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talonsontypewriters's review against another edition
adventurous
emotional
hopeful
fast-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? A mix
- Strong character development? It's complicated
- Loveable characters? It's complicated
- Diverse cast of characters? Yes
- Flaws of characters a main focus? It's complicated
2.5
Yet another book with 80%+ 4-5 star ratings that I ended up being disappointed by, so maybe the issue is really just that I'm a hater :/ Loved the ideas and themes, but the characters (especially the more minor ones, had trouble keeping track of the background council members) didn't feel fleshed-out enough, the worldbuilding is conveyed mostly in blocky exposition dumps, and the pacing in general feels... odd, with a lot of unnecessary jumps in time and awkward transitions. Lots of potential in theory, but didn't quite live up to it in execution for me.
Content Warnings
Graphic: Child abuse, Emotional abuse, Misogyny, Sexism, Violence, Fire/Fire injury, Gaslighting, and Abandonment
Moderate: Bullying, Confinement, Death, Xenophobia, Grief, Death of parent, Murder, Colonisation, and Classism
Minor: Domestic abuse, Incest, Pedophilia, Rape, Sexual content, Slavery, Suicidal thoughts, Suicide, Vomit, and Acephobia/Arophobia
Relationship between characters with unspecified ages but presumably one around 15-17 and the other at least in his 20s. Crush/romantic undertones (no actual relationship) between characters later revealed to be related.linblythe_pub22's review against another edition
adventurous
emotional
hopeful
medium-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? Character
- Strong character development? Yes
- Loveable characters? Yes
- Diverse cast of characters? It's complicated
- Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes
3.5
Content Warnings
Moderate: Death, Misogyny, Sexism, Sexual content, Violence, Death of parent, Murder, and Abandonment
Minor: Child death, Xenophobia, Blood, Vomit, Fire/Fire injury, War, and Injury/Injury detail
zadsavage's review against another edition
adventurous
medium-paced
- 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
4.75
I think this book is wonderful. The world building is fantastic. The African influences are strong and informative and a fun alternative to Greek mythology.
Content Warnings
Minor: Child death, Sexual content, Death of parent, Fire/Fire injury, War, and Classism
mscaitty's review against another edition
adventurous
mysterious
tense
medium-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? Character
- Strong character development? It's complicated
- Loveable characters? Yes
- Diverse cast of characters? Yes
- Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes
4.75
Content Warnings
Minor: Sexual content
thatenbyisisreads's review against another edition
adventurous
challenging
emotional
hopeful
reflective
sad
tense
medium-paced
- 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
3.5
Content Warnings
Graphic: Death, Emotional abuse, Genocide, Gore, Mental illness, Misogyny, Death of parent, Murder, and Fire/Fire injury
Moderate: Rape and Sexual content
Minor: Suicide
emily_mh's review against another edition
adventurous
emotional
hopeful
mysterious
fast-paced
- 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
4.5
The world-building present within this book is truly incredible. It was so original and detailed, and thus refreshing and captivating to read about. Even though there were 12 kingdoms within the empire, each felt defined and the map helped a lot in keeping track of things (although I do wish cities had been marked, too!). I liked that there were four religious sects that all had a different perspective on theology - this added a very realistic touch! As the reader I could tell that so much thought had been put into the historical context, and even smaller specifics like religious rituals, treaty ceremonies, how lessons were conducted in the Children’s Palace, or the library system. Also, the songs that were included and the way drum language was woven into these, were great. These details and many, many more assisted the bigger world-building and made the place in which Tarisai lived truly fleshed-out. Yet none of this information was ever presented in an info-dumpy way. Within the narrative, there were fantastic parallels drawn between Aristar’s “unifying” actions and colonisation; I’m really keen to see where Ifueko takes this theme in the next book. My absolute favourite part of Tarisai’s world was the magic system, though. The concept of Hallows, and how much variation there was within these, was amazing. Kirah’s songhealer Hallow was my favourite as it was so interesting to me, in that singing different songs translated to different types of healing. For example, singing about weaving baskets translated to healing flesh and skin. But generally how the magic system incorporates the Ray, the Councils, and even the Peace Treaty, was so original.
The plot was truly engrossing. It was odd because I didn’t know where it was going, but it was going somewhere and FAST. This was almost entirely to the book’s benefit. Otherwise, the elements of political intrigue kept me hooked. There were enough plot threads for a nuanced story, but not too many that it didn’t all come together; for example, the treaty between Aristar and Songland concerning child sacrifices to the Underworld, who the Lady is and why she commands Tarisai to kill the Crown Prince, and the relationships within and between the Council and the Council Apparent.
Tarisai was a fantastic MC. She was kind and clever and I loved that she sought out the most fair and right solutions to the problems she and others faced. I loved how much she loved those around her, and her sense of responsibility for her actions. I liked the exploration of her relationship with the Lady. The narrative didn’t try to provide easy answers, and showed the confusion Tarisai felt over the Lady herself and how this impacted how Tarisai saw herself.
