The design and UX isn't done, Rob and Abbie, okkurrrr! 😌
rsb12'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
5.0
Graphic: Drug abuse, Racism, War, Child death, Drug use, Addiction, Fire/Fire injury, Genocide, Child abuse, Death, Gore, Murder, Physical abuse, Rape, Emotional abuse, Grief, Injury/Injury detail, and Violence
Moderate: Body horror, Self harm, Slavery, Suicidal thoughts, Torture, Toxic friendship, Xenophobia, Colonisation, Sexual assault, Bullying, Schizophrenia/Psychosis , Sexual violence, and Blood
Minor: Misogyny, Suicide, Classism, Confinement, Alcohol, Animal death, Animal cruelty, and Infertility
jaz_apples's review against another edition
- Plot- or character-driven? A mix
- Strong character development? It's complicated
- Loveable characters? No
- Diverse cast of characters? Yes
- Flaws of characters a main focus? It's complicated
2.25
This book was incredibly graphic. It goes into heavy detail of body horror, death, murder and SA. The author did a good job of painting the picture of the scene but could have done so in a more tactful and effective way.
“The bigger the issue, the smaller you write. Remember that. You don’t write about the horrors of war. No. You write about a kid’s burnt socks lying on the road. You pick the smallest manageable part of the big thing, and you work off the resonance.” -Richard Price
Another thing to be wary of is the heavy drug use and abuse within this book.
I believe that the most triggering chapter is chapter 21 and I’ll have a general description of the events for those who wish to skip it under a spoiler. This chapter covers exceptionally graphic and detailed descriptions of: murder, genocide, torture, body horror/mutilation, the postmortem state of bodies, SA, sexual violence, miscarriage/forced abortion/violence towards a pregnant women, and drug abuse. With that said, here is the general description of the chapter:
See the content warnings for the rest of possible triggers
Graphic: Death, Drug abuse, Rape, Injury/Injury detail, Addiction, Genocide, Child death, Gore, Medical content, Medical trauma, Sexual assault, Blood, Grief, Kidnapping, Child abuse, Drug use, Violence, Emotional abuse, Fire/Fire injury, Physical abuse, Sexual violence, Torture, Toxic relationship, Body horror, Murder, Slavery, and War
Moderate: Racism, Classism, Cursing, Misogyny, Infertility, Toxic relationship, Toxic friendship, Sexism, Pregnancy, Domestic abuse, Panic attacks/disorders, Abandonment, Abortion, Bullying, Suicidal thoughts, Miscarriage, and Religious bigotry
bringmebooks's review against another edition
- Plot- or character-driven? A mix
- Strong character development? Yes
- Loveable characters? It's complicated
- Diverse cast of characters? No
- Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes
4.5
Graphic: Addiction, Blood, Drug abuse, Child death, Classism, Drug use, Sexual violence, Torture, War, Genocide, Death, Rape, and Sexual assault
ehrycyna's review against another edition
4.0
Graphic: Blood, Grief, Injury/Injury detail, Gaslighting, Classism, Drug use, Emotional abuse, Fire/Fire injury, Suicidal thoughts, Suicide, Racism, Rape, Sexism, Torture, Addiction, Colonisation, Death, Drug abuse, Kidnapping, Murder, Misogyny, Animal cruelty, Animal death, Bullying, Forced institutionalization, Genocide, Sexual assault, Sexual violence, Slavery, Child abuse, Child death, Domestic abuse, Schizophrenia/Psychosis , Self harm, War, Gore, Pedophilia, Physical abuse, Pregnancy, Violence, Toxic relationship, and Toxic friendship
mktraxel's review against another edition
- Plot- or character-driven? Plot
- Strong character development? No
- Loveable characters? No
- Diverse cast of characters? No
- Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes
4.0
Graphic: Animal death, Emotional abuse, Forced institutionalization, Injury/Injury detail, Physical abuse, Animal cruelty, Bullying, Classism, Domestic abuse, Pregnancy, Self harm, Torture, Vomit, Violence, War, Colonisation, Death, Drug use, Genocide, Gore, Infertility, Abortion, Child abuse, Death of parent, Addiction, Body horror, Murder, Sexual assault, Sexual harassment, Suicidal thoughts, Misogyny, Child death, Fire/Fire injury, Excrement, Racism, Suicide, Rape, Sexual violence, Blood, Drug abuse, and Panic attacks/disorders
BRUTALasveen's review against another edition
- Plot- or character-driven? Plot
- Strong character development? No
- Loveable characters? No
- Diverse cast of characters? Yes
- Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes
2.0
The first half of the book was good! I liked the premise, I didn't mind the characters, there was enough intrigue to keep me going.
