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yruss972's review against another edition
- Plot- or character-driven? Plot
- Strong character development? No
- Loveable characters? Yes
- Diverse cast of characters? No
- Flaws of characters a main focus? It's complicated
From a message perspective, touches on lots of issues but, sadly, takes a stand on none of them. Comes disturbingly close to legitimizing terrorism especially naming the rebel group Tanzim.
Blurs all the lines on both sides of the conflict so no one is innocent and, when guilty, they are not at fault.
The author needs to visit Israel post October 7 and get some new perspective.
Graphic: Child death, Death, Hate crime, Racism, Religious bigotry, Murder, and Classism
chloelai12'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? It's complicated
- Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes
4.0
I will start by saying I want Nahri to destroy the lives of every single one of those men. My girl didn’t deserve any of that. Dara had me in the first half and I was rooting for him whilst Ali annoyed me for 60% of the book. But you lost me at the forced coercion my guy. And actually, as much of a self righteous brat Ali could be, he was the only one was truthful to Nahri when everyone else lied to her face but still expected the most from her.
I hope if anything (though I doubt it will happen) that Nahri rinses these men for filth, takes over the city for herself but keeps Ali as a friend because she does not need that stress .
I’m still pretending those ears aren’t a thing.
ALSO IM RIHJT ABOUT THE UNCLE DAD?
Graphic: Body horror, Bullying, Child abuse, Child death, Confinement, Cursing, Death, Genocide, Gore, Hate crime, Misogyny, Physical abuse, Racism, Rape, Self harm, Sexism, Sexual assault, Sexual violence, Slavery, Torture, Violence, Blood, Vomit, Medical content, Trafficking, Kidnapping, Grief, Medical trauma, Murder, Fire/Fire injury, Alcohol, Sexual harassment, Colonisation, War, and Injury/Injury detail
saracat'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 did listen to the audiobook, so sometimes I lost track of who was who since many of the characters have titles and/or nicknames that they are called by. But, typically, back tracking about 30 seconds after pausing to think about who was in the scene typically straightened things out for me.
I loved the main characters and was really drawn in to the story. I really appreciated how one of the main characters just didn’t automatically become perfect at something simply because of some innate abilities. I also loved how grey things felt.
I can’t wait to jump into the next book. Especially after the epilogue in this one.
Graphic: Classism
Moderate: Death, Emotional abuse, Hate crime, Slavery, Trafficking, Grief, Religious bigotry, War, and Injury/Injury detail
Minor: Genocide, Racism, Rape, Torture, Blood, Police brutality, Medical content, Murder, Abandonment, and Alcohol
reddeddy'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
4.0
Graphic: Body horror, Death, Gore, Hate crime, Racism, Self harm, Slavery, Suicidal thoughts, Toxic relationship, Violence, Xenophobia, Blood, Medical content, Trafficking, Kidnapping, Religious bigotry, Medical trauma, Murder, Fire/Fire injury, Toxic friendship, Abandonment, Colonisation, War, Injury/Injury detail, and Classism
Moderate: Animal cruelty, Animal death, Bullying, Confinement, Cursing, Genocide, Misogyny, Physical abuse, Racial slurs, Sexism, Sexual content, Terminal illness, Grief, Death of parent, Alcohol, and Dysphoria
Minor: Biphobia, Body shaming, Child abuse, Child death, Chronic illness, Drug use, Homophobia, Infertility, Infidelity, Physical abuse, Rape, Sexual assault, Sexual violence, Torture, Police brutality, Antisemitism, Islamophobia, Pregnancy, Outing, Cultural appropriation, and Sexual harassment
lordcafeine'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
4.25
Moderate: Death, Hate crime, Physical abuse, Sexism, and Slavery
Minor: Rape
jenn_amanda'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
5.0
Graphic: Child death, Cursing, Death, Genocide, Hate crime, Racial slurs, Racism, Rape, Sexism, Slavery, Torture, Violence, Xenophobia, Blood, Trafficking, Kidnapping, Grief, Religious bigotry, Murder, Fire/Fire injury, Alcohol, Sexual harassment, War, and Classism
queerreaderchaos'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
3.75
Graphic: Animal death, Child death, Death, Genocide, Hate crime, Misogyny, Racial slurs, Racism, Rape, Sexism, Slavery, Xenophobia, Blood, Medical content, Grief, Fire/Fire injury, Colonisation, and War
Minor: Cancer and Religious bigotry
kat1105's review against another edition
- Plot- or character-driven? A mix
- Strong character development? It's complicated
- Loveable characters? Yes
- Diverse cast of characters? Yes
- Flaws of characters a main focus? It's complicated
5.0
Graphic: Animal death, Body horror, Child abuse, Child death, Confinement, Death, Genocide, Gore, Hate crime, Racial slurs, Racism, Rape, Slavery, Torture, Violence, Blood, Grief, Religious bigotry, Death of parent, Fire/Fire injury, Gaslighting, Toxic friendship, Alcohol, Injury/Injury detail, and Classism
erebus53'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
4.0
I tackled this book as part of a book club (Lighthouse Library thicc bois :) ). It wasn't something I had heard of before that. It starts off set in Cairo with a young woman of unknown origin who is a theif, swindler and survivor, and who has a mysterious healing talent and the ability to understand languages, which she hides to avoid people thinking her a dangerous witch.
Her world is upended when she utters some words of power while doing a faith healing scam, and unexpectedly summons something to her. This leads to her and a big scary soldier guy on the run from murderous ghouls and ifrits. She learns of the world of Daeva and Djinns and journeys to find sanctuary in a magical hidden city, all the while being hunted and tracked by mysterious forces and magical creatures.
Having read a children's translation of the Persian epic Shahnameh, some of the creatures and names were familiar to me. I did keep wondering if Nahri's uncle had an epic warhorse called Rakhsh. I find that I clearly have a lot more grounding in the myths of the Pacific Islands, the Mediterranean, Europe and the British Isles, and need to read more mythic stories from other parts of the world. This story weaves together myth from many places in Eastern Europe, Northern Africa, South and East Asia. Thematically it pits Tradtions, family, individualism, duty, and survival together in a story that sets up a world that I feel is yet to be explored and played in. That's quite a big book for an intro!
The main character is antiheroic. She is a thief, a liar, and a con-artist. She is used to not having a lot and needing to swindle what she can, and so she is out of her depth when she is cast into a palace with opulence at all turns. She is under no illusions that everyone has their own agenda, and that appearances are often skin-deep. It can make for slippery footing as you try to come to grips with a story where there are centuries of history, of alliances and rivalry.
As far as the elemental magic goes, it's generally coherent. The story has some curiosities but non of the "surprises" are overly so. I'm interested to wade into the world and see a little more.
Graphic: Body horror, Chronic illness, Cursing, Death, Genocide, Gore, Hate crime, Infertility, Infidelity, Mental illness, Physical abuse, Racial slurs, Racism, Sexism, Sexual assault, Sexual violence, Slavery, Terminal illness, Torture, Toxic relationship, Violence, Blood, Vomit, Police brutality, Medical content, Grief, Religious bigotry, Medical trauma, Death of parent, Murder, Fire/Fire injury, Cultural appropriation, Toxic friendship, Alcohol, Colonisation, War, Injury/Injury detail, and Classism
Moderate: Pedophilia, Rape, and Excrement
Minor: Bullying, Cancer, Chronic illness, Homophobia, Dementia, Kidnapping, Abandonment, and Classism
nutmegnomegano'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
5.0
Minor: Genocide, Hate crime, Racial slurs, and Racism