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katrinarose's review against another edition
- Plot- or character-driven? A mix
- Strong character development? No
- Loveable characters? No
- Diverse cast of characters? No
- Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes
2.0
I put "bad guys" and "good guys" in quotes because it was abundantly clear who is meant to be good and bad, there is no moral grayness here whatsoever. The bad guys are so incredibly bad that they weren't even scary, because I was rolling my eyes at their mustache-twirling, over the top antics. The author heavily relied on shock factor for her character development and world building. Why make a morally gray character when you can just have her beat a 10 year old to death (not a spoiler, it happens in the beginning)? Why make an complex political background when you can just have the entire story take place at a school that raises children to be murderers/torturers/rapists?
All the characters are extremely flat, which made it annoying to be in their heads because they only had 1-2 topics of thought each. And we had the pleasure of having not one but TWO unbelievable love triangles, one for each main character we were stuck with! There was absolutely no grounds for their interest in each other besides some eye contact (with the exception of one side of one love triangle).
I haven't even gotten to the plot yet, but there's not much to say besides it was predictable and boring. Then again, it's hard to have a good plot with no world-building or character development to build on. The main plot was meant to be about Laia spying in the school and Elias going through trials to become emperor, but the trials were all pretty short and unsurprising, and Laia's spying attempts left much to be desired.
I imagine the remaining books will expand on the love triangles and the world will expand too. I went into this book planning on reading the entire series, but for my sanity, I will not be continuing. I gave it 2 instead of 1 stars just because it was readable and that's a somewhat redeemable quality. Also, as annoying as Laia was, it was nice to have a heroine in YA fantasy who was not a bad-ass, fearless assassin from the jump. If I had read this 10 years ago I probably would have eaten it up.
Graphic: Child abuse, Child death, Death, Misogyny, Physical abuse, Slavery, Torture, Violence, Blood, Grief, Murder, Sexual harassment, and Injury/Injury detail
Moderate: Confinement, Gore, Sexism, and Death of parent
Minor: Sexual assault, Sexual violence, Abortion, and Pregnancy
otterforce'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
4.0
The story and characters are both strong though and the very bad guys doing very bad (and sometimes graphic) things never feels gratuitous. It often reinforces the tension and stakes or serves the story. There’s are so many good people to offset the bad. I wouldn’t say the story is hopeful, but it’s also not overly bleak or dark.
I can’t wait to see how this series unfolds in later books.
Graphic: Bullying, Child abuse, Child death, Death, Emotional abuse, Genocide, Physical abuse, Racism, Slavery, Violence, Blood, Trafficking, Kidnapping, Grief, Death of parent, Murder, Injury/Injury detail, and Classism
Moderate: Confinement, Rape, Sexual assault, Sexual violence, Torture, and Abortion
Minor: Suicide
apple_atcha_reading'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? It's complicated
5.0
Graphic: Child abuse, Confinement, Death, Physical abuse, Racism, Slavery, Torture, Violence, Blood, Police brutality, Medical content, Trafficking, Grief, Medical trauma, Death of parent, Murder, War, Injury/Injury detail, and Classism
Moderate: Sexual assault, Sexual violence, and Sexual harassment
kayceeisbookish'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
5.0
Moderate: Child death, Confinement, Death, Gore, Physical abuse, Rape, Slavery, Torture, Violence, Blood, Grief, Suicide attempt, Death of parent, Injury/Injury detail, and Classism
theresamothinmyroom's review against another edition
- Plot- or character-driven? Character
- Strong character development? Yes
- Loveable characters? It's complicated
- Diverse cast of characters? No
- Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes
3.5
Graphic: Child abuse, Child death, Death, Gore, Hate crime, Misogyny, Rape, Sexism, Sexual assault, Slavery, Torture, Violence, Blood, Vomit, Medical content, Trafficking, Grief, Death of parent, Abandonment, Sexual harassment, Injury/Injury detail, and Classism
Moderate: Confinement, Sexual content, Abortion, and Pregnancy
Minor: Alcohol
tabookish'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: Child death, Confinement, Death, Genocide, Physical abuse, Slavery, Torture, Violence, Blood, Kidnapping, Grief, Murder, Abandonment, and Classism
Moderate: Rape, Sexual assault, and Sexual harassment
jeyjeyyy'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? No
4.5
Graphic: Bullying, Child death, Confinement, Death, Physical abuse, Sexual violence, Torture, Violence, Blood, Grief, Death of parent, Murder, Abandonment, Colonisation, and Injury/Injury detail
mikasana'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
4.5
Honestly, the storytelling was perfect. I got really attached to Laia and Elias and their character arcs. And the villains?? Black hearted killers who couldn’t have been written any better (
The weight and finality of all the injustices this world festered really just slapped you in the face over and over as the pages went by. The tension from it burned me and had me fully entranced just hoping some good would prevail.
However, if you are looking at this first book expecting romance, look away. The two main characters don’t truly get to know each other in this book and spend much of their time apart. In fact most of the “romance” that exists is spent on
This actually would have been a lower rating due to how irritated I was by the
Graphic: Confinement, Death, Misogyny, Physical abuse, Sexual assault, Sexual violence, Slavery, Violence, Murder, Sexual harassment, Injury/Injury detail, and Classism
Moderate: Death of parent
Minor: Rape, Trafficking, Pregnancy, and War
crybabybea's review against another edition
- Plot- or character-driven? Character
- Strong character development? Yes
- Loveable characters? It's complicated
- Diverse cast of characters? No
- Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes
3.5
I had my doubts about the characters but I ended up liking the main characters for their individual arcs, especially Laia. I wish the side characters got more attention and felt more fully developed.
I was pleasantly surprised at the complexity of the themes explored and the story beats. I wasn't expecting anything crazy from YA but this book was very dark and the author made some crazy choices that really flipped the typical YA experience on its head. Of course it had its tropey moments but I enjoyed the story a lot and found it compelling.
Definitely a page-turner, an intriguing thriller of a story with unique, subtle fantasy elements to get lost in for a few days.
Graphic: Child abuse, Child death, Confinement, Death, Misogyny, Physical abuse, Rape, Sexism, Sexual assault, Sexual violence, Slavery, Torture, Violence, Blood, Kidnapping, Grief, Death of parent, Murder, Sexual harassment, and Injury/Injury detail
abby_can_read'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
Graphic: Death, Slavery, and Violence
Moderate: Rape, Sexual assault, Sexual violence, Police brutality, and Injury/Injury detail
Minor: Confinement, Death of parent, and Murder