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mmoran22's review against another edition
adventurous
emotional
hopeful
inspiring
sad
fast-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? A mix
- Strong character development? No
- Loveable characters? It's complicated
- Diverse cast of characters? Yes
- Flaws of characters a main focus? No
2.5
I really wanted to love this book, but it felt like every three pages there was a plot twist or a scene change or a new character who you’ll never see again etc etc. The characters are fine, but I think if you’re going to make young/immature main characters then there should be more focus on their growth and development than what happened in this book. The world building was awesome, I liked seeing a magical world through this lens, but the plot and the characters didn’t do it for me
Content Warnings
Graphic: Child abuse, Genocide, Physical abuse, Racism, Slavery, Death of parent, and Colonisation
Moderate: Drug abuse, Drug use, Sexual violence, Torture, Trafficking, Murder, Pregnancy, Injury/Injury detail, and Classism
Minor: Violence and War
pernrider's review against another edition
adventurous
emotional
inspiring
tense
fast-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? Plot
- Strong character development? Yes
- Loveable characters? It's complicated
- Diverse cast of characters? Yes
- Flaws of characters a main focus? No
5.0
Content Warnings
Graphic: Genocide, Racism, Torture, Violence, Xenophobia, Trafficking, Grief, Death of parent, and Murder
Moderate: Death, Physical abuse, Slavery, Torture, Police brutality, Trafficking, War, and Injury/Injury detail
Minor: Child death, Sexual assault, and Pregnancy
ina0ina's review against another edition
adventurous
dark
emotional
sad
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? It's complicated
3.5
Content Warnings
Graphic: Racism, Slavery, Torture, Violence, and War
metaphorsandmisc's review against another edition
adventurous
mysterious
medium-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? Character
- Strong character development? No
- Loveable characters? It's complicated
- Diverse cast of characters? Yes
- Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes
2.75
Content Warnings
Graphic: Confinement, Death, Racism, Torture, and Classism
Moderate: Grief, Death of parent, Fire/Fire injury, and War
Minor: Rape
roseleebooks's review against another edition
adventurous
tense
fast-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? Plot
- Strong character development? It's complicated
- Loveable characters? It's complicated
- Diverse cast of characters? Yes
- Flaws of characters a main focus? No
3.5
This book introduces us to a world on the verge of war, seen through the eyes of Dèmi, a young Oluso (magic user). The Oluso are in hiding, magic is forbidden in their world, and Dèmi is hiding secrets that would get her killed by the rulers of the kingdom.
I loved how strong a person Dèmi is in this story. She is powerful and holds to her identity and ideals. A really wonderful MC to follow and I'm looking forward to seeing how she grows in the next book.
The pace of this book is very fast, and I found myself wishing for some more internal dialogue or reflection to help me frame the information. There is one particular chapter in which there are several reveals about multiple characters and I had to reread it and review a previous chapter to understand what was going on. There was a little more explanation/review of that information later in the book which I appreciated, but it would have been helpful closer to the events as well. I also felt the relationship/love interest subplot could have been developed more, but suspect this will be explored in the next book.We see Dèmi receive some warnings about the love interest so this may contribute to the plot going forward.
Although there were some things I thought could have been developed more, the world building, main character, and setup for the next book were all well done and I'll be looking forward to reading the rest of the story.
I loved how strong a person Dèmi is in this story. She is powerful and holds to her identity and ideals. A really wonderful MC to follow and I'm looking forward to seeing how she grows in the next book.
The pace of this book is very fast, and I found myself wishing for some more internal dialogue or reflection to help me frame the information. There is one particular chapter in which there are several reveals about multiple characters and I had to reread it and review a previous chapter to understand what was going on. There was a little more explanation/review of that information later in the book which I appreciated, but it would have been helpful closer to the events as well. I also felt the relationship/love interest subplot could have been developed more, but suspect this will be explored in the next book.
Although there were some things I thought could have been developed more, the world building, main character, and setup for the next book were all well done and I'll be looking forward to reading the rest of the story.
