kurumipanda'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: Violence
Moderate: Body horror, Grief, and Injury/Injury detail
Minor: Torture, Transphobia, War, Alcohol, Cannibalism, Classism, Sexual violence, and Slavery
ienbdri'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? It's complicated
3.75
Spoiler
The magic birds just deciding her fate? A place between worlds without an explanation that really wasn't necessary for the story? Random magic without any system? Naaaaah.Graphic: Sexism, Cursing, Gore, Violence, and Torture
Moderate: Death of parent, Transphobia, Death, Sexism, and Slavery
karatics'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: Violence, Blood, Body horror, Physical abuse, Cursing, Death, and Murder
Moderate: Sexual content, Islamophobia, Suicidal thoughts, Cannibalism, Classism, Gore, Grief, Kidnapping, Misogyny, Abandonment, Alcohol, and Alcoholism
Minor: Deadnaming, Rape, Slavery, Sexual harassment, Dysphoria, and Infidelity
sunnydale'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
4.0
i love that the protagonist's faith is central to her character, and we're also able to see how it's developed throughout her life. her faith is sometimes messy, sometimes self-contradicting, but she also never doubts her core beliefs, and she's a more authentic character because of it.
irrelevant to the quality of the book, i noticed that "midnight" is the author's favorite adjective for anything dark. "midnight beach," "midnight ocean," "midnight fabric," etc. it felt like a scavenger hunt trying to find the word in each chapter, lol.
i would recommend this to fans of fantasy, especially those who are looking for non-western fantasy settings. i definitely recommend the audiobook, although you might want a print or ebook copy for the helpful bibliography.
Moderate: Xenophobia, Misogyny, Sexism, Sexual content, Sexual harassment, Torture, Blood, Cursing, Murder, Alcohol, and Violence
Minor: Cannibalism, Colonisation, Alcoholism, Religious bigotry, Fire/Fire injury, Islamophobia, Sexual violence, Slavery, Transphobia, Body horror, Injury/Injury detail, Abandonment, Death, and Death of parent
Violence and sexual content are at a PG-13 rating. There is a lot of swearing. The cat is fine.thewellbitch's review against another edition
- 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
5.0
Moderate: Genocide, Alcohol, Violence, and Murder
Minor: Slavery
kappafrog's review
- 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
4.25
The book got too violent for my tastes at times. Some of the plot armour the main characters had got pretty convoluted. Still, I look forward to seeing more in this series.
Graphic: Injury/Injury detail, Misogyny, Murder, Death, Gore, Police brutality, Religious bigotry, Toxic relationship, Xenophobia, Blood, Body horror, Cursing, Classism, Violence, Alcohol, Sexism, and Sexual harassment
Moderate: Grief, Genocide, Slavery, Torture, Transphobia, Alcoholism, Dysphoria, Fire/Fire injury, Islamophobia, Vomit, and War
Minor: Rape, Pregnancy, Sexual content, Adult/minor relationship, Addiction, Infidelity, and Sexual assault
j_squaredd's review
- 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
4.75
Graphic: Violence, Alcohol, Sexual harassment, and Sexism
Moderate: Religious bigotry, Transphobia, Slavery, Sexual content, and Vomit
Minor: Sexual assault, Sexual violence, War, and Torture
bel017's review against another edition
- Plot- or character-driven? A mix
- Loveable characters? Yes
- Diverse cast of characters? Yes
- Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes
I adore Amina's pragmatic voice. I relate so much to that mentality of getting on with the job in front of you, even though you'd really rather have a lie down. Her competence, humor and practically, and the way she accepts magical forces as just another idiotic thing she has to deal with was a delight.
I loved Amina's pull between motherhood and her own desires, though I would have liked to have seen that more resolved. And the plot points put in to make this the first book of a series felt forced; this is a complete tale, why does everything have to be a series now?
Moderate: Violence, Death, Blood, and Injury/Injury detail
Minor: Alcohol, Confinement, Slavery, Body horror, Death of parent, Physical abuse, and Kidnapping
hannahbailey'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
4.0
"For while the pious claim money doesn't buy happiness, I can attest from personal experience that poverty buys nothing."
"I pressed my knife where his legs met. 'The first offense costs a tooth. The second, something far dearer.'" what a legend
"People may call my kind sea rats, but let me tell you, rats know when to fucking run"
"This man could manifest as a beam of celestial light, and he chose to use that power to spy on a naked woman?"
"You plague of a woman, if you could just listen to reason!" I too would like to be referred to as a plague of a woman 😌
I really enjoyed this epic tale of a female pirate coming back from retirement for one last adventure -- the reward so high she couldn't turn it down. The blend of religion and magic was really well done, the sense of mystery and unanswered questions throughout was also really compelling. I liked that many of the magical creatures were humanoid in nature, meaning the MC could converse with them with her trademark wit and swearing!
Whilst the front cover (both US and UK) suggests a world of magic, high seas and adventure, be prepared for graphic scenes of violence, injury and death. There's also blackmailing, demons and a queen of poisons too so definitely not for the faint-hearted. I always love characters exploring motherhood, sisterhood and the found family trope. The novel has all this and more with a diverse cast of characters and exploration of gender identity (although MC is cis-hetero-female). Lots of action and battle scenes as well as more tender moments of powerful friendship. Fans of Samantha Shannon's The Priory of the Orange Tree and Leigh Bardugo's Six of Crows would enjoy this. I love learning through fiction, and with this novel I learned more about Islam, Arab culture and the pre-colonial world of the Indian ocean. Read the Author's note for further reading on these subjects!
As a 500-page book, I really struggled at the beginning to stay interested as it felt a lot of pages had passed before the adventure really got going. However, it's worth pushing through as the plot quickly ramps up.
TW: violence, blood/gore/injury, death, threat of sexual violence, torture, body horror, kidnapping, alcoholism, misogyny, slavery
Graphic: Physical abuse, Violence, Torture, Injury/Injury detail, Sexual violence, Slavery, Murder, Blood, Kidnapping, Gore, Death, Misogyny, and Body horror
lizcastner'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: Animal cruelty, Toxic relationship, Violence, Abandonment, Body horror, Cursing, Religious bigotry, Sexual content, Alcohol, Body shaming, Confinement, Animal death, Blood, Kidnapping, Murder, Slavery, Death, Gaslighting, Grief, Injury/Injury detail, Misogyny, and Sexism
Moderate: Transphobia, Sexual assault, and Rape
Minor: Deadnaming