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spicycronereads'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? No
4.0
When she is the human tribute selected to participate in the sun queen trials, every move she makes is to protect them. Trials test physical strength but also reveal Lor’s character.
We also get POV chapters from Nadir, the prince of Aurora, which is the territory that held Lor as prisoner for half of her life.
Th pacing is quite good and the writing is often sharply funny. Some plot points are quite predictable but it is fun getting there all the same. I saw the book described as ACOTAR meets The Hunger Games and that seems pretty spot on.
The secondary characters are fairly flat, with the exception of Gabriel, around whom there is a bit of mystery.
There is a slow burn love interest and some spice. I’d give it two chili peppers. 🌶️🌶️
There is a fair amount of diverse representation with almost every character having some shade of brown skin and many secondary characters in queer relationships or flings. Lor and Nadir are both brown-skinned with dark wavy hair.
Overall it is a fast, fun read that sets up events for the next book (which is less predictable imo). ⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️ / 🌶️🌶️
Graphic: Kidnapping and Gaslighting
Moderate: Homophobia, Sexual content, and Toxic relationship
Minor: Child death, Sexual assault, Suicide attempt, and Death of parent
thebookwhale's review against another edition
3.0
Not horrible, but not excellent either.
The storyline and plot is interesting, but the writing...
Lor, the FMC, lacks A LOT. I can't really described what exactly it is, but something was amiss. Her character didn't feel complete.
Also, the world building was really shallow. Who or what is Zerra? Presumably a god or something, but I would need an explanation of that. In general, the world was missing a lot of details, and that made it hard for me to truly enjoy the book, since it left me with a lot of questions.
The spicy scenes felt out of place and random, and the affection of the Sun King from the very beginning as well.
I will read the second book though, as I still want to know how everything works out in the end.
Graphic: Child abuse, Cursing, Death, and Blood
Moderate: Sexual content, Violence, Kidnapping, Gaslighting, and Abandonment
Minor: Adult/minor relationship, Death of parent, and Alcohol
yvanngo's review against another edition
- Plot- or character-driven? Plot
2.75
Graphic: Death, Sexual content, and Blood
literarymary95'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
3.75
Graphic: Death, Sexual content, and Violence
Moderate: Sexual assault and Death of parent
Minor: Rape
chi__'s review against another edition
- Plot- or character-driven? Plot
- Strong character development? It's complicated
- Loveable characters? It's complicated
- Diverse cast of characters? Yes
- Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes
4.0
Graphic: Bullying, Confinement, Death, Physical abuse, Sexual content, and Torture
Minor: Violence
karapillar'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? Yes
4.5
Graphic: Body shaming, Bullying, Confinement, Cursing, Death, Physical abuse, Sexual content, Violence, Blood, Kidnapping, Death of parent, Murder, Abandonment, Alcohol, Injury/Injury detail, and Classism
Moderate: Misogyny and Vomit
marisabenn'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? Yes
4.25
Did Lor know she was lost royalty or not? Did she truly like Atlas or was she only using him? Do the failed Tributes get killed or nah?
There were a lot of unclear parts, and I got kinda bored in the middle, but I still enjoyed this. I'm excited for the others now that (hopefully) most of the world building is done!
Graphic: Confinement, Cursing, and Emotional abuse
Moderate: Death, Sexual content, Violence, and Injury/Injury detail
Minor: Rape
lucya2803's review against another edition
- Plot- or character-driven? Plot
- Strong character development? Yes
- Loveable characters? No
- Diverse cast of characters? No
- Flaws of characters a main focus? No
3.5
Graphic: Sexual content, Violence, and Blood
Moderate: Vomit
ashlynn_17's review against another edition
- Plot- or character-driven? Plot
- Strong character development? No
- Loveable characters? It's complicated
- Diverse cast of characters? Yes
- Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes
3.5
Moderate: Sexual content
Minor: Sexual assault
rachelglazer's review against another edition
- Plot- or character-driven? Plot
- Strong character development? Yes
- Loveable characters? It's complicated
- Diverse cast of characters? Yes
- Flaws of characters a main focus? No
3.5
Graphic: Death, Gore, Sexual assault, Sexual content, Violence, and Kidnapping
Minor: Death of parent
LGBTQIA friendly