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
styxx's review
- 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
3.5
Moderate: Classism, Murder, Cultural appropriation, Injury/Injury detail, Death of parent, Death, Fire/Fire injury, and Violence
Minor: Addiction
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
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
anni_swanilda's review
- 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: Injury/Injury detail, Murder, Gun violence, Cultural appropriation, Death, Body horror, Death of parent, Emotional abuse, Racial slurs, Fire/Fire injury, Racism, Violence, Xenophobia, and Gore
Moderate: Classism, Blood, Slavery, Police brutality, and Colonisation
Minor: Addiction and Alcohol
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.laurajeangrace's review
- Plot- or character-driven? Plot
- Strong character development? Yes
- Loveable characters? Yes
- Diverse cast of characters? Yes
- Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes
4.5
Moderate: Islamophobia, Slavery, Racism, War, Violence, and Death
Minor: Death of parent
schnaucl's review
- 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
4.25
The idea that America would be very anti-magic seems fitting.
I think the politics will be fascinating since not only is there the introduction of magic about 40 years ago, but it looks like World War I never happened. Egypt is a great power. Britain's power is waning for but for somewhat different reasons than happened in reality.
It's always interesting to explore the mythologies, magic traditions, and religions of other places and cultures. Lots of interesting stuff about colonial power, race, gender and religion to chew on.
I really liked the Jasmine Club.
Spoiler
I was a little frustrated, that Fatma didn't pick up on the fact that Siwa was trying to give them clues the only way he could the first time. I didn't understand the clues, but I figured that's what was happened. I also thought his second attempt where he was literally like here's a story about a woman dressed as a man doing a thing was pretty on the nose. Then again, I figured out who the true culprit was as soon as the doctor explained about the mask, since Fatma took her information from the person who first described the mask to her.Moderate: Violence, Classism, Colonisation, Death, Death of parent, Murder, Racial slurs, Racism, Fire/Fire injury, Misogyny, Police brutality, Injury/Injury detail, Religious bigotry, and Slavery
Minor: Cultural appropriation
uranaishi'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
4.0
Graphic: Fire/Fire injury
Moderate: Colonisation, Homophobia, Murder, Sexism, Slavery, Death of parent, Gun violence, Hate crime, Injury/Injury detail, Misogyny, Blood, Racism, Stalking, Religious bigotry, Classism, Cultural appropriation, Death, and Racial slurs
Minor: Alcohol, Police brutality, Sexual content, Antisemitism, Outing, Violence, and War
yavin_iv's review
- Plot- or character-driven? A mix
- Strong character development? No
- Loveable characters? Yes
- Diverse cast of characters? Yes
- Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes
2.5
Graphic: Death, Body horror, Fire/Fire injury, Racism, and Murder
Moderate: Cultural appropriation, Colonisation, Death of parent, Police brutality, Religious bigotry, Sexism, and Slavery
Minor: Alcohol