Reviews with content warning for Gore - Foundryside

I tried reading this last year and DNF it, but came back and liked it quite a bit. I don't like much gore so parts of this were a bit much for me, but otherwise it was a good storyline and the magic system is really interesting.

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mikarala's review

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adventurous dark emotional mysterious tense fast-paced

Plot- or character-driven? Plot
Strong character development? No
Loveable characters? Yes
Diverse cast of characters? Yes
Flaws of characters a main focus? No

4.5

Incredibly clever and well-written introduction to a new fantasy world. The magic system in this series is so unique and well-realized, and Bennett has clearly thought through all the thematic implications of this system. The characters, plot, setting, world-building, and themes all just felt incredibly cohesive, in a way that made this novel thoroughly enjoyable and thought-provoking. The only reason I held back from giving it a full 5 stars is that I don't feel like I truly fell in love with the book at any point, however I don't really have anything bad to say about it either. A very excellent start to a fantasy trilogy.

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astropova's review against another edition

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adventurous dark mysterious medium-paced

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

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oldladysadie's review against another edition

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adventurous dark 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? It's complicated

5.0

I am floored by how much I enjoyed this book. The worldbuilding sucked me in immediately, I love how the magic of scriving works, the action continually surprised me and kept me on the edge of my seat, and Clef is just so funny. And mixing in

Spoiler

a sapphic romance for Sancia and Berenice

?? Say less.

10/10, no notes, RIP my bank account picking up the rest of this series because my local libraries only have Book 1 🫠

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kikaas's review against another edition

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adventurous medium-paced

Plot- or character-driven? Plot

4.25

This was soo fun, I could not put it down. The world-building and plot were EXCELLENT. I loved loved the magic system and commentary around it, everything was clearly explained without feeling info-dumpy and the story was cleverly woven and super engaging from the first page. Not a 5 stars because of some minor issues I had with the writing and (pls don’t come for me haha) the characters. I liked our protagonist a lot and the concept of every character but I didn’t fall in love with them the way other readers did. The dialogues were entertaining for sure but there was 99% banter (and the word “scrum”😂) and 1% serious conversation, and I think it prevented me from connecting more deeply with some of the characters until the very end.

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