have made a cute couple and they had some good chemistry.I am so ready to start the second book. I am jumping out of my skin just thinking about what could happen in the second book.
Graphic: Violence, Injury/Injury detail, Cursing, Body horror, Drug use, Trafficking, Gore, Death, Child death, and Blood
Moderate: Vomit
yaoipaddle'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? It's complicated
4.5
positives: clever writing and well fleshed out world. characters are diverse and each feels like they have their own world going on. plot is a fun heist style so it keeps me on my toes.
negatives: sometimes it felt very hamfisted in trying to make kaz a cool guy. i just felt like he was shadow the hedgehog sorry!! also i know they grew up fast cause they had hard lives, but i still wish the characters werent teens.
read this book if you like high fantasy with some grit to it. its only a little tense and suspenseful.
Graphic: Misogyny, Kidnapping, Grief, Drug use, Ableism, Injury/Injury detail, Confinement, Child abuse, Gore, Violence, Sexual harassment, Gun violence, Death, Trafficking, Sexism, Murder, Body horror, Slavery, Blood, and Child death
Moderate: Sexual violence
annick's review against another edition
- Loveable characters? Yes
- Diverse cast of characters? Yes
3.75
Good plot and multiple adventures before and after the main heist.
Not sure I’d read again. But I will continue with Crooked Kingdom.
Graphic: Drug use, Gun violence, Kidnapping, Body horror, Blood, and Confinement
gillian_aftanas'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
4.75
Graphic: Blood, Religious bigotry, Genocide, Gun violence, Addiction, Medical content, Murder, Panic attacks/disorders, Body horror, Drug abuse, Drug use, and Injury/Injury detail
Moderate: Confinement, Violence, Grief, Sexual harassment, Gore, Trafficking, Slavery, Ableism, Fire/Fire injury, and Classism
Minor: Excrement, Death of parent, Animal death, and War
oliviagbrewer'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? It's complicated
4.0
Moderate: Addiction, Violence, Trafficking, and Panic attacks/disorders
Minor: Body horror