The side characters were also great. Ifueko is able to quickly communicate their motivations, dreams, and concerns, so that you get a feel for them early on. This is especially true for Dayo, Kirah, and Sanjeet. I loved how they all had arcs set up as separate from Tarisai’s.
There were two quotes that really pulled at me from this book. The first was “A caravan mustn’t travel faster than its slowest camel.” The second was “What story will you live for? What story do you live for?”
Safe to say, I loved reading this book! However, there was one part I didn’t like and two more I felt unsure of, hence the half-star dock. The part that I didn’t like was the numerous time jumps throughout the book. While this did propel the plot forward, it also made the narrative feel a little disjointed. The first thing that I was unsure of was that it didn’t live up to the found family reputation it has. I was expecting this trope to incorporate the whole Council, but it ended up only being shared between Tarisai, Dayo, Kirah, and Sanjeet. Even then, I would have liked to see more group moments between them described on page, rather than being told that they had happened. It’s the small moments that bring the found family trope to life. The other thing I was unsure of was Kirah and Woo Inn’s relationship. I think Woo In is a minimum of eleven years older than Tarisai, and Kirah is described as being close in age to Tarisai. So I interpreted Kirah’s age towards the end of the book, where the romance begins with Woo Inn, as being probably around 18-20. And because Tarisai is 17, the youngest I thought Woo Inn could be was 28. This just seemed like a really weird age gap to me. But as I’m not actually sure of the ages involved and thus of the age gap, I tried not to let this part affect my rating.
All in all, I am super excited to pick up Redemptor!
Content Warnings
Graphic: Child abuse, Death, Domestic abuse, Sexism, Death of parent, Murder, Fire/Fire injury, Abandonment, and Colonisation
Moderate: Misogyny, Sexual content, Suicide, Violence, Blood, and Gaslighting
Minor: Ableism, Child death, Confinement, Infidelity, Physical abuse, Racism, Rape, Slavery, Excrement, Vomit, Cannibalism, Pregnancy, Alcohol, War, and Injury/Injury detail
Moderate: capital punishment Minor: self-injury, epidemic, mass death, volcano, imprisonment, floodsmicaela_ru's review against another edition
2.5
Content Warnings
Graphic: Child abuse, Rape, Sexual assault, and Toxic relationship
Moderate: Adult/minor relationship, Emotional abuse, Pedophilia, Grief, Gaslighting, and Abandonment
Minor: Incest and Sexual content
thebowandthebook's review against another edition
adventurous
emotional
hopeful
inspiring
fast-paced
- 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
Fantastic worldbuilding with really awesome twisty plot. Really really enjoyed it.
Content Warnings
Moderate: Child death and Murder
Minor: Sexual content
taroroot's review against another edition
adventurous
challenging
emotional
mysterious
medium-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? Plot
- Strong character development? Yes
- Loveable characters? Yes
- Diverse cast of characters? Yes
- Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes
5.0
i loved this book from start to finish and i'm very excited to read the sequel soon!
Content Warnings
Graphic: Child abuse, Death, and Emotional abuse
Moderate: Violence, Blood, and Death of parent
Minor: Rape and Sexual content
genny's review against another edition
adventurous
emotional
medium-paced
- 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
4.25
It's a little hard for me to review this as it's been about 2 months since I finished it and I barely took down any notes...but I do know that I enjoyed it! The prose was engaging and the audiobook narrator (Joniece Abbott-Pratt) did a great job of bringing multiple characters to life. I loved the vivid settings. I went into this expecting a very popular trope to drive the story (enemies to lovers) but what I got was completely different - in a good way! I liked the found family aspect, though we didn't see enough of Dayo's council to make their love for each other completely believable. As Tarisai spent most of her time only with select members of the council, I often forgot just how many of them supposedly lived together and cared for each other. There also came a point when I felt that Tar had gotten too slow on picking up obvious clues...it dragged the story as you're waiting for her to figure out what you already did ages go. And the blossoming Kirah and Woo In romance made me uncomfortable because of the age gap, considering one of 'em is a minor. 😬
All that said, it's a worthwhile read and it proved to me that there's still space for fresh, unique stories in YA fantasy. I dove into the sequel immediately after finishing this :)
All that said, it's a worthwhile read and it proved to me that there's still space for fresh, unique stories in YA fantasy. I dove into the sequel immediately after finishing this :)
Content Warnings
Graphic: Child abuse, Confinement, Emotional abuse, Misogyny, Sexism, Toxic relationship, Violence, Blood, Fire/Fire injury, Abandonment, and Injury/Injury detail
Moderate: Child death, Death, Sexual content, and Death of parent
Minor: Adult/minor relationship and Rape