Scan barcode
aleyajo's review against another edition
- Strong character development? Yes
- Loveable characters? Yes
- Diverse cast of characters? Yes
- Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes
4.25
Graphic: Animal cruelty, Bullying, Child abuse, Confinement, Cursing, Death, Drug use, Emotional abuse, Sexual content, Violence, Kidnapping, Death of parent, Murder, Fire/Fire injury, Gaslighting, Abandonment, Injury/Injury detail, and Classism
gen_nh'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? It's complicated
4.25
Graphic: Animal cruelty, Animal death, Bullying, Child abuse, Confinement, Death, Domestic abuse, Emotional abuse, Torture, Kidnapping, Death of parent, Murder, Abandonment, and Injury/Injury detail
Moderate: Grief
imds's review against another edition
- Plot- or character-driven? Plot
- Strong character development? Yes
- Loveable characters? Yes
- Diverse cast of characters? Yes
3.25
Graphic: Bullying, Child abuse, Child death, Confinement, Death, Emotional abuse, Suicidal thoughts, Torture, Violence, Kidnapping, Grief, Death of parent, Murder, Fire/Fire injury, Gaslighting, Abandonment, Injury/Injury detail, and Classism
bencaroline'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? No
4.0
Graphic: Confinement, Domestic abuse, Emotional abuse, Sexual content, Toxic relationship, Grief, Murder, Fire/Fire injury, and Injury/Injury detail
lizziaha's review against another edition
- Loveable characters? Yes
- Diverse cast of characters? Yes
4.75
Graphic: Child abuse, Confinement, Death, Torture, Kidnapping, Murder, Injury/Injury detail, and Classism
Moderate: Animal cruelty, Animal death, Drug use, Sexual assault, Sexual content, Suicidal thoughts, Grief, Death of parent, and Sexual harassment
lubotomy's review against another edition
- Plot- or character-driven? N/A
- Strong character development? It's complicated
- Loveable characters? Yes
- Diverse cast of characters? Yes
- Flaws of characters a main focus? N/A
5.0
Graphic: Confinement, Death, Drug use, Suicidal thoughts, Violence, Death of parent, Murder, and Injury/Injury detail
Moderate: Sexual content, Kidnapping, Fire/Fire injury, and Abandonment
Minor: Outing, Sexual harassment, and Classism
talonsontypewriters'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
Graphic: Child abuse, Confinement, Death, Emotional abuse, Kidnapping, Grief, Murder, Fire/Fire injury, and Classism
Moderate: Animal cruelty, Animal death, Bullying, Drug use, Sexual content, Toxic relationship, Violence, Blood, Death of parent, Gaslighting, War, and Injury/Injury detail
Minor: Addiction, Infidelity, Sexual assault, Suicidal thoughts, Suicide, Torture, and Vomit
Drowning. Slut shaming. Starvation. Relationship between characters who are currently both adults, but almost definitely met when one was around 10 and the other was an older teenager/adult.aseel_reads's review against another edition
- Plot- or character-driven? Character
- Strong character development? Yes
- Loveable characters? Yes
- Diverse cast of characters? Yes
- Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes
4.0
Moderate: Child abuse, Confinement, Death, Emotional abuse, Sexual assault, Kidnapping, Death of parent, Murder, Fire/Fire injury, Gaslighting, and Injury/Injury detail
augustrogue'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
2.5
Things I did enjoy:
* Some of the world building was pretty cool! I liked the concept of the ambles, the description of the landscape, and the politics of the different airship fuel sources.
* Enjoyed getting more Giddon and Hava! Their parts were probably my favorite; I wish there was a bit more of it.
* The action, when it happened, was exciting. Like the escape from Lovisa's family home, and the fox figuring out how to help Bitterblue. Actually, Adventure Fox was one of my favorites too.
Here are some of the things that bothered me about this book:
* Why does it seem like all world exploration is happening during the main characters' lifetime, despite things like boats and apparently airships already being in existence? Bitterblue and Co. really didn't know the Dells or Winterkeep even existed, nor had anyone ever visited from those places, until just now? I repeat, there are AIRSHIPS.
* Apparently the language of the Middluns is called Lingian, after Gracelings. This is like if a country's language was named after like, a unique disease or mental health condition. But an outsider named their language. Did they not have a name for their own language before? What.
* Okay, so. Let's talk about race. The first couple of books only had white people and vaguely tan Lianid people. Sure. So in this book, the 4th in the series, you introduce a continent where everyone is dark-skinned/brown. Sure. They live in the far north, where it snows all the time and has glaciers. ...Pardon? (If this was the only worldbuilding issue, I'd shrug because I don't really care if having POC in particular settings "makes sense." Representation and diversity is a good thing. But it just feels like.. kind of a weird geographical choice, I don't know. The map in general has a clear "making this up as I go" vibe, especially with how squared off the Middluns are.)
* The blue foxes. Did you know they're not actually blue, they're gray? If you didn't know, you'll be told about 3 or 4 times. They definitely feel, hmm, a bit derivative of His Dark Materials daemons, though I do understand that Pullman's books don't have a monopoly on bonded animals that talk to you and spy on people. But honestly Lavisa's parents feel a lot like Lyra's parents, too. Down to the fur coats and traveling around on airships and uh, the abuse.
* Almost all of the characters have dialogue that has a shallow, slightly ditzy and childish vibe, to the point that I couldn't tell the difference in maturity between a 16 year old protagonist and the ones in their 20s or 30s.
* Characters have a... strange relationship with casual sex in this book. Don't get me wrong, I am 100% pro-casual sex if a person wants that. But what feels like a disproportionate amount of time is spent thinking about it compared to the actual plot. The way Bitterblue is like "oh yes, I have so many lovers but I don't actually care about any of them" doesn't really fit with how otherwise sensitive and empathetic she is. It at least makes more sense for Lovisa to kind of have a fucked up relationship with it, considering her upbringing and how manipulative the people around her are. There is also a very odd exchange where Nev asks her grandfather if he has "ever experienced sexual jealousy" and he's like, oh yeah, totally, your grandmother slept with lots of guys before me. (... Okay?) And then Lovisa leaves the room because it's making her feel weird/bad. There's really no point to this exchange other than that.
I feel a bit bad that this review is so negative, I really enjoy the Graceling series normally, but this one just wasn't it for me. Will I read Seasparrow? Upon reflection, even though I think it features Hava, who I do like... probably not. I think I'll stick with my nostalgia for the first book, as if it were a standalone.
Graphic: Child abuse, Emotional abuse, Kidnapping, Death of parent, Murder, Fire/Fire injury, Gaslighting, and Abandonment
Moderate: Drug use, Sexual content, and Injury/Injury detail
themoodreader'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? No
3.5
Moderate: Child abuse, Confinement, Violence, and Death of parent
Minor: Animal death, Child abuse, Confinement, Cursing, Death, Emotional abuse, Infidelity, Sexual content, Violence, Blood, Vomit, Kidnapping, Stalking, Death of parent, Murder, Fire/Fire injury, Abandonment, and Injury/Injury detail