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mschrokosch's review against another edition
4.0
So this book has been on my TBR for about a year, and I finally read it.
The cover is so pretty and I love demons and folktales from other places and culture; totally thought it was going to be a 5 star.
Although I enjoyed the read and will continued on with the series, it wasn't the 5 star I was hopping it would be. Some of the plot was nonsensical, and Character Development, in someone other than the two main characters, were lacking.
(Example: there was one character who was introduce, in like chapter 10, who's not mentions again until like Chapter 25 and by that time in the story so much had happened, I Literally yelled out loud "Who the hell is this guy!").
I don't mean to discourage anyone from reading this book, it is really quite good. There were parts of the story that gripped me and had me staying up late at night to finish. I just had some critic.
The cover is so pretty and I love demons and folktales from other places and culture; totally thought it was going to be a 5 star.
Although I enjoyed the read and will continued on with the series, it wasn't the 5 star I was hopping it would be. Some of the plot was nonsensical, and Character Development, in someone other than the two main characters, were lacking.
(Example: there was one character who was introduce, in like chapter 10, who's not mentions again until like Chapter 25 and by that time in the story so much had happened, I Literally yelled out loud "Who the hell is this guy!").
I don't mean to discourage anyone from reading this book, it is really quite good. There were parts of the story that gripped me and had me staying up late at night to finish. I just had some critic.
acanthae'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
2.0
This should have been an adult novel. Great ideas, fell flat as a YA.
stephlunatic's review against another edition
3.0
I loved the last two parts, but for me, the pacing was off and I had a hard time getting through some parts because it didn't keep my focus.
honey__bean's review against another edition
dark
tense
slow-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? A mix
- Diverse cast of characters? Yes
3.25
The first 100 pages are pretty slow and dense, but after that it really picks up. I like certain aspects of the book that I don't often see in other YA lit, like time play and consistent failure of the main character. However, there are parts that seem like the author is trying to get the audience to see emotional connections between characters (constantly saying Efiya and Arrah love each other) but having no textual evidence to support it. It can also be quite repetitive. I would still recommend it though.
ellahoward_'s review against another edition
adventurous
dark
tense
slow-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? Plot
- Strong character development? It's complicated
- Loveable characters? No
- Diverse cast of characters? Yes
- Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes
3.5
lesserjoke's review against another edition
4.0
The fantasy worldbuilding in this YA debut gets a bit off the rails in the end, but as a cliffhanger setup for the next book in the trilogy, it just about works. And the whole novel beforehand is definitely strong enough on a plot and character level to ease any concerns about that conclusion. The storyline goes in some unexpected directions that make it tough to summarize succinctly without spoilers, but I can say I've enjoyed the journey -- and I'll happily take complicated over conventional any day.
Our tale begins with a girl of magical lineage but no powers herself, and concerns the sacrifices required of her to still serve her people. It's an #ownvoices project with a dark-skinned cast that draws upon the same West African Orisha mythology as Tomi Adeyemi's Children of Blood and Bone (to a better result, in my opinion). And it features the sort of messy family dynamics that add great weight to the conflicts facing its heroine. I'm quite looking forward to the sequel.
[Content warning for rape]
Find me on Patreon | Goodreads | Blog | Twitter
Our tale begins with a girl of magical lineage but no powers herself, and concerns the sacrifices required of her to still serve her people. It's an #ownvoices project with a dark-skinned cast that draws upon the same West African Orisha mythology as Tomi Adeyemi's Children of Blood and Bone (to a better result, in my opinion). And it features the sort of messy family dynamics that add great weight to the conflicts facing its heroine. I'm quite looking forward to the sequel.
[Content warning for rape]
Find me on Patreon | Goodreads | Blog | Twitter
cherrybluedreams's review against another edition
3.0
I’m slightly disappointed with this book to be honest. I really had high expectations going into it because of the reviews i’ve seen.
I loved the premise and all the African-inspired mythology. The world-building is great in my opinion and i really enjoyed that aspect of the book.
But ultimately, i could not care about any of the characters and Arrah frustrated me A LOT of times. I’m a big character driven person and sadly all of them felt flat for my taste. Also, the pacing in this book was simply off, i mean, there’s no build-up for the action scenes. One moment they were all chill, and the next everything went downhill, i was like ???? Why?
Anyway, i don’t think this was a bad book by any means, it just didn’t click with me as i would have liked.
I loved the premise and all the African-inspired mythology. The world-building is great in my opinion and i really enjoyed that aspect of the book.
But ultimately, i could not care about any of the characters and Arrah frustrated me A LOT of times. I’m a big character driven person and sadly all of them felt flat for my taste. Also, the pacing in this book was simply off, i mean, there’s no build-up for the action scenes. One moment they were all chill, and the next everything went downhill, i was like ???? Why?
Anyway, i don’t think this was a bad book by any means, it just didn’t click with me as i would have liked.