abookwormspov'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
4.75
Graphic: Child death, Pregnancy, Alcohol, Alcoholism, Rape, Sexual assault, Sexual violence, Sexual harassment, and Suicidal thoughts
ctara2123's review against another edition
- Plot- or character-driven? A mix
- Strong character development? Yes
- Loveable characters? It's complicated
- Diverse cast of characters? Yes
- Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes
3.75
Graphic: Violence and Suicidal thoughts
Moderate: Animal death, Sexual assault, Xenophobia, Child abuse, and Death
Minor: Rape, War, and Child death
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” deathsmitinghedgehog'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
4.75
Moderate: Emotional abuse, Grief, Toxic relationship, Suicidal thoughts, Misogyny, Sexual violence, Sexual assault, Pregnancy, Alcoholism, Miscarriage, Death, Child death, Child abuse, Rape, and Sexism
Minor: Animal death
eetishmeh's review against another edition
- Strong character development? Yes
- Loveable characters? Yes
- Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes
5.0
Tess is a compelling character whose self-deprecating thoughts I relate to. My past isn't the same as hers, yet the way we deal with our problems internally is extremely similar. I love how Rachel Hartman wrote her struggle, weaved together with amazing vocabulary and detailed worldbuilding as Tess put her boots on and walked the endless road.
Her journey of self discovery begs one to look inwards and wonder—could I do the same?
If you're asking that, well, that's already the first step, isn't it?
Graphic: Alcoholism, Pregnancy, Suicidal thoughts, and Misogyny
Moderate: Animal death and Child death
Minor: Cursing, Rape, and Sexual assault
Please look up content warnings before reading the book! I may have missed a few thingswizardingwisteria'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
3.0
I found it difficult to keep track of the characters, particularly in the first half of the book. Lot of people fufilling lots of different roles and the list of characters in the back of the book doesn't help because they all only have a few words to describe them and they don't describe them very well.
I really started to enjoy the narrative in the second half. About half way through the book I reached a point where I didn't want to put it down. But even then there were sections that really lulled. The pacing was inconsistent and it was obvious while I was waiting for those action moments.
I wasn't a huge fan of the writing style. I found that it was taken way too seriously when nothing was happening in the narrative.
It was an entertaining read towards the end, but largely depressing.
Graphic: Child abuse, Miscarriage, Misogyny, Suicidal thoughts, and Child death
Moderate: Gore and Blood
eulalie'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
4.5
Graphic: Dementia, Rape, Religious bigotry, Child abuse, Emotional abuse, and Sexual violence
Moderate: Pregnancy, Child death, and Suicidal thoughts
Minor: Excrement, Ableism, Vomit, Miscarriage, Animal death, and Fire/Fire injury
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
sayhar13'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
4.0
Graphic: Pregnancy
Moderate: Adult/minor relationship, Dementia, and Suicidal thoughts
Minor: Sexual assault and Miscarriage