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bruhbruh's review against another edition
challenging
emotional
inspiring
reflective
medium-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? No
4.5
Content Warnings
Graphic: Genocide, Hate crime, Slavery, Xenophobia, Police brutality, Religious bigotry, Death of parent, War, Classism, and Deportation
some_random_person_hi's review against another edition
adventurous
emotional
tense
fast-paced
- 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? It's complicated
4.75
This book:
-made me so emotional that I screamed out loud at one point and cried during the end of the Acknowledgements
-was a learning experience that I personally should not read something without spoilers
-was a pageturner
-has a very exciting ending
Content Warnings
Graphic: Hate crime, Racism, Toxic relationship, Grief, Death of parent, and Abandonment
Moderate: Death, Sexual content, Violence, Xenophobia, Blood, Murder, Cultural appropriation, Alcohol, and Injury/Injury detail
Minor: Fire/Fire injury and War
oliverreeds's review against another edition
adventurous
emotional
tense
medium-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? Character
- Strong character development? It's complicated
- Loveable characters? Yes
- Diverse cast of characters? Yes
- Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes
4.75
Content Warnings
Graphic: Child death, Death, Genocide, Hate crime, Racism, Police brutality, Grief, Death of parent, and Classism
marshiereads's review against another edition
adventurous
challenging
dark
emotional
hopeful
inspiring
mysterious
reflective
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? Yes
4.5
I really and truly liked this book! The author had me from the very beginning with a timeline. Some fantasy novels can drag you through the trenches trying to learn their world and this one is not one of them! I feel like I’m along for the ride, learning about it with her rather than in spite of her. I’m gonna talk specific so spoilers ahead. Also please look at the trigger warnings for this book if that applies as this book has a lot!!
The inner turmoil of both, but especially, Ayla and Crier had me reading the book in only a couple sittings. I almost couldn’t put it down. Trying to figure out what was and wasn’t one of Kinok’s manipulations had me reeling to the literal last pages of the book. I mean wow! The romance was certainly a part of the plot but this is not a “romance book” it is fantasy first but it still felt completely integral and not just thrown in there. I was also a fan of the fact that it wasn’t one of those “we can’t do this because it’s wrong because it’s gay” because frankly as an lgbtq+ person myself I was grateful for some relenting on that narrative choice. There still was an element of “wrongness” but more because on girl literally wanted to kill the other. Overall an excellent start to the series and I cannot wait to read the second (I’ve got it on hold now).
Content Warnings
Graphic: Child death, Death, Genocide, Gore, Hate crime, Racism, Suicidal thoughts, Violence, Xenophobia, Police brutality, Grief, Death of parent, Murder, Gaslighting, Injury/Injury detail, and Classism
Moderate: Animal death, Body horror, and Blood
Minor: Miscarriage
starccato's review against another edition
adventurous
challenging
dark
emotional
hopeful
mysterious
reflective
tense
medium-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? Yes
3.25
Content Warnings
Graphic: Death, Genocide, Misogyny, Sexism, Toxic relationship, Violence, Blood, Grief, Murder, Gaslighting, and Colonisation
Moderate: Child abuse, Child death, Emotional abuse, Gore, Hate crime, Death of parent, Abandonment, and Injury/Injury detail
Minor: Confinement, Infertility, Mental illness, Self harm, Sexual content, Police brutality, Fire/Fire injury, Cultural appropriation, and Alcohol
caidyn's review against another edition
adventurous
mysterious
tense
medium-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? A mix
- Strong character development? Yes
- Loveable characters? It's complicated
- Diverse cast of characters? It's complicated
- Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes
3.5
On the reread, I liked it better. There were definitely some flaws still, but I enjoyed it more. Onto the next!
I received an ARC through Edelweiss in exchange for an honest review!
I am so torn about this book.
At some points, it was so amazing. And at others, it was dragging. I will say, at the time of this review, I plan on reading the rest of the series. I'll reread this book and I think that I might enjoy it more a second time through. This might change as I reflect and read more opinions, but it was a very clever book with an interesting fantasci world that I would be interested in revisiting.
So, we're going to do a bullet point review.
