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micaelacccc'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: Classism, Domestic abuse, Misogyny, Sexism, Sexual harassment, and Violence
Moderate: Gaslighting, Emotional abuse, Sexual assault, Death, Pedophilia, Adult/minor relationship, Abandonment, and Confinement
Minor: Grief and Kidnapping
dev921's review against another edition
- Plot- or character-driven? Plot
- Strong character development? Yes
- Loveable characters? Yes
- Diverse cast of characters? Yes
- Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes
3.0
Graphic: Death, Fire/Fire injury, Grief, Murder, Sexual assault, Body horror, Confinement, and Child death
anonymous_traveller's review against another edition
- Plot- or character-driven? A mix
- Strong character development? Yes
- Loveable characters? It's complicated
- Diverse cast of characters? Yes
- Flaws of characters a main focus? No
4.5
Graphic: Toxic friendship, Violence, Vomit, Ableism, Animal death, Animal cruelty, Death, Emotional abuse, Blood, Body horror, Child abuse, Classism, Lesbophobia, Sexism, Misogyny, Grief, Gore, Sexual assault, Sexual harassment, Toxic relationship, War, Murder, Physical abuse, Excrement, Fire/Fire injury, Gaslighting, Sexual violence, and Slavery
eni_iilorak's review against another edition
- Plot- or character-driven? Plot
- Loveable characters? Yes
- Diverse cast of characters? Yes
- Flaws of characters a main focus? No
3.75
Graphic: Domestic abuse, Homophobia, Gore, Outing, Physical abuse, Trafficking, Animal death, Murder, Violence, Bullying, Classism, Confinement, Death, Lesbophobia, Misogyny, Sexism, and Sexual harassment
Moderate: Sexual assault, Torture, Adult/minor relationship, Grief, Child abuse, Police brutality, and Body shaming
holiday7's review against another edition
- Plot- or character-driven? Character
- Strong character development? Yes
- Loveable characters? It's complicated
- Diverse cast of characters? Yes
- Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes
5.0
Graphic: Death, Emotional abuse, Murder, Homophobia, Misogyny, Animal death, Body horror, Blood, Bullying, and Sexism
Moderate: Gore, Death of parent, Violence, Adult/minor relationship, Grief, Physical abuse, Sexual assault, and Domestic abuse
Minor: Kidnapping
bzliz's review against another edition
- Plot- or character-driven? Plot
- Strong character development? It's complicated
- Loveable characters? Yes
- Diverse cast of characters? Yes
- Flaws of characters a main focus? No
3.75
The world is pretty vivid in how horrible it is. Abuse of all kinds apparently runs rampant and people truly just ignore it in hopes that they won’t get executed for speaking out. Obviously some people aren’t chill with what’s going on but they keep to themselves for the most part because they’re punished if they do speak out. I liked Sophia’s connection with Luke but I wish it was more substantial- like they’d been friends for a while and he really had a reason to stick his neck out for her- because when he came to save her at the ball, it felt unnatural. Like he’s been protecting himself for so long but after a few sassy interactions he feels compelled to protect her so they can both be secretly gay together but still stuck in this horrible place. I’m also confused by Erin’s characterization. She breaks Sophia’s heart by refusing to run away out of her own sense of self preservation and wants to follow the King’s terrible laws, but she already broke rules and norms by having a relationship with Sophia. Someone that set on keeping themself safe doesn’t seem like they’d ever admit or act on any gay feelings.
I enjoyed the dynamic between Sophia and Constance, and I really liked Amina’s murky morality. Even though it was easy to guess at the “plot twist” of the prince’s secret to youth, I did not see Amina’s plot twist coming. Constance wasn’t a knight in shining armor; she was a solid foundation on which Sophia was able to build her own feelings of rebellion against tyranny and I think the message of “we can stand up to things that are wrong and also girls can save themselves” is a pretty good one to put out in the world.
Mind the content warnings, especially if you can’t stomach descriptions or discussions of misogyny, sexual assault, physical abuse and domestic violence, and implications of pedophilia.
Graphic: Violence, Blood, Sexism, Sexual assault, Sexual harassment, Sexual violence, Animal death, Body horror, Death, Domestic abuse, Misogyny, Murder, Physical abuse, and Rape
Moderate: Classism, Homophobia, Slavery, Child abuse, Grief, Emotional abuse, Death of parent, and Trafficking
Minor: Adult/minor relationship and Pedophilia
maybeimali'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: Fire/Fire injury, Forced institutionalization, Grief, Child abuse, Death, Animal death, Blood, Child death, Chronic illness, Classism, Gaslighting, Gore, Misogyny, Murder, Police brutality, Sexism, Death of parent, Domestic abuse, Emotional abuse, Injury/Injury detail, Physical abuse, Sexual harassment, Slavery, Torture, and Violence
Moderate: Lesbophobia and Homophobia
laineydunne's review against another edition
- 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
Moderate: Murder, Child abuse, Toxic relationship, Adult/minor relationship, Animal death, Hate crime, Emotional abuse, Genocide, Grief, Injury/Injury detail, Physical abuse, Sexual harassment, Violence, Blood, Sexual assault, Domestic abuse, War, Child death, Death, Death of parent, Homophobia, Lesbophobia, and Torture
proudtobeabookaholic'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: Death, Emotional abuse, Fire/Fire injury, Homophobia, and Grief
Moderate: Domestic abuse and Physical abuse
pkc'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
Holy crap I LOVED this story.
The protagonist was so engaging, so strong but proudly showed her vulnerabilities. The villain made my skin crawl. The love interests were fully formed characters in their own right who didn’t just serve to enhance the protagonists story. Representation was incredible (a POC MC, very queer).
Around the tail end of last year, I saw someone do a list of reading icks that they’d hope might be left in 2022. One of them was adults reading young adult books, as if it was somehow a lower class of read that shouldn’t be indulged. It really rankled me when I saw it as a 33 year old lover of YA and books like this beautifully explain why.
This a story, aimed at young adults, that is absolutely about using your voice to speak out against oppression. It’s not the manic pixie dreamgirl or feelingsy guy that you find in the stereotypes that the genre is wrongly thought to comprise of exclusively.
Sophia is a strong, ferocious human being who is guided by and intently focused on the right thing to do.
Graphic: Confinement, Forced institutionalization, Homophobia, Animal cruelty, Body horror, Bullying, Child death, Genocide, Gore, Toxic relationship, Violence, Blood, Child abuse, Death of parent, Grief, Classism, Death, Domestic abuse, Murder, Animal death, Biphobia, Injury/Injury detail, Outing, Torture, Emotional abuse, Gaslighting, Hate crime, and Sexism