singalana's review against another edition
adventurous
challenging
dark
medium-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? A mix
- Strong character development? It's complicated
- Loveable characters? No
- Diverse cast of characters? No
- Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes
2.5
This book has a great concept: a crown princess, accused of treason, has to work together with a crime lord to prove her innocence. The people in this world are divided into two categories: those who have no magic, and those who have magic - an affinity to a certain element. The main character - Ana - has no idea what life is like for those living with magic in her kingdom, and how her chosen companion, conman named Ransom Quicktongue plays into this status quo.
The main characters are exactly as you would expect them to be: a wilful princess and a silver-tongued criminal. As the story progresses, we get more and more glimpses into the past that shaped these characters into who they are today. Other than the two main characters, there’s a host of other characters, who all have a role to play in the story.
The story started strong with an interesting, action-packet setup. Unfortunately, I soon became tired of the structure of action packed chapters followed by slower chapters about the characters’ past. That was not the only thing I grew weary of, since these two can’t seem to stay out of trouble for two seconds. The author tried to pack so much action and so much emotion into every possible scene, especially towards the end, that it became tiresome.
I’m afraid that despite the interesting concept, the story tried to do way too much and piled on obstacle after obstacle. With better pacing and allowing the characters more time to breathe in the present timeline, this story could have been improved.
The main characters are exactly as you would expect them to be: a wilful princess and a silver-tongued criminal. As the story progresses, we get more and more glimpses into the past that shaped these characters into who they are today. Other than the two main characters, there’s a host of other characters, who all have a role to play in the story.
The story started strong with an interesting, action-packet setup. Unfortunately, I soon became tired of the structure of action packed chapters followed by slower chapters about the characters’ past. That was not the only thing I grew weary of, since these two can’t seem to stay out of trouble for two seconds. The author tried to pack so much action and so much emotion into every possible scene, especially towards the end, that it became tiresome.
I’m afraid that despite the interesting concept, the story tried to do way too much and piled on obstacle after obstacle. With better pacing and allowing the characters more time to breathe in the present timeline, this story could have been improved.
Content Warnings
Moderate: Death, Medical trauma, Torture, Blood, Forced institutionalization, Trafficking, Violence, and Injury/Injury detail
Minor: Grief, Injury/Injury detail, Vomit, Abandonment, Alcohol, Death of parent, Murder, Slavery, Kidnapping, Chronic illness, and Fire/Fire injury
grace_yin's review against another edition
adventurous
dark
emotional
mysterious
sad
tense
medium-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? A mix
- Strong character development? Yes
- Loveable characters? Yes
- Diverse cast of characters? No
- Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes
3.75
Content Warnings
Graphic: Violence, Blood, Child abuse, Death of parent, Emotional abuse, and Physical abuse
Moderate: Vomit, Kidnapping, and Torture
Minor: Sexual violence
ghostlyprince's review against another edition
adventurous
dark
tense
slow-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? Character
- Strong character development? It's complicated
- Loveable characters? Yes
- Diverse cast of characters? It's complicated
- Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes
3.5
Content Warnings
Graphic: Death, Death of parent, Trafficking, Classism, Injury/Injury detail, Slavery, Blood, Child death, Child abuse, Grief, Hate crime, and Torture
Moderate: Abandonment and Kidnapping
Minor: Sexual violence and Confinement
whatthefridge's review against another edition
adventurous
dark
emotional
hopeful
inspiring
tense
medium-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? Character
- Strong character development? Yes
- Loveable characters? Yes
- Diverse cast of characters? It's complicated
- Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes
3.0
The beginning was really strong, but somewhere towards the middle it began to drag for me. I struggled to finish the story.
Content Warnings
Graphic: Blood and Torture
gingerale06's review
adventurous
challenging
emotional
tense
medium-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? Plot
- Strong character development? Yes
- Loveable characters? Yes
- Diverse cast of characters? Yes
- Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes
4.75
Content Warnings
Graphic: Blood, Death, Death of parent, Gore, Grief, Injury/Injury detail, Murder, Physical abuse, Trafficking, Torture, Slavery, and Suicidal thoughts
booknerdbetty's review against another edition
adventurous
challenging
dark
emotional
mysterious
tense
medium-paced
3.75
Content Warnings
Graphic: Trafficking, Violence, Torture, Slavery, Death of parent, Child abuse, and Blood
penofpossibilities's review against another edition
adventurous
hopeful
- Plot- or character-driven? Plot
- Strong character development? Yes
- Diverse cast of characters? Yes
- Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes
2.25
this seemed fun but it was honestly a chore to get through. It contained some promising elements, interesting tropes etc... The writing wasn't terrible but it still failed to deliver somehow? A few too many clichés, and some of the emotions didn't feel raw enough to me. Somehow I never connected enough to the mc to care about her grief and pain so it didn't struck any chords with me. I could easily call the plot twists as well so it didn't keep me on the edge of my seet. Maybe I'm just not the right audience for this (anymore)?
