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tired_cicada's review against another edition
adventurous
dark
emotional
hopeful
inspiring
mysterious
tense
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? Yes
4.5
This was a really good read! There were a lot of times that it took me by surprise! It was well done, though there were times it that the charecters would remember back to events that happened before the novels beginning and will talk about them like the reader already knows what happens. And it will kinda tiptoe around some sensetive topics. Like with context clues you know what happens but it's like they were to scared (?) to just come right out and say "The main character was assaulted." They got away unharmed! But still it clearly scared them like if you are going to bring it up that much you kinda need to let us (the readers) know what's going on. That's not a mystery for us to solve.
The romance was really cute! More than once I had to stop reading for a minute and grin like an idiot! A am a sucker for a good ole hidden identity love story!! And I loved the world building! They way things were shaped around different cultural hierarchies clashing against one another! It was done very well!
That being said... There were a number of times that, from my perspective, it threw in "buzzwords" about inclusivity without really doing anything about it. Like in one bit, one of the underground fighters is rolling their eyes at how a male fighter and a female fighter have been kinda "grouped" together and paired off due to "all that heteronormative crap." But we don't actually ever see a same-sex couple. We DO get canon homosexuals, but nothing beyond that. So I do hope that going into the second book we see more of that beyond dropping some vocab words.
also was anyone else confused in that last confrontation with Moolek? Where he says that the God of Earth had told him to blow up the volcano? Like I double checked and there ISNT a god of earth in this world. There is a GODDESS of earth, but the entire book any time they mentioned her it was with the notion that she is very gentle in nature. So that kinda threw me through a loop. Nothing like disregarding your own lore to shatter your suspension of disbelief. Hope that all gets cleared up in book two! See y'all in 2022!
Overall I really liked it! I mean I finished it in three days! Good and engaging story, interesting dynamics, and a villain I can't WAIT to see get what's coming for him!
The romance was really cute! More than once I had to stop reading for a minute and grin like an idiot! A am a sucker for a good ole hidden identity love story!! And I loved the world building! They way things were shaped around different cultural hierarchies clashing against one another! It was done very well!
That being said... There were a number of times that, from my perspective, it threw in "buzzwords" about inclusivity without really doing anything about it. Like in one bit, one of the underground fighters is rolling their eyes at how a male fighter and a female fighter have been kinda "grouped" together and paired off due to "all that heteronormative crap." But we don't actually ever see a same-sex couple. We DO get canon homosexuals, but nothing beyond that. So I do hope that going into the second book we see more of that beyond dropping some vocab words.
Overall I really liked it! I mean I finished it in three days! Good and engaging story, interesting dynamics, and a villain I can't WAIT to see get what's coming for him!
Content Warnings
Moderate: Death, Drug abuse, Drug use, Terminal illness, Torture, Violence, Medical content, Fire/Fire injury, Abandonment, War, and Injury/Injury detail
Minor: Sexual assault