The second half of the book horrible.
For one, I cannot stand the main character, Rin. My god. At first I admired her spirit and determination, which turned into power-hungry, unable to make up how she feels about literally anything (don't even get me started on "I love Altan" "I hate Altan"), annoyingness. I understand that the grey-ness of her character is intriguing, but there are well done morally grey characters and Rin is not one of them.
The book also fell into the hole of "the main character escapes everything perhaps a little too easily." At no point during the book was I actually worried for her survival. Managed to fend of a bunch of soldiers, just her and Nezha no problem? Followed by their both miraculous survival following. The fact that Nezha did not die during the entire scene was what made me feel 100% confident that Kitay would be just fine. The temple is gone? No worries, she immediately can tell by the way the sand is moving where the temple is. Good grief. At what point am I supposed to actually be worried for her that she would be able to survive?
I didn't particularly enjoy many of the other characters in the book as well. Kitay arguably being the best and only character I give a crap about.
Definitely a great start, but falls apart about half way through thanks to making Rin extremely unlikable, the change in plot and resulting continued easy survival of the main character undermining the stress of all of the situations she found herself in.
Brutally disappointed, given the general consensus that this book is really good. Was excited to start a new series but I seriously doubt I'll read the sequels. That being said, I applaud the author on creating this world and the amount of strategy and technique that goes into writing military fiction/fantasy. That aspect was just fine (could possibly have been more fleshed out, to be honest), but it pales in comparison of the rest of the story.
Graphic: Classism, War, Drug abuse, Addiction, Gore, Death, Violence, and Drug use
Moderate: Genocide, Self harm, Sexual violence, Infertility, Racism, and Rape
alex_salamander's review against another edition
- 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
5.0
Graphic: Colonisation, Addiction, Blood, Bullying, Child abuse, Vomit, Rape, War, Grief, Death, Kidnapping, Xenophobia, Classism, Fire/Fire injury, Toxic friendship, Violence, Genocide, Injury/Injury detail, Medical trauma, Mental illness, Murder, Toxic relationship, Drug use, Body horror, Gore, Drug abuse, Misogyny, Panic attacks/disorders, Torture, Child death, and Racism
Moderate: Confinement, Body shaming, Cursing, Emotional abuse, and Domestic abuse
naturally'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
4.25
our heroine rin is the perfect shade of grey. the pacing at the beginning of the story was very slow, but i'm glad i stuck with rin's journey. her motivation for wanting to go to the sinegard are simple and strong. the scene where she
the military academy portion was my favourite part of the book, and i think rin made some really touching friendships there. rin's relationships with other characters - specifically jiang and altan added to her complexities. there was so much to analyse, and this is only the first book! (imo rin attributes power with safety, but in actuality, on top is the most dangerous place to be as someone will always seek to rob her of such a high status.)
the revelation that rin was
very curious to see how this journey continues.
Graphic: Blood, Child abuse, Child death, Infertility, Injury/Injury detail, Medical trauma, Colonisation, Drug use, Misogyny, Murder, Addiction, Classism, Grief, Racism, Animal cruelty, Body horror, Bullying, Death, Ableism, Genocide, Fire/Fire injury, and Gore
Moderate: Rape and Pregnancy
n_mutanu16'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
Graphic: Colonisation, Emotional abuse, Grief, Classism, Drug abuse, Death of parent, Physical abuse, Genocide, Violence, Death, Drug use, Sexual assault, Bullying, Gore, Child death, Blood, and War
Moderate: Murder, Rape, Fire/Fire injury, Injury/Injury detail, Kidnapping, Child abuse, Cursing, Grief, Abandonment, Torture, Slavery, and Suicidal thoughts
Minor: Medical content and Infertility
lighterthaneyre's review
- 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
4.5
Main Character reflection:
Themes:
The trigger warnings are no joke, as a heads up.
Graphic: Genocide, Grief, Bullying, Classism, Blood, Injury/Injury detail, Gore, Death, and Fire/Fire injury
Moderate: Xenophobia, Forced institutionalization, Sexual violence, Sexual assault, War, and Mental illness
Minor: Drug use, Addiction, and Animal cruelty