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readerperson'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? No
5.0
Moderate: Gore and Violence
Minor: Torture
rensreading's review against another edition
- Plot- or character-driven? Plot
- Strong character development? It's complicated
- Loveable characters? It's complicated
- Diverse cast of characters? No
- Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes
4.0
it took me a hot sec to figure out which area of asia this story was drawing inspiration from though. i think i may have just been confused by the studio ghibli comments but idk. the elements of chinese folklore became more clear only once someone pointed them out to me so im probably just slow. the red string of fate was a dead giveaway for sure though.
the plot was okay. it took a little too long to start in my opinion and certain details were brought up in the very end to try and link them as an explanation for why the beginning was so long but it still felt clunky. it seemed like lim had a plan™️ for her ending but didn’t execute it smoothly enough to make sense. there was just a lot of rushing at the end, which i get because its the end but the change of pace was weird and kind of unnecessary too. slow and steady wins the race after all.
i didn’t really care for our mc or how she seemed to enrapture two boys. the romance was just meh to me. it felt like it was missing something but i honestly couldn’t tell you what it was. probably just plain old chemistry. either way, i thought there would be more emphasis on her brothers since they’re the whole reason she’s trying to break the curse anyway but, sadly, we get to learn very little about them. instead we get a good chunk of the book about someone else’s sibling instead :)) how fun :)))
all in all, this was an okay read. there definitely were some overdone cliches and hiccups in the plot but it wasn’t enough to make me dislike this book either.
because of all of the above, i give this 4 stars
Graphic: Animal death, Body horror, Confinement, Cursing, Death, Gore, Misogyny, Torture, Violence, Blood, Medical trauma, Fire/Fire injury, Abandonment, Injury/Injury detail, and Classism
Moderate: Grief and Death of parent
Minor: War
lmaloney's review against another edition
- Plot- or character-driven? Character
- Strong character development? Yes
- Loveable characters? Yes
- Diverse cast of characters? No
- Flaws of characters a main focus? It's complicated
4.0
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It was so fun! I really enjoyed the pace and the twist at every turn !
Liked: magic, cultural landscape, the map, hidden indentity trope, stacrossed lovers, humour, revelations!
Disliked: pace, why was Shiori seemingly competing with every girl she met besides her sister in law and a paperbird, very boy centric, very cishet…
4 stars xxxx
Graphic: Bullying, Confinement, Death, and Death of parent
Moderate: Animal death, Body horror, Gore, Physical abuse, Fire/Fire injury, and Injury/Injury detail
Minor: Slavery, Blood, Trafficking, and Sexual harassment
teri_b's review against another edition
- 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
5.0
This was such an absolute blast of a book.
It holds a beautiful, amazing and in depth retelling of the Wild Swans fairy tale set in an Eastern world.
And it only got better, with twists and turns and shenanigans.
But reader, be aware, the story ain't over yet, so more is to come, and there be dragons, it seems in 2022.
Graphic: Body shaming and Confinement
Moderate: Emotional abuse, Gore, Physical abuse, Violence, Medical content, Grief, Death of parent, and War