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caspian_the_pauper's review
adventurous
mysterious
slow-paced
- 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? Yes
3.5
Author is clearly a developing author and the plot is rather predictable but the world building is well done and the characters are easy to root for
Content Warnings
Graphic: Body horror
Moderate: Genocide, Xenophobia, War, and Violence
kalecake's review against another edition
adventurous
dark
tense
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? It's complicated
4.75
I ate this book up!!!!!! It had everything I want in a fantasy book. Epic multiple character POV, family secrets, animal sidekick, murder, two girls in love!!!
I recommend this to anyone looking for a new world to get lost in. This sucked me in and I couldn’t stop reading. The Constructs are so creepy and delightful to read about. If you’re squeamish about mild body horror or brainwashing, I would say this might not be for you. I was obsessed with the magic system and how these creatures have their power.
Five stars! I haven’t felt glued to a book like this in a while and I already have the other two. So excited to keep going!
I recommend this to anyone looking for a new world to get lost in. This sucked me in and I couldn’t stop reading. The Constructs are so creepy and delightful to read about. If you’re squeamish about mild body horror or brainwashing, I would say this might not be for you. I was obsessed with the magic system and how these creatures have their power.
Five stars! I haven’t felt glued to a book like this in a while and I already have the other two. So excited to keep going!
Content Warnings
Moderate: Body horror, Violence, and Child death
alexijai98's review
adventurous
mysterious
tense
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? It's complicated
4.25
Love a story where LGBT characters get to just be part of the world!!
Content Warnings
Graphic: Blood, Body horror, Death, Kidnapping, Murder, Child death, Grief, Injury/Injury detail, Violence, Animal death, Animal cruelty, Gaslighting, and Gore
Moderate: Xenophobia
alexalily's review against another edition
adventurous
mysterious
tense
fast-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
5.0
Content Warnings
Graphic: Terminal illness, Blood, Body horror, Confinement, and Kidnapping
Moderate: Animal cruelty, Death of parent, Domestic abuse, Emotional abuse, Injury/Injury detail, Classism, Death, Slavery, Xenophobia, Murder, Physical abuse, Trafficking, and Violence
Minor: Animal death, Child death, Stalking, Gaslighting, Torture, Child abuse, and Medical content
lilifane's review against another edition
adventurous
mysterious
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? It's complicated
4.0
This is an interesting start to a series with an amazing setting and very unique and intriguing elements. I had some issues with the pacing and the balance of the different POVs, but I'm curious how this will continue.
I loved the atmosphere and the setting in this island world with a mysterious past/mythology, ruins and secrets. I enjoyed the different POVs, but Jovis was definitely my favourite. Not only was his character fleshed out the most, he also had the best animal companion, which is always a plus. I was interested in Lin's POV too, but I had problems understanding her and her actions/motivations. Until about 75% into the book, when her story became super intriguing, unfortunately by then there was no time to explore it more in the book. The other three POVs had the least amount of page time, and although I liked the discussions about class differences in Phalue's and Ranami's chapters, their story felt really rushed and cut short. I don't know what to think about Sand, I am curious, but I'm not really looking forward to her story at this point.
The bone shard magic is cool in concept, but hard to grasp in my opinion. And when it finally gets somewhere, it gets really messy and... much, and then the book is over. But I am curious, mostly because I have no idea where the story is going, since it's so different from what I've read in the genre so far.
I loved the atmosphere and the setting in this island world with a mysterious past/mythology, ruins and secrets. I enjoyed the different POVs, but Jovis was definitely my favourite. Not only was his character fleshed out the most, he also had the best animal companion, which is always a plus. I was interested in Lin's POV too, but I had problems understanding her and her actions/motivations. Until about 75% into the book, when her story became super intriguing, unfortunately by then there was no time to explore it more in the book. The other three POVs had the least amount of page time, and although I liked the discussions about class differences in Phalue's and Ranami's chapters, their story felt really rushed and cut short. I don't know what to think about Sand, I am curious, but I'm not really looking forward to her story at this point.
