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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: Child death, Violence, Blood, and Murder
Moderate: Torture and Trafficking
literarycavy's review against another edition
adventurous
emotional
mysterious
fast-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
5.0
Content Warnings
Graphic: Child death, Death, Torture, Trafficking, Kidnapping, and Murder
Moderate: Death of parent
caidyn's review against another edition
adventurous
emotional
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
4.0
CW: death of a loved one, murder, terminal illness, faked death, and royal coup
3.5/5
I'm kinda torn about this book. I've been excited about this book for a while, skipped out on the ARC because I'm a defensive person and want to defend people I feel who are wronged, and then preordered the new book. On one hand, it was good and a solid debut. I enjoyed the writing, general plot, and the characters.
But, it still felt like a debut. It was, in a way, predictable YA and I could see the path it was taking. Girl with a deep secret and some sort of self-hatred. Boy with some deep secret and some sort of self-hatred. They meet up in an unlikely way and are supposed to hate each other/be worst enemies, yet find a way to work together and there's enough tension to believe that they could get together.
So, it was good and it was a bit predictable. As I said, I did like Ana and Ramson. They were interesting characters and I, personally, liked the backgrounds that they each had. It was believable and I didn't find it hard to get behind these teens having the life that they did and the power that came with it.
I do wish the world was a bit more defined. I had a vague grasp on what Affinities were and what they could do, but it never felt set in stone. I hope that book two explores that a bit more, as well as picks up with the ending so we see what happens next in this story!
Original review:
I have an ARC of this, but I've decided to respect the author's wishes and not read it. I wish that it hadn't been attacked as it was on Twitter, but it was and that's that. I wish that it had been allowed time to breathe, edited for the comments that other POCs had, and been allowed to see the light of day. Because, you know, ARCs are meant to generate buzz and help figure out what content doesn't work.
All that being said, I'm respecting Zhao's wishes and I won't read it. The book still sounds amazing and I hope that one day it will be published.
3.5/5
I'm kinda torn about this book. I've been excited about this book for a while, skipped out on the ARC because I'm a defensive person and want to defend people I feel who are wronged, and then preordered the new book. On one hand, it was good and a solid debut. I enjoyed the writing, general plot, and the characters.
But, it still felt like a debut. It was, in a way, predictable YA and I could see the path it was taking. Girl with a deep secret and some sort of self-hatred. Boy with some deep secret and some sort of self-hatred. They meet up in an unlikely way and are supposed to hate each other/be worst enemies, yet find a way to work together and there's enough tension to believe that they could get together.
So, it was good and it was a bit predictable. As I said, I did like Ana and Ramson. They were interesting characters and I, personally, liked the backgrounds that they each had. It was believable and I didn't find it hard to get behind these teens having the life that they did and the power that came with it.
I do wish the world was a bit more defined. I had a vague grasp on what Affinities were and what they could do, but it never felt set in stone. I hope that book two explores that a bit more, as well as picks up with the ending so we see what happens next in this story!
Original review:
I have an ARC of this, but I've decided to respect the author's wishes and not read it. I wish that it hadn't been attacked as it was on Twitter, but it was and that's that. I wish that it had been allowed time to breathe, edited for the comments that other POCs had, and been allowed to see the light of day. Because, you know, ARCs are meant to generate buzz and help figure out what content doesn't work.
All that being said, I'm respecting Zhao's wishes and I won't read it. The book still sounds amazing and I hope that one day it will be published.
Content Warnings
Graphic: Death, Violence, Blood, Medical content, and Murder