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tangleroot_eli's review against another edition
- Plot- or character-driven? Character
- Strong character development? Yes
- Loveable characters? It's complicated
- Diverse cast of characters? Yes
Graphic: Grief, Fire/Fire injury, Injury/Injury detail, and Classism
Moderate: Child abuse, Death, Gun violence, Misogyny, Sexism, Transphobia, Violence, Medical content, Trafficking, Kidnapping, Death of parent, Murder, and War
Minor: Child abuse, Drug use, Pedophilia, Torture, Blood, Abandonment, Alcohol, and Colonisation
betweentheshelves'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, Gun violence, and Violence
Moderate: Child abuse, Trafficking, and Death of parent
Minor: Addiction, Homophobia, and Rape
jesm'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
We follow Aster as she works alongside the Lady Ghosts, helping Good Luck Girls and smuggling them across the border to freedom. But then another welcome house opens...and this one is...worse (seriously check the CW, though the mention is brief and we get to dive into action right away).
Davis does a great job of playing with old Western renegade tropes (think Billy the Kid legends), and sprinkles in some spooky fairy tale elements (a dabble of the original Grimm stories).
She serves up races on horse back, hiding from the law, sibling bonds that transcend all obstacles, gun-slinging action, justifiable vengeance, and all the love stories we could ask for.
Book 1 "The Good Luck Girls" is available now in paperback, so pick it and "The Sisters of Reckoning Up" if you want to escape into non-stop action.
Graphic: Trafficking
Minor: Child abuse
sarah984'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
5.0
This book takes the world created in the first book and expands it, showing the systemic issues underneath and all the groups trying to stop them. The Good Luck Girls was a group of scrappy teens fighting for survival, this is them teaming up with other downtrodden people to change the world.
I enjoyed the western trappings (the bar brawl was so fun), the new characters were great, and while I did feel the romantic drama in the middle dragged a bit, I like how it ended up.
If you liked the first one I would definitely recommend this.
Graphic: Gun violence, Panic attacks/disorders, and Torture
Moderate: Child abuse, Confinement, Death, Gore, Mental illness, Misogyny, Pedophilia, Racism, Slavery, Suicide, Violence, Blood, Police brutality, Medical content, Trafficking, Kidnapping, Grief, Death of parent, Fire/Fire injury, and Colonisation
Minor: Addiction, Homophobia, Rape, Transphobia, Alcohol, and War
melaniereadsbooks'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
A few months after the events of The Good Luck Girls, Aster is helping the Lady Ghosts smuggle Good Luck Girls across the border to Ferron. But new developments with the Welcome Houses and the reappearance of Violet make Aster decide she needs to get things done faster than the Lady Ghosts are willing. The gang from the first book are back along with a few new faces as the Reckoners fight for the good of dustbloods everywhere.
I really loved this sequel! I thought it picked up in a good place--not too far from the ending of the original, but far enough that it warranted a separate book. I loved a particular relationship that happened that I can't say because spoilers, but I am VERY pleased with it. I thought the plot of this one was exciting and loved all the characters and the revolution!
I think this book could have benefitted from alternate pov's. While I love Aster, there were times when the pace of this book felt significantly slowed down because the main action was happening with someone else. If there had been a few pov's from other people it would have been able to keep the tempo going!
I also felt the ending wasn't paced greatly...It drug out for a while and then ended very abruptly. I did like how it ended and the resolution, just didn't love the pacing. I also wasn't a huge fan of the epilogue because I almost never like those, but this one wasn't too bad!
The strongest points of this duology are definitely the world-building, fantasy-western hybrid setting, and the themes. Davis does a wonderful job alegorizing slavery and indentured servitude here and I think the parallels between America's history and what is happening in Arketta are so well done. I loved this duology and definitely recommend it!
Pub date: August 10, 2021
Graphic: Racism, Sexism, and Violence
Moderate: Sexual assault, Sexual violence, Torture, Transphobia, Trafficking, and Sexual harassment