The bone shard magic is cool in concept, but hard to grasp in my opinion. And when it finally gets somewhere, it gets really messy and... much, and then the book is over. But I am curious, mostly because I have no idea where the story is going, since it's so different from what I've read in the genre so far.
Content Warnings
Graphic: Child abuse, Confinement, Death, Injury/Injury detail, Kidnapping, Death of parent, Dementia, and Violence
nicolesbookcase's review against another edition
adventurous
dark
emotional
mysterious
tense
fast-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
4.25
I jumped into this as part of a book club and read it very quickly in order to catch up on time. I had heard of this book and it had been on my TBR for some time, but I went into this blind, not rereading the blurb again before starting. And wow. Having been reading more romance and lit fic over the last few months, I had almost forgotten how much I LOVE epic fantasy! I love being immersed in a fantasy world, and this certainly delivered!
First of all, the worldbuilding was simply amazing. The idea of migrating islands was super neat, and the magic system was so original and intriguing; literally taking a piece of bone from a living being and using it to power constructs stitched together from people and animals...so cool. And slightly horrifying. Might not be able to sleep again with the thought of the creepy spider construct with the face of an old woman and human hands on each of it's legs...
It had been a while since I had read a book with multiple POVs, and I absolutely loved that aspect of this book! Especially with certain POVs switching from first person to third person. I liked not being stuck in one character's plotline for too long and being able to jump around a bit! It made for a very quick read. There were certain POVs I liked more than others, but ultimately, all of them played a really important part, and when some of the characters' stories collided, it made it all the more exciting! It was also really interesting to see the similarities and contrast between the different characters in terms of their development. The main theme seemed to be self-identity, and each character really had to do a lot of soul-searching to figure out their goals and who they wanted to be at the end of the line.
I'm not sure if it was because of the fact that there were multiple POVs, but plotlines were very fast-paced...thinking of the events that happened to each individual character in a linear fashion, their stories seemed to reach conclusions very quickly. I tend to like more medium-paced books, but I still really enjoyed the shifting POVs, and the plot really was action-packed! A definite page-turner! There were so many twists and turns, and I loved having so many theories to play around with. We got so many clues, so it was fun to try and piece things together!
Overall, I really enjoyed this book. It ended on a really intriguing note that propels you into the plot of the following book, and I can't wait to jump in!
First of all, the worldbuilding was simply amazing. The idea of migrating islands was super neat, and the magic system was so original and intriguing; literally taking a piece of bone from a living being and using it to power constructs stitched together from people and animals...so cool. And slightly horrifying. Might not be able to sleep again with the thought of the creepy spider construct with the face of an old woman and human hands on each of it's legs...
It had been a while since I had read a book with multiple POVs, and I absolutely loved that aspect of this book! Especially with certain POVs switching from first person to third person. I liked not being stuck in one character's plotline for too long and being able to jump around a bit! It made for a very quick read. There were certain POVs I liked more than others, but ultimately, all of them played a really important part, and when some of the characters' stories collided, it made it all the more exciting! It was also really interesting to see the similarities and contrast between the different characters in terms of their development. The main theme seemed to be self-identity, and each character really had to do a lot of soul-searching to figure out their goals and who they wanted to be at the end of the line.
I'm not sure if it was because of the fact that there were multiple POVs, but plotlines were very fast-paced...thinking of the events that happened to each individual character in a linear fashion, their stories seemed to reach conclusions very quickly. I tend to like more medium-paced books, but I still really enjoyed the shifting POVs, and the plot really was action-packed! A definite page-turner! There were so many twists and turns, and I loved having so many theories to play around with. We got so many clues, so it was fun to try and piece things together!
Overall, I really enjoyed this book. It ended on a really intriguing note that propels you into the plot of the following book, and I can't wait to jump in!
