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smcwhorter's review against another edition
adventurous
dark
emotional
hopeful
tense
fast-paced
- 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
lunoreads's review
adventurous
emotional
medium-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? Character
- Strong character development? Yes
- Loveable characters? It's complicated
- Diverse cast of characters? Yes
- Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes
2.0
Tbh it really fell flat for me. The author has no sense of timing events. Specifically the intimate moments felt out of place and overall like a desperate attempt to make maximise the diversity rather than making the characters actually interesting. The plot had potential but didn’t use much of it. The magic system is flawed from the beginning & only gets worse during the story
anigirl524's review against another edition
adventurous
dark
mysterious
tense
medium-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? A mix
- Strong character development? Yes
- Diverse cast of characters? Yes
- Flaws of characters a main focus? No
3.25
ardentbookcooks's review
adventurous
inspiring
tense
fast-paced
- 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
Chaotic magic, mysteries, defending yourself and your friends, fighting for your rights, and polyamory? What more could one ask for?
storm_cloud's review
adventurous
mysterious
fast-paced
- 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? It's complicated
3.0
vanessa_idfc's review
adventurous
dark
emotional
medium-paced
- 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
I loved the plot, the details of the alchemy/magic explained, the perspectives and views that were complex and thought through. Ich loved the character that had depth and were lovable. I loved that it wasn't predictable. And I loved the queerness and diversity. Incredibly well written book.
watchoutforfrogs's review against another edition
3.75
Things I liked:
- the central relationships were sweet and I was rooting for them to work out
- the plot was well paced and well balanced; simple enough that it gave the romance aspects space to breathe, but not so simple as to be super predictable
- the characters were well developed and engaging
- the prose was on the whole very readable and effective
- the casual queer and trans rep was lovely to read
Things I didn't like so much:
- the worldbuilding felt inconsistent and implausible in places, particularly the contradictory place of alchemy in society (only for the powerful elite, yet other powerful elites wanted all alchemists to be killed? it felt a bit like that was done so that the main character could feel excluded from 'high society' AND hated and feared for his magic at the same time)
- I wasn't wholly convinced by the ending, and I didn't find Ash's character arc that deep or engaging or satisfying--also, the narration kept overexplaining stuff about his character throughout, i.e. it would be shown perfectly well and *then* told to the reader as if we wouldn't get it
Overall, a good read that really shone when it came to portraying sweet romance.
sunnie's review
adventurous
mysterious
tense
fast-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? Plot
- Strong character development? Yes
- Loveable characters? Yes
- Diverse cast of characters? Yes
- Flaws of characters a main focus? No
2.5
kukuno_a's review
medium-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? A mix
- Strong character development? It's complicated
- Loveable characters? It's complicated
- Diverse cast of characters? It's complicated
- Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes
3.0