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yrc's review
adventurous
challenging
emotional
inspiring
reflective
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? Yes
4.0
Once in a while I don't know what kind of story I'm looking forward to before I actually start to read/listen to it. This is a prime example of exactly that.
I enjoyed the humor in this book greatly, the epic and larger than life adventures against both wicked men and sea monsters alike. I also felt that the swashbuckling tone was sourly needed as a scratch to my itch. Life can't be taken seriously every second of each day.
Amina is a wonderous character and actually goes through the hardships of being separated from family, limitations of age and biases towards women, which was a refreshing character arc often not seen enough in fantasy.
The rest of the crew was terrific as well, especially Dalila and Mahjed. The historical touches were fun to encounter and the narrators did a magnificent job with this text. 4 starts and recommended if you are looking for a fun book, that doesn't shy away from dark situations but does it with style and purpose.
I enjoyed the humor in this book greatly, the epic and larger than life adventures against both wicked men and sea monsters alike. I also felt that the swashbuckling tone was sourly needed as a scratch to my itch. Life can't be taken seriously every second of each day.
Amina is a wonderous character and actually goes through the hardships of being separated from family, limitations of age and biases towards women, which was a refreshing character arc often not seen enough in fantasy.
The rest of the crew was terrific as well, especially Dalila and Mahjed. The historical touches were fun to encounter and the narrators did a magnificent job with this text. 4 starts and recommended if you are looking for a fun book, that doesn't shy away from dark situations but does it with style and purpose.
Content Warnings
Graphic: Gore, Religious bigotry, Violence, Body horror, Chronic illness, Death, Emotional abuse, and Blood
julian7's review against another edition
adventurous
funny
mysterious
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? It's complicated
4.0
This was a great book! I loved the characters, especially Dalila, Raksh, Jamal, and ofc Amina. I really loved the island of the peris because it was so weird in a fantastic way. It reminded me of the Abarat series a bit. I loved the bit about the spooky cave as well, because for some reason mysterious doors always scratch a very specific itch in my brain. I also enjoyed the humor and political commentary. Franco was an interesting villain and it was so funny how Amina couldn’t pronounce his name.
I only have two complaints about the book. First, I wish we had gotten more of the side characters! I feel like there was so much focus on them in the first part of the story, when Amina was “getting the band back together,” only for them to disappear into the background once Raksh showed up. I enjoyed Raksh, don’t get me wrong, but I would have loved to learn more about the other characters, like Tinbu and Majed, who seemed so interesting.
My other complaint is that the first third of the book went by very slowly, and the last two thirds felt much more fast-paced and a little too busy. A medium pacing throughout the whole book would have felt more cohesive.
I’ll probably read the sequels, and I hope we get to learn more about the side characters and Raksh returns eventually. 🤭
I only have two complaints about the book. First, I wish we had gotten more of the side characters! I feel like there was so much focus on them in the first part of the story, when Amina was “getting the band back together,” only for them to disappear into the background once Raksh showed up. I enjoyed Raksh, don’t get me wrong, but I would have loved to learn more about the other characters, like Tinbu and Majed, who seemed so interesting.
My other complaint is that the first third of the book went by very slowly, and the last two thirds felt much more fast-paced and a little too busy. A medium pacing throughout the whole book would have felt more cohesive.
I’ll probably read the sequels, and I hope we get to learn more about the side characters and Raksh returns eventually. 🤭
Content Warnings
Graphic: Deadnaming, Death, Gore, and Violence
Moderate: Alcohol, Torture, and Body horror
Minor: Rape, Slavery, Transphobia, and War
meggiemeggie52's review against another edition
adventurous
funny
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? Yes
4.25
I'm not usually a fantasy girlie, but I really enjoyed this! It was so descriptive and well-written, and I quickly grew to love the characters. Some parts got a little gory for my taste, but it really wasn't that often compared to the size of the book.
Content Warnings
Graphic: Death, Cursing, Violence, Blood, and Murder
Moderate: Torture, Injury/Injury detail, and Grief
Minor: Gaslighting, Slavery, Alcoholism, Death of parent, Kidnapping, and Emotional abuse
There's not a LOT of the really graphic stuff until the last third of the book, I'd say, but even that isn't as high in quantity as one might expect from a pirate fantasy. But it does get quite descriptive and gave me the heebie jeebies a few times.kristenreads's review against another edition
adventurous
dark
mysterious
reflective
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
Content Warnings
Graphic: Death, Violence, Gore, and Murder
Moderate: Body horror
kelsokake's review against another edition
adventurous
emotional
funny
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? It's complicated
5.0
My first official five star read of 2024. I loved everything about this and now feel like I need to get my hands on literally everything that Chakraborty has ever written.
She’s successfully done something that many other offers struggle with. She’s managed to provide enough world-building and backstory to make you feel like the story you’re reading is an entire world that belongs to more than just the characters we see on the page without it feeling like a giant info dump. The characters feel real, they feel like they have actual motivations and drives, like they’ve lived actual lives and not like they just popped into existence at the beginning of the story we’re reading.
