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frankiebee'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
4.5
Graphic: Confinement, Death, Racism, Slavery, Violence, Forced institutionalization, Kidnapping, Grief, Car accident, Murder, Fire/Fire injury, and Gaslighting
Moderate: Body horror, Cursing, Drug use, Infidelity, Misogyny, Blood, Medical trauma, Death of parent, Alcohol, Injury/Injury detail, and Classism
Minor: Sexual content
julie2525'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? Yes
4.75
Moderate: Misogyny, Physical abuse, Racism, Rape, Slavery, Forced institutionalization, Medical content, Grief, Death of parent, Gaslighting, and Colonisation
Minor: Car accident
hayreading's review against another edition
- Plot- or character-driven? Plot
- Strong character development? No
- Loveable characters? Yes
- Diverse cast of characters? Yes
- Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes
4.25
Graphic: Chronic illness, Confinement, Cursing, Death, Drug use, Hate crime, Misogyny, Racism, Sexism, Slavery, Violence, Forced institutionalization, Grief, Religious bigotry, Death of parent, Murder, Gaslighting, Toxic friendship, Colonisation, and Injury/Injury detail
danysgirl'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? It's complicated
5.0
Graphic: Cursing, Drug abuse, Hate crime, Misogyny, Racism, Rape, Sexism, Slavery, Violence, Blood, Kidnapping, Grief, Death of parent, Murder, Gaslighting, Colonisation, and War
mamatrauma'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: Death, Racism, Torture, Violence, Blood, Grief, Car accident, Death of parent, Murder, Fire/Fire injury, Gaslighting, and War
charliebites'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
5.0
Graphic: Hate crime, Racism, Grief, and War
Moderate: Confinement, Death, Rape, Slavery, Forced institutionalization, Kidnapping, Murder, Gaslighting, Colonisation, and Injury/Injury detail
Minor: Body horror, Blood, Vomit, and Abandonment
spicycronereads'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
4.25
Bree’s story continues to evolve, and we see her grow in confidence, skill, and self-awareness. She struggles with being a Scion but starts to come into her own. Her connection to Selwyn also continues to evolve as they deal with events, with Nick still missing. Nick continues to be the perfect boyfriend, even from captivity.
Many of the things that I loved about the first book continue in this one: Bree dealing with the racial legacy of the order and UNC; the rich diversity of the characters and their relationships, the very cool magic system, and so forth. There were some jaw-dropping moments. And some laugh out loud moments. And some heart-pumping action moments. And some moments I couldn’t keep the tears from falling.
It was great to see Alice become more central to the narrative. There are some charming new characters, like Valechaz. and then there are some really horrible new characters that you want to punch in the face. Looking at you, Erebus.
The plot and storyline are a little bit looser in this one. We have the introduction of new villains with new motivations that kind of dilute the focus a little bit. I found myself confused about what was happening from time to time, and I don’t think that was the author’s intention. I’m hoping that in the next novel things tighten up a bit.
I decided to stop rating chili peppers on books like this that are clearly not meant to be spicy. So I am rating it with hearts instead. There is lots of pining and kissing in this one. Five out of five hearts. 💖💖💖💖💖
Overall it was a great read. 4.25 ⭐️ and 5 💖. I can’t wait for book 3, which I think is not coming until early next year 😭
Graphic: Racism, Grief, Death of parent, and Gaslighting
Moderate: Sexual content and Torture
ashtonfinnie'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
4.75
Graphic: Misogyny, Racism, Sexism, Slavery, Kidnapping, Grief, Murder, and Gaslighting
cattheteawitchfairy's review against another edition
- Plot- or character-driven? Character
- Strong character development? It's complicated
- Loveable characters? Yes
- Diverse cast of characters? Yes
- Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes
4.5
Graphic: Racism, Slavery, Gaslighting, and Colonisation
gabriella_'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
Tracy Deonn one-ups herself in this sequel book. This book further expands on characterizing her central cast while also giving other (more background) characters a chance in the limelight. She developed a core ensemble cast that feels compelling and stand-alone. This book made me cry, especially when
More random things I love about this book that didn’t seem to have a place for me to write them in this review:
- The rest of the cast - especially Selwyn - tugs at my heartstrings.
- Tracy Deonn’s dream sequences are an amazing exploration of themes that are relevant later in the book and offer a refreshing way to engage with old magic.
- The descriptive settings!!
- The use of LANGUAGE. Ugh. CARIAD!
- The men in this book have a “written by a woman” charm. Well, the men that matter do, at least.
I love the way this author lays the groundwork for future plot twists - she has a gift for finding a way to keep the reader on their toes without insulting their intelligence AND while still making the twists believable. Some you can see coming - but that’s a credit to her foreshadowing.
I just want to keep gushing about this book because honestly it left me soooo hungry for the next book in this series!
Graphic: Body horror, Child death, Confinement, Death, Genocide, Gore, Mental illness, Misogyny, Panic attacks/disorders, Physical abuse, Racism, Sexism, Slavery, Torture, Toxic relationship, Violence, Forced institutionalization, Blood, Medical content, Grief, Medical trauma, Stalking, Death of parent, Murder, Fire/Fire injury, Cultural appropriation, Gaslighting, Toxic friendship, Abandonment, War, Injury/Injury detail, and Classism