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espurrr'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
Moderate: Animal death, Body horror, Child abuse, Child death, Confinement, Cursing, Death, Domestic abuse, Genocide, Gore, Physical abuse, Sexual content, Suicidal thoughts, Suicide, Torture, Violence, Blood, Vomit, Trafficking, Kidnapping, Grief, Murder, Fire/Fire injury, Abandonment, Alcohol, War, Injury/Injury detail, and Classism
coffiend'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
3.75
I did really enjoy Aefe's story. It was a bit of a leap in character for her to go from trusting, loving, and compassionate to
Graphic: Death, Genocide, Physical abuse, Racism, Slavery, Torture, Violence, Murder, and War
Moderate: Child death, Confinement, Cursing, Sexual content, Blood, Grief, Injury/Injury detail, and Classism
Minor: Adult/minor relationship, Animal death, Body horror, Emotional abuse, Mental illness, Misogyny, Physical abuse, Racism, Sexism, Sexual assault, Suicide, Kidnapping, Religious bigotry, Death of parent, Fire/Fire injury, and Colonisation
chasinggrace'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
However, once I was hooked, I was hooked.
Also - Nura? Yeah, FUCK her. I felt so much sympathy for her during her POV chapter but that all fucking shattered when I realized what she did to Max. What she said about Max during his trial. Where she put him. That bitch is INSANE.
The entire world is about to feel Tisaanah’s wrath and I am so ready for it.
Graphic: Body horror, Child death, Confinement, Cursing, Death, Genocide, Gore, Hate crime, Mental illness, Sexual content, Slavery, Toxic relationship, Violence, Blood, Vomit, Grief, Medical trauma, Death of parent, Murder, Fire/Fire injury, Colonisation, War, Injury/Injury detail, and Classism
ashleynp24's review
- 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
4.25
Graphic: Body horror, Child death, Death, Genocide, Gore, Sexual content, Slavery, Torture, Violence, Blood, Kidnapping, Grief, Death of parent, Murder, Fire/Fire injury, Abandonment, War, and Classism
garbage_mcsmutly's review against another edition
- Plot- or character-driven? Plot
- Loveable characters? Yes
- Diverse cast of characters? Yes
5.0
🌶️ 2/5
I'm not sure how to write a review without spoilers since this is book 2 of a trilogy, but I will say that I loved book 1 and book 2 held up really well too.
📝 As in book 1, the characters and world building in book 2 continue to be excellent, the plot is pretty action packed and goes to both expected and unexpected places. And of course, since this is book 2 of 3 in a fantasy series, we don't get a HEA, but rather conclude on a bunch of unresolved conflict.
🎧 The audiobook actors are the same as book 1 and are still very good with varying accents/voices for the different characters/regions/classes.
🌶️ Spice level is pretty low. We get a couple intimate scenes, but this is primarily a fantasy book with romantic plotlines, rather than a romantasy.
Graphic: Confinement, Cursing, Death, Violence, Blood, Kidnapping, Grief, Murder, Fire/Fire injury, Toxic friendship, War, and Injury/Injury detail
Moderate: Genocide, Sexual content, Slavery, and Torture
Minor: Animal death, Mental illness, Physical abuse, Medical content, Trafficking, Death of parent, and Classism
wickedgrumpy's review
- Plot- or character-driven? A mix
- Strong character development? Yes
- Loveable characters? No
2.25
The magic system is in shambles. What little of it you understood from the first book is extrapolated on a bit, but there's also some wishy-washy moments where the situation doesn't seem to make sense how things work as they have been presented. Also, what even are stratagrams really? They are predominantly used for travel, and binding magic, but then there's a necklace that has some charms with stratagrams that do other things and I'm just so confused by it all.
It honestly felt like this book had three separate endings, but contained only two parts. It was disjointed and the time and pacing were off. It was a bit of a slog to get through, especially when we would get reiterations of the same thing.
There was a bit of a murder spree situation where everyone started dying all of a sudden and I don't know if the foreshadowing was adequate or overdone and heavy-handed because I guessed some reveals quite early and it meant that the tension in the situation was lost.
There was a new POV right from the start. This is one of the things I guessed about from the start and so when the big reveal happened 500+/-ish pages later, I was underwhelmed. It seemed like it was meant to be a big build up with a bigger pay off but it fell short.
I'm debating not continuing and reading the last book in the series. The obsession with scent, and eyes/being seen, the bad grammar (so many sentences start with "But" that should not, regardless of whose POV it is), the made up nonsense swear words/exclaimations that are never explained, in addition to real swear words, etc..
At the end of the day, I don't know that I care to find out what happens next.
Edited to add a spoiler because I cannot handle it when books do this with sex scenes:
Minor: Addiction, Alcoholism, Body horror, Child abuse, Child death, Confinement, Cursing, Death, Drug use, Genocide, Gore, Infidelity, Misogyny, Pedophilia, Physical abuse, Rape, Self harm, Sexism, Sexual assault, Sexual content, Sexual violence, Slavery, Suicidal thoughts, Terminal illness, Torture, Violence, Forced institutionalization, Blood, Vomit, Medical content, Trafficking, Kidnapping, Grief, Suicide attempt, Death of parent, Murder, Fire/Fire injury, Gaslighting, Abandonment, Alcohol, Sexual harassment, War, Injury/Injury detail, and Classism