bookishcarli's review against another edition
5.0
This book is amazing! Not at all what I was expecting, but amazing!
I LOVED the main characters. The main character, Lei, is really fun to read from and she was never annoying, she is just overall a great protaganist! I really like Wren too!
The writing is great, too! Pretty easy, it was a really quick read (I actually read it in less than two days, but i forgot to mark it as read)
The romance was great too, Lei and Wren are such a cute couple!
Anyways, this book gave big Selection vibes, if Maxon was completely evil and un-Maxon like.
So yeah I really loved every aspect of this book, not much more to say. I really hope the next book was Wren's POV too!
I LOVED the main characters. The main character, Lei, is really fun to read from and she was never annoying, she is just overall a great protaganist! I really like Wren too!
The writing is great, too! Pretty easy, it was a really quick read (I actually read it in less than two days, but i forgot to mark it as read)
The romance was great too, Lei and Wren are such a cute couple!
Anyways, this book gave big Selection vibes, if Maxon was completely evil and un-Maxon like.
So yeah I really loved every aspect of this book, not much more to say. I really hope the next book was Wren's POV too!
sarag19's review against another edition
2.0
2 out of 5 Stars
This book gave me a lot of thoughts and honestly, I can't say they are all positive. In fact, the majority of them are not so here we go.
The Good
- The caste system is actually pretty interesting. Its very stereotypical with the powerful Moon caste that is mostly animal with humanoid form (I never got the impression they were demons other than just their name), the Steel cast with their partial animal features and the weak Paper caste which are full humans. Yes its been done but it was still interesting. I wish we could have seen more of them and their interactions outside of the city since inside they are mostly either tormentors to Paper or want to turn on their King. A little nuance would have been nice.
- There is a lot of time spent describing the clothes but I'm a sucker for clothes so I liked that each girl was given their own unique style.
The Not So Good
Uh... Pretty much everything else?
- The plot armor is particularly strong in this book. We are led to believe that the King is ruthless and particularly controlling especially of the Paper Girls but when Lei fights him off and runs away she gets a pass. Even her punishment is minor, my gripe with this is not a unique problem to this book. Main characters are too often given a pass and even applauded for what they do. My guess is had any of the other girls done what Lei did they would have been branded but more than likely killed because that is what we are led to believe the King is more than willing to do. Its even called out, cross the King and you will suffer.
- Speaking of Lei, I had some very serious problem with her and how she is portrayed in this book. The author in her note wanting to convey to reading supportive relationships and friendship, female strength. That would have been a great message if we saw that through Lei. The biggest issue for me was her treatment of Aoki. Aoki is young, she is afraid and it doesn't really help that the other girls taunt her when she is trying to deal with what happened. So the fact that Aoki would be trying to protect herself, to believe that the King loves her and to feed into the kindness he shows the girls (even if it is manipulative) is not wrong. To try to protect yourself mentally (not physically) is not wrong, how the girls react even Blue with her misplaced anger, is not wrong. Every victim reacts to their abuse differently, they find their own ways to work through their trauma and pain and Lei's reaction to it was hurtful, acting like her reaction to always fight back is the only appropriate way. She lives with these girls, she knows they don't want to be there but not everyone can fight back and that is not a lack of courage, it is not wrong. Also poor Lill doesn't even get a pass, while one whole generation is raised to view the Moon caste with suspicion but then a whole other generation is raised to worship them. They are raised only one way, it is not a black and white issue or an age issue. It is being raised to believe one thing, to see only one thing and to know somewhere deep down that stepping out of line will get everyone you know killed.
- Final gripe, one even Lei seems to applaud herself over.
In the end, its got an interesting concept and the potential for a better story but it absolutely does not deliver.
This book gave me a lot of thoughts and honestly, I can't say they are all positive. In fact, the majority of them are not so here we go.
The Good
- The caste system is actually pretty interesting. Its very stereotypical with the powerful Moon caste that is mostly animal with humanoid form (I never got the impression they were demons other than just their name), the Steel cast with their partial animal features and the weak Paper caste which are full humans. Yes its been done but it was still interesting. I wish we could have seen more of them and their interactions outside of the city since inside they are mostly either tormentors to Paper or want to turn on their King. A little nuance would have been nice.
- There is a lot of time spent describing the clothes but I'm a sucker for clothes so I liked that each girl was given their own unique style.
