kappafrog'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
Fatima and Hadia made a great detective team, and I loved Siti. There were so many amazing side characters too, from a musician refugee from Jim Crow calling himself Mansa Musa, to a haughty djinn librarian, to a master of thieves feeding hungry children while keeping some wealth for herself. The world building was so rich, with so many strands woven together to make an engrossing tapestry. I'd love to see more of this world!
Graphic: Fire/Fire injury, Death, Religious bigotry, Cultural appropriation, Police brutality, Colonisation, Injury/Injury detail, Murder, Classism, and Racism
Moderate: Misogyny, Death of parent, Racial slurs, Body horror, Sexism, War, Slavery, Gun violence, Hate crime, Violence, and Xenophobia
Minor: Blood, Cannibalism, Dementia, Abandonment, Alcohol, Addiction, Adult/minor relationship, Islamophobia, and Mental illness
beepsies's review against another edition
- Plot- or character-driven? A mix
- Strong character development? It's complicated
- Loveable characters? Yes
- Diverse cast of characters? Yes
- Flaws of characters a main focus? No
4.75
Graphic: Fire/Fire injury and Violence
Moderate: Blood, Torture, Colonisation, Injury/Injury detail, Misogyny, Self harm, Racism, and Sexism
Minor: Classism, Blood, Death, Injury/Injury detail, Gore, Religious bigotry, and Slavery
novella42's review
- Plot- or character-driven? Plot
- Strong character development? It's complicated
- Loveable characters? Yes
- Diverse cast of characters? Yes
- Flaws of characters a main focus? No
5.0
The story began a little slow for me because I'm not into mysteries, but by the second half I was having a hard time putting it down as the pacing built more and more.
Graphic: Fire/Fire injury, Racism, Gore, Slavery, Racial slurs, Police brutality, Violence, War, Self harm, Gun violence, Murder, Colonisation, Cultural appropriation, Classism, Addiction, Xenophobia, Injury/Injury detail, Torture, Animal death, Misogyny, Sexism, Blood, Body horror, and Confinement
Moderate: Religious bigotry, Homophobia, War, Death of parent, Islamophobia, Hate crime, and Stalking
Minor: Kidnapping, Sexual content, Grief, Alcohol, and Death of parent
crystalisreading's review
- Diverse cast of characters? Yes
3.5
Moderate: Racism, Slavery, Violence, Classism, Cultural appropriation, Misogyny, Racial slurs, Sexism, Murder, and Islamophobia
Minor: Homophobia, Religious bigotry, Colonisation, and Lesbophobia
lolajh'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? It's complicated
4.0
Graphic: Racial slurs, Torture, Racism, Violence, War, and Xenophobia
Moderate: Misogyny, Slavery, Sexism, Murder, and Colonisation
to_m's review
- Plot- or character-driven? A mix
- Strong character development? It's complicated
- Loveable characters? Yes
- Diverse cast of characters? Yes
- Flaws of characters a main focus? No
5.0
Graphic: Racial slurs, Xenophobia, Racism, Misogyny, Injury/Injury detail, and Police brutality
kseret's review
- Plot- or character-driven? A mix
- Strong character development? It's complicated
- Loveable characters? Yes
- Diverse cast of characters? Yes
- Flaws of characters a main focus? It's complicated
5.0
Graphic: Fire/Fire injury, Colonisation, Classism, Cultural appropriation, Hate crime, Misogyny, and Racism
bookcaptivated's review against another edition
- Plot- or character-driven? A mix
- Strong character development? It's complicated
- Loveable characters? Yes
- Diverse cast of characters? Yes
- Flaws of characters a main focus? No
4.0
Graphic: Death, Misogyny, Slavery, Murder, Blood, Violence, Injury/Injury detail, Gore, and Sexism
Moderate: Classism and Death of parent
Minor: Dementia, Fire/Fire injury, and War
discarded_dust_jacket's review
- Plot- or character-driven? Plot
- Strong character development? No
- Loveable characters? Yes
- Diverse cast of characters? Yes
- Flaws of characters a main focus? No
2.75
I struggled with it perhaps for the same reason that I struggled with The Seven Moons of Maali Almeida: mysteries (especially murder/crime mysteries) that deal too much with politics tend to lose my attention easily.
So the case here is once again not that the book was bad, but more that it was for me.
Spoiler
I also found the “twist” to be too easily predictable. Clark pulled a Big Hero 6 here by setting up a character the reader is obviously meant to be suspicious of from the start as the logical villain, except it was too obvious and too perfect, making it easy to spot as a diversion from a mile away.I kind of hoped that I wasn’t right about Abigail and that Clark was going to truly surprise me, but ended up disappointed.
Graphic: Colonisation, Slavery, Misogyny, Racism, Murder, Cultural appropriation, and Fire/Fire injury
talonsontypewriters'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: Death, Injury/Injury detail, Fire/Fire injury, and Violence
Moderate: Sexism, Gun violence, Classism, Racism, Self harm, Death of parent, Police brutality, Religious bigotry, Colonisation, Murder, War, Xenophobia, Slavery, Body horror, Misogyny, and Gore
Minor: Alcohol, Sexual content, Stalking, Cultural appropriation, Addiction, Pedophilia, Kidnapping, and Racial slurs
Suffocation/strangulation. Smoking. Mind control/alteration, mild unreality.