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sashahc'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
Moderate: Abandonment
Minor: Transphobia
brynalexa'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
5.0
Graphic: Body horror, Cursing, Death, Gore, Misogyny, Sexism, Slavery, Toxic relationship, Blood, Kidnapping, Grief, Death of parent, Murder, Fire/Fire injury, Abandonment, Alcohol, Colonisation, War, and Classism
Minor: Rape, Sexual content, Sexual violence, and Torture
karatics'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
5.0
Graphic: Body horror, Cursing, Death, Physical abuse, Violence, Blood, and Murder
Moderate: Alcoholism, Gore, Misogyny, Sexual content, Suicidal thoughts, Islamophobia, Kidnapping, Grief, Cannibalism, Abandonment, Alcohol, and Classism
Minor: Deadnaming, Infidelity, Rape, Slavery, Sexual harassment, and Dysphoria
sunnydale'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
i love that the protagonist's faith is central to her character, and we're also able to see how it's developed throughout her life. her faith is sometimes messy, sometimes self-contradicting, but she also never doubts her core beliefs, and she's a more authentic character because of it.
irrelevant to the quality of the book, i noticed that "midnight" is the author's favorite adjective for anything dark. "midnight beach," "midnight ocean," "midnight fabric," etc. it felt like a scavenger hunt trying to find the word in each chapter, lol.
i would recommend this to fans of fantasy, especially those who are looking for non-western fantasy settings. i definitely recommend the audiobook, although you might want a print or ebook copy for the helpful bibliography.
Moderate: Cursing, Misogyny, Sexism, Sexual content, Torture, Violence, Xenophobia, Blood, Murder, Alcohol, and Sexual harassment
Minor: Alcoholism, Body horror, Death, Sexual violence, Slavery, Transphobia, Islamophobia, Cannibalism, Religious bigotry, Death of parent, Fire/Fire injury, Abandonment, Colonisation, and Injury/Injury detail
Violence and sexual content are at a PG-13 rating. There is a lot of swearing. The cat is fine.torturedreadersdept'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
Graphic: Animal cruelty, Animal death, Body horror, Body shaming, Confinement, Cursing, Death, Misogyny, Sexism, Sexual content, Slavery, Toxic relationship, Violence, Blood, Kidnapping, Grief, Religious bigotry, Murder, Gaslighting, Abandonment, Alcohol, and Injury/Injury detail
Moderate: Rape, Sexual assault, and Transphobia
Minor: Deadnaming
boglord'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? Yes
5.0
Graphic: Death, Gore, Toxic relationship, Violence, Grief, Murder, Sexual harassment, and Injury/Injury detail
Moderate: Body horror, Child abuse, Confinement, Cursing, Emotional abuse, Genocide, Mental illness, Misogyny, Panic attacks/disorders, Sexism, Sexual content, Torture, Xenophobia, Blood, Vomit, Kidnapping, Religious bigotry, Fire/Fire injury, Alcohol, War, and Classism
Minor: Ableism, Addiction, Deadnaming, Pedophilia, Racism, Rape, Sexual assault, Sexual violence, Slavery, Suicidal thoughts, Trafficking, Death of parent, Pregnancy, Abandonment, and Dysphoria
fromjuliereads's review against another edition
- Plot- or character-driven? Plot
- Strong character development? It's complicated
- Loveable characters? It's complicated
- Diverse cast of characters? Yes
- Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes
2.75
I think part of that was the marketing? I remember seeing so much about it being a pirate book, a seafaring adventure. I felt like we really didn't get that until about... well past halfway. The beginning of the book is incredibly slow. I still don't understand the point of the opening scene to the story, and the first half is basically picking up their crew around different areas and gathering information. There are moments of adventure or these events that happen - but they didn't pull me in or have me stressed for the characters.
I think that was the big thing for me. I didn't feel like the characters were well developed and I think that was due to the format of the storytelling. Since it's Amina telling her story to a scribe, I feel like we never actually get to truly know her character. And the random interjections where she replies to the scribe - who remains off page through the main story - completely pulled me out of the story with a jarring effect.
Everything is tell, not show. Which is evident by the very many long descriptions. So. Many. Descriptions. Don't get me wrong, I love details. But I found myself skimming because I truly didn't care about all of the tiny details in this random library that had nothing to do with the story. Anyways, I did like the side characters, but even they felt underdeveloped.
I will say that there were some unique elements and Chakraborty does have good writing. The ending was also done really well - it was great to have a character from the Daevabad world show up, and the reveal at the end was well done! I'm glad I didn't DNF it, but I'm still not sure if I'd continue with the series.
Moderate: Cursing, Death, Violence, Kidnapping, Murder, and Injury/Injury detail
Minor: Body horror, Misogyny, Slavery, Torture, Blood, Abandonment, and War
purplepenning's review against another edition
- Plot- or character-driven? A mix
- Strong character development? Yes
- Loveable characters? Yes
- Diverse cast of characters? Yes
5.0
Graphic: Body horror, Gore, Violence, Murder, and Injury/Injury detail
Moderate: Animal cruelty, Death, Emotional abuse, Homophobia, Sexism, Sexual content, Torture, Xenophobia, Blood, Grief, Cannibalism, Fire/Fire injury, Alcohol, Colonisation, and Classism
Minor: Alcoholism, Animal death, Rape, Slavery, and Abandonment