Reviews tagging 'Violence'

Song of Silver, Flame Like Night by Amélie Wen Zhao

42 reviews

abby_can_read's review against another edition

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adventurous emotional mysterious medium-paced
  • 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

I had a really good time reading this book. While I thought the pacing was inconsistent, it does make sense now that I've reached the end. The worldbuilding with the lore and the history is amazing. The characters were good, though I adore the side characters most, and their relationships were solid. I am excited to read the sequel.

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fabichirinos's review against another edition

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adventurous emotional hopeful tense medium-paced
  • 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

3.75

I really liked the book, it was exciting and fun. I grew fond of the cast of characters and the ending was disheartening, seeing
all the culture of the Hin disappear before their very eyes and the shi'fu' last stand
left me looking forward for the next book. I realized the story mirrors the Century of Humiliation in China, mixed with some of the current struggle of Chinese ethnic clans, like the Uyghur. Even though, Zen's clan reminds me of Manchuria. This tinge of realism really caught me in the story. However, I think
the "betrayal" of Zen was very mild, and I don't get why Lan is so angry at him, like, ok he lied. But she also wished to get t othe Demon Gods before the Elantians, an do what ??? talk with them so they dispersed into the qí. I get it was for th  plot so they separate, but it could have been done better
  I also liked how the author handled the themes of colonialism, war, abuse, very tactful and saying enough to get their point across. An overall good book!

3.75/5⭐

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allisonsmith120's review against another edition

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adventurous dark slow-paced

4.5


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megrainey's review against another edition

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adventurous challenging emotional inspiring mysterious reflective sad tense slow-paced
  • Plot- or character-driven? Plot
  • Strong character development? No
  • Loveable characters? Yes
  • Diverse cast of characters? Yes
  • Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes

3.75


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gardens_and_dragons's review against another edition

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adventurous emotional medium-paced
  • Plot- or character-driven? Plot
  • Strong character development? Yes
  • Loveable characters? Yes
  • Diverse cast of characters? It's complicated
  • Flaws of characters a main focus? No

4.0

This was a pretty good YA romance fantasy. Not groundbreaking but it was very fun, with snappy dialogue and action.  

it had lots of lore based on qi, The Tao, as well as the European stand ins the Elantians that are colonizing the Hin. It was fairly standard wuxia genre, and the main girl Lan is working to discover herself and her pst, as well as become stronger so she can right justices.  

I think it did a good job of weaving in the history, magic, and politics of the world that Lan and Zen are in, with the emotional struggles they are going through. It has some great moments of chemistry between the two, a grumpy-sunshine romance. 

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lizdalizard's review against another edition

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adventurous challenging dark emotional inspiring mysterious medium-paced
  • Plot- or character-driven? Character
  • Strong character development? Yes
  • Loveable characters? Yes
  • Diverse cast of characters? It's complicated
  • Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes

5.0


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crochetcatking's review against another edition

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adventurous dark emotional hopeful mysterious sad tense fast-paced
  • Plot- or character-driven? Character
  • Strong character development? No
  • Loveable characters? Yes
  • Diverse cast of characters? Yes
  • Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes

4.25

The first half of the book is pretty slow. Everything and yet nothing seems to happen. Amelie does a great job setting up the world in this time. The second half of the book is amazing. The last 8 chapters or so make the whole thing worth reading. It gets so exciting right at the end that you easily forgive how fast some of the other plot came and went. Can't wait to read the 2nd book!

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bellebookcorner's review against another edition

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adventurous mysterious slow-paced
  • Plot- or character-driven? Plot
  • Strong character development? It's complicated
  • Loveable characters? It's complicated
  • Diverse cast of characters? Yes
  • Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes

2.5

I’ve seen a lot of positive reviews about this book which had me feeling even more excited to read this one. Sadly, I couldn’t say the same about this book. 
 
The plot idea is really good, the first time I read the blurb I was intrigued and it caught my interest for the first few chapters. 
But somewhere in the middle, the pacing took a slow turn and I started to lose interest in following this story. 
I finally got interested again in the last 30%, where the puzzle pieces start to come together and the secrets are revealed. 
 
I had difficulties with understanding the magic system and the world building. 
I appreciate the history of the world at the beginning of the story but somehow it doesn’t make it easier for me to follow the plot. At times, I would get confused and also feel bored with the repeated information provided throughout the story. 
 
As for the characters, it’s hard for me to connect with them and I can’t even feel the spark of romance between the main characters. When they’re trying to speak out their feelings, they’ll got cut off with something else happening. 
 
Overall, this book has a lot of amazing elements but the slow pacing and the info dumping makes it really hard for me to fully enjoy it. 
I was really closed to stop reading it altogether but the last few chapters and the epilogue change my mind. I’m curious to see what’s gonna happen in the next book. 
 
While this one didn't really work for me, you can still give this one a try if you love reading about detailed world building and a fantasy story without much romance. 

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honuzbubbles's review against another edition

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adventurous challenging dark emotional inspiring mysterious fast-paced
  • 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

4.5


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bloodbrooxv's review against another edition

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adventurous challenging mysterious medium-paced
  • 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

I really liked this book, I would suggest it to anyone who doesn't feel comfortable enough to read the poppy war. Colonialism, as a theme, is very prominent,  and although it's analized in a YA-ish way, it's still very impactful. The romance was very cute, and i'm interested in how it'll develop in the sequel.



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