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clarabooksit's review against another edition
adventurous
emotional
fast-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? Yes
3.25
Graphic: Death, Terminal illness, Violence, Religious bigotry, Murder, Fire/Fire injury, Gaslighting, and Colonisation
Moderate: Physical abuse, Grief, War, and Injury/Injury detail
Minor: Torture
athenathestorier's review against another edition
adventurous
emotional
tense
fast-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? Plot
- Strong character development? It's complicated
- Loveable characters? It's complicated
- Diverse cast of characters? Yes
- Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes
3.5
While not necessarily new in concept, I did find myself getting swept away by this story. The subplots and characters reminded me of Chima’s Heir Chronicles and Maas’s Throne of Glass series. I liked that we see a lot of racial diversity within the set-up of this fantasy world, with some of the same micro-aggressions and concerns that you would see in real life, especially within a melting pot country ripe with conflict. Also of note is that one of our 3 POVs/Main characters is a queer man, as well as a few support characters, and this is never made a big deal of within the story. This is representation that a lot of us have been calling for for a while.
However, the fast-paced story was so plot-driven that the characters felt like they were being excessively dragged by it. None of their actions really made a difference during the entire duration of this book. And even though Lu was presented to us as composed and battle-efficient, she loses any semblance of these traits at the mere mention of the real enemy or their associates. Granted, this is due to battle trauma, but we are led to believe that everyone wants her with them on the battlefield despite the ONLY show she’s done to warrant this is the escape at the very beginning of the book and the fact that she never spills their secrets. While I’m sure that book 2 plans to solve all of this, the description sounds like all 3 characters will be battling with same exact internal battles for a while yet.
Notable quotes:
"Lu clung to that pride like she clung to hope."
"Better to wound your ego with compromise than feed your own pride with blood."
Notable quotes:
"Lu clung to that pride like she clung to hope."
"Better to wound your ego with compromise than feed your own pride with blood."
Graphic: Emotional abuse and Religious bigotry
Moderate: Death, Torture, Colonisation, War, and Injury/Injury detail
Minor: Physical abuse and Racism
fruitea's review against another edition
dark
emotional
tense
slow-paced
4.0
thought it was just going to be a fun book about pirates but actually it made me cry a lot
Graphic: Physical abuse, Violence, and Injury/Injury detail
talkstofish's review against another edition
adventurous
challenging
dark
emotional
funny
hopeful
mysterious
tense
medium-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
5.0
This book was the first recommendation from Storygraph that I received and finished. I was absorbed into the storyline immediately. The book centers on 3 characters from different backgrounds: a prince of a country that maintains power through religious oppression, a woman who lived and fought through a revolution as a child to free her island from that country, and a man who was tortured by that country and lives on the fringes of the island's society. As the island is on the brink of a civil war and the oppressive colonizers make their own moves in the shadows, all the characters question and grow their world views as they try to prevent needless deaths at the hands of various "leaders". The ending of the first book is a tense and exciting cliffhanger, and I cannot wait to get started on the second book.
One of the 3 main characters is LGBTQIA+, as well as a few minor characters. It's normal in the world-building, but the first book doesn't contain any super happy functional relationships (for anyone, really) if that's what you're looking for.
One of the 3 main characters is LGBTQIA+, as well as a few minor characters. It's normal in the world-building, but the first book doesn't contain any super happy functional relationships (for anyone, really) if that's what you're looking for.
Graphic: Confinement, Death, Emotional abuse, Panic attacks/disorders, Physical abuse, Torture, Violence, Xenophobia, and Religious bigotry
Moderate: Child abuse, Drug abuse, and Forced institutionalization
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