Reviews with content warning for Gore - Nuncanoche

This was a fun story! I enjoyed the characters, world, and plot. I thought it had a nice mix of constant action but also exploring the internal emotions and decisions of the characters. The magic systems felt complex with both learned skills as well as intrinsic abilities. There was also a balance to the powers, so something that seemed like it could easily be overpowered was kept in check by other forces in the world/magic system.

I was grateful that the romantic elements of the plot didn't take over everything so I could actually enjoy the romance without being pissed at the main character for suddenly becoming stupid and lovesick.

The footnotes were enjoyable for me, though at times a bit too frequent. I can see how the style of writing/humor that the narrator has (which especially comes out in the footnotes) might not be everyone's cup of tea, but I really liked it! They often made me chuckle and I liked all the extra little world-building details.

A note on genre: I've seen some places label this as YA but just because the main character is 16 years old, I would not call this YA! Lots of violence, gore, swearing, and an explicit sex scene.

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max_pink's review against another edition

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challenging dark mysterious tense slow-paced

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? Yes

2.0

One of the worst feelings you can get from reading a book is feeling sleazy for engaging with it.

Another terrible feeling is sighing at lines that try way too hard to be epic every few pages.

And fast-forwarding past footnotes that do absolutely nothing but slow the pacing to a crawl.

And being annoyed at the fetishy treatment of teenagers, lesbians, and brown people.

Did I actually like anything about this? Uh. The world is kind of interesting? I liked Carlotta. Ashlinn was okay.

The teachers sucked, though.

Sigh. What a waste of hours.

Solid narration by Holter Graham, however.

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savvyy01's review against another edition

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adventurous dark mysterious sad tense medium-paced

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? No

3.75

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mlcutter's review against another edition

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adventurous challenging dark mysterious sad tense fast-paced

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

Solid 5 stars. When Mia Corvere loses her father in an uprising to overthrow the corrupt government, she decides to join the Our Mother of Blessed Murder order of assassins to become a Blade (the best of the best). This book is all about her training and decisions that she has to make to become strong and skilled enough to avenge her father's murder. The descriptions in this novel are amazing and thr characters are incredibly well-formed. It was recommended to me that I read this book as an aspiring fantasy writer and it did not disappoint. Word of warning, even though Mia is 16, this is NOT a YA novel! No surprise, there is death and its graphic, and there is also a love connection and it is somewhat graphic. But I still believe this is essential for anyone who wants to write fantasy.

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