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ash_ton's review
- Plot- or character-driven? A mix
- Loveable characters? Yes
- Diverse cast of characters? Yes
- Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes
4.0
Graphic: Murder, Injury/Injury detail, Blood, Violence, Death, and Gore
Moderate: Emotional abuse, Physical abuse, Confinement, Death of parent, Torture, and Grief
Minor: Alcoholism, Homophobia, Addiction, Biphobia, Vomit, Alcohol, and Suicide
tinysierra's review
- Plot- or character-driven? A mix
- Diverse cast of characters? Yes
- Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes
4.75
There was a mix of character driven and plot driven moments. I felt like there was a lot of slow/medium paced moments where there was more focus on character development/interactions but it did pick up in some places with more plot related aspects. It kept my attention either way.
The timeline hopped around a bit, jumping back into the past and then forward into the present. Slowly putting the pieces together. The chapters had the date along with experts from in world media (like journal entries), which really added to my immersion.
I liked Xiala and Serapio’s chapters the most. It was nice to see the story through a blind characters perspective. I hope to see more about Xiala’s powers in the next book.
In this book, queer characters are accepted in some of the societies but not others. There are characters that use neopronouns (xe/xir)! Xiala mentions that she takes pleasure with “men, women, and other genders” which I assume means that she’s bi or pan.
The ending was fast and admittedly a little anticlimactic but I don’t find myself feeling disappointed. I’m curious about where the story is going.
Graphic: Murder, Death of parent, Alcohol, Alcoholism, Colonisation, Death, Gore, Addiction, Blood, Violence, Body horror, Classism, Child abuse, Injury/Injury detail, and Physical abuse
Moderate: Drug use, Biphobia, Lesbophobia, Confinement, Homophobia, Suicide, and War
Minor: Infidelity, Abandonment, Animal death, Vomit, and Sexual content
bersblue's review
4.75
Graphic: Blood, Physical abuse, Addiction, Alcohol, Child abuse, Torture, and Violence
mandkips's review against another edition
- Strong character development? Yes
- Loveable characters? It's complicated
- Diverse cast of characters? Yes
- Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes
4.0
Graphic: Body horror, Child abuse, Death, Violence, Gore, Animal death, Physical abuse, Sexual assault, and Confinement
Moderate: Addiction, Alcoholism, and Cursing
bookishbutch's review against another edition
- Strong character development? Yes
- Loveable characters? Yes
- Diverse cast of characters? Yes
- Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes
5.0
Graphic: Addiction, Animal death, Body horror, Blood, Child abuse, Cursing, Death, Physical abuse, Violence, and Alcoholism
Moderate: Xenophobia, Religious bigotry, and Genocide
Minor: Biphobia, Sexual assault, Suicidal thoughts, Suicide, Rape, and Violence
caseythereader's review
- Strong character development? No
- Loveable characters? It's complicated
- Diverse cast of characters? Yes
- Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes
4.5
✨MINI REVIEW✨
A ship launches from a distant city bound for Tova and set to arrive on the solstice. The captain of the ship, Xiala, is a disgraced Teek whose song can calm the waters around her as easily as it can warp a man’s mind. Her ship carries one passenger. Described as harmless, the passenger, Serapio, is a young man, blind, scarred, and cloaked in destiny. (via Goodreads) 📚
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Things I liked:
📚 Casual queerness - pansexuality, gender neutral pronouns, trans characters, and none of it even factors into the main plot
📚 A big, sprawling world with intricate tribal history and relations
📚 Political intrigue, but not too much
📚 Visceral images - I could feel and smell and taste this world
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Things I didn't like:
📚 THAT CLIFFHANGER, I NEED BOOK 2 NOW!
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Content warnings: suicide, sexual harassment, substance abuse, gambling, murder, death.
Graphic: Addiction, Alcoholism, Suicide, Sexual assault, and Death