The Not So Good
Uh... Pretty much everything else?
- The plot armor is particularly strong in this book. We are led to believe that the King is ruthless and particularly controlling especially of the Paper Girls but when Lei fights him off and runs away she gets a pass. Even her punishment is minor, my gripe with this is not a unique problem to this book. Main characters are too often given a pass and even applauded for what they do. My guess is had any of the other girls done what Lei did they would have been branded but more than likely killed because that is what we are led to believe the King is more than willing to do. Its even called out, cross the King and you will suffer.
- Speaking of Lei, I had some very serious problem with her and how she is portrayed in this book. The author in her note wanting to convey to reading supportive relationships and friendship, female strength. That would have been a great message if we saw that through Lei. The biggest issue for me was her treatment of Aoki. Aoki is young, she is afraid and it doesn't really help that the other girls taunt her when she is trying to deal with what happened. So the fact that Aoki would be trying to protect herself, to believe that the King loves her and to feed into the kindness he shows the girls (even if it is manipulative) is not wrong. To try to protect yourself mentally (not physically) is not wrong, how the girls react even Blue with her misplaced anger, is not wrong. Every victim reacts to their abuse differently, they find their own ways to work through their trauma and pain and Lei's reaction to it was hurtful, acting like her reaction to always fight back is the only appropriate way. She lives with these girls, she knows they don't want to be there but not everyone can fight back and that is not a lack of courage, it is not wrong. Also poor Lill doesn't even get a pass, while one whole generation is raised to view the Moon caste with suspicion but then a whole other generation is raised to worship them. They are raised only one way, it is not a black and white issue or an age issue. It is being raised to believe one thing, to see only one thing and to know somewhere deep down that stepping out of line will get everyone you know killed.
- Final gripe, one even Lei seems to applaud herself over.
Spoiler
Zelle was the one that incapacitated the King, put the blade through his eye making it so he wasn't capable of fighting back. All Lei did was stab a man that couldn't fight her off and instead of correcting Wren she just takes credit, maybe they will be in for a rude awakening when they realize that Lei is not the capable fighter they assume her to be but plot armor so probably not.In the end, its got an interesting concept and the potential for a better story but it absolutely does not deliver.
charlottewie's review against another edition
5.0
This was frickin amazing, I don’t even have words.
It has this classic fantasy feel to it but still managed to be unlike anything I’ve ever read before. The romance especially was so beautiful and the plot and the characters were absolutely fantastic.
I loved every second of it, did not wanna put this one down!
It has this classic fantasy feel to it but still managed to be unlike anything I’ve ever read before. The romance especially was so beautiful and the plot and the characters were absolutely fantastic.
I loved every second of it, did not wanna put this one down!
paracosm's review against another edition
4.0
Well, this book is really good. It handles difficult themes, such as sexual assault, very well. It's never romanticized and the consequences are well developed. There are other subjects such as entitlement, abuse of power, sexism and homophobia which are also handled very well.
One of my favorite parts of is the world. It's so incredible and interesting, and I want to learn more about it. The characters were interesting and even the minor ones had at least some personality. This book is character-driven and there's barely any plot, but the characters are interesting enough to not make the book boring or tedious.
My main problem with it is that I feel that there was insta-love. At one moment Lei and Wren were complete strangers and the next they couldn't live without each other. They were also terrible at covering their relationship and that was a little bit annoying.
One of my favorite parts of is the world. It's so incredible and interesting, and I want to learn more about it. The characters were interesting and even the minor ones had at least some personality. This book is character-driven and there's barely any plot, but the characters are interesting enough to not make the book boring or tedious.
My main problem with it is that I feel that there was insta-love. At one moment Lei and Wren were complete strangers and the next they couldn't live without each other. They were also terrible at covering their relationship and that was a little bit annoying.
sassiuscassius's review against another edition
adventurous
challenging
dark
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? It's complicated
4.5
jasminx's review against another edition
adventurous
dark
emotional
sad
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
4.5
intheend's review against another edition
1.0
1.5 stars
I really struggled to get through this one. I just wasn't invested in the characters and found the story to be dragging. At some points I was kind of interested in what was happening but not enough to warrant a higher star rating.
I really struggled to get through this one. I just wasn't invested in the characters and found the story to be dragging. At some points I was kind of interested in what was happening but not enough to warrant a higher star rating.