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coltgalben's review against another edition
adventurous
emotional
funny
hopeful
inspiring
mysterious
reflective
tense
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
5.0
I apologise in advance for the mistakes that may occur, english is not my first language.
The book was great. I loved it. It has such interesting ideas and concepts...
But there is a problem. A big one for me. The main character is 16, and the love interest is 25. Yes, I know it's a fantasy story happening in a kingdom, and back in the day it was a common thing. But god dammit! It's a fantasy book with dragons that turn into humans, and wear mechanical earrings through which they talk with each other as if they have airpods! It had nothing to do with historical accuracy. The main character could have had a few more years - it wouldn't have changed much the story - or the love interest could have had less. It wouldn't have hurt the middle ages vibe at all. It's just stupid and I hate it and it's god damn fucking disgusting, because it's not only there, in the background, it is romanticised. And is so prominent in this type of stories and books and I'm fucking sick of it! Please stop it! It's weird!
I am going to put all the hope I have left in the humanity in the second volume. I'm putting this into the universe! Please! For the love of everything beautiful in this god forsaken world! Don't make these two lovers in the second one!!! I want to love this book, I really do. Please let me enjoy this beautiful story.
Except for that, it was perfect.
That is my opinion
Content Warnings
Graphic: Body shaming, Self harm, Xenophobia, and Religious bigotry
Moderate: Adult/minor relationship and Pedophilia
Minor: Emotional abuse, Hate crime, Incest, and Death of parent
purplehulk713's review against another edition
adventurous
challenging
emotional
funny
hopeful
inspiring
lighthearted
mysterious
reflective
sad
tense
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
5.0
Glorious—soaring like a iridescent dragon against a moonlit sky or a sheer harmony resolving at the crescendo of an epic score. Seraphina is an incredible protagonist who might live in a fantasy world based on medieval times, but she faces the same ghastly, unfounded biases which plague our world today. Being an ityasaari in Goredd is analogous to being queer or transgender today—reviled for no reason, only for who you are, something which you cannot control and which should only ever be a source of pride. Rachel Hartman’s prose is both so technically brilliant and poetically marvelous that I kept wondering if she was an ityasaari to be able to write with such skill. Music is not really expounded upon so much in novels, so for this novel to revolve around a music mistress is quite refreshing. Seraphina Dombegh is also simply hilarious, and her cast of friends, rivals, and colleagues is a joy. Some of my favorite lines were…
I was half lawyer; I always noticed the loopholes.
So funny.
“Can I attain that level of petty vindictiveness?”
I aspire to.
As fascinating as this polite, courtly aggression was…
So fascinating.
He did not know the truth of me, yet he had perceived something true about me that no one else had ever noticed. And in spite of that—or perhaps because of it—he believed me good,believed me worth taking seriously, and his belief, for one vertiginous moment, made me want to be better than I was.
So relatable.
“There are two sacred causes in this world,” he said, holding up his pinkie and ring finger. “Chance and necessity. By chance, I was there to help when you had need.”
Beautiful.
For the first time, I understood the point of dancing. I was so used to music being the vehicle for expression, but here he was speaking to me not with his mind but with his body: I feel this music in my very blood. This is what it means to be me, right here, right now, solid flesh, ethereal air, eternal motion. I feel this, and it is true beyond truth.
Incredible, so poetic.
We were all monsters and bastards, and we were all beautiful.
Dame Okra Carmine is a gal! She is the greatest, and I love her and her refusal to tolerate anyone else’s nonsense so much! Her sort of grandmotherly disapproving relationship with Seraphina is fascinating as well. Her unique power is so captivating. I love the unique supernatural almost-magic characteristic of Seraphina’s garden, Dame Okra’s stomach, Abdo’s agility, and Lars’s mechanical brilliance which are born of dragon blood. But regardless of the supernatural elements present, the dichotomies are so omnipresent in our world. Please read this and remember how diversity makes us more incredible, that monsters and bastards are wonderful, and no love is a disease.
Content Warnings
Graphic: Hate crime, Mental illness, Physical abuse, Self harm, Grief, Death of parent, Murder, and Injury/Injury detail
theworstofit's review against another edition
challenging
emotional
mysterious
tense
medium-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? A mix
- Strong character development? Yes
- Loveable characters? No
- Diverse cast of characters? Yes
- Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes
2.0
Content Warnings
Graphic: Hate crime, Incest, Racism, Self harm, Sexism, and Xenophobia
obviousthings's review against another edition
adventurous
emotional
mysterious
reflective
tense
slow-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? A mix
- Strong character development? Yes
- Loveable characters? Yes
- Diverse cast of characters? It's complicated
- Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes
4.25
Content Warnings
Moderate: Death, Hate crime, Self harm, Sexism, Violence, Blood, Grief, and Death of parent
Minor: Animal death, Body horror, and Homophobia