Content Warnings
Graphic: Violence, Blood, Death, and Murder
Moderate: Physical abuse
Minor: Kidnapping
wombie's review
adventurous
dark
emotional
hopeful
mysterious
sad
tense
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
4.5
Content Warnings
Moderate: Murder, Emotional abuse, Classism, Violence, Blood, Body horror, Child abuse, Physical abuse, Death, Grief, and Injury/Injury detail
Minor: Child death
kaziaroo's review against another edition
adventurous
challenging
dark
emotional
funny
hopeful
mysterious
reflective
sad
tense
slow-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? It's complicated
4.5
On the whole I loved this – the characters, the magic system, the mystery were all amazing (plus a queer-normative world!). I would have liked it if the setting was more fleshed out, maybe going more into the cultures of the different islands rather than them all feeling the same, but overall the story was immersive enough and the characters lovable enough to look past that. I loved Jovis and Mephi in particular, and I liked Lin too; there's always a difficulty in amnesiac characters as they have such a short background on which to build a personality and identity, but I think the author did an admirable job. I wanted to see more of Bayan, alas... :(
My only real criticism is that I felt the book would have been better without Ranami and Phalue's POV chapters. Their story had an interesting message and moral dilemma but it just didn't seem to fit and their chapters were quite dull to get through compared to the rest of the book. As a novella on their own, those chapters would have been fine, but I found myself skim-reading them to get back to Jovis, Lin and even Sand. Maybe more will come of Ranami and Phalue in the sequel, but I just couldn't get behind their relationship or find the point of their storyline or its impact of the overall plot.
My only real criticism is that I felt the book would have been better without Ranami and Phalue's POV chapters. Their story had an interesting message and moral dilemma but it just didn't seem to fit and their chapters were quite dull to get through compared to the rest of the book. As a novella on their own, those chapters would have been fine, but I found myself skim-reading them to get back to Jovis, Lin and even Sand. Maybe more will come of Ranami and Phalue in the sequel, but I just couldn't get behind their relationship or find the point of their storyline or its impact of the overall plot.
Content Warnings
Graphic: Confinement, Grief, Trafficking, Child death, Injury/Injury detail, Murder, Blood, Violence, Death, Gaslighting, Body horror, and Medical content
Moderate: Physical abuse, Racism, Animal cruelty, Panic attacks/disorders, Death of parent, Kidnapping, and Mental illness
Minor: War
gatorademachinegun's review against another edition
adventurous
challenging
dark
emotional
mysterious
tense
medium-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? N/A
5.0
Absolutely DEVOURED this book, the most fun I’ve had with a book in a long time. I was on the edge of my seat the whole time. Masterfully written.
Content Warnings
Moderate: Body horror and Violence
Minor: Abandonment and War
booksthatburn's review against another edition
adventurous
mysterious
medium-paced
- 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? Yes
5.0
There's a pretty large cast of narrators, listening via audiobook helped enormously with keeping track of them since there are three audiobook narrators to handle all the perspectives. Those performances are great, making helping keep the characters distinct even when the same performed voiced multiple characters.
The plot has several threads, following each of the main characters. The blurb implies that Lin is the only main character, but Jovis plays an enormous role (meeting all but one of the other main characters at various points), and the romance between Phalue and Ranami felt complex and real. Lin is the daughter of the emperor, trying to get her father's approval by getting back memories she lost in a sickness several years ago. Jovis is a smuggler who is trying to find his wife who was kidnapped five years ago. He ends up rescuing children from having their shards taken. Phalue is the daughter of a governor on one of the islands, and Ranami is her girlfriend who keeps turning down Phalue's marriage proposals because Phalue doesn't seem to understand the enormity of her privilege in comparison to everyone on the island. There's a woman called Sand who is trying to escape her current situation, I don't want to spoil anything about her but she seems set up to do much more in the sequel.