Content Warnings
Graphic: Child death, Death, Slavery, Torture, Violence, Xenophobia, Medical content, Grief, Death of parent, Colonisation, War, and Injury/Injury detail
Minor: Rape
mj001's review against another edition
adventurous
tense
medium-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? Plot
- Strong character development? No
- Loveable characters? No
- Diverse cast of characters? Yes
- Flaws of characters a main focus? No
2.75
I find the premise of the book interesting. However, in the end, I don’t think I liked it. Colin was a man-child 90% of the time, Demi called her Mother “Mommy” even though she was an adult, which I’m sorry, but is an ick for me. Jonas was cool. There’s a lot happening at the same time, some of the dialogues at time make zero sense and there are so many gods and like separate magic species that I did get very confused at times. Not sure why water sprites exist to be honest. They bring nothing to the book. The part of the book when they were in the forest was completely unnecessary in my opinion. The fight with the King somehow gives me “a court of thorns and roses” vibe. And also Demi is like a holier than thou person which is very YA and that’s what this book is…YA that’s being marketed as Adult. Not sure if I will read book 2.
Content Warnings
Minor: Hate crime, Physical abuse, Racism, Rape, Sexual assault, Sexual violence, Slavery, Suicide, Torture, Violence, Xenophobia, Police brutality, and War
shelvesofivy's review against another edition
adventurous
emotional
hopeful
tense
slow-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? Plot
- Strong character development? Yes
- Loveable characters? It's complicated
- Diverse cast of characters? Yes
- Flaws of characters a main focus? It's complicated
4.25
From my first impressions of the STUNNING cover and the synopsis of a fantasy inspired by Nigerian mythology, I was super excited to get to this book. Once I got into the story, the author's way with words became clear: she gives very poetic and vibrant descriptions of Dèmi's emotions and the world around her.
Despite the lovely prose, it admittedly took me a while to become invested in the story. There seemed to be a slight imbalance between exposition and action, giving the feeling of a slow plot—despite the fact that this was not a slow or low stakes story by any means at all.
Around the halfway point, I finally felt hooked by the action and intrigue going on. I can't wait to see what the next book has in store for the characters and their (and my) unanswered questions. This is also the type of book that I'll definitely need to reread! There was a mix of twists that I predicted and did not, so I'd be interested to see all of the foreshadowing in hindsight. (I also want to reread a finished edition; since I originally read an unproofed copy, there were some punctuation and formatting errors)
When it comes to the characters, they really shine! Dèmi makes an incredible protagonist who's both strong and flawed. She has strong beliefs and her actions align with those beliefs throughout the book.
I adored one of the love interests from the beginning, and even though the other one annoyed me (as is usually the case when I read love triangles), I still grew to at least appreciate his character.
This is not a light story by any means (please check CWs!), but it remains hopeful and even humorous at times with the character dynamics. The moments of banter and heart are what I live for, and this delivered ♡
|| Thank you William Morrow Books for the advance reader's copy! I won this arc in a Storygraph giveaway, but all opinions in this review are my own. ||
Despite the lovely prose, it admittedly took me a while to become invested in the story. There seemed to be a slight imbalance between exposition and action, giving the feeling of a slow plot—despite the fact that this was not a slow or low stakes story by any means at all.
Around the halfway point, I finally felt hooked by the action and intrigue going on. I can't wait to see what the next book has in store for the characters and their (and my) unanswered questions. This is also the type of book that I'll definitely need to reread! There was a mix of twists that I predicted and did not, so I'd be interested to see all of the foreshadowing in hindsight. (I also want to reread a finished edition; since I originally read an unproofed copy, there were some punctuation and formatting errors)
When it comes to the characters, they really shine! Dèmi makes an incredible protagonist who's both strong and flawed. She has strong beliefs and her actions align with those beliefs throughout the book.
I adored one of the love interests from the beginning, and even though the other one annoyed me (as is usually the case when I read love triangles), I still grew to at least appreciate his character.
This is not a light story by any means (please check CWs!), but it remains hopeful and even humorous at times with the character dynamics. The moments of banter and heart are what I live for, and this delivered ♡
|| Thank you William Morrow Books for the advance reader's copy! I won this arc in a Storygraph giveaway, but all opinions in this review are my own. ||
Content Warnings
Graphic: Racial slurs, Racism, Slavery, Violence, Grief, Death of parent, Sexual harassment, and Injury/Injury detail
Moderate: Confinement, Death, and Torture
Minor: Drug use, Genocide, and Rape