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chronicacademia's review
Moderate: Sexual content, Gore, Toxic relationship, Violence, Injury/Injury detail, Antisemitism, Death, Hate crime, Body horror, Child abuse, Infidelity, Suicidal thoughts, Alcohol, Classism, Death of parent, Suicide attempt, Adult/minor relationship, Colonisation, Grief, Misogyny, Physical abuse, Religious bigotry, Sexism, Blood, and Murder
pewterwolf's review against another edition
- Plot- or character-driven? A mix
- Strong character development? It's complicated
- Loveable characters? No
- Diverse cast of characters? It's complicated
- Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes
3.25
Luzia seizes the chance to better her self, but as her notoriety grows, the danger of her Jewish blood grows as, if she gets found out, the Inquisition’s wrath will be unspeakable. She has to stay several steps ahead. But the rules are always changing in the Spanish court and not everyone gets out alive.
I think I have to finally admit to myself that historical fiction and me aren’t going to get along and I need to stop pushing this genre onto my TBR lists.
I struggle with them. This audiobook took me a month to get through. I started it the week of release, but I really struggled to connect with this. Plus, my brain was all over the place So I couldn’t really focus on this. But, when I did sit down and listen, I found myself bored and not connecting with the characters and the story.
The story felt very slow and quite heavy (at times) for me. I like stories to have some pace when it starts, but it felt as if it took an age for the plot to charge forward. If you are a fan of slower burn of a plot where you get to know the characters, this is for you. But I find I like to know characters when they are doing something or when the plot is moving.
While I wasn’t a fan of the story and the characters (they’re flawed characters, but not exactly likeable. I understood why they behaved the way they did, but I found it them frustrated and every time I found an element of them that I liked, something happened and I would be back at square one with this character), I am a fan of Leigh Bardugo’s writing and it fits so nicely with the audiobook’s narrator, Lauren Fortgang. I know she has read several other books by Bardugo, but this partnership works.
But this wasn’t for me. If you are a fan of historical fiction with an edge of magic, you should check it out. But be warned, it is a slow burn of a plot and can be heavy in places.
Graphic: Death, Fire/Fire injury, Forced institutionalization, Body horror, Violence, Vomit, Confinement, Religious bigotry, Alcohol, Blood, Physical abuse, Sexism, Torture, War, Antisemitism, Gore, and Misogyny
Moderate: Cursing and Infertility
Minor: Dementia and Death of parent
quiet_reader's review
- Plot- or character-driven? Character
- Strong character development? Yes
- Loveable characters? Yes
- Diverse cast of characters? No
- Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes
5.0
Graphic: Injury/Injury detail, Physical abuse, Murder, Violence, Religious bigotry, Toxic relationship, Blood, Classism, Gore, Sexism, Antisemitism, and Torture
Moderate: Confinement, Bullying, Alcohol, Emotional abuse, Sexual content, Genocide, Death of parent, and Fire/Fire injury
Minor: Colonisation, Ableism, Mental illness, Islamophobia, Animal cruelty, and Animal death
sxndaze'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
A thousand stories. A thousand
meanings. But in the end, it belongs to no one, except the woman who holds it in her hand.
a little slow in the beginning, but it’s an addicting read. the amount of names and characters that are thrown at you can be overwhelming at times too, but that’s the nature of fantasy i think. luzia is a wonderful character and her drive and ambition is something you can’t help but root for. santángel is dark and broody and everything i love in a character and the two of them together are chefs kiss.
the plot is intriguing and the magic system is fascinating. the development of the side characters is wonderful too and i enjoyed my time with them. it’s definitely something i want to revisit again in the future.
Graphic: Death, Gore, Injury/Injury detail, Physical abuse, Religious bigotry, Torture, Antisemitism, Blood, and Violence
Moderate: Infertility, Infidelity, Sexual content, Confinement, Suicidal thoughts, and Sexual assault
Minor: Alcohol
soniajoy98'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? It's complicated
4.5
Graphic: Cursing, Classism, Religious bigotry, Murder, Antisemitism, Abandonment, Blood, Fire/Fire injury, Genocide, Misogyny, Death of parent, and Sexism
Moderate: Mental illness, Torture, Gore, Islamophobia, Emotional abuse, Forced institutionalization, Physical abuse, Sexual harassment, Violence, Sexual assault, Sexual content, and Suicidal thoughts
Minor: Alcohol, Sexual violence, Grief, Biphobia, Ableism, Confinement, Infidelity, Lesbophobia, Infertility, and War
uranaishi's review
- 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
4.5
Graphic: Religious bigotry, Torture, Injury/Injury detail, Slavery, and Confinement
Moderate: Death, Physical abuse, Sexual content, Abandonment, Death of parent, Domestic abuse, Gore, Murder, Sexual harassment, Sexual violence, Toxic friendship, Toxic relationship, Alcohol, Blood, Classism, Infertility, Infidelity, Mental illness, Misogyny, Sexism, and Violence
Minor: Pregnancy, Vomit, Antisemitism, Emotional abuse, Fire/Fire injury, Grief, Medical content, Bullying, Child abuse, Colonisation, Racism, Suicidal thoughts, Xenophobia, Adult/minor relationship, Body horror, Body shaming, Schizophrenia/Psychosis , Sexual assault, Terminal illness, War, Outing, Homophobia, and Rape
madlysoph's review against another edition
- Plot- or character-driven? Plot
- Strong character development? Yes
- Loveable characters? Yes
- Diverse cast of characters? No
- Flaws of characters a main focus? It's complicated
4.5
The intensity of both her and her love interest makes the moments of tenderness all the more beautiful. They so easily understand one another and are constantly awed by each other. Their relationship was easy to fall in love with, they are tender and fierce, and unapologetic. There is some smut, mostly concentrated in one portion of the book, it was the way I prefer it, vague and mostly fade to black. There is also a lot of crude language as well (see 1500s Spain).
The way everything plays out and how all the threads weave together is done very well. When the pieces are put together it is a surprise but not a shock as the foundation has been properly laid. The women in this book are unapologetic, what they make of the situations they find themselves in they do not apologize for.
This book felt surprisingly tender, there was a tremendous amount of care and love put into it as well as research, she cites many sources in the author's notes. The themes and symbolism were done masterfully, fortune and curses are a theme that is woven into the story seamlessly. The symbolism of the orange blossoms throughout was beautifully done and felt very tender. I love pomegranate symbolism and I loved the way it was done here.
This book was funny, not consistently funny but on occasion I would be caught off guard and have to laugh out loud. The background character of the playwright (whose name escapes me at the moment) was incredibly humorous as she manages to appear in the background from the very beginning and stays until the very end.
I love how Leigh does endings, I closed this book content with the fates of nearly every character. Of course a good book makes you want more, but I didn’t need more for the story to feel whole and complete. This is a book that I will definitely reread and will most likely fall more in love with each time I reread it.
Moderate: Antisemitism, Sexual content, Religious bigotry, Blood, Violence, Injury/Injury detail, Alcohol, and Torture