The writing in this is so engaging. Less than 50 pages in and I was already feeling so enamored by this story and the people in it. Amina and Salima feel like real
She’s successfully done something that many other offers struggle with. She’s managed to provide enough world-building and backstory to make you feel like the story you’re reading is an entire world that belongs to more than just the characters we see on the page without it feeling like a giant info dump. The characters feel real, they feel like they have actual motivations and drives, like they’ve lived actual lives and not like they just popped into existence at the beginning of the story we’re reading.
The writing in this is so engaging. Less than 50 pages in and I was already feeling so enamored by this story and the people in it. Amina and Salima feel like real
people with real motivations.
Also, how often do you get to read a fantasy story where the main character is an older woman with a daughter and not an 18 year old? The hype around this book is entirely warranted. Honestly, I feel like it deserves the level of hype that Fourth Wing got.
The characters, omg the characters. Amina may be one of my favorite main characters that’s ever existed, she’s flawed, tries her best to be a good person, and is so freaking funny. “A little madness goes a long way in convincing men that you might stab them if they step out of line.”
I could go on and on about this book forever. If you weren’t planning on it or you were on the fence about reading it, do it! If it’s on your tbr, make it the next book you read. I loved this so much and can’t wait to read what’s next!
Content Warnings
Graphic: Alcohol
Moderate: Cursing, Death, Kidnapping, and Injury/Injury detail
Minor: Homophobia
thecandiegirl's review against another edition
adventurous
dark
inspiring
mysterious
tense
medium-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? Plot
- Strong character development? Yes
- Loveable characters? Yes
- Diverse cast of characters? Yes
- Flaws of characters a main focus? No
5.0
Content Warnings
Moderate: Cursing, Grief, Death, Injury/Injury detail, Blood, Violence, Animal cruelty, Alcohol, and Kidnapping
Minor: Sexual content
keelirae113's review against another edition
adventurous
dark
emotional
hopeful
inspiring
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
5.0
The story has a slow start, but once I got past the world building I was hooked! A fantastic read for anyone who has ever been told there is a “respectable” life they need to fit themselves into. You aren’t too much and anyone who thinks you are can go find less.
Content Warnings
Graphic: Colonisation, Kidnapping, Toxic relationship, Xenophobia, Slavery, Blood, Cursing, Murder, Injury/Injury detail, Death of parent, Emotional abuse, Violence, Animal cruelty, Grief, Body horror, Classism, Death, Child abuse, Gore, Physical abuse, and Sexism
Moderate: Sexual assault, Islamophobia, Murder, Racism, Ableism, Panic attacks/disorders, Dysphoria, Fire/Fire injury, Misogyny, Abandonment, Sexual violence, Torture, Addiction, and Sexual harassment
Minor: Drug use, Cannibalism, Cultural appropriation, Religious bigotry, and Stalking
kiwij96's review against another edition
adventurous
challenging
dark
medium-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? A mix
- Strong character development? No
- Loveable characters? Yes
- Diverse cast of characters? Yes
- Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes
4.0
A middle aged female pirate is forced to come out of retirement for one more adventure. Re-recruiting her former crew to rescue the grandchild of a wealthy woman, who also happens to be the mother of another former crew member.
The story was engaging, with good characters: flawed people each with a deep history which brings them to life and makes them immediately likeable, and their relationships to each other are realistic and don't feel forced. And the plot developed at a reasonable pace, nothing felt rushed or out of place for the most part.
At about 65-70% of the way in, I personally felt like the plot lost its way a bit and absolutely could have been handled differently to make the book at least 100 pages shorter, and to be a fantastic standalone.The island bit was genuinely so messy and felt so rushed and unnecessary, I almost put the book down. Anything from landing on the island to the moment when they found Magnun felt like filler, filler which is unfortunately a plotpoint for the continuation of the series.
Raksh also had the potential to be such a fun character, but the amount of times he used the phrase "sexual intercourse" honestly made my skin crawl. That was just unnecessary.
The story was engaging, with good characters: flawed people each with a deep history which brings them to life and makes them immediately likeable, and their relationships to each other are realistic and don't feel forced. And the plot developed at a reasonable pace, nothing felt rushed or out of place for the most part.
At about 65-70% of the way in, I personally felt like the plot lost its way a bit and absolutely could have been handled differently to make the book at least 100 pages shorter, and to be a fantastic standalone.
Content Warnings
Graphic: Fire/Fire injury, Murder, Injury/Injury detail, Violence, Death, Death of parent, Gore, Blood, Torture, and Genocide
Moderate: Alcohol, Misogyny, Grief, Racism, Religious bigotry, Xenophobia, Sexism, and Islamophobia
machenn's review against another edition
adventurous
medium-paced
- 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
5.0
Content Warnings
Moderate: Fire/Fire injury, Cursing, Murder, Death, and Injury/Injury detail
yolanda_h's review against another edition
adventurous
funny
mysterious
medium-paced
- 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
4.0
Content Warnings
Graphic: Death and Violence