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chrispybacon's review against another edition
adventurous
mysterious
tense
slow-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? A mix
- Strong character development? It's complicated
- Loveable characters? No
- Diverse cast of characters? No
- Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes
2.5
The book had a strong premise but poor execution. I was excited to have a heroine in her mid-twenties but Evike is so dumb I could not relate to her at all. None of her relationships are healthy - the Yehuli want her to convert (they also help her but they are very interested in her joining them), her love interest is a coward and also her jailer, her whole village physically and verbally abused her. Her life was shit and I would have left all of them in the dirt. It makes zero sense to return to her abusers.
The plot is a lot of walking, being horny, being angry, being horny, plans backfiring, suffering deadly injuries but surviving them, more being horny and more walking. Somewhere in there were aspects of accepting yourself, growing into your powers (and loosing them), and conflicts about religions and cultures clashing which suffered greatly under all the rest.
The plot is a lot of walking, being horny, being angry, being horny, plans backfiring, suffering deadly injuries but surviving them, more being horny and more walking. Somewhere in there were aspects of accepting yourself, growing into your powers (and loosing them), and conflicts about religions and cultures clashing which suffered greatly under all the rest.
Content Warnings
Graphic: Animal cruelty, Animal death, Body shaming, Bullying, Child abuse, Cursing, Death, Domestic abuse, Emotional abuse, Fatphobia, Gore, Misogyny, Physical abuse, Sexism, Sexual content, Torture, Toxic relationship, Violence, Blood, Antisemitism, Kidnapping, Grief, Death of parent, Murder, Gaslighting, Abandonment, Colonisation, Injury/Injury detail, and Classism
nettleviolet's review against another edition
adventurous
dark
medium-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? A mix
- Strong character development? No
- Loveable characters? No
- Diverse cast of characters? N/A
1.75
This had to be one of my least favourite books of the year, which was super disappointing. To start, I found the characters really inconsistent, unbelievable, repetitive and one-dimensional and the romance between the two main characters to be totally unbelievable and gross. I hate the trope of "the oppressed falls for the oppressor" (where the oppressor is a person of great power in the oppressive system) because it is very hard to do and they did it really poorly in this book.
The first half was mostly this blossoming, totally unbelievable and really gross romance, which consisted of the "strong female character" doing her best to both be mean to, but not hurt the feelings of, her captor that she is "falling in love" with.
But, into the second half, I enjoyed the story more as it delved more into politics, spirituality, family and ancestry. Not enough to enjoy the book, but enough to rate it more than 1 star.
But, into the second half, I enjoyed the story more as it delved more into politics, spirituality, family and ancestry. Not enough to enjoy the book, but enough to rate it more than 1 star.
There were many folk tales peppered through the book which were my favourite part, and the mythology was well developed as was the magic system. However, neither of these were good enough to redeem the book.
I'm not super into horror/gore and there was a lot of it in this book and that was also off-putting. BUT I have definitely tolerated higher levels of horror/gore in books I've enjoyed, so I think it just was a point against a book I already hated.
Overall, if I hadn't been reading this for a bookclub I would've DNF'd it about 20% in, if not sooner.
Content Warnings
Graphic: Gore, Torture, Toxic relationship, Violence, and Murder