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kirstenf's review against another edition
adventurous
dark
emotional
hopeful
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
4.75
Content Warnings
Graphic: Violence and Murder
Moderate: Death, Hate crime, and Blood
Minor: Confinement, Racism, Sexual content, Xenophobia, Grief, Death of parent, Fire/Fire injury, and Alcohol
lalapope's review against another edition
adventurous
dark
emotional
mysterious
sad
tense
fast-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
3.75
3.5 - Superb representation and magic use. Poor pacing issues and too many sub-plots hold the book back from greatness.
To keep it brief;
What I liked;
1) Representation - This is a book that clearly understands how to create a multicultural world without ever relying on stereotypical traits to create that difference. Ms. Burton was able to create a very good discussion of race without ever feeling preachy or too shallow on the topic. She absolutely nailed the right level of depth to the discussion for the target audience.
2) Great magic use - Despite our MC's (main character) immense power as a Siren, I never felt like the author relied too much on it to solve problems. It's all too common for young adult literature to use something like magic to be a quick fix to problems. I respect Ms. Burton for not doing so.
spoiler: (view spoiler)
This made our MC feel a lot more grounded in the world instead of a all powerful main character who never has to worry about their problems for long. I hope MS. Burton continues this into her sequel.
What I didn't like;
1) Too many sub-plots lead to most feeling underdeveloped - I feel like the main plot thread of MC's journey into the ranks of the royals and trying to avoid the consequences for her crimes was quite well done. However, I didn't really feel like the MC and the love interest really had the most developed arc. I feel like he loved her far too easily and she never seemed to love him beyond a level of respect not to kill him. Even then, I didn't fully understand why she changed her stance on the royals so easily. It felt like the smart girl I saw at the start of the book. became willfully ignorant to what she was permitting to continue. spoiler: (view spoiler)
Also, I feel like the Rain, Spektyrl and family plots were also a little undercooked. Many readers cite how the MC never really gives the best reasons why she loves Rain so much. Unconditional love exists, but it would have been nice to really get to heart of why the MC does everything she does for her.
2) Pacing - It felt like the start of the book has some genuine momentum about things happening and the cast growing. This is probably the part of the book I liked most. However, after the
assassination key to the mystery plot line, it begins to slow down significantly until the last 1/5th where everything happens extremely fast. spoiler: (view spoiler)
Overall, this is a serviceable YA fantasy book that does exactly what I needs to do and a little more. I don't see this being the sort of story to make it to the big screen, but I see the value this book has to people who rarely get to see themselves in this genre.
I look forward to the sequel.
To keep it brief;
What I liked;
1) Representation - This is a book that clearly understands how to create a multicultural world without ever relying on stereotypical traits to create that difference. Ms. Burton was able to create a very good discussion of race without ever feeling preachy or too shallow on the topic. She absolutely nailed the right level of depth to the discussion for the target audience.
2) Great magic use - Despite our MC's (main character) immense power as a Siren, I never felt like the author relied too much on it to solve problems. It's all too common for young adult literature to use something like magic to be a quick fix to problems. I respect Ms. Burton for not doing so.
spoiler: (view spoiler)
This made our MC feel a lot more grounded in the world instead of a all powerful main character who never has to worry about their problems for long. I hope MS. Burton continues this into her sequel.
What I didn't like;
1) Too many sub-plots lead to most feeling underdeveloped - I feel like the main plot thread of MC's journey into the ranks of the royals and trying to avoid the consequences for her crimes was quite well done. However, I didn't really feel like the MC and the love interest really had the most developed arc. I feel like he loved her far too easily and she never seemed to love him beyond a level of respect not to kill him. Even then, I didn't fully understand why she changed her stance on the royals so easily. It felt like the smart girl I saw at the start of the book. became willfully ignorant to what she was permitting to continue. spoiler: (view spoiler)
Also, I feel like the Rain, Spektyrl and family plots were also a little undercooked. Many readers cite how the MC never really gives the best reasons why she loves Rain so much. Unconditional love exists, but it would have been nice to really get to heart of why the MC does everything she does for her.
2) Pacing - It felt like the start of the book has some genuine momentum about things happening and the cast growing. This is probably the part of the book I liked most. However, after the
assassination key to the mystery plot line, it begins to slow down significantly until the last 1/5th where everything happens extremely fast. spoiler: (view spoiler)
Overall, this is a serviceable YA fantasy book that does exactly what I needs to do and a little more. I don't see this being the sort of story to make it to the big screen, but I see the value this book has to people who rarely get to see themselves in this genre.
I look forward to the sequel.
Content Warnings
Moderate: Racism, Slavery, Torture, Xenophobia, and Murder
aquillesaurus's review against another edition
adventurous
challenging
dark
emotional
mysterious
reflective
tense
slow-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
Content Warnings
Graphic: Emotional abuse, Genocide, Torture, Violence, Xenophobia, Murder, and Classism
Moderate: Bullying
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