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sophiesmallhands's review against another edition
- Plot- or character-driven? Plot
- Strong character development? Yes
- Loveable characters? Yes
- Diverse cast of characters? Yes
- Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes
4.5
Graphic: Death, Violence, Blood, and Murder
Moderate: Cursing, Gore, Misogyny, Sexism, Torture, Vomit, Kidnapping, Colonisation, Injury/Injury detail, and Classism
Minor: Body horror, Deadnaming, Genocide, Homophobia, Infidelity, Rape, Sexual content, Sexual violence, Slavery, Islamophobia, Trafficking, Grief, Religious bigotry, Death of parent, Pregnancy, Alcohol, Dysphoria, and War
chanlo1994'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: Death, Blood, Kidnapping, Grief, Cannibalism, Murder, Alcohol, and Injury/Injury detail
Moderate: Adult/minor relationship, Drug use, Genocide, Religious bigotry, Death of parent, and Fire/Fire injury
Minor: Confinement, Slavery, Transphobia, Islamophobia, and Pandemic/Epidemic
kesreads13'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? It's complicated
5.0
Graphic: Genocide, Violence, and Murder
Moderate: Torture and Colonisation
Minor: Sexism, Slavery, Transphobia, Blood, Islamophobia, and Trafficking
kiwij96's review against another edition
- Plot- or character-driven? A mix
- Strong character development? No
- Loveable characters? Yes
- Diverse cast of characters? Yes
- Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes
4.0
The story was engaging, with good characters: flawed people each with a deep history which brings them to life and makes them immediately likeable, and their relationships to each other are realistic and don't feel forced. And the plot developed at a reasonable pace, nothing felt rushed or out of place for the most part.
At about 65-70% of the way in, I personally felt like the plot lost its way a bit and absolutely could have been handled differently to make the book at least 100 pages shorter, and to be a fantastic standalone.
Graphic: Death, Genocide, Gore, Torture, Violence, Blood, Death of parent, Murder, Fire/Fire injury, and Injury/Injury detail
Moderate: Misogyny, Racism, Sexism, Xenophobia, Islamophobia, Grief, Religious bigotry, and Alcohol
kaylaswhitmore'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
5.0
I found myself quickly enamored with the writing style as well as Amina’s narration. Normally, I can be pretty wishy-washy about first person POV, but Chakraborty’s choice felt so valid and intriguing. And her mastery of suspense and foreshadowing (often so tongue-in-cheek) kept me curious the whole way through. It was so much fun to bite into the tidbits of information we were given while waiting to truly discover the whole of the story, and I loved that the world felt just as wondrous to Amina as it did to me as the reader. For the first half of the book I was questioning what made the story “fantasy,” just as Amina was doubtful of magic—but when the fantastical elements did kick in? Boy, was it worth the wait. It felt so vivid and overwhelming and exciting, even as I was left wanting more of the world and its characters.
On the note of characters, I also highly appreciated how diverse the cast truly was—without it ever feeling like pandering. In fact, one of my favorite things about the story was how whimsical it felt despite remaining grounded in reality. I loved that Amina being a fearsome, female pirate was both acknowledged but not overly emphasized the way some historical fiction can be. I loved that Timbu was openly gay (at least to the crew and character), yet was not subject to cruelty and suffering based on his sexuality. I loved that Jamal was woven so craftily into the narration of the story without his trans/fluid identity ever feeling like a simple plot device. Chakraborty’s choices of characterization felt so genuine and charmingly blasé that I couldn’t help but wish for even more of each character.
As this is starting to get a bit lengthy, I’ll cut myself off here…but I do hope that she continues this world in some way so that my enjoyment of her writing can go on! I’ll definitely return to reading this book again, and hope that others have similar feelings as me!
Graphic: Cursing, Death, Gore, Physical abuse, Toxic relationship, Violence, Blood, Religious bigotry, Murder, and Injury/Injury detail
Moderate: Addiction, Alcoholism, Genocide, Misogyny, Sexism, Slavery, Transphobia, Islamophobia, Grief, and Alcohol
Minor: Deadnaming and Rape
tabea1409'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
4.0
Graphic: Child abuse, Cursing, Death, Genocide, Gore, Misogyny, Sexism, Slavery, Torture, Violence, Blood, Islamophobia, Kidnapping, Grief, Religious bigotry, Death of parent, Murder, Fire/Fire injury, Gaslighting, Alcohol, Sexual harassment, Colonisation, War, Injury/Injury detail, and Classism
mariposa517'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: Cursing, Death, Genocide, Gore, Misogyny, Sexism, Violence, Blood, Islamophobia, Kidnapping, Murder, Fire/Fire injury, Alcohol, and Injury/Injury detail
Moderate: Animal cruelty, Body horror, Genocide, Pedophilia, Slavery, Toxic relationship, Violence, Cannibalism, Sexual harassment, and Colonisation
Minor: Animal death, Biphobia, Child abuse, Drug use, Homophobia, Infertility, Rape, Sexual content, Sexual violence, Transphobia, Death of parent, Pregnancy, Lesbophobia, and Dysphoria
frankenkat'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
4.5
Minor: Death, Genocide, and Slavery
talonsontypewriters'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? It's complicated
4.25
Graphic: Body horror, Death, Gore, Violence, Blood, Murder, and Injury/Injury detail
Moderate: Animal death, Confinement, Genocide, Misogyny, Sexism, Torture, Xenophobia, Islamophobia, Kidnapping, Fire/Fire injury, Alcohol, Colonisation, and Classism
Minor: Drug use, Pedophilia, Rape, Sexual assault, Sexual content, Slavery, Transphobia, Vomit, Cannibalism, Sexual harassment, Dysphoria, and War
futureofmydays'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
5.0
Graphic: Alcoholism, Death, Sexism, Sexual content, Toxic relationship, Violence, Blood, Islamophobia, Medical trauma, Murder, Fire/Fire injury, Alcohol, Colonisation, and Injury/Injury detail
Moderate: Genocide, Homophobia, Misogyny, Slavery, Torture, Trafficking, Grief, Sexual harassment, and Classism
Minor: Vomit