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thegeminibard'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
Tournament trope is so good here. So is the enemies to lovers. I love the world building and the glimpses of Orayas past.
Oraya is just an absolute badass even tho she’s only human. And I love that we see that first thing chapter 1.
I was shocked by one of the plot twists but I guessed at the other but not to the extent of it. Devastating ending I wasn’t expecting despite the prologue lol.
Read this if you like enemies to lovers, tournaments, underdog protagonist, found family, dark themes, Sarah j Maas books but with Jay Kristoff vibes. There are trigger warnings at beginning.
Moderate: Death, Rape, Self harm, Torture, Violence, Blood, Murder, Fire/Fire injury, Gaslighting, War, and Injury/Injury detail
cersmessenger'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? No
- Flaws of characters a main focus? It's complicated
4.25
Graphic: Cursing, Gore, Sexual content, Blood, Grief, Murder, Fire/Fire injury, Abandonment, and Injury/Injury detail
Moderate: Torture, Violence, Abandonment, and War
Minor: Animal death, Child death, Death, Emotional abuse, Panic attacks/disorders, Rape, Sexual assault, Toxic relationship, Medical content, Death of parent, Gaslighting, and Sexual harassment
jennipea382's review against another edition
- 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? Yes
5.0
Graphic: Body horror, Child death, Cursing, Death, Genocide, Gore, Sexual content, Torture, Violence, Blood, Grief, Death of parent, Murder, Fire/Fire injury, Gaslighting, War, and Injury/Injury detail
Minor: Animal death, Emotional abuse, Infidelity, Rape, Suicidal thoughts, Toxic relationship, Vomit, Kidnapping, Fire/Fire injury, Alcohol, and Colonisation
traceyanderson'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? N/A
- Flaws of characters a main focus? It's complicated
4.75
Graphic: Animal cruelty, Animal death, Body horror, Confinement, Cursing, Death, Emotional abuse, Genocide, Gore, Rape, Sexual assault, Sexual content, Sexual violence, Torture, Toxic relationship, Violence, Blood, Grief, Death of parent, Murder, Fire/Fire injury, Gaslighting, War, Injury/Injury detail, and Classism
miss_berry315's review against another edition
4.0
🌶️.5/5
I really loved the intensity of the trials in this book. I also really liked how a lot of the character motivation was hidden from the reader in a way that we got just enough to be intrigued, but not too much to be overly predictable.
Some aspects of the plot were easy to guess, but overall it set up for book 2 very well.
The plot was great, the characters were complex and far from flawless, there was mystery and tension throughout the book.
Graphic: Death, Gore, Violence, Blood, Murder, and Injury/Injury detail
Minor: Emotional abuse, Rape, Self harm, Suicidal thoughts, Toxic relationship, Grief, Death of parent, and Gaslighting
cinnamonreads's review
- Plot- or character-driven? A mix
- Strong character development? Yes
- Loveable characters? Yes
- Diverse cast of characters? No
- Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes
4.0
for the most part, really well written, great character development and emotional depth. plenty of dark themes that are thought-provoking and tastefully explored.
the romance in this was like fire. great, burning, all-consuming… until it fizzles out. (in the best way possible, that leaves you gasping for air and on the brink of tears.)
what I didn’t like was the clunky, unclear descriptions in some of the trials that I had to reread a couple of times and still didn’t understand.
Moderate: Rape, Self harm, Sexual assault, Grief, and Gaslighting
j_day'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? It's complicated
5.0
Graphic: Death, Emotional abuse, Genocide, Gore, Physical abuse, Rape, Self harm, Sexual assault, Sexual content, Sexual violence, Slavery, Torture, Violence, Blood, Vomit, Grief, Murder, Fire/Fire injury, Gaslighting, Alcohol, and Injury/Injury detail
barbarianmissy's review against another edition
- Plot- or character-driven? A mix
- Strong character development? Yes
- Loveable characters? Yes
- Diverse cast of characters? No
- Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes
4.5
Side note: so the more books I read, the more I look back and realize I rated a lot of previous books WAY too high. (Most of my 5 star reads were more so 4 stars, but crazy lil Miss ME got really excited about the endings and bumped that shit up to a 5 star cause I rate them immediately after I finish them……..which I probably will not stop doing 💁♀️)
BUT I feel confident in rating this one a 4.5!
This was like a spicy grown up Twilight Hunger Games, where Bella could kick ASS and Charlie sucked ASS. Edward was still only ~kind of~ a ginger.
I had a lot of fun!
I really liked the banter between Oraya and Raihn but I swear to Nyaxia, if he told her “there she is” one more time I was gonna throw the book across the room. It was cute the first 20 times, but not so cute after you brutally murdered her beloved papa in front of her. Anywho, I liked their dynamic. I like that it’s not all sunshine and rainbows with them. There’s a love/hate element that is really push and pull and keeps me on my toes. I LIKE EM!
Mische (aka Alice Cullen) was a really neat character! I hope they explore her more in this series! I also hope her god stops being a nasty and gives her her cool flames back!
I’m curious how the rest of the story will play out. Seems like we are moving from Hunger Games territory into a political wartime strategy plotline and I think I will kind of LIVE for it????? Idk though.
I wanna read the next one but the paperback doesn’t come out till December and I think I may wait, but I suck at waiting so I may choose otherwise and load up the kindle! We shall SEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEE
Moderate: Animal death, Body horror, Child abuse, Confinement, Cursing, Death, Emotional abuse, Genocide, Gore, Hate crime, Physical abuse, Racism, Rape, Self harm, Sexual assault, Sexual content, Sexual violence, Slavery, Torture, Toxic relationship, Violence, Blood, Grief, Cannibalism, Medical trauma, Death of parent, Murder, Fire/Fire injury, Gaslighting, War, Injury/Injury detail, and Classism
adri11's review against another edition
- 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
4.0
Graphic: Death, Emotional abuse, Blood, Grief, Murder, Gaslighting, and Injury/Injury detail
Moderate: Rape and Sexual assault
liaantje's review against another edition
- 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
4.25
Graphic: Body horror, Death, Gore, Violence, Blood, Cannibalism, and Murder
Moderate: Animal cruelty, Animal death, Panic attacks/disorders, Torture, Vomit, Grief, Death of parent, Fire/Fire injury, Gaslighting, and Injury/Injury detail
Minor: Bullying, Child death, Confinement, Cursing, Domestic abuse, Genocide, Panic attacks/disorders, Physical abuse, Rape, Self harm, Sexism, Sexual assault, Slavery, Suicidal thoughts, Medical content, Cannibalism, and Alcohol