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ekcd_'s review against another edition
- Plot- or character-driven? A mix
- Strong character development? No
- Loveable characters? No
- Diverse cast of characters? No
- Flaws of characters a main focus? It's complicated
2.0
Decided to read it again and uh. It’s kinda bad? The prose is trash, like truly trash. FMC is a little annoying, a little too situationally perfect. Valek is whatever. Of course the only loveable characters are the hulking loyal body cards Yelena befriends by being ~so smol and fierce~
Graphic: Addiction, Adult/minor relationship, Child abuse, Child death, Confinement, Deadnaming, Death, Drug use, Gore, Physical abuse, Rape, Sexism, Sexual assault, Sexual content, Sexual violence, Suicidal thoughts, Torture, Toxic relationship, Transphobia, Violence, Blood, Vomit, Kidnapping, Stalking, Outing, Abandonment, Alcohol, and Injury/Injury detail
moobell55's review against another edition
- Plot- or character-driven? A mix
- Strong character development? Yes
- Loveable characters? Yes
- Diverse cast of characters? It's complicated
- Flaws of characters a main focus? N/A
4.75
Graphic: Child abuse and Violence
Moderate: Physical abuse, Sexual content, Sexual violence, Slavery, Suicide, Torture, Trafficking, Schizophrenia/Psychosis , Sexual harassment, and War
spaghettii'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
4.75
Moderate: Addiction, Animal death, Bullying, Child abuse, Confinement, Death, Drug use, Emotional abuse, Misogyny, Panic attacks/disorders, Physical abuse, Rape, Self harm, Sexism, Sexual assault, Sexual content, Sexual violence, Suicidal thoughts, Torture, Transphobia, Violence, Forced institutionalization, Blood, Vomit, Kidnapping, Murder, Toxic friendship, Abandonment, Alcohol, Sexual harassment, and Injury/Injury detail
maevebillings'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? No
4.5
Moderate: Confinement, Physical abuse, Rape, Violence, Vomit, Murder, and Injury/Injury detail
Minor: Child abuse, Panic attacks/disorders, Physical abuse, Sexual assault, Sexual content, Sexual violence, Suicidal thoughts, Torture, Transphobia, Blood, and Sexual harassment
itsnotalakeitsanocean'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? No
3.0
What I liked
- The castle staff felt believable and you could really get a sense of both their overall dynamic serving the Commander and their individual dynamics within their colleague groups. It really helped set up a lot of the intrigue that came later as Yelena navigated her new life.
- I was always excited to see what Yelena would do next or what she was planning. I also liked seeing her reflect on how far she'd come and survived at the end of the book.
- I liked the fact that
the Commander was transgender and although he had inner conflict stemming from the fact he could be potentially outed, it was not presented as a negative and I thought it was sweet the way Yelena helped him through his inner dysphoria. I think the way he was initially described could have been avoided to have less gender essentialism to it, I think the inclusion of a transgender character was a pleasant surprise. - I really liked the plot twist with the
Criollo. The way it was seemingly benign only for its true horrific potential to be revealed later was good.
What I didn't like
Valek reciprocating Yelena's feelings came out of nowhere for me. And the same could be said for the random sex scene towards the end of the book (because clearly nothing screams sexier than sex in a cold dank rat-infested dungeon). - The villains weren't particularly strong characters and felt like they were cut from the same cloth of evil.
Mogkam especially felt like a stereotypical evil magical advisor to his boss, as if he did what he did just for the sake of being evil instead of having a clear reason . One of the side characters, Rand, seems to get left by the wayside after he died - which felt disproportionate to how much a part of Yelena's life in good and bad ways.
Graphic: Rape, Sexual assault, Slavery, and Torture
Moderate: Vomit
Minor: Sexual content and Trafficking
sienna1508'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
4.0
Graphic: Bullying, Child abuse, Child death, Confinement, Death, Domestic abuse, Emotional abuse, Misogyny, Pedophilia, Physical abuse, Rape, Sexual assault, Sexual content, Sexual violence, Slavery, Torture, Violence, Blood, Excrement, Vomit, Grief, Murder, Gaslighting, Sexual harassment, and Injury/Injury detail
deenice2819'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? It's complicated
4.5
Graphic: Child abuse, Confinement, Physical abuse, Violence, Blood, and Injury/Injury detail
Moderate: Rape, Sexual assault, Sexual content, and Torture
ashley_a_reads'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: Deadnaming, Death, Mental illness, Physical abuse, Rape, Sexual assault, Sexual content, Sexual violence, Slavery, Suicidal thoughts, Transphobia, Blood, Kidnapping, and Sexual harassment