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sparksofkell's review against another edition
- Plot- or character-driven? Character
- Strong character development? Yes
- Loveable characters? Yes
- Diverse cast of characters? It's complicated
- Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes
4.0
Graphic: Alcoholism, Child death, Confinement, Cursing, Death, Emotional abuse, Gore, Sexual content, Torture, Toxic relationship, Violence, Blood, Murder, Fire/Fire injury, Toxic friendship, Injury/Injury detail, and Pandemic/Epidemic
Moderate: Mental illness, Pedophilia, Trafficking, Kidnapping, Medical trauma, Pregnancy, and War
Minor: Cancer, Infidelity, and Classism
vjlp22_reader's review against another edition
- Plot- or character-driven? A mix
- Strong character development? It's complicated
- Loveable characters? Yes
- Diverse cast of characters? No
- Flaws of characters a main focus? No
4.5
Graphic: Confinement, Death, Gore, Sexual content, Toxic relationship, Violence, Blood, Cannibalism, Religious bigotry, Murder, and Injury/Injury detail
Moderate: Homophobia, Kidnapping, and Alcohol
katrinarose's review against another edition
- Plot- or character-driven? A mix
- Strong character development? Yes
- Loveable characters? No
- Diverse cast of characters? No
- Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes
4.0
The author tackles some pretty big themes about the evils of capitalism and religion, the importance of history and learning from the past, the im/possibility of true altruism in humankind, the inescapability of unforeseen consequences of any choice whether it’s made in good or bad faith, and even more. While it doesn’t feel preachy, the amount of lessons woven into the story gets a bit unwieldy and at times, especially in the last third when everything comes to a head. There were some scenes that just didn’t really make that much sense given what we knew about the magic system/world and it seemed like the author was writing without any rules to get to the finish line and make her point. The author also loves to string the reader along with bits of information at a time by having her characters unnecessarily withhold information from each other, and while this isn’t inherently a problem, I found myself frustrated at times because there didn’t seem to be a reason to withhold the information except for convenience, to not give away the answers before the big reveals. There are also several unanswered questions which always feels disappointing.
Overall I did enjoy the series even though the first book felt like an overdone typical fantasy and the second, while better, still felt like set up for this book. It is one of those series that truly brings you on a journey and I liked it for that, and it’s originality.
Graphic: Confinement, Death, Violence, Murder, and Sexual harassment
Moderate: Child abuse, Cursing, Sexual content, and Torture
gen_wolfhailstorm's review against another edition
- Plot- or character-driven? Character
- Strong character development? Yes
- Loveable characters? No
- Diverse cast of characters? No
- Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes
3.0
Narrated by Polly Lee
Unabridged
Even though I only read the last book (both really - in quick succession), last month, I found that there were minute details I had already forgotten.
Despite this (and the fact that I wasn't properly listening to it all the time - thank you migraine...) I found it to be an entertaining read. I wouldn't necessarily say I enjoyed it... I went into this one knowing I would probably feel unsatisfied by the conclusion and I did, but not really in the way I had expected.
I much more enjoyed how the transition of the timelines blended together. I think it made more sense in the conclusion and seemed a bit more seamless.
I feel like Kelsea got back to herself... Not necessarily her old self - too much of life had been experienced for that - but definitelya self I was my aligned with.
I didn't like the ending. I felt like it was a bit of a cop out and although a unique conclusion than anything I would have thought of, it was one that was unsatisfied and left me with the question of this: what about everyone else?!
The narrator (on normal speed) sounds like a she's documenting a wildlife film, which was, at best amusing, at worse kind of annoying. I sped it up to 3x pretty sharpish.
Graphic: Death, Forced institutionalization, Murder, Abandonment, War, and Injury/Injury detail
kalmia31's review against another edition
- Plot- or character-driven? A mix
- Strong character development? It's complicated
- Loveable characters? It's complicated
4.0
Graphic: Child abuse, Child death, Death, Domestic abuse, Emotional abuse, Gore, Homophobia, Physical abuse, Rape, Sexual assault, Torture, Violence, Forced institutionalization, Blood, Grief, Religious bigotry, Death of parent, Murder, Gaslighting, Sexual harassment, War, Injury/Injury detail, and Classism
Moderate: Addiction, Body horror, Confinement, Mental illness, Pedophilia, Slavery, Trafficking, Abortion, Outing, and Abandonment
erinlilym's review against another edition
- Plot- or character-driven? A mix
- Strong character development? Yes
- Loveable characters? Yes
- Diverse cast of characters? No
- Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes
4.0
Graphic: Alcoholism, Domestic abuse, Sexual assault, Slavery, Torture, Violence, Blood, Trafficking, Murder, and War
Minor: Addiction and Alcoholism
rebeccacole98'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? It's complicated
4.25
Graphic: Rape, Sexual assault, Sexual violence, and Murder
tortue's review against another edition
- Plot- or character-driven? Plot
- Strong character development? Yes
- Loveable characters? Yes
- Diverse cast of characters? It's complicated
- Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes
4.25
Graphic: Homophobia, Pedophilia, Racism, Rape, Self harm, Sexual assault, Sexual content, Sexual violence, Slavery, Violence, Kidnapping, Religious bigotry, Murder, Outing, and Sexual harassment
This was soooo good but to me the ending was disappointing