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nutmegandpumpkin'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
The cast of characters is not only diverse in skin color / ethnicity but also in sexualities, religion, and physical appearance. For instance, there is a character that is asexual, characters that have crushed on both female and male characters, a blind character, and a character that wears a headscarf.
Only thing about the book that was meh: sometimes it was a bit frustrating and had me rolling my eyes and yelling at the characters at some points for not noticing certain things that felt very obvious (however this happened only a couple of times and wasn’t enough for me to doc the rating).
Would definitely recommend!!
Graphic: Child abuse, Confinement, Death, Emotional abuse, Genocide, Misogyny, Sexism, Toxic relationship, Blood, Grief, Murder, Fire/Fire injury, Gaslighting, Abandonment, and Injury/Injury detail
Moderate: Vomit, War, and Injury/Injury detail
Minor: Sexual content
anna_hepworth'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
Many of my thoughts are spoilers, so I’m going to omit them here. On things that come up early enough that I feel okay commenting on them - the child as deliberately bred weapon is one I’ve seen before, but while it was the hook the story is hung on, it doesn’t limit the story, and there were aspects that I don’t think that I’ve seen before. Also, the way that The Lady, and the why of their story — particularly some of the early details that come out — are very chilling.
Moderate: Emotional abuse and Murder
Minor: Gaslighting
bybookandbone'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
3.5
Raybearer start's off very weak and I was baffled at how it gets such glowing reviews. After Tar frees Jeet I finally connected with the book and began to really enjoy it. The characters and world began to gain a shape.
Unfortunately, there's too much telling and not enough showing, especially earlier on in the book. I felt that there are too many time jumps and the reader is supposed to just accept the very close relationships that developed in between. I don't get any proper sense of Dayo
There's a muddled bit at the end
Having said that. I really loved Tar as a protagonist. She's intelligent and cunning, and I mean genuinely. It's not something we are just told and expected to believe. Not like some protagonists based in a royal court. *cough* *cough* Jude
Moderate: Child abuse and Child death
Minor: Slavery and Gaslighting
puttingwingsonwords'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: Child abuse, Death, Misogyny, Sexism, Xenophobia, Death of parent, Fire/Fire injury, and Abandonment
Moderate: Confinement, Emotional abuse, Violence, Blood, Grief, Religious bigotry, Murder, and Gaslighting
Minor: Rape and Sexual content
wrenxavier'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
4.5
Moderate: Child abuse, Child death, Death, Emotional abuse, Genocide, Misogyny, Physical abuse, Sexism, Violence, Forced institutionalization, Blood, Grief, Religious bigotry, Murder, Fire/Fire injury, Gaslighting, Abandonment, Alcohol, and Injury/Injury detail
Minor: Confinement, Domestic abuse, Mental illness, Rape, Self harm, Sexual content, Toxic relationship, Vomit, Death of parent, Pregnancy, and War
apworden'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
4.5
Graphic: Misogyny, Rape, and Gaslighting
meaghanelizabook'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: Child death, Death, Death of parent, and Fire/Fire injury
Moderate: Emotional abuse, Blood, Grief, Gaslighting, and Abandonment
jjeonghan'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
4.0
Graphic: Child abuse, Fire/Fire injury, and Gaslighting
Moderate: Emotional abuse, Misogyny, and Blood
Minor: Violence and Murder
looking4thedr'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? It's complicated
4.5
All of the characters in this book are so unique and complex and written in such a way that I can envision them standing before me. A lot of the characters are definitely lovable and even those who may not be are given reasons for their negative traits, but these are never presented as excuses for their bad behaviour.
I found myself relating the themes of this book and the societal issues within the story to our real world, such as sexism and equality. Can people who have been pushed down for so long rise up against the system? I’ll let you read and find out.
While there were these positive things, I was confused by the lodestones (idk if this is the right spelling), because I couldn’t quite imagine what they looked like, which brought me out of my immersion a bit.
Overall, a great story with a brilliant cast of characters and can’t wait to get my hands on the second book.
Graphic: Blood
Moderate: Death, Sexism, Sexual content, Xenophobia, Fire/Fire injury, and Abandonment
Minor: Grief, Death of parent, and Gaslighting
julesadventurezone'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
4.75
Graphic: Child abuse, Confinement, Emotional abuse, Death of parent, Fire/Fire injury, Gaslighting, Abandonment, and Colonisation
Moderate: Child death, Rape, Police brutality, Stalking, and Murder
Minor: Excrement and Alcohol