A review by megansreading
Foundryside, by Robert Jackson Bennett
adventurous
dark
tense
medium-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? A mix
- Strong character development? Yes
- Loveable characters? Yes
- Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes
4.5
Things I liked:
Worldbuilding - The magic system and political system in this story are masterfully done. I live the idea of scrivings. The characters use the magic in creative, logical ways that are really fun to follow. It is pretty heavy on worldbuilding, though, so that may not be your style.
Main Character - Sancia is blunt, harsh, and has a lot of room for growth. I throughly enjoyed being in her head, and I sympathized with her struggles. She has a great arc but it leaves room for more in the next books.
Side Characters - A character named Clef stole the show for me. He was endearing from the beginning. I also enjoyed Gregor, who gets some great development in this story.
Heists - This story has roughly four heist plans, which is one of my favorite tropes. If you’re wanting an adult version of Six of Crows this might be for you.
Things I didn’t like:
SA Content - This is more of a personal ick, but I do not enjoy reading about sexual assault. There is nothing explicit on page, but our main character does have two men on separate occasions threaten/prepare to r*pe her. I hate it. Didn’t ruin the book for me, but something to be aware of.
Writing Style - The author uses a lot of unnecessary scene breaks for the sake of drama. It makes for good stopping points but broke up my reading flow.
Villains - There are a couple major villains in this book, and one of them definitely stuck out in a good way. However, they both felt like they both needed more rounding out. This wasn’t a story where I was intrigued by the main villains.
Worldbuilding - The magic system and political system in this story are masterfully done. I live the idea of scrivings. The characters use the magic in creative, logical ways that are really fun to follow. It is pretty heavy on worldbuilding, though, so that may not be your style.
Main Character - Sancia is blunt, harsh, and has a lot of room for growth. I throughly enjoyed being in her head, and I sympathized with her struggles. She has a great arc but it leaves room for more in the next books.
Side Characters - A character named Clef stole the show for me. He was endearing from the beginning. I also enjoyed Gregor, who gets some great development in this story.
Heists - This story has roughly four heist plans, which is one of my favorite tropes. If you’re wanting an adult version of Six of Crows this might be for you.
Things I didn’t like:
SA Content - This is more of a personal ick, but I do not enjoy reading about sexual assault. There is nothing explicit on page, but our main character does have two men on separate occasions threaten/prepare to r*pe her. I hate it. Didn’t ruin the book for me, but something to be aware of.
Writing Style - The author uses a lot of unnecessary scene breaks for the sake of drama. It makes for good stopping points but broke up my reading flow.
Villains - There are a couple major villains in this book, and one of them definitely stuck out in a good way. However, they both felt like they both needed more rounding out. This wasn’t a story where I was intrigued by the main villains.
Content Warnings
Graphic: Violence
Moderate: Sexual assault
Minor: Sexism and Sexual violence