What I liked:
☁️ The world. It was very clever. There are humans and then there are automae, or machines. The machines rule, but it wasn't always that way. There are humans trying to fight the status quo, of course, and there are people within the machines who don't agree with what's going on. But, I thought the world was so unique. I've never read anything like that.
☁️ The general plot. It was fun and took me on a ride that I wasn't expecting. It was just so damn cool.
☁️ Ayla! I really liked Ayla. She's the human who somehow finds herself in the royal intrigue going on. I totally understood her and I just loved her. She was fun to read about!
What I didn't like:
☁️ The political intrigue. It just... fell flat for me? That's what it comes down to. All the intrigue fell flat. I wasn't that intrigued by it because I got it right away. While the world was clever, I didn't think the intrigue was.
☁️ Where the plot went. What goes with what I mentioned above is that I wasn't a huge fan of where the plot wound up. Sure, it was nice and it took me on a ride, but I wasn't emotionally invested in it whatsoever. When the ending hit, I kind of rolled my eyes about it.
☁️ The romance. This is kind of touted as an f/f romance with enemies to lovers, but I didn't feel that way about it. Yes, they kinda get together. Kinda. I never really believed how they got together and I want to emphasize that they didn't really get together. It was more like the Captive Prince series where it's going to take multiple books. But, it fell flat for me. I was bored by it and I was really anticipating that part of it.
☁️ Crier! I wasn't into her. Yes, I got her struggle. Yes, I got her identity questions. Yes, I got it all. But I didn't love her chapters as much.
☁️ The angst. What can I say? It got boring. The romantic angst got stale for me.
Overall, as I said, I plan on reading the rest of the series. When I get wind of the second book, I'll reread this to decide if I want to try the rest of the series. I think this has a lot of potential and that people are going to like it, but it didn't live up to the hype for me.
I received an ARC through Edelweiss in exchange for an honest review!
I am so torn about this book.
At some points, it was so amazing. And at others, it was dragging. I will say, at the time of this review, I plan on reading the rest of the series. I'll reread this book and I think that I might enjoy it more a second time through. This might change as I reflect and read more opinions, but it was a very clever book with an interesting fantasci world that I would be interested in revisiting.
So, we're going to do a bullet point review.
What I liked:
☁️ The world. It was very clever. There are humans and then there are automae, or machines. The machines rule, but it wasn't always that way. There are humans trying to fight the status quo, of course, and there are people within the machines who don't agree with what's going on. But, I thought the world was so unique. I've never read anything like that.
☁️ The general plot. It was fun and took me on a ride that I wasn't expecting. It was just so damn cool.
☁️ Ayla! I really liked Ayla. She's the human who somehow finds herself in the royal intrigue going on. I totally understood her and I just loved her. She was fun to read about!
What I didn't like:
☁️ The political intrigue. It just... fell flat for me? That's what it comes down to. All the intrigue fell flat. I wasn't that intrigued by it because I got it right away. While the world was clever, I didn't think the intrigue was.
☁️ Where the plot went. What goes with what I mentioned above is that I wasn't a huge fan of where the plot wound up. Sure, it was nice and it took me on a ride, but I wasn't emotionally invested in it whatsoever. When the ending hit, I kind of rolled my eyes about it.
☁️ The romance. This is kind of touted as an f/f romance with enemies to lovers, but I didn't feel that way about it. Yes, they kinda get together. Kinda. I never really believed how they got together and I want to emphasize that they didn't really get together. It was more like the Captive Prince series where it's going to take multiple books. But, it fell flat for me. I was bored by it and I was really anticipating that part of it.
☁️ Crier! I wasn't into her. Yes, I got her struggle. Yes, I got her identity questions. Yes, I got it all. But I didn't love her chapters as much.
☁️ The angst. What can I say? It got boring. The romantic angst got stale for me.
Overall, as I said, I plan on reading the rest of the series. When I get wind of the second book, I'll reread this to decide if I want to try the rest of the series. I think this has a lot of potential and that people are going to like it, but it didn't live up to the hype for me.
Content Warnings
Graphic: Death, Hate crime, Police brutality, and Death of parent