kylosten's review against another edition
adventurous
dark
emotional
medium-paced
- 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: Classism, Xenophobia, and Addiction
Moderate: Slavery, Sexual content, Child abuse, Mental illness, Violence, Emotional abuse, and Racial slurs
Minor: Injury/Injury detail, Genocide, Grief, Gun violence, and Suicidal thoughts
caseythereader's review
adventurous
challenging
dark
emotional
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? Yes
4.0
Graphic: Grief, Gun violence, Death, Drug use, Abandonment, Ableism, Child abuse, Classism, Gore, Vomit, Cursing, Injury/Injury detail, Police brutality, Violence, Blood, Colonisation, Death of parent, Murder, Drug abuse, Addiction, Child death, Medical content, and Slavery
Moderate: Sexual content
jashanac's review against another edition
dark
emotional
hopeful
mysterious
tense
medium-paced
- 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 received a free e-book copy of this book from NetGalley in exchange for an honest review**
I started the book and I immediately felt like I could see this world. And I immediately appreciated that we were following Sylah, one of the main characters, who has a drug addiction. In the first bit of the book, Sylah's entire existence is focused on getting more of the drug she is addicted to.
However, for the first bit of the book, I was considering dnf-ing. But I already dnf-ed a different anticipated release from NetGalley and I really didn't want to do that again. So I told myself I'd give it to 50%. Around 30%, it started to pick up for me, and then by 40-50% I was pretty much hooked.
These characters are flawed and their relationships with each other become complicated, but I became SO invested in them. They felt so incredibly well-fleshed-out. They felt like real people! And I love that the romance was complex and didn't necessarily end up in a neat & tidy way. Also... without spoiling anything I'll just say that there was a bit of a love triangle situation happening that genuinely made sense and worked well (in my opinion, obviously)... ?!?!?!
AND -- one of my most haaaated tropes is The Big Lie. This book used that but once again, in a way that made sense to me and literally not for one second did it frustrate me or annoy me. TRULY SHOCKING.
And this world is so interesting and complex and MYSTERIOUS! THAT ENDING?!?!?!?! HELLO?!?!?!?!
I just think this is one of the most solid debuts I have read in a good long while, and I can't wait for the rest of the series... !
THEMES I SAW: Caste system. Oppression (& suppression) of a group of people. Lost/hidden true history of an empire. Long competition (over a couple of months) to determine new leadership (upper caste). Lack of education used as a tool to keep people down.
I started the book and I immediately felt like I could see this world. And I immediately appreciated that we were following Sylah, one of the main characters, who has a drug addiction. In the first bit of the book, Sylah's entire existence is focused on getting more of the drug she is addicted to.
However, for the first bit of the book, I was considering dnf-ing. But I already dnf-ed a different anticipated release from NetGalley and I really didn't want to do that again. So I told myself I'd give it to 50%. Around 30%, it started to pick up for me, and then by 40-50% I was pretty much hooked.
These characters are flawed and their relationships with each other become complicated, but I became SO invested in them. They felt so incredibly well-fleshed-out. They felt like real people! And I love that the romance was complex and didn't necessarily end up in a neat & tidy way. Also... without spoiling anything I'll just say that there was a bit of a love triangle situation happening that genuinely made sense and worked well (in my opinion, obviously)... ?!?!?!
AND -- one of my most haaaated tropes is The Big Lie. This book used that but once again, in a way that made sense to me and literally not for one second did it frustrate me or annoy me. TRULY SHOCKING.
And this world is so interesting and complex and MYSTERIOUS! THAT ENDING?!?!?!?! HELLO?!?!?!?!
I just think this is one of the most solid debuts I have read in a good long while, and I can't wait for the rest of the series... !
THEMES I SAW: Caste system. Oppression (& suppression) of a group of people. Lost/hidden true history of an empire. Long competition (over a couple of months) to determine new leadership (upper caste). Lack of education used as a tool to keep people down.
Spoiler
Colonization. Attempted genocide of indigenous population.Graphic: Drug use, Classism, Blood, Drug abuse, Suicide attempt, and Torture
Moderate: Gun violence, Violence, and Child abuse
Minor: Child death
More...