The design and UX isn't done, Rob and Abbie, okkurrrr! 😌
jamby4546's review against another edition
- Plot- or character-driven? A mix
- Loveable characters? Yes
- Diverse cast of characters? Yes
5.0
Graphic: Pedophilia, Torture, Slavery, Physical abuse, Trafficking, Murder, Sexual assault, Rape, Emotional abuse, Child abuse, and Sexual violence
jgalla'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
2.75
Graphic: Emotional abuse, Rape, Blood, Confinement, Medical trauma, Child abuse, Death, Injury/Injury detail, Kidnapping, Vomit, Violence, Sexual violence, Gore, Murder, Physical abuse, Torture, Slavery, and Sexual harassment
lupin92's review against another edition
- Plot- or character-driven? Character
- Strong character development? Yes
- Loveable characters? Yes
- Diverse cast of characters? Yes
- Flaws of characters a main focus? No
4.25
Graphic: Slavery
Moderate: Sexual assault, Sexual violence, and Torture
Minor: Suicide, Suicidal thoughts, and Vomit
Rape: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: Slavery, Rape, Sexual assault, and Torture
Moderate: Vomit
Minor: Sexual content and Trafficking
serendipity421'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
Graphic: Blood, Mental illness, Murder, Slavery, Death, Emotional abuse, Injury/Injury detail, Physical abuse, and Violence
Moderate: Rape, Sexual violence, and Suicidal thoughts
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: Blood, Bullying, Child abuse, Misogyny, Murder, Pedophilia, Physical abuse, Rape, Confinement, Death, Domestic abuse, Emotional abuse, Vomit, Grief, Sexual violence, Slavery, Torture, Violence, Child death, Excrement, Gaslighting, Injury/Injury detail, Sexual assault, Sexual content, and Sexual harassment
siglerbooknook'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? It's complicated
4.75
Graphic: Rape, Sexual violence, Torture, Violence, Child abuse, and Sexual assault
Moderate: Murder, Slavery, Stalking, and Kidnapping
Minor: Mental illness
Enemies to loversaklovekorn's review against another edition
- Plot- or character-driven? Plot
- Strong character development? Yes
- Loveable characters? Yes
- Diverse cast of characters? No
- Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes
4.0
Moderate: Torture, Rape, Injury/Injury detail, Murder, Violence, Child abuse, Slavery, Transphobia, Physical abuse, Blood, Sexual assault, and Vomit
leah_j'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
though i would take heed to the content warnings as they are incredibly necessary as it isn’t a one-off occasion in the book. i would recommend this if you don’t mine a slow-burn romance as more of a side-plot to political intrigue and magic.
Graphic: Violence
Moderate: Sexual assault, Sexual violence, and Slavery
Minor: Kidnapping
ashley_a_reads'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? No
5.0
Graphic: Rape, Sexual harassment, Transphobia, Sexual assault, Sexual content, Sexual violence, Slavery, Suicidal thoughts, Physical abuse, Mental illness, Deadnaming, Blood, Death, and Kidnapping