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noellegrace8's review against another edition
- Plot- or character-driven? Plot
- Strong character development? It's complicated
- Loveable characters? Yes
- Diverse cast of characters? It's complicated
- Flaws of characters a main focus? No
5.0
The one giant low point for me, despite my 5⭐ rating, is the 19 y/o with the 33 y/o thing. Gross. But to be honest, I genuinely can't imagine Yelena as any younger than 28. So... that's what I choose to believe she is lol. There's this whole section at the end of the book that has the writer going into her chapter notes on the book, and I was so disappointed to hear that a lot of her plot points were not planned, because in hindsight, I can see it. I wish I hadn't known tbh. That being said, the worst was the whole "I didn't plan for the age gap but it was the only thing that made sense." Nah. You can almost ALWAYS make writing work for your vision, you just have to have the skills to do so. Yes, Valek needed to be older to be the commander's first in command. But Yelena could have been older. Make a caste system, it seems like that's already a thing anyway with the way she's not even allowed to defend herself. She could have been owned by Reyad or something, making her disobedience punishable. There are so many ways the age thing could have been above board but Snyder deliberately chose not to put the effort in. So, again, in my head, Yelena is close to Valek's age, because she also ACTS like she is. NO 19 y/o would make the mature decisions she makes.
I give Kristin Atherton 3.5/5⭐. Sometimes she REALLY just HAS it, you know? With the way her voices are all different and recognizable especially. But she has way too much of a monotone most of the time, emotionless (that more stuffy British sound) or without enough pauses and inflection. More than that, however, is her pacing. I NEVER listen to dramatized readings at higher speeds than recorded because that, to me, is like watching a movie at high speed and therefore incorrectly depicts the art of the performance. But I listened to this on 1.5x without remorse. It was unbearably slow otherwise.
Graphic: Death, Violence, Blood, and Murder
Moderate: Confinement, Cursing, Physical abuse, Rape, Sexual assault, Sexual violence, Excrement, Vomit, Grief, Sexual harassment, Injury/Injury detail, and Classism
Minor: Child abuse, Emotional abuse, Genocide, Mental illness, Panic attacks/disorders, Pedophilia, Self harm, Transphobia, Medical content, Trafficking, Death of parent, Schizophrenia/Psychosis , Fire/Fire injury, Outing, Toxic friendship, Abandonment, Alcohol, Dysphoria, and War
savage_book_review'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
4.0
This is a great series starter and I'm really looking forward to reading the next one, but equally it's a really enjoyable story in its own right. I'd also say it would serve as quite a good 'on-ramp' for those who are just dipping their toes into the romantasy genre - it's got the magic, the intrigue and a number of the tropes that are very familiar (although no Fae, shadow daddies or wingspans in here - but then these books do predate these fashions), but at the same time it's not overwhelmingly fantastical - you could almost be fooled into thinking you're reading more of a historical fiction novel with a twist.
While it is an easy read, there is a darker undertone to the story and, while not explicitly detailed, there are moments in Yelena's backstory that are deeply disturbing. She is a very well drawn character and, although I would have liked to have seen a bit more depth to her development, she is certainly a character you can get on board with and walk alongside. Similarly, her relationship with Valek is joyfully inevitable given the genre, and while I didn't get much 'feeling' until it was written in black and white, at the same time I didn't really need it - my imagination just filled in the gaps for me!
I was very pleasantly surprised by a layer of representation in here that came completely out of no-where, but it's a wonderful idea and I'm very excited to see how it affects the story moving forward. Not saying what the representation is as I don't want to spoil the surprise, but it gives the book a feeling that it's a little ahead of its time IMO!
I feel like SJM might have read this book... I get definite ACOTAR vibes in a few places. The 'power twins' who teach our main character to fight with weapons and have a banter between them like no others; a grumpy yet skilled female warrior involved in the training; the man with power over the FMC that compels her back to him at regular intervals... there's even a character called Nix!
Hoping to meet the author at RARE24 in a couple of weeks, so really want to get through the next couple in the series before then! But with how smooth this was to read, I'm hoping there won't be a problem with that!
Moderate: Confinement, Death, Rape, Sexual assault, Torture, Violence, Blood, Vomit, Murder, and Injury/Injury detail
Minor: Child abuse, Sexual violence, Suicidal thoughts, Excrement, Trafficking, Kidnapping, Fire/Fire injury, Outing, Alcohol, and Dysphoria
themoodreader's review against another edition
- Plot- or character-driven? Character
- Strong character development? Yes
- Loveable characters? It's complicated
- Diverse cast of characters? N/A
- Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes
4.0
Moderate: Rape
Minor: Child abuse, Confinement, Death, Domestic abuse, Physical abuse, Rape, Sexual assault, Torture, Violence, Blood, Vomit, Kidnapping, Murder, Alcohol, and Injury/Injury detail
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
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
msstearns13'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
5.0
Graphic: Violence, Murder, and Injury/Injury detail
Moderate: Rape and Torture
Minor: Deadnaming, Panic attacks/disorders, Suicidal thoughts, Transphobia, Vomit, Trafficking, and Alcohol
juliesbubble's review against another edition
- Plot- or character-driven? A mix
- Strong character development? Yes
- Loveable characters? Yes
- Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes
5.0
Moderate: Rape
Minor: Vomit and Alcohol