thatbookishwriter23's review against another edition
- Plot- or character-driven? Character
- Strong character development? Yes
- Loveable characters? Yes
- Diverse cast of characters? Yes
- Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes
3.5
After a spirit adducts his sister, Malik must win a contest, emerge as King, and kill the Crown princess for his sister's freedom. Meanwhile, struggling with the death of her mother, Princess Karina seeks the heart of a king to resurrect her. Yet, against all odds, the two fall in love with each other.
Pros
+Malik personality. You don't see much soft bois in YA. Malik was so soft and adorable and empathic. It nice change from these brooding bad boys about we always see.
+anxiety rep. The anxiety rep is so good especially when Malik had a panic attack. I am so glad to finally see some good mental health rep. I especially since love or anything else didn't cure his anxiety by the end.
+competition. I like the idea of the Champion competition and the different Aligned champions
+the twists and turns at the end redeemed the book for me and made me look forward to reading the sequel.
+history. Learning some of the history and how it all came into play at the end was interesting.
Cons
-slowpaced. I feel like the focus is so heavy on emotions and not enough on the characters task. I feel like that got nothing done until late in the book.
-Karina. Karina was so immature and infuriating to read about. She was constantly making rash decisions in her hot headness. She was also pushed everyone away and damaged her image. I mean, I know she's a teenager dealing with a lot of unprocessed grief, but that did make it any less frustrating to read. She gets better by the end but it doesn't erase the first half of the book.
-infodumps. Sometimes I felt like I was reading a history textbook. Characters would record history of the city and while it was interesting, I was left wondering what the importance of it was.
-development. Character development didn't come until exactly 65% percent of the book.
-lack of chemistry. The protagonists spend so time apart for more than first half of the book. Their chemistry felt rushed and sudden.
This book was different than I thought it would be. It was more tame. I thought it would have more action and less dialogue.
Graphic: Panic attacks/disorders, Death, Violence, Death of parent, and Grief
anni_swanilda'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
4.5
Graphic: Death, Death of parent, Animal cruelty, Gaslighting, Blood, Classism, Confinement, Suicidal thoughts, Suicide, Mental illness, Racial slurs, Gore, Murder, Animal death, Suicide attempt, Grief, Panic attacks/disorders, Racism, Vomit, Xenophobia, Injury/Injury detail, and Violence
Moderate: Fire/Fire injury and Self harm
Minor: Sexual content, Child death, Domestic abuse, Child abuse, Physical abuse, War, Abandonment, Emotional abuse, and Slavery
ruthiedr89's review against another edition
- Plot- or character-driven? A mix
- 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
Graphic: Death of parent, Racism, Murder, Toxic relationship, Death, Gaslighting, Grief, Panic attacks/disorders, and Violence
Moderate: Injury/Injury detail, Abandonment, Classism, Genocide, Gore, Hate crime, and Racial slurs
Minor: Child abuse, Confinement, Alcohol, Animal cruelty, and Animal death
anekk78's review against another edition
- Plot- or character-driven? Plot
- Strong character development? No
- Diverse cast of characters? Yes
- Flaws of characters a main focus? No
4.0
Moderate: Death, Death of parent, Panic attacks/disorders, and Violence
Minor: Fire/Fire injury, Abandonment, Child death, and Police brutality
er1ngobraugh'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
3.75
Graphic: Grief, Panic attacks/disorders, and Violence
Moderate: Blood, Fire/Fire injury, Classism, and Death of parent
Minor: Death of parent, Kidnapping, and Animal death
luckykosmos's review against another edition
- Plot- or character-driven? A mix
- Strong character development? Yes
- Loveable characters? Yes
- Diverse cast of characters? It's complicated
- Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes
4.5
I went in with no real idea of what this would be like, and ended up adoring it. The characters are fun, and the voice Brown gives them had me occasionally putting the book down to laugh. And with that came very human representations of grief, of anxiety/panic disorders (as a sufferer), of migraines. Definitely picking up the sequel!
Graphic: Death of parent and Panic attacks/disorders
Moderate: Violence and Xenophobia
ofbooksandechos'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
Graphic: Death of parent, Panic attacks/disorders, and Grief
Moderate: Violence, Emotional abuse, Xenophobia, and Physical abuse
Minor: Self harm and Animal death
additional cws: fictional racism, use of fictional racial slurs.sarahbythebook's review against another edition
4.5
The African mythology and lore was beautifully done, and all of the characters were sympathetic. As much as Karina drove me crazy, I get where her head is at throughout this book because I was also a combative teenager with a chip on my shoulder and a me-against-the-world mentality. I also connected with Malik's fragility and vulnerability but determination in spite of his struggles. All of the characters are just very well done, and I really really enjoyed this book!
Moderate: Murder, Death of parent, Violence, Xenophobia, Animal death, and Colonisation
Minor: Self harm
socialpsysteph's review against another edition
- Plot- or character-driven? A mix
- Strong character development? No
- Loveable characters? It's complicated
- Diverse cast of characters? Yes
- Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes
3.0
This book counts for r/Fantasy Bingo 2022 for a book set in Africa, for Popsugar 2022 for a book set in a nonpatriarchal society, and for the Magical Readathon 2022 Autumnal Equinox for an O (Foundations in Necromancy) for Conjuration for a book with necromancy themes.
Graphic: Death, Death of parent, Fire/Fire injury, and Panic attacks/disorders
Moderate: Racism, Kidnapping, and Violence
strawberrytheauthor'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? No
5.0
Graphic: Child death, Colonisation, Death, Xenophobia, Vomit, Violence, Blood, Fire/Fire injury, Kidnapping, Mental illness, Racial slurs, Animal death, Classism, Confinement, Death of parent, Grief, Murder, Panic attacks/disorders, and Racism
Moderate: Child abuse, Physical abuse, Self harm, Slavery, and Domestic abuse
Minor: Sexual content