Content Warnings
Graphic: Blood, Trafficking, Violence, Torture, Murder, and Death
Minor: Body horror, Child death, Cursing, Death of parent, Domestic abuse, Emotional abuse, Grief, Sexual assault, Suicide attempt, and Vomit
ashlightgrayson's review against another edition
adventurous
fast-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? Character
- Strong character development? No
- Loveable characters? It's complicated
- Diverse cast of characters? Yes
- Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes
3.5
This story feels like an Anastasia retelling within a fantasy world. Princess Anastacya Mikhailov is on the run as she has been framed for her father's murder. The story has a pretty fast pace as we start off with her going in disguise to a prison. She is there to question Ramson, a convicted criminal who may have information about the potential culprit of her father's murder. To say that Ramson and Ana don't like each other is an understatement. However, they end up having to work together to escape the prison and make a deal that is mutually beneficial for them. The beginning of their relationship like this gave an easy way to kickstart the plot. You are given the information you need to understand what's going on and left to learn the rest as you go along with the story. I sometimes appreciate this form of storytelling more than having an info-dump, especially in young adult fiction. However, that is just up to preference.
There are different kinds of magic in this world called Affinities and those who have these abilities are often trafficked illegally for profit. This aspect of the world is supposed to be analogous to human trafficking in China according to the author (the author is Chinese). Her familiarity with the topic shows through the world-building. I felt like it was reasonably well done.
The main weakness I found in the story was Ana's character development. Her worldview often felt naive and sheltered. She has had a very privileged life and has not been exposed to the corruption present in the empire, but I feel that for her age she should be more self-aware of the political system her family was overseeing. There are women in positions of political power in the story, so her lack of access to this information secondary to her gender isn't really at play here. Her awareness of human trafficking within the empire also makes it harder for me to believe that she is surprised by other forms of corruption within the empire. This wasn't a detail terrible enough to ruin the story for me, but it did suspend my disbelief a bit.
Overall, I feel like this story has a lot of potential to be developed more in the second book. I'm looking forward to seeing the relationship between Ransom and Ana change as their priorities have changed after this first book.
There are different kinds of magic in this world called Affinities and those who have these abilities are often trafficked illegally for profit. This aspect of the world is supposed to be analogous to human trafficking in China according to the author (the author is Chinese). Her familiarity with the topic shows through the world-building. I felt like it was reasonably well done.
The main weakness I found in the story was Ana's character development. Her worldview often felt naive and sheltered. She has had a very privileged life and has not been exposed to the corruption present in the empire, but I feel that for her age she should be more self-aware of the political system her family was overseeing. There are women in positions of political power in the story, so her lack of access to this information secondary to her gender isn't really at play here. Her awareness of human trafficking within the empire also makes it harder for me to believe that she is surprised by other forms of corruption within the empire. This wasn't a detail terrible enough to ruin the story for me, but it did suspend my disbelief a bit.
Overall, I feel like this story has a lot of potential to be developed more in the second book. I'm looking forward to seeing the relationship between Ransom and Ana change as their priorities have changed after this first book.
Content Warnings
Moderate: Slavery, Trafficking, Child abuse, Torture, Murder, Genocide, and Child death
Minor: Sexual violence
alizam's review against another edition
adventurous
challenging
tense
fast-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? Plot
- Strong character development? It's complicated
- Loveable characters? Yes
- Diverse cast of characters? It's complicated
- Flaws of characters a main focus? It's complicated
4.0
This is a pretty damn good Anastasia reimagining. It's like the Grisha trilogy, if the Grisha trilogy was... er... good. (sorry, Grisha fans, I did love Six of Crows, if that makes you feel better.) Goes a bit too fast in places, and the names of certain worldbuilt things, places, and animals are... amusingly mediocre. I mean, the revolution is literally called "redcloaks", come on.
It has the Impossibly Young Murderer trope in it, which is annoying, but I pretty much expect it at this point. I didn't care for Ramson because he reminded me of Kaz Brekker, but like,,, less interesting.
It has the Impossibly Young Murderer trope in it, which is annoying, but I pretty much expect it at this point. I didn't care for Ramson because he reminded me of Kaz Brekker, but like,,, less interesting.
Content Warnings
Graphic: Blood, Murder, Violence, and Child death
Moderate: Trafficking and Torture
karingforbooks's review against another edition
adventurous
challenging
dark
emotional
funny
mysterious
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
3.5
It reads really easily. Pacing feels off halfway through but then evens out by the end. Classic YA feel but good. Will continue the series just not spectacular for me
Content Warnings
Moderate: Torture