discarded_dust_jacket's review against another edition
- Plot- or character-driven? Plot
- Strong character development? Yes
- Loveable characters? It's complicated
- Diverse cast of characters? Yes
- Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes
3.0
The queer representation was good. I empathized with Wyatt—his self-loathing, his anger, his tendency to lash out instead of facing his emotions, and his selfishness—even when he frustrated me SO MUCH.
I did like a lot of the secondary characters as well, but overall it seemed like the author was so focused on examining Wyatt’s internal struggles that not enough focus was spent on making any of the other characters very nuanced or multi-dimensional. (Tessa’s arc is, I think, meant to involve growth and development, but it comes across more as a clumsy and sudden about face.)
I also didn’t think the author did a good enough job of making us understand why Emyr found a marriage to Wyatt so necessary that he was willing to force him into it under penalty of death. It just didn’t feel fleshed out enough to read as believable, which gave the entire premise of the story a sort-of unmoored quality. (Maybe multiple POVs would have helped here?)
Plus I felt like a lot of the plot development got squished into the last 20% or so of the book, making it read very much like an attempt to quickly tie up lose ends and insert twists where they didn’t feel necessarily natural just to set up the events of the second book. (The big “aha!” moment at the end when the villain is confronted felt very similar to the end of a Scooby-Doo episode: “and I would’ve gotten away with it too, if it weren’t for you meddling kids!”)
Finally, a lot about the way witches in this story are born to (and subsequently rejected by) Fae families seemed to be an allegory for the queer experience, especially when at one point, that similarity is explicitly pointed out on page by Wyatt.
You have the Fae (conservative) businesses refusing service to the witches, then the guard (police) siding with the Fae when they protest/incite violence against witches using language most readers would immediately associate with white supremacists.
But at the same time, this allegory breaks apart when you consider this magical realm is also supposed to exist WITHIN the current, human world (and that there also exist Fae queer people). If an allegory is meant to be a fictional representation of a real-world people, institution, or concept, how can that allegory exist in a fictional story where the very real thing it’s meant to be representing ALSO exists? So maybe it’s not meant to be allegory at all, I don’t know, but I found my confusion over it very distracting as I was reading.
Graphic: Fire/Fire injury, Bullying, Child abuse, Deadnaming, Blood, Death of parent, Grief, and Murder
Moderate: Sexual assault, Terminal illness, and Suicidal thoughts
Minor: Infertility
mxemma's review against another edition
- Plot- or character-driven? Plot
- Strong character development? Yes
- Loveable characters? It's complicated
- Diverse cast of characters? Yes
- Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes
3.5
Graphic: Drug use, Violence, Racism, Gore, and Hate crime
Moderate: Body horror, Grief, Murder, Abandonment, Child abuse, Death of parent, Emotional abuse, Police brutality, Sexual violence, War, Terminal illness, and Transphobia
Minor: Pregnancy, Dysphoria, and Deadnaming
stormeno'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? Yes
3.5
Moderate: Bullying, Classism, Confinement, Deadnaming, Death of parent, Grief, Sexual content, Colonisation, Cursing, Death, Fire/Fire injury, Child abuse, Dysphoria, and Emotional abuse
Minor: Alcohol and Drug use
ryankaybee'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
2.5
Graphic: Deadnaming, Emotional abuse, Grief, Injury/Injury detail, Panic attacks/disorders, Death of parent, Fire/Fire injury, Child abuse, Transphobia, Racism, Death, and Dysphoria
zoepagereader's review against another edition
- Plot- or character-driven? Plot
- Strong character development? Yes
- Loveable characters? Yes
- Diverse cast of characters? Yes
- Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes
5.0
Graphic: Grief, Blood, Deadnaming, Gore, Hate crime, War, Body horror, Fire/Fire injury, Murder, Sexual assault, Violence, Sexual content, and Sexual violence
sglance9's review
- 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
5.0
Graphic: Grief, Death, Fire/Fire injury, and Death of parent
Moderate: Transphobia, Bullying, Police brutality, Deadnaming, Violence, and Emotional abuse
Minor: Colonisation and Infertility
lyd41's review against another edition
- Plot- or character-driven? Plot
- Strong character development? Yes
- Loveable characters? Yes
- Diverse cast of characters? Yes
- Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes
4.0
Graphic: Xenophobia, Mental illness, Infertility, Gore, Grief, Gaslighting, Fire/Fire injury, Dysphoria, Eating disorder, Suicide, Violence, Panic attacks/disorders, Emotional abuse, Drug use, Deportation, Deadnaming, Death, Suicide attempt, Self harm, Injury/Injury detail, Confinement, Blood, and Alcohol
Moderate: Transphobia, Vomit, and Police brutality
Minor: Genocide, Stalking, Physical abuse, Torture, Sexual violence, and Pregnancy
karcitis'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
5.0
Graphic: Hate crime, Fire/Fire injury, Death, Gore, Violence, Injury/Injury detail, Grief, Domestic abuse, Suicidal thoughts, Police brutality, Murder, Death of parent, and Blood
Moderate: Physical abuse, Sexual violence, Sexual assault, Colonisation, Drug use, Child abuse, Sexual harassment, Emotional abuse, Pregnancy, Confinement, Deadnaming, Vomit, and Dysphoria
carolined314'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
3.0
Graphic: Fire/Fire injury, Sexual assault, Torture, Injury/Injury detail, and Abandonment
Moderate: Death of parent, Physical abuse, Grief, Toxic friendship, Death, Sexual content, Gaslighting, Gore, Police brutality, Stalking, Murder, and Emotional abuse
Minor: Child abuse, Classism, Transphobia, Bullying, and Deportation
theblerdnewsletter's review
- Plot- or character-driven? A mix
- Strong character development? It's complicated
- Loveable characters? No
- Diverse cast of characters? It's complicated
- Flaws of characters a main focus? It's complicated
2.0
Spoiler
literal teenagers having sexSpoiler
Fae being from another planet is a really cool idea but the execution was abysmalSpoiler
Wyatt and Emyr kind of don’t end up togetherGraphic: Gore, Murder, and Abandonment
Moderate: Emotional abuse, Grief, Sexual assault, Suicidal thoughts, Blood, Child abuse, Deadnaming, Physical abuse, Sexual content, Sexual harassment, Death of parent, Domestic abuse, Fire/Fire injury, Bullying, Classism, Death, and Injury/Injury detail