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eagle0515'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
4.5
Graphic: Animal cruelty, Animal death, Body horror, Child death, Death, Gore, Homophobia, Mental illness, Panic attacks/disorders, Rape, Self harm, Sexual assault, Sexual content, Suicidal thoughts, Violence, Blood, Medical content, Kidnapping, Grief, Suicide attempt, Death of parent, Murder, Fire/Fire injury, and Injury/Injury detail
xandry'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
4.5
Graphic: Animal cruelty, Animal death, Rape, Sexual assault, and Suicide attempt
Moderate: Toxic relationship, Transphobia, Violence, and Xenophobia
seashel'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
5.0
Graphic: Animal cruelty, Animal death, Death, Emotional abuse, Homophobia, Misogyny, Panic attacks/disorders, Rape, Self harm, Sexual assault, Sexual content, Toxic relationship, Violence, Blood, Vomit, Grief, Suicide attempt, Death of parent, Murder, Outing, Gaslighting, and Injury/Injury detail
Moderate: Confinement, Hate crime, Sexism, Medical content, Stalking, and Fire/Fire injury
Minor: Cursing, Domestic abuse, Torture, Transphobia, Abandonment, and Classism
bespectacled_lemur'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
5.0
Graphic: Animal cruelty, Animal death, Emotional abuse, Gore, Homophobia, Panic attacks/disorders, Physical abuse, Rape, Self harm, Sexual assault, Sexual content, Sexual violence, Suicidal thoughts, Toxic relationship, Violence, Grief, Suicide attempt, Outing, and Gaslighting
Moderate: Ableism, Animal death, Cursing, Death, Homophobia, Infidelity, Panic attacks/disorders, Physical abuse, Rape, Self harm, Sexual assault, Sexual content, Sexual violence, Suicidal thoughts, Toxic relationship, Transphobia, Violence, Grief, Stalking, Suicide attempt, Murder, Outing, Toxic friendship, and Alcohol
Minor: Animal cruelty, Animal death, Cursing, Death, Emotional abuse, Gore, Homophobia, Infidelity, Panic attacks/disorders, Physical abuse, Rape, Self harm, Sexual assault, Sexual content, Sexual violence, Suicidal thoughts, Toxic relationship, Transphobia, Violence, Blood, Grief, Religious bigotry, Stalking, Suicide attempt, Murder, Outing, Gaslighting, Abandonment, Alcohol, and Injury/Injury detail
nat_lawless'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
5.0
Although at times I want to shake both Vel and Cae for their inability to communicate, I also hard relate and want to hug them both.
Graphic: Animal cruelty, Animal death, Homophobia, Rape, Self harm, Suicidal thoughts, and Suicide attempt
Minor: Infidelity and Transphobia
cristina_margarita'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
4.75
Additionally, Foz’s writing is beautiful. Both points of view felt unique & didn’t blend together; partially due to Vel’s part being in first person & Cae’s in third. All of the characters (that are meant to be) are lovable! I loved Cae & Vel but was also very fond of Markel & Liran. There were two characters mentioned who never showed up & that felt odd to me: Cae’s mother & Riya’s wife. I didn’t expect either of them to be significant to the story but it was still weird.
As for the story itself, I found the political intrigue to be gripping. The stakes were just right & the husbands’ involvement felt plausible. The pacing was also excellent, fast while also giving the reader enough time to digest information. I will be interested to see what the next book holds because as much as I loved the characters, the story was self concluding, it doesn’t require or even really ask for a sequel. I
I struggled greatly with the first part. What Velasin goes through is so raw & felt so realistic to me that it made it difficult to keep reading. (I was warned about & prepared for the rape, which didn’t make it any less upsetting or jarring, but was unprepared for the suicide attempts.) Having said that, I am immensely glad I pushed through. As the trigger warning states, this is a story about healing & I am very interested to see Vel continue to heal in the next book.
Graphic: Rape, Sexual assault, Blood, and Suicide attempt
Moderate: Animal cruelty, Animal death, Death, Homophobia, Death of parent, Fire/Fire injury, and Injury/Injury detail
Minor: Vomit
silly_little_clown'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
I’ll be honest, half way through the book I was fully convinced that
I have to admit that I constantly mix up the names for places and countries. Not that it hindered my reading too much, because all I had to do is to check the world map again. I think it’s the Qs and Xs in the beginning of words that are messing with my brain.
Absolutely loved the development of the relationship between Velasin and Caethari. I wish it would’ve burned more slowly but it was very sweet once they open up to each other so I can’t complain. I honestly love all the other side characters too. They (the important ones) were all pretty fleshed out and interesting to read about. Even the villains.
Graphic: Animal cruelty, Animal death, Confinement, Death, Emotional abuse, Homophobia, Panic attacks/disorders, Physical abuse, Rape, Self harm, Sexual assault, Sexual violence, Suicidal thoughts, Violence, Xenophobia, Blood, Kidnapping, Grief, Suicide attempt, Death of parent, Murder, Fire/Fire injury, and Injury/Injury detail
lovelyandmorbid'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: Animal cruelty, Animal death, Rape, Sexual violence, Stalking, Suicide attempt, Murder, and Outing
Minor: Homophobia
readingbee416'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
3.0
Graphic: Animal cruelty, Animal death, Death, Homophobia, Rape, Sexual assault, Suicidal thoughts, Violence, Blood, Suicide attempt, Murder, and Outing
purplepenning's review against another edition
- Plot- or character-driven? A mix
- Strong character development? Yes
- Loveable characters? Yes
- Diverse cast of characters? Yes
4.25
Graphic: Homophobia, Rape, Sexual violence, Suicidal thoughts, Violence, Blood, Death of parent, and Murder
Moderate: Ableism, Animal cruelty, Animal death, Body horror, Emotional abuse, Infidelity, Misogyny, Panic attacks/disorders, Self harm, Sexism, Sexual content, Xenophobia, Vomit, Grief, Suicide attempt, Fire/Fire injury, Outing, Gaslighting, Abandonment, Alcohol, Injury/Injury detail, and Classism
Though it's a well-handled journey of healing, a main point of view character experiences significant trauma early in and deals with trauma recovery for much of the book.