gillian_aftanas'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
4.75
Graphic: Animal death, Domestic abuse, Injury/Injury detail, Death of parent, Misogyny, Violence, Confinement, Death, Murder, Pedophilia, Animal cruelty, Gaslighting, Medical content, and Sexual content
Moderate: Forced institutionalization, Grief, Sexism, Sexual assault, Sexual harassment, Incest, Kidnapping, Blood, Emotional abuse, Rape, Torture, and Vomit
Minor: Child death and Abortion
martin27's review against another edition
- Plot- or character-driven? A mix
- Strong character development? Yes
- Loveable characters? It's complicated
- Diverse cast of characters? No
- Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes
3.0
It was fine and isn’t the worst book ever, but I’m not super committed to picking up any of the sequels. I will stress again that Katsa and Bitterblue have a great relationship that was really interesting, and I love that
Spoiler
Katsa, a woman who is committed to remaining childfree and unmarried, is not convinced that she actually did want children all along. Katsa loves kids and was very protective of Bitterblue, but that doesn’t mean she wants to have kids. It was a pleasant surprise to not have her shoved into a motherly role even when she has to take care of a kid for a third of the novel. Bitterblue is like a sister to her.Graphic: Death of parent, Injury/Injury detail, Death, and Gaslighting
Moderate: Animal cruelty, Vomit, Kidnapping, Child abuse, and Blood
Minor: Sexual harassment, Sexual content, and Misogyny
frankieclc's review against another edition
4.0
Graphic: Animal death, Animal cruelty, Violence, and Murder
Moderate: Injury/Injury detail and Child abuse
Minor: Pedophilia and Vomit
nabecker13's review against another edition
- Strong character development? Yes
- Loveable characters? Yes
- Diverse cast of characters? No
3.75
Graphic: Domestic abuse, Murder, Torture, Vomit, Child abuse, Death of parent, Grief, Sexual harassment, Animal cruelty, Death, Medical trauma, Physical abuse, Emotional abuse, Gaslighting, Stalking, Violence, Animal death, Blood, and Body horror
Minor: Child death
ottersilver's review against another edition
- Plot- or character-driven? A mix
- Strong character development? Yes
- Loveable characters? Yes
- Diverse cast of characters? It's complicated
- Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes
5.0
Graphic: Blood, Emotional abuse, Gaslighting, Violence, and Injury/Injury detail
Moderate: Vomit, Murder, and Torture
Minor: Animal cruelty, Death of parent, and Confinement
Spoiler
lots of violent fights between MCs with detailstalonsontypewriters's review against another edition
- Plot- or character-driven? A mix
- Strong character development? Yes
- Loveable characters? Yes
- Diverse cast of characters? It's complicated
- Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes
4.25
Graphic: Murder, Violence, Gaslighting, Injury/Injury detail, Animal death, and Death
Moderate: Emotional abuse, Child abuse, Death of parent, Domestic abuse, Kidnapping, Misogyny, Sexism, Sexual harassment, and Torture
Minor: Alcohol, Vomit, Sexual assault, Suicide, Pedophilia, Sexual content, War, Ableism, Animal cruelty, Incest, and Grief
Animal attack. Near drowning.claudiamacpherson'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
Moderate: Medical content, Ableism, Blood, Child abuse, Death, Death of parent, Emotional abuse, Gaslighting, Injury/Injury detail, Kidnapping, Murder, Physical abuse, and Violence
Minor: Animal death, Domestic abuse, Emotional abuse, Animal cruelty, Grief, Misogyny, Vomit, Outing, Sexual harassment, Sexism, and Torture
robin_reads'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: Animal death, Death of parent, Murder, and Violence
Moderate: Animal cruelty and Emotional abuse
Minor: Vomit
booksthatburn'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
It's about loneliness, abuse, and healing, including abuse to children and animals, so please be aware that those are major themes in the book.
The world building is solid, with enough detail to make later revelations feel important. The explanations feel natural, occurring as something happens or Katsa thinks of some detail. This makes it feel like the world is slowly being revealed even though early on it's not new to the protagonist. I like Po, he had a difficult set of things to balance and overall I like how he is with Katsa. His situation towards the end skirts some potentially problematic ableist tropes but manages to not make it seem like his late-acquired disability is what gives him greater control of his powers. YMMV on whether this works, I think it does because of the precise order of events.
Overall I like this a lot and I'm looking forward to reading the rest of the series.
Graphic: Murder and Death
Moderate: Sexism, Misogyny, Kidnapping, Child abuse, Animal cruelty, Medical content, Blood, Vomit, Violence, Torture, Animal death, Death of parent, and Child death
Minor: Sexual content and Sexual assault
lumberelk's review against another edition
- Plot- or character-driven? A mix
- Strong character development? Yes
- Loveable characters? Yes
- Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes
4.75
Graphic: Animal cruelty and Animal death
Moderate: Violence, Death, Murder, Emotional abuse, and Gaslighting
Minor: Pedophilia, Sexual harassment, and Vomit