Scan barcode
fairyollie'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
I know people complain that Sylah and Anoor have regressed without one another, but long-distance relationships without means of communication would be HARD! can you even imagine?
all goes to say that I fear I will be empty until The Ending Fire is released (thankfully I have pre-ordered!)
Graphic: Addiction, Death, Drug abuse, Genocide, Gore, Self harm, Slavery, Torture, Violence, Xenophobia, Blood, Grief, Religious bigotry, Murder, Gaslighting, Colonisation, Injury/Injury detail, and Classism
Moderate: Ableism, Alcoholism, Confinement, Emotional abuse, Trafficking, Stalking, and Alcohol
porcupine_girl's review against another edition
- 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
Graphic: Ableism, Alcoholism, Body horror, Child death, Confinement, Cursing, Death, Drug use, Emotional abuse, Genocide, Gore, Miscarriage, Physical abuse, Rape, Self harm, Sexual assault, Sexual violence, Terminal illness, Torture, Violence, Blood, Police brutality, Medical content, Trafficking, Kidnapping, Grief, Religious bigotry, Medical trauma, Death of parent, Murder, Pregnancy, Fire/Fire injury, Abandonment, Alcohol, Colonisation, War, Injury/Injury detail, and Classism
Moderate: Addiction, Gun violence, and Toxic relationship
Minor: Animal death, Infidelity, and Sexual content
kendal_reads'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
4.5
Graphic: Death, Miscarriage, Blood, Grief, and Injury/Injury detail
Moderate: Panic attacks/disorders, Sexual content, and Alcohol
lisacanteven'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: Body horror, Confinement, Death, Torture, Violence, Blood, Death of parent, Fire/Fire injury, Colonisation, War, Injury/Injury detail, and Classism
Minor: Addiction, Drug abuse, and Drug use
malinhalia's review against another edition
- Plot- or character-driven? Plot
- Strong character development? No
- Loveable characters? No
0.5
The characters are extremely one-dimensional and most are straight up unlikeable (unable to conjure the slightest bit of empathy, emotion, critical thinking, or even a consistent plan of action). The writing style itself is very heavy-handed and every plot point is carefully and patronisingly explained to you in detail (you really don't need conclusion-drawing skills to read this book). In addition to this, the author in multiple instances unnecessarily spoils the plot in advance by having chapter openers (for example, notes to or from certain characters). This works well in some books but not in this one. They detract from rather than add to the story, as they make - in some places - several chapters unnecessary as the plot point is glaringly clear from just this short text. The writing is choppy and doesn't feel suitable for a book marketed to an adult audience.
Whilst I found the background of
Moderate: Domestic abuse, Sexual assault, Sexual violence, Torture, and Blood
Minor: Animal death, Child death, Slavery, and Injury/Injury detail
caseythereader'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
4.25
Graphic: Addiction, Child death, Cursing, Death, Domestic abuse, Gore, Miscarriage, Slavery, Torture, Violence, Blood, Medical content, Grief, Death of parent, Murder, Alcohol, Colonisation, Injury/Injury detail, and Classism
Minor: Sexual content
barda's review against another edition
- Plot- or character-driven? A mix
- Strong character development? It's complicated
- Loveable characters? No
- Diverse cast of characters? Yes
- Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes
2.75
The first book had some flaws, but I still broadly enjoyed the characters, the setting, and the worldbuilding. While this second book fixed my biggest pet peeve of rapidly switching POV's (this one had the more standard format of a chapter only having one character's POV), it felt like this one was actually more confusing than the first one, and that the author lost plot momentum from the first book.
The characters just weren't as likeable in this book. I still really enjoyed Hassa and she's easily a stand-out character, but Jond was just boring and Sylah was not in the book enough for me to judge her characterisation. Anoor, however, I was the most disappointed in. Like Sylah, it feels like she barely has any screen-time in this book, but most egregiously she seems to regress in all of her character development that she gained in the first book. I hate to criticise characters who make seemingly stupid mistakes, as oftentimes they'll be realistic mistakes that you might expect one to make, but Anoor keeps making mistakes over and over and doesn't seem to learn from the negative impacts of these. She's incompetent and seemingly regains her naivety that she grew out of in the first book. This makes the twist
The plot certainly had some interesting bits, particularly with the Academy and how the cultures of the mainland work. I did also broadly enjoy the plot reveals towards the end of the book; however, they were all suddenly shoved into the end of the book leaving little room for the characters to breathe, and many of the plot twists could have been revealed and solved earlier if characters simply communicated with each other (
Broadly, this book's usually interesting plot was dragged down by its characters and overall characterisation. I still might pick up the next one when it comes out as I think the mysteries that have been set up are worth reading, but I do hope that the author can figure out where they want their characters to go.
Graphic: Domestic abuse, Miscarriage, Physical abuse, Rape, Self harm, Sexual assault, Sexual violence, Blood, and Religious bigotry
Moderate: Child death, Death, Drug abuse, Drug use, Sexual content, Slavery, Violence, Grief, Death of parent, Murder, Colonisation, Injury/Injury detail, and Classism
Minor: Cursing
purplesoccer126's review against another edition
- 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
4.0
Graphic: Death, Miscarriage, Physical abuse, Slavery, Torture, Violence, Blood, Medical trauma, Murder, Fire/Fire injury, Colonisation, Injury/Injury detail, and Classism
Moderate: Addiction, Drug abuse, and Sexual violence
hailstorm3812's review against another edition
4.25
Graphic: Emotional abuse, Miscarriage, Physical abuse, Blood, and Death of parent
Moderate: Ableism, Addiction, Death, Genocide, Hate crime, Rape, Sexism, Toxic relationship, Xenophobia, Grief, Fire/Fire injury, Cultural appropriation, Colonisation, War, and Injury/Injury detail
Minor: Animal cruelty, Animal death, Child abuse, Child death, Suicide, and Abandonment
nefariousbee's review
- 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: Addiction, Animal death, Confinement, Death, Gore, Miscarriage, Rape, Self harm, Violence, Blood, Death of parent, Abandonment, Alcohol, Colonisation, and Injury/Injury detail
Moderate: Animal cruelty, Confinement, Genocide, Infidelity, Sexual content, Kidnapping, Grief, Religious bigotry, and Death of parent