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abby_can_read'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 thought this was a good book. I had a good time reading it. I liked the characters, Koffi and Ekon. I thought the pacing was off at times. I like the worldbuilding. I'm excited to see what happens in the sequel.
Graphic: Death, Blood, and Death of parent
Moderate: Drug use, Slavery, and Violence
Minor: Animal cruelty, Animal death, and Fire/Fire injury
renee_fae'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
Minor: Death, Violence, Blood, and Fire/Fire injury
scrubsandbooks'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
3.5
Graphic: Death, Slavery, Violence, Blood, and Death of parent
Moderate: Drug abuse and Drug use
Minor: Animal cruelty
katievallin'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
4.0
Graphic: Mental illness, Violence, Blood, Grief, and Death of parent
Moderate: Child death, Drug abuse, Toxic relationship, and Xenophobia
Minor: Abandonment
kat_rowlen's review against another edition
- Plot- or character-driven? Character
- Strong character development? Yes
- Loveable characters? Yes
- Diverse cast of characters? Yes
- Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes
4.25
Graphic: Death, Blood, Death of parent, and Injury/Injury detail
meghansarmiento97'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
4.5
Graphic: Animal cruelty, Animal death, Confinement, Death, Drug use, Physical abuse, Slavery, Forced institutionalization, Blood, Trafficking, Grief, Death of parent, and Injury/Injury detail
wizardingwisteria'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
4.5
Moderate: Animal cruelty and Slavery
Minor: Blood
nutmegandpumpkin'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
3.5
Plot: 2/5
Characters: 3/5
Dialogue: 3/5
Setting: 5/5
———
What I Didn’t Like:
• In my opinion it took a bit too long for the characters to get into the Greater Jungle (which seems to be the main plot point in the synopsis).
• There were a lot of names being dropped in the very beginning which made it a bit hard for me to keep track of
• I think the author’s clutch phrase is “Character A started to [blank] then thought better of it” (there were so many times that phrase was used that it became distracting)
•
• Not a fan of when conflict could be solved if characters JUST COMMUNICATED
• A bit confused by the end:
What I Liked:
• The first few chapters definitely intrigued me and although it took me quite a bit to get all the way through, I was interested in finding out what was going to happen next
• The writing was both easy to read and has some beautiful lines
• The world building felt well-developed and thought out (probably the highlight of the book for me)
• OCD rep
Graphic: Mental illness, Grief, and Fire/Fire injury
Moderate: Animal cruelty, Confinement, Death, Blood, Death of parent, Murder, Injury/Injury detail, and Classism
Minor: Alcohol
book_loving_dragon's review against another edition
- Plot- or character-driven? A mix
- Strong character development? Yes
- Loveable characters? Yes
- Diverse cast of characters? It's complicated
- Flaws of characters a main focus? It's complicated
5.0
Graphic: Gore, Blood, and Death of parent
Moderate: Drug use and Violence
Minor: Animal cruelty
stephbakerbooks'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
4.0
I loved the world-building in this one—the book starts with two maps so you know it's gonna be good. There's no info-dumping but things are clearly explained, and the magic system was so interesting! I'm constantly impressed by fantasy authors that continue to come up with unique ways for magic to work in their worlds. I also really loved the jungle setting here—I was getting Catching Fire vibes which definitely had me more on the edge of my seat!
The characters were also great. We spend the most time with Koffi and Ekon of course, and they get the development and complexity they're due as main characters, but I'd say it's more plot-focused than character-focused. There are some interesting side characters I would've like to spend more time with, but maybe that'll happen in book two.
The plot, like I said, started out really slow, and I think I felt this way because it just took forever for the characters to actually meet and start their journey in the jungle. There were also some repeated scenes from a different POV that slowed the pace down. But once it picked up, the plot pretty much hit all the points I was expecting from a YA fantasy—which is a good thing!
Overall, definitely a good fantasy story and I'm looking forward to reading book two!
Graphic: Death, Blood, and Death of parent
Moderate: Slavery and Violence
Minor: Animal cruelty and Drug use