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kaiyakaiyo's review against another edition
adventurous
dark
emotional
fast-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? Plot
- Strong character development? No
- Loveable characters? No
- Diverse cast of characters? No
- Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes
1.0
this was deeply unenjoyable. I had all four books in an ebook and couldn’t even make it past the first one. good gracious
the characters were flimsy. the setting was pretty, but extremely cobbled-together the longer things went. the author just threw a bunch of made-up words and places together and expected us to keep up, skipped whole years worth of emotional and political development… it felt like someone made a kpop twitter-style edit of a full book. just random snatches of pretty cool stuff with 0 context or reason.
I think this universe has a lot of potential, but it was so unenjoyable and rushed to read that I can’t fathom completing the series.
the characters were flimsy. the setting was pretty, but extremely cobbled-together the longer things went. the author just threw a bunch of made-up words and places together and expected us to keep up, skipped whole years worth of emotional and political development… it felt like someone made a kpop twitter-style edit of a full book. just random snatches of pretty cool stuff with 0 context or reason.
I think this universe has a lot of potential, but it was so unenjoyable and rushed to read that I can’t fathom completing the series.
Content Warnings
Moderate: Death, Xenophobia, Violence, War, and Gun violence
rieviolet's review against another edition
adventurous
dark
medium-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? Yes
3.5
I read the entire series one after the other in a couple of weeks and, on one hand, it was a good choice because the story was still fresh in my mind but, on the other, it might've been a bad choice, I think I got a bit burned out on it, especially given that I haven't read such a heavy fantasy story in a while.
The characters and their storylines were interesting but I think that we did not get a well-rounded depiction. Partly, this is due to the inherent shortness of these novellas, but it also felt like the author only gave us a rough sketch and left out some important scenes/moments to really flesh out the characters' personality and growth.
Some relationships, for example, felt a bit out of blue for me and went from zero to ten in the blink of an eye, there were some development and depth lacking.
Also, I didn't particularly care for the last installment in the series, I'd rather have followed other characters than having to read about Lady Han's backstory, especially because there were so many loose ends from the previous novellas.
The worldbuilding is quite interesting and is also not overly difficult to grasp (I have tried other fantasy or sci-fi books that were so complicated and confusing that they made me exhaust all of my brainpower and I still couldn't understand a thing). I especially liked the way the theme of gender was included and explored in this fictional world, it was such a refreshing and impactful take.
In places, it was too much graphic for my personal taste, especially when describing death and/or horrible injuries, I really do not need that level of detail.
All in all, it was quite a different and interesting read but it didn't steal my heart away, so to speak.
The characters and their storylines were interesting but I think that we did not get a well-rounded depiction. Partly, this is due to the inherent shortness of these novellas, but it also felt like the author only gave us a rough sketch and left out some important scenes/moments to really flesh out the characters' personality and growth.
Some relationships, for example, felt a bit out of blue for me and went from zero to ten in the blink of an eye, there were some development and depth lacking.
Also, I didn't particularly care for the last installment in the series, I'd rather have followed other characters than having to read about Lady Han's backstory, especially because there were so many loose ends from the previous novellas.
The worldbuilding is quite interesting and is also not overly difficult to grasp (I have tried other fantasy or sci-fi books that were so complicated and confusing that they made me exhaust all of my brainpower and I still couldn't understand a thing). I especially liked the way the theme of gender was included and explored in this fictional world, it was such a refreshing and impactful take.
In places, it was too much graphic for my personal taste, especially when describing death and/or horrible injuries, I really do not need that level of detail.
All in all, it was quite a different and interesting read but it didn't steal my heart away, so to speak.
Content Warnings
Graphic: Violence, Child death, Police brutality, Confinement, Injury/Injury detail, Child abuse, Animal death, Fire/Fire injury, Gore, Grief, Toxic relationship, Death, Animal cruelty, Blood, and Murder
Moderate: Medical content, Suicidal thoughts, Xenophobia, Cursing, War, Racism, Deadnaming, Transphobia, and Gun violence
Minor: Torture, Dysphoria, Pregnancy, Chronic illness, Death of parent, Classism, Kidnapping, Trafficking, Infertility, Excrement, and Suicide
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