Lin has spent years trying to get her father's approval, and is frustrated by his ableist insistence that she's not whole unless she can get back the memories she lost. Desperate to get him to pay attention to her as she is and not as she was, Lin starts copying his keys to get access to rooms that might hold knowledge of the magic he should be teaching her. She's in competition with her foster brother Bayan since he regained more of his memories and seems to continually be one step ahead of her in getting the emperor's attention.
The relationship between Phalue and Ranami briefly dips into some toxic territory as Phalue doesn't seem to understand or know how to take seriously Ranami's concerns. It definitely helps that both of them are narrators, so their perspectives are shown directly at various points.
Jovis ends up with an animal companion after he saves it from the water during a disaster early one. Mephi is pretty cool and not annoying, which is a relief because sometimes I end up detesting animal sidekicks.
The magic system is based on using bone taken from the empire's citizens as children. The shards can be used to power constructs, and once in use they slowly drain the life force of their original owner. The emperor uses an elaborate array of constructs to do all the imperial bureaucracy which could be done by people, but he doesn't trust anyone else to do it right. This setup means that the way the lower classes are exploited is more than just cruelty and resource hoarding by the rich, but that their very lives can be taken, slowly, by an emperor they'll never see, if he happens to pick their shard from a drawer and use it to fuel a construct. I love the way the magic system is inseparable from the political structure and brewing uprising.
The plot has several threads, following each of the main characters. The blurb implies that Lin is the only main character, but Jovis plays an enormous role (meeting all but one of the other main characters at various points), and the romance between Phalue and Ranami felt complex and real. Lin is the daughter of the emperor, trying to get her father's approval by getting back memories she lost in a sickness several years ago. Jovis is a smuggler who is trying to find his wife who was kidnapped five years ago. He ends up rescuing children from having their shards taken. Phalue is the daughter of a governor on one of the islands, and Ranami is her girlfriend who keeps turning down Phalue's marriage proposals because Phalue doesn't seem to understand the enormity of her privilege in comparison to everyone on the island. There's a woman called Sand who is trying to escape her current situation, I don't want to spoil anything about her but she seems set up to do much more in the sequel.
Lin has spent years trying to get her father's approval, and is frustrated by his ableist insistence that she's not whole unless she can get back the memories she lost. Desperate to get him to pay attention to her as she is and not as she was, Lin starts copying his keys to get access to rooms that might hold knowledge of the magic he should be teaching her. She's in competition with her foster brother Bayan since he regained more of his memories and seems to continually be one step ahead of her in getting the emperor's attention.
The relationship between Phalue and Ranami briefly dips into some toxic territory as Phalue doesn't seem to understand or know how to take seriously Ranami's concerns. It definitely helps that both of them are narrators, so their perspectives are shown directly at various points.
Jovis ends up with an animal companion after he saves it from the water during a disaster early one. Mephi is pretty cool and not annoying, which is a relief because sometimes I end up detesting animal sidekicks.
The magic system is based on using bone taken from the empire's citizens as children. The shards can be used to power constructs, and once in use they slowly drain the life force of their original owner. The emperor uses an elaborate array of constructs to do all the imperial bureaucracy which could be done by people, but he doesn't trust anyone else to do it right. This setup means that the way the lower classes are exploited is more than just cruelty and resource hoarding by the rich, but that their very lives can be taken, slowly, by an emperor they'll never see, if he happens to pick their shard from a drawer and use it to fuel a construct. I love the way the magic system is inseparable from the political structure and brewing uprising.
Content Warnings
Graphic: Classism, Grief, Child abuse, Emotional abuse, Violence, Medical trauma, Murder, Child death, and Death
Moderate: Ableism, Racism, Bullying, Toxic relationship, Kidnapping, Confinement, Physical abuse, Injury/Injury detail, War, Animal cruelty, and Animal death
Minor: Death of parent, Drug use, and Vomit