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ericasbookshelves's review against another edition
- Plot- or character-driven? Plot
- Strong character development? It's complicated
- Loveable characters? Yes
- Diverse cast of characters? Yes
- Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes
3.0
Graphic: Body horror, Gore, Violence, Religious bigotry, and Injury/Injury detail
city_girl_writer's review against another edition
- Plot- or character-driven? A mix
- Strong character development? Yes
- Loveable characters? Yes
- Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes
4.25
Graphic: Gore, Violence, and Religious bigotry
Moderate: Animal death, Self harm, Antisemitism, and Death of parent
Minor: Sexual content and War
the__allovee'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
4.0
Graphic: Gore, Torture, Violence, and Injury/Injury detail
Moderate: Religious bigotry
johnsnowwasright's review against another edition
- Plot- or character-driven? A mix
- Strong character development? Yes
- Loveable characters? It's complicated
- Diverse cast of characters? No
- Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes
4.5
I love Reid's dark, twisted but ethereal settings that read like a Florence and the Machine song.
Evike was such a complicated and flawed character. I would say she's an ugly character at times who is hard to like but we need more characters like her.
Reid managed to explore how trauma can shape who we are and how we treat people in such a poignant way. I liked that we saw Evike grow beyond her trauma responses and realize that she can't treat people however she wants because she is hurting. That it is our choice to break the cycle of trauma and abuse.
I also enjoyed the discussion of religious fundamentalism and the hypocrisy inherent in that fundamentalism. I found it hilarious that the 'Godfather of Life' was every bit as capricious as the pagan gods but the followers completely missed that in their devotion.
I do wish that Reid had given more definition to how these gods interacted with each other and how all their magic could coexist. (Also if there is a godfather of life that's the Christian God then is the Yehuli God the same as Godfather Life but worshiped differently? That's something I wish she had expanded upon.)
But all in all, Reid is such a unique voice and I cannot wait for her next book.
Graphic: Body horror, Gore, and Religious bigotry
grrrcait'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? It's complicated
3.75
Graphic: Animal death, Bullying, Gore, Self harm, Torture, Violence, Xenophobia, Blood, Murder, and Colonisation
Moderate: Racial slurs
Minor: Lesbophobia
aidareads's review against another edition
- Plot- or character-driven? A mix
- Strong character development? Yes
- Loveable characters? It's complicated
- Diverse cast of characters? It's complicated
- Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes
4.0
Graphic: Death, Gore, Self harm, Antisemitism, Religious bigotry, and Fire/Fire injury
antonya'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: Gore, Self harm, Violence, and Xenophobia
Moderate: Animal death and Blood
Minor: Bullying
laurapalmertm's review against another edition
Graphic: Body horror, Death, Gore, Self harm, Violence, Xenophobia, Fire/Fire injury, and Injury/Injury detail
Moderate: Bullying, Suicidal thoughts, Torture, and Vomit
kyeruhh'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? It's complicated
3.5
- The world building/lord
- Actual enemies to lovers
- The prose
- Very gory imo - my fault for not checking CWs first though
- A lot of info dumping (at least the info was interesting)
- To me, the pacing was odd
Graphic: Gore, Violence, Religious bigotry, and Injury/Injury detail
Moderate: Hate crime, Antisemitism, and Death of parent
gardens_and_dragons's review against another edition
- Plot- or character-driven? Plot
- Strong character development? No
- Loveable characters? No
- Diverse cast of characters? It's complicated
- Flaws of characters a main focus? No
3.0
I also was not sure how I should take the low level magic world with real life Jewish and Hungarian historical elements? I don’t know much about either, so it was sometimes confusing to know if a piece of worldbuilding it was something that was historical or made for this book.
I think if you like more historical romance novels, this might be better for you than for me! I was expecting a lot more magic based on the first couple of pages.
Graphic: Gore, Physical abuse, Torture, and Violence
Moderate: Self harm and Antisemitism
Minor: Cannibalism