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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
ajenkies4'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, Rape, Self harm, Suicidal thoughts, Suicide attempt, Outing, and Injury/Injury detail
Moderate: Animal death, Homophobia, and Fire/Fire injury
breadbees'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
Graphic: Rape, Self harm, Sexual assault, Sexual violence, Suicidal thoughts, and Suicide attempt
Moderate: Animal death, Homophobia, Panic attacks/disorders, Outing, and Injury/Injury detail
cheye13's review against another edition
- Plot- or character-driven? A mix
- Strong character development? Yes
- Loveable characters? Yes
- Diverse cast of characters? It's complicated
- Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes
4.0
The worldbuilding was exquisite – nearly tangible. I could easily slip into someone else's story in this universe and that's one of my favorite elements of the fantasy genre. I also loved that not only were politics involved, but they were intrinsic to the core plot of the story. The characters were all so well-rounded, and using a main character in a foreign land as a reader-proxy to introduce everyone was genius. And above all, I loved the writing style. It was chronically readable, but also flowed between gravitas and levity, evocative of whatever mood the scene called for. I'm getting emotional thinking about just how fun simply the act of reading this book was.
Unfortunately, this still isn't my favorite book. The author kindly includes accurate content warnings, and while I think everything was handled well and with care, part of the rape and recovery storyline didn't gel with my reading experience. Unlike many other fantasy stories, I entirely understand why the scene of the assault was included, and I actually appreciate the story including Vel's journey of healing. I think I was mostly put off by
But still, overall a complete pleasure to read. I absolutely recommend it for curing slumps, despite the page count.
Graphic: Animal death, Death, Homophobia, Rape, Sexual content, Violence, Suicide attempt, Murder, and Outing
Moderate: Panic attacks/disorders, Blood, Grief, Fire/Fire injury, and Injury/Injury detail
Minor: Infidelity, Transphobia, Stalking, and Abandonment
vagaybond's review against another edition
- Strong character development? Yes
- Loveable characters? Yes
- Diverse cast of characters? Yes
4.75
Graphic: Animal death, Rape, Self harm, Sexual assault, Sexual violence, Suicidal thoughts, Violence, Blood, Vomit, Kidnapping, Suicide attempt, Murder, Outing, and Injury/Injury detail
Moderate: Confinement, Xenophobia, and Fire/Fire injury
Minor: Cursing
Rape is one of the first scenes in the book. This scene is stumbled upon by someone else and the protagonist (the victim in the scene) is outed and exiled from his family and homeland because of it. The protagonist has 2 suicide attempts, the second because he fears rape.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
madipenn'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
4.0
Graphic: Animal death, Death, Rape, Sexual assault, Suicide attempt, and Death of parent
Moderate: Transphobia, Murder, Outing, and Injury/Injury detail
Minor: War
ceeceegee'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
4.75
Graphic: Rape, Suicidal thoughts, and Suicide attempt
Moderate: Homophobia, Death of parent, and Outing
bookishmagpie'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
3.75
I don't know if I'll continue this series, but not for a lack of enjoyment. It felt like a satisfying enough ending with just enough ambiguity and loose-ends to justify a sequel, but not so much that I'm rushing to read it.
If you pick this up please heed the trigger warnings!
Graphic: Rape, Sexual content, Suicidal thoughts, and Murder
Moderate: Homophobia, Stalking, Outing, and Injury/Injury detail
voidature's review against another edition
- Loveable characters? Yes
- Diverse cast of characters? Yes
4.0
Graphic: Animal death, Death, Homophobia, Mental illness, Rape, Sexual assault, Sexual violence, Toxic relationship, Blood, Murder, Fire/Fire injury, Outing, and Injury/Injury detail
Moderate: Ableism, Homophobia, Misogyny, Self harm, Sexual content, Suicidal thoughts, Suicide, Religious bigotry, and Suicide attempt
Minor: Transphobia and Vomit