queer_bookwyrm's review
- Plot- or character-driven? Character
- Strong character development? Yes
- Loveable characters? Yes
- Diverse cast of characters? Yes
- Flaws of characters a main focus? No
4.0
Tess of the Road by Rachel Hartman is book one of the Tess of the Road duology and a spin off from the Seraphina duology. I've always said Rachel Hartman is a super underrated author. Her books tend to be a little slower moving, because of all the world-building, but I love to sink my teeth into this kind of thing. Plus, dragons! And dragon adjacent beings!
We follow Tess Dombegh, younger sister of Seraphina, after the events of Shadow Scale. Reading the Seraphina duology first isn't strictly necessary to read this, but it does help to have context. Set in medieval times, Tess is expected to be a virtuous and obedient lady, but Tess has always had a rebellious spirit no matter how many times her mother tried to spank it out of her. She was the spank magnet while her twin sister, Jeanne was the angel.
Hartman takes another scathing look at conservative religion, focusing on the idea of virginal purity and the shame that that is beaten into girls about their own bodies, vilifying themselves while excusing the men for the same behavior. When a traumatic event happens to Tess, she is consigned to being the younger sister and is given only two choices: care for her sister and become governess to her future children or go to a convent. Instead, Tess creates a third option by running away and becoming a child of the road disguised as a boy.
This is such a great adventure/coming of age story! Tess discovers a lot about herself and about the world. We also get a lot more world-building of the Southlands, specifically Ninys, whereas Seraphina mostly took place in Gorredd. We also learn a lot more about the quigutl, which I really appreciate. We see how humans and dragons alike are prejudiced against quigutl and take their language for granted. Tess's best friend is a quigutl named Pathka.
I appreciate Hartman's inclusion of medieval birth control practices, and conversations on consent. There is also a significant piece about conserving natural wonders instead of destroying them. It was also great to see the changes brought about after St. Jannoula's war in the previous series. Tess is sassy, strong, and pigheaded which was kind of annoying at times, but you have to admire her anarchic spirit.
I can't wait to see what she gets up to next!
Graphic: Pregnancy, Rape, and Child death
Moderate: Suicidal thoughts and Violence
Minor: Sexual content
cameronmh'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
4.0
Graphic: Blood, Body shaming, Classism, Colonisation, Confinement, Dementia, Injury/Injury detail, Kidnapping, Alcoholism, Emotional abuse, Gaslighting, Sexism, Sexual assault, Abandonment, Ableism, Addiction, Alcohol, Child abuse, Cursing, Death, Domestic abuse, Drug use, Grief, Religious bigotry, Sexual content, Sexual violence, Violence, Vomit, Medical content, Misogyny, Pregnancy, Racism, Rape, Sexual harassment, Suicidal thoughts, and Toxic relationship
Minor: Mental illness and Incest
There is a LOT of elder abuse, and it’s BAD abuse, andSpoiler
one of the elderly people who suffers this abuse also is victim to a pretty horrific “accidental” deathprinceblue33's review against another edition
- Plot- or character-driven? Character
- Strong character development? Yes
- Loveable characters? It's complicated
- Diverse cast of characters? N/A
3.5
Moderate: Sexual assault, Sexual content, Sexual harassment, Sexism, and Pregnancy
Minor: Vomit
balrogfemme'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? Yes
4.5
Graphic: Religious bigotry
Moderate: Sexism
Minor: Sexual content, Sexual assault, and Suicidal thoughts
elle_dee'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
5.0
Moderate: Animal death, Injury/Injury detail, Violence, Adult/minor relationship, Alcohol, Alcoholism, Abortion, Blood, Body horror, Child abuse, Child death, Grief, Kidnapping, Medical content, Medical trauma, Miscarriage, Misogyny, Panic attacks/disorders, Rape, Religious bigotry, Sexual content, Suicidal thoughts, Vomit, Body shaming, Bullying, Classism, Colonisation, Dementia, Domestic abuse, Dysphoria, Emotional abuse, Excrement, Gore, Mental illness, Pregnancy, Self harm, Sexism, Sexual assault, Sexual harassment, Sexual violence, and Toxic relationship
glenfleskie'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
5.0
This series has: a three person loving main relationship, a gender non conforming main character, a main character with ptsd, dragons, gay people(men?) accepted by society, a character that chooses to continue on every day, dragons that turn into people, a sex worker teaching a really important lesson on self acceptance, a woman as the boss of a road fixing crew, magic talking devices, a disabled character who is not portrayed as broken, gender neutral pronouns, giant magic snakes, mighty fine redemption arcs, and a character that grows as the book does.
Graphic: Alcoholism, Emotional abuse, Miscarriage, and Rape
Moderate: Toxic relationship, Suicidal thoughts, Sexual content, Sexism, Pregnancy, Misogyny, and Medical trauma