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otterforce'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
4.0
The story and characters are both strong though and the very bad guys doing very bad (and sometimes graphic) things never feels gratuitous. It often reinforces the tension and stakes or serves the story. There’s are so many good people to offset the bad. I wouldn’t say the story is hopeful, but it’s also not overly bleak or dark.
I can’t wait to see how this series unfolds in later books.
Graphic: Bullying, Child abuse, Child death, Death, Emotional abuse, Genocide, Physical abuse, Racism, Slavery, Violence, Blood, Trafficking, Kidnapping, Grief, Death of parent, Murder, Injury/Injury detail, and Classism
Moderate: Confinement, Rape, Sexual assault, Sexual violence, Torture, and Abortion
Minor: Suicide
danaslitlist'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: Child abuse, Child death, Death, Emotional abuse, Gore, Physical abuse, Slavery, Suicide, Torture, Violence, Blood, Grief, Death of parent, Murder, Fire/Fire injury, Abandonment, Colonisation, War, and Injury/Injury detail
Moderate: Rape and Sexual harassment
tabea1409's review against another edition
- Plot- or character-driven? A mix
- Strong character development? Yes
- Loveable characters? Yes
- Diverse cast of characters? No
- Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes
3.5
Graphic: Child abuse, Child death, Cursing, Death, Emotional abuse, Gore, Misogyny, Physical abuse, Rape, Sexism, Sexual assault, Sexual violence, Slavery, Torture, Violence, Blood, Grief, Death of parent, Murder, Fire/Fire injury, Gaslighting, Sexual harassment, Injury/Injury detail, and Classism
kayceeisbookish'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
5.0
Moderate: Child death, Confinement, Death, Gore, Physical abuse, Rape, Slavery, Torture, Violence, Blood, Grief, Suicide attempt, Death of parent, Injury/Injury detail, and Classism
roseandivy's review against another edition
- Plot- or character-driven? Plot
- Strong character development? No
- Loveable characters? No
- Diverse cast of characters? It's complicated
- Flaws of characters a main focus? No
1.0
the first was elias as a character. listen, i like a morally gray mc, i like complicated people, i like characters rebelling against the systems they were raised in, but everything about this man fell so flat for me. he was boring, and the attempts at making him seem complicated were lackluster, and i couldn't buy the fact that despite being raised in blackcliff for the majority of his life, he somehow clung to the values he was taught as a five year old and became the sole mask to want to oppose the empire. he felt stilted and unrealistic, and i couldn't stand the way he talked about both laia and helene. his constant objectification of the both of them (especially when laia was enslaved) grossed me out so much,
which leads me into the handling of misogyny and rape in this book. it feels like rape is used as a plot device or for shock value so much. every other chapter one of the female characters is being threatened with rape, or is scared of being raped, or a male character is joking about rape. as a survivor i think having depictions of and discussions of rape culture in books is important, but this felt less like a genuine attempt to engage with the weight of rape as an atrocity and more like the author was just using it as a tool to demonstrate that certain people were villains, and the fact that this is a young adult novel just makes it more uncomfortable. i certainly could've done with mature and meaningful discussions of rape in books as a child and teen, given that that aligned with my experience, but i've seen this book recommended as for ages 12+, and i think reading this book that young would've been more damaging than helpful for me.
there are a lot of other things in this book i could critique-- the one-dimensional villains, the fact that i found laia so boring, the lack of care given to the inclusion of magical elements (so many things just come out of absolutely nowhere with no warning or explanation seemingly just because it's convenient, especially
unfortunately, my love for helene only made the end of this book even more disappointing.
overall, very disappointed, but it gets one star for helene. i considered reading the next book just to get her pov, and i might still do it, but at the moment it doesn't seem worth my time.
edit: i forgot laia is seventeen and elias is 20. yikes.
Graphic: Adult/minor relationship, Child death, Death, Gore, Physical abuse, Sexism, Slavery, Torture, Violence, Kidnapping, Grief, Death of parent, Murder, Sexual harassment, Colonisation, and Injury/Injury detail
Moderate: Rape, Sexual assault, Sexual content, Sexual violence, and Xenophobia
emilywemily6'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? No
5.0
Graphic: Bullying, Child abuse, Death, Misogyny, Physical abuse, Racism, Slavery, Torture, Violence, Blood, Police brutality, Grief, Murder, Injury/Injury detail, and Classism
Moderate: Child death, Cursing, Rape, Sexual assault, Kidnapping, Death of parent, and Gaslighting
Minor: Suicide, Vomit, Medical content, and Pregnancy
theresamothinmyroom's review against another edition
- Plot- or character-driven? Character
- Strong character development? Yes
- Loveable characters? It's complicated
- Diverse cast of characters? No
- Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes
3.5
Graphic: Child abuse, Child death, Death, Gore, Hate crime, Misogyny, Rape, Sexism, Sexual assault, Slavery, Torture, Violence, Blood, Vomit, Medical content, Trafficking, Grief, Death of parent, Abandonment, Sexual harassment, Injury/Injury detail, and Classism
Moderate: Confinement, Sexual content, Abortion, and Pregnancy
Minor: Alcohol
chocolatechump's review against another edition
- Plot- or character-driven? A mix
- Loveable characters? Yes
- Diverse cast of characters? Yes
4.0
Graphic: Child death, Cursing, Emotional abuse, Gore, Physical abuse, Slavery, Violence, Blood, and Murder
tabookish'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: Child death, Confinement, Death, Genocide, Physical abuse, Slavery, Torture, Violence, Blood, Kidnapping, Grief, Murder, Abandonment, and Classism
Moderate: Rape, Sexual assault, and Sexual harassment
hurricanyounot's review against another edition
- 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? Yes
4.5
Graphic: Body horror, Child abuse, Child death, Misogyny, Physical abuse, Sexual assault, Slavery, Torture, Violence, Blood, Murder, and Sexual harassment