pages_with_panda's reviews
145 reviews

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

4.0

Book 2 continues right where SLTB left off. I think I enjoyed this book more than Book 1 actually.

Faron and Elara really switched stories here, but their connection to the gods and their reactions were interesting to see.

"Being worshipped was hardly a good thing, and a pedestal was nothing but a clifftop to fall from."

Elara being the older sister and having to deal with these new powers and trying to be so selfless versus how Faron was considered selfish for trying to save her family was so GOOD. I really loved their relationship and how much trust they had for each other. That was super refreshing to see and I'm glad we didn't have a miscommunication trope here.

I especially liked them coming together at the end and having to fight together, and loved especially how they had to fight with each other's partner.

The characters were soo well done too. I loved Faron's rage and anger, Elara's patience and trust and even Reeve and Signey. There were so many casual Queer relationships as well, I loved the representation.

We get a little more action and fighting than in Book 1, and I still really liked the alternating POVs from both sisters, although near the action at the end I felt like the lost-time worked against us. I liked how they were both really able to grow and develop individually but really loved Faron's inner turmoil and how she was

forced to work with Iya.

This book spent a little more time with politics and seeing how the leaders dealt with the threat of war but that it was truly the people on the ground who had to live with it.

This is a YA book but I liked the little nods at how this could be a metaphor for the current US political climate, it could be too obvious for some.

"Life becomes not about living, but only about surviving. We deserve more than that."

Quote from the last Chapter:
"Every day, we're going to wake up and we're going to try."

For example,

Faron spends the majority of the book wondering how she can come back form this, how her country will punish her, ect but we don't get any specifics on what happens to her?

Overall a solid story, great characters and development and the magic system was pretty cool. The pacing could've been better; the beginning of the book started off pretty slow with weeks passing by and nothing happening, and yet the ending and epilogue felt very rushed. I just wished it was longer!

The Night Circus by Erin Morgenstern

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emotional mysterious slow-paced

Plot- or character-driven? A mix
Strong character development? It's complicated
Loveable characters? Yes
Diverse cast of characters? It's complicated
Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes

4.0

Never Whistle at Night: An Indigenous Dark Fiction Anthology by Shane Hawk, Theodore C. Van Alst Jr.

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dark mysterious tense

Plot- or character-driven? A mix
Strong character development? It's complicated
Loveable characters? It's complicated
Diverse cast of characters? It's complicated
Flaws of characters a main focus? It's complicated

4.0

Ride or Die by Gail-Agnes Musikavanhu

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adventurous mysterious fast-paced

Plot- or character-driven? Character
Strong character development? It's complicated
Loveable characters? It's complicated
Diverse cast of characters? It's complicated
Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes

4.0

Fun, mysterious, YA book

I really got into the mystery and could feel the tension between Loli and X, I thought the idea of them being "pen pals" was so cool and I was excited to see how they kept managing to one-up each other.

Loli was an interesting, 3-dimensial character. She felt incredibly fleshed out. She's confident, but chaotic, but also selfish and stubborn, and I think it's refreshing to see a young Black woman be unapologetic. She did what she wanted and that made the story so stress-inducing because you're able to see down what road she's going...

The mystery behind X was really interesting, I found myself paying attention to all the side characters to really try to suss him out. The side characters weren't totally background players, they had their own roles and stories too which was nice but I think it would've been cool to see more from them.

One thing that was a bit disappointing was that we don't get any real closure on her character arc at the end...There were no real consequences for Loli, even at the end. The adults in this whole town, including the cops, let her do whatever she want and that took me out of the story a bit.

The story was still good, definitely would recommend!

(I added a minor content warning for gun violence, but no one actually gets hurt, just threatened)

Content Warnings

So Let Them Burn by Kamilah Cole

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adventurous emotional mysterious fast-paced

Plot- or character-driven? A mix
Strong character development? It's complicated
Loveable characters? Yes
Diverse cast of characters? Yes
Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes

4.0

(I received a copy of this book for free from the publisher Little, Brown Book Group (UK) via NetGalley in exchange for an honest review)

This was such a fun book!

The characters were interesting, the magic system was unique, but I felt like there wasn't a lot of action.

There was some great rep (racially and sexuality-wise) with Elara being into girls and casual Queer relationships (the queen having two moms for example). I also think Faron's relationship with Reeve was fun to watch develop, especially as their both dedicated to Elara.

It went by very fast, and for the first part I genuinely thought I had started on book 2 or something because what do you mean we missed a whole war!? So listening to the main characters talk about these wars and battles that had already happened was a bit confusing for a second, I wish we could've experienced that with the characters instead of as exposition or flashbacks.

I think I would've liked to see more exposition on the worldbuilding though, some things weren't clear enough for me but maybe it'll clear up in the next book.

The characters were great. Having the alternating POV from Faron and Elara made the story interesting and I really liked both sisters. I liked how (spoiler for the last chapters):

they basically switched at the end too.

Faron really went through some development, and I'm curious to see where her story goes. I did have to remind myself that they're still pretty young kids though, so give them some grace...

We didn't really see a lot of fighting or action until the very end, which was disappointing.

Faron really only used her powers for "kid-stuff" rather than anything substantial, especially when it would've saved the life of someone close to her.

The majority of the book felt dedicated to Characters > Plot, and it did have some romance side-plots for each sister, which is a plus if you're a fan of that.

The twist ending was a bit predictable, but it's a YA book so I didn't expect anything super complicated. Over all really great, can't wait for book 2!

Content Warnings

Butcher & Blackbird by Brynne Weaver

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adventurous dark funny fast-paced

Plot- or character-driven? Character
Strong character development? It's complicated
Loveable characters? It's complicated
Diverse cast of characters? No
Flaws of characters a main focus? It's complicated

4.0

Surprisingly tame + lighthearted for the amount of horror content? I thought it was going to be a lot darker but it was a surprisingly good romance?

The fact that they only killed other serial killers also helped their case...

The first half was very murdery/dark but then we transitioned into a kitchen/restaurant book and honestly that was a bit jarring...I kind of forget they were murderers with how relatively normal their lives were?

The Big Baddie was also a bit out of left field? It didn't seem plausible at all and was just a bit unexpected and not in a good way so I took off a star for that....
Spoiler Rant on the Antagonist:

What kind of cover a lobotomized servant anyways? And he just spent months washing dishes and at a care home as a cover? Just to get closer to them? I feel like there were better ways of doing this...Esp. when it was Sloan's idea to drive him cross-country to give him a job. Also, I felt like he wasn't hinted at or teased at all? He just showed up and that's it?

Will probably pick up book 2

Content Warnings