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iforgotilivedhere'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? It's complicated
4.5
But surprisingly, I actually really enjoyed this book. Now, by no means is this book good. The term “mind rape” is used too much, there’s a lot of incest, and some very dumb things that happen in this book, but I absolutely loved the main character, Kihrin, especially his angst with Teraeth. I don’t much care about Janel, but I will read her book shortly so, I can’t have much of an opinion on her yet.
My main problem with this book was how often rape is used. I did like that we didn’t just let Talon go on what she did to Kihrin. There were actual parts where we saw that Kihrin did feel grief and pain from the traumas that the D’Mons put him through and I liked that! I would like some more queer rep tho, but I know there’s gonna be more.
I absolutely love Thurvishar. That man is amazing.
Graphic: Body horror, Bullying, Child abuse, Child death, Confinement, Gore, Homophobia, Incest, Misogyny, Pedophilia, Rape, Sexism, Sexual assault, Slavery, Violence, Blood, Kidnapping, Death of parent, and Classism
gummiefox's review against another edition
- Plot- or character-driven? A mix
4.0
Graphic: Body horror, Child abuse, Confinement, Death, Domestic abuse, Gore, Incest, Misogyny, Physical abuse, Rape, Sexism, Sexual assault, Sexual content, Sexual violence, Slavery, Torture, Violence, Blood, Death of parent, Murder, Alcohol, and Classism
adragoninspace'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
4.25
Moderate: Body horror, Death, Gore, Homophobia, Incest, Rape, Sexual assault, Sexual content, Sexual violence, Slavery, Torture, Blood, Vomit, Trafficking, Kidnapping, Grief, Death of parent, Murder, Alcohol, and Injury/Injury detail
marleens's review against another edition
- Plot- or character-driven? Plot
- Strong character development? It's complicated
- Loveable characters? Yes
- Diverse cast of characters? Yes
- Flaws of characters a main focus? No
3.5
Graphic: Body horror, Slavery, and Violence
Moderate: Incest and Rape
anni_swanilda'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
4.25
Graphic: Bullying, Child abuse, Confinement, Death, Domestic abuse, Emotional abuse, Gore, Physical abuse, Slavery, Torture, Toxic relationship, Violence, Vomit, Grief, Death of parent, Murder, Injury/Injury detail, and Classism
Moderate: Body horror, Incest, Blood, Kidnapping, and Alcohol
Minor: Rape
flowerpaladin's review against another edition
This book's biggest problems (for me) were 1. the story structure and 2. the gruesome content. The story is told from multiple points-of-view from different time periods, but all about the same character. On top of that, the world-building is extremely confusing. I had to pause and re-read entire pages sometimes, which isn't something I ever really have to do. And so far as I can tell, this POV-shifting is completely unnecessary. I would've enjoyed the story a lot more if it had just stuck with Khirin's POV.
As for the second issue, slavery is a topic that is a personal squick for me, and I usually try to avoid it. It was pretty prominent right at the beginning of this book, but since the book is queer, I tried to persevere, thinking maybe it wouldn't be a major plot point. But it is. It doesn't seem like it ever really moves away from this concept of characters being owned, abused, raped, and murdered by other characters. That is just too dark and too horrific for me to stomach.
It's my hope that we'll start to see more and more queer high fantasy stories that center hope and love instead of wading through dark topics like rape and murder and slavery. I'm not condemning books like that. I just really wish I could find the ones that were more like what I'm looking for... what I really need in my life right now.
Graphic: Body horror, Death, Gore, Rape, Slavery, Torture, and Violence
andromeda_1998'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
4.0
Graphic: Body horror, Bullying, Child abuse, Child death, Confinement, Cursing, Death, Domestic abuse, Emotional abuse, Genocide, Gore, Incest, Mental illness, Misogyny, Physical abuse, Rape, Sexual assault, Sexual content, Sexual violence, Slavery, Torture, Violence, Blood, Trafficking, Kidnapping, Grief, Death of parent, Gaslighting, Toxic friendship, Alcohol, Colonisation, War, and Classism
roguesaw's review against another edition
- Plot- or character-driven? Plot
- Strong character development? Yes
- Loveable characters? N/A
- Diverse cast of characters? Yes
3.5
Graphic: Physical abuse, Torture, Violence, Murder, and Injury/Injury detail
Moderate: Body horror, Gore, Rape, Blood, and War
Minor: Incest
anapthine's review against another edition
- Plot- or character-driven? A mix
- Strong character development? No
- Loveable characters? No
- Diverse cast of characters? It's complicated
- Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes
1.5
Graphic: Adult/minor relationship, Body horror, Bullying, Child abuse, Confinement, Cursing, Deadnaming, Death, Domestic abuse, Emotional abuse, Gore, Homophobia, Incest, Misogyny, Physical abuse, Rape, Sexism, Sexual assault, Sexual violence, Slavery, Torture, Toxic relationship, Violence, Forced institutionalization, Blood, Trafficking, Grief, Death of parent, Murder, Gaslighting, Alcohol, Sexual harassment, War, Injury/Injury detail, and Classism
Moderate: Biphobia, Homophobia, and Kidnapping
Minor: Pedophilia and Pregnancy
booksthatburn's review against another edition
Graphic: Death and Gore
Moderate: Body horror, Slavery, Torture, and Blood
Minor: Sexual assault