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babyvirgo's review
adventurous
emotional
hopeful
inspiring
medium-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? A mix
- Strong character development? It's complicated
- Loveable characters? It's complicated
- Diverse cast of characters? It's complicated
- Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes
4.5
I'm glad I didn't read the summary and jumped into this book via a recommendation. The summary is horrible, should be demolished, and rewritten as such; "(Maintain the granddaughter of Trent paragraph), this story explores the journal writings of lead linguistic archeologists as they translate newly found historical tablets."
Done. That's it. Don't say anything else. The book spoon feeds it to you and has good measure of jokes. Leave it as that is, and maybe mention in the beginning that we're are other books preceeding and exploring this one's specifics. It seemed very familiar with vocabulary use, so I am reassured this is a sequel.
The funniest bits in this story are the ones given by form of the narrative: spoiler ~ 'I am going to do this thing, I am excited for it.' Next page 'Arrest record for character X'... it happens more than once and is more delightful than an abrupt scene change in cinematography. Love the nerdier aspects of language, it brings a whole value to the story. Some of the pacing was off, but it was a good read.
Done. That's it. Don't say anything else. The book spoon feeds it to you and has good measure of jokes. Leave it as that is, and maybe mention in the beginning that we're are other books preceeding and exploring this one's specifics. It seemed very familiar with vocabulary use, so I am reassured this is a sequel.
The funniest bits in this story are the ones given by form of the narrative: spoiler ~ 'I am going to do this thing, I am excited for it.' Next page 'Arrest record for character X'... it happens more than once and is more delightful than an abrupt scene change in cinematography. Love the nerdier aspects of language, it brings a whole value to the story. Some of the pacing was off, but it was a good read.
Content Warnings
Minor: Body horror, Xenophobia, War, Murder, Death of parent, Cultural appropriation, and Child death
ninjamuse's review
emotional
lighthearted
mysterious
medium-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? Plot
- Strong character development? Yes
- Loveable characters? Yes
- Diverse cast of characters? It's complicated
- Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes
4.0
Content Warnings
Graphic: Xenophobia
Minor: Gun violence and Murder
szuum's review against another edition
adventurous
emotional
hopeful
mysterious
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? No
4.5
Content Warnings
Graphic: Xenophobia
achingallover's review against another edition
funny
hopeful
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
5.0
I really enjoyed this, there were a couple of things in the first half that I thought were maybe a bit young for me but the whole concept of the translation is just incredible and I’m such a language nerd just wow
Content Warnings
Graphic: Genocide, Racism, Xenophobia, and Slavery
green_amaryllis's review
hopeful
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
5.0
Content Warnings
Moderate: Violence and Xenophobia
Minor: Injury/Injury detail
ijustreallyliketrees's review against another edition
mysterious
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? Yes
3.5
Content Warnings
Graphic: Xenophobia
Moderate: Death, Hate crime, and Racism
Minor: Emotional abuse and Gore
clarabooksit's review against another edition
adventurous
medium-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? A mix
- Strong character development? No
- Loveable characters? It's complicated
- Diverse cast of characters? It's complicated
- Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes
3.25
I read this believing it to be a spin-off of another series but that it could be read as a standalone. I’m here to tell you that that’s a lie. It’s really book six of A Natural History of Dragons but about a different character.
I haven’t read any of those books so my reading experience lacked a lot of important background information, especially about Draconeans and the world this book takes place in. And unfortunately the epistolary style didn’t lend itself to great world-building. Perhaps the first book has amazing world-building, in which case book six need not have much but it was marketed as a standalone. It does not stand alone.
Anyway, outside of that, this was just an okay read for me. I went into it with high hopes—historical fantasy, dragons, mystery, the protagonist is a translator!—but it didn’t meet those hopes. The choice to write the story in letters didn’t work for me here. There were so many things that didn’t make sense that someone would write in a letter or a diary but were obviously included because the reader needed to know the information. Likewise, the inclusion of the translations the characters are working on didn’t add anything to the story for me. Just so much telling and very little showing. The mc made a lot of stupid decisions, too. The biggest disappointment, though? No actual dragons.
This review is a bit negative but I did actually like the world, I just didn’t fully understand it. And overall it was engaging. I think if I had known I shouldn’t start with this book, it would’ve been a better experience.
I haven’t read any of those books so my reading experience lacked a lot of important background information, especially about Draconeans and the world this book takes place in. And unfortunately the epistolary style didn’t lend itself to great world-building. Perhaps the first book has amazing world-building, in which case book six need not have much but it was marketed as a standalone. It does not stand alone.
Anyway, outside of that, this was just an okay read for me. I went into it with high hopes—historical fantasy, dragons, mystery, the protagonist is a translator!—but it didn’t meet those hopes. The choice to write the story in letters didn’t work for me here. There were so many things that didn’t make sense that someone would write in a letter or a diary but were obviously included because the reader needed to know the information. Likewise, the inclusion of the translations the characters are working on didn’t add anything to the story for me. Just so much telling and very little showing. The mc made a lot of stupid decisions, too. The biggest disappointment, though? No actual dragons.
This review is a bit negative but I did actually like the world, I just didn’t fully understand it. And overall it was engaging. I think if I had known I shouldn’t start with this book, it would’ve been a better experience.
Content Warnings
Graphic: Xenophobia and Racism
Moderate: Classism and Violence
qtcarolyn's review
adventurous
mysterious
tense
fast-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? A mix
- Loveable characters? Yes
- Diverse cast of characters? Yes
4.75
Content Warnings
Graphic: Fire/Fire injury and Xenophobia
Minor: Misogyny, Murder, Death of parent, Hate crime, Death, and Violence
tericarol21's review
adventurous
dark
emotional
mysterious
medium-paced
- Strong character development? Yes
- Loveable characters? Yes
- Diverse cast of characters? Yes
- Flaws of characters a main focus? It's complicated
5.0
I loved this!! It was a beautiful new page in the previous Lady Trent series — a new generation, if you will. I did figure out what had likely happened about....50+ pages before the reveal, but it was still so enjoyable to go through all the complexity with the characters.
Content Warnings
Moderate: Racism, Xenophobia, and Violence
Minor: Car accident, Death of parent, Emotional abuse, and Hate crime
fraxisle's review
adventurous
funny
hopeful
mysterious
medium-paced
- Loveable characters? Yes
- Diverse cast of characters? Yes
- Flaws of characters a main focus? It's complicated
4.0
Content Warnings
Moderate: Xenophobia
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