bookchatwithbeth's review against another edition
- Plot- or character-driven? A mix
- Strong character development? It's complicated
- Loveable characters? No
- Diverse cast of characters? It's complicated
- Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes
2.0
Graphic: Misogyny
Moderate: Alcoholism, Drug abuse, Death, Confinement, and Gaslighting
penofpossibilities's review against another edition
- Plot- or character-driven? A mix
- Strong character development? No
- Loveable characters? No
- Diverse cast of characters? No
2.0
Graphic: Death, Classism, Confinement, Domestic abuse, Incest, Injury/Injury detail, Physical abuse, Pregnancy, Sexism, and Violence
Moderate: Child abuse, Miscarriage, Abortion, Alcoholism, Body horror, Body shaming, Eating disorder, Misogyny, Murder, Suicide, and Torture
Minor: Animal cruelty, Animal death, Child death, Genocide, Infertility, Infidelity, Pedophilia, Sexual assault, Sexual content, and Vomit
lokes's review against another edition
- Plot- or character-driven? Plot
- Strong character development? It's complicated
- Loveable characters? No
- Diverse cast of characters? No
- Flaws of characters a main focus? It's complicated
1.25
The worldbuilding was a bit sloppy, but interesting, but plot and characters? Icky. Like, really bad.
Not only did it have tropes such as forced marriage and hints of pedophilia (as soon as the guy was always called a “man with his big hands; like a father; etc” and the woman described as “girl with small hands; being generally very young and clueless and in need of constant help”) I had a bad feeling and boy wasn’t I wrong.
I don’t know why so many people like a book which is filled with sexism, weird stereotypes, classism, racism and basically everything you don’t want to read about when it is normalized (or rather being glorified, because you just couldn’t catch a break when reading. It just kept coming)
I do feel like I need to apologize to the person I am now that I read this book because it wasn’t pleasant and I feel like I need to unlearn all of the very harmful stuff I just read about.
The writing style’s not bad though, I could have liked it without the weird content.
Graphic: Physical abuse, Sexism, Suicide, Torture, Incest, Miscarriage, Sexual harassment, Body shaming, Toxic relationship, Misogyny, Toxic friendship, and Violence
Moderate: Drug use, Blood, Child abuse, Body shaming, Bullying, Classism, Death of parent, and Confinement
vivavia's review against another edition
- Plot- or character-driven? Plot
- Strong character development? Yes
- Loveable characters? It's complicated
- Diverse cast of characters? It's complicated
- Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes
4.0
Graphic: Domestic abuse, Emotional abuse, Murder, Confinement, Sexual harassment, Misogyny, Physical abuse, Violence, Toxic friendship, Body shaming, Bullying, Classism, Gaslighting, Injury/Injury detail, and Toxic relationship
Minor: Miscarriage and Pregnancy
joisaddler's review against another edition
- Plot- or character-driven? A mix
- Strong character development? No
- Loveable characters? It's complicated
- Diverse cast of characters? No
- Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes
3.0
Graphic: Confinement, Violence, Emotional abuse, Classism, Incest, and Physical abuse
royalraspberry's review against another edition
- Plot- or character-driven? Character
- Strong character development? Yes
- Loveable characters? It's complicated
- Diverse cast of characters? No
- Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes
3.5
The writing in this book was absolutely lovely. That said it is 50% world building and 50% political intrigue. And the world building was absolutely spectacular, I really enjoyed all of it. Dabos has created an incredibly interesting world filled with interesting characters (none of whom are trustworthy, but that's part of the fun). But there was just so *little* plot in the book that I really, really struggled.
If you're into fantasy books heavy on character development and world building, this is absolutely the right book for you. It's well written and the narrator for the audio book is completely enchanting to listen to, she brings the rich, beautiful world into a new depth.
Graphic: Bullying, Pregnancy, Classism, and Emotional abuse
Moderate: Child death, Blood, Confinement, Child abuse, Police brutality, and Murder
anarchist_al's review against another edition
- Plot- or character-driven? Character
- Strong character development? Yes
- Loveable characters? Yes
- Diverse cast of characters? It's complicated
- Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes
5.0
Graphic: Confinement, Injury/Injury detail, Police brutality, and Violence
Minor: Pregnancy, Alcohol, and Vomit
zrwright'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
5.0
Ophelia's journey does seem dark at times, but her character keeps you invested, even when things seem tense or impossible.
Moderate: Physical abuse and Confinement
rowanrelph'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
4.75
Moderate: Confinement
Minor: Gaslighting, Injury/Injury detail, Pregnancy, Physical abuse, Police brutality, Animal death, Blood, Death, Death of parent, Emotional abuse, and Miscarriage
cbp743's review against another edition
- Plot- or character-driven? A mix
- Strong character development? No
- Loveable characters? It's complicated
- Diverse cast of characters? No
- Flaws of characters a main focus? It's complicated
4.0
Minor: Physical abuse, Pregnancy, Confinement, and Murder