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snipequeen's review against another edition
4.0
Comfort food. Chicken soup for the soul -- this entire series. I love reading about the four friends, their mentors and their adventures.
stellarae2000's review against another edition
5.0
I really love this series. It’s beautiful and the magic of the main characters is so unique. I’m really excited to finish this series and read the next one!
rwxtd's review against another edition
5.0
Editing this review, because Daja deserves better than I have given her. Basic plot is this: The gang is traveling with the Duke as he checks up on the northern parts of his territory. There's been a drought for the last several years, and the crops and copper mines that bring the territory most of its money are failing. There are grassfires everywhere, and an increased risk of forest fire due to a fire mage who refuses to acknowledge Rosethorn's superior wisdom. There's also a secondary subplot involving the kids' magic getting all mixed up together- they've started having random spasms of each others' magic, which they can't control and which are causing a lot of problems. The main plot, though, is that Daja has accidentally created a living metal vine, and the traders want it badly enough to finagle a way to get around the whole "trangshi" thing so they can try and buy it from her.
This book is largely about Daja's relationship with the traders, but it also talks a lot about how that relationship makes her feel about herself. The traders' treatment of Daja makes her feel truly awful- she says and feels a lot of really worrying things about her own self-image after their first interaction, and it's clear that her isolation from her family, her belief system, and everything she's ever known has been really taking a toll on her. The Trader representative sent to do business with her, Polyam, is disabled, and therefore also treated pretty poorly by the rest of the Traders. A lot of the development over the course of the story involves both Daja and Polyam warming up to each other and sort of coming to terms with the fact that maybe their society and beliefs are unfair in the way they treat people. I also really appreciated Polyam's character development- even though she's basically a one-off character who only is important in this book, she's still given the same level of care and development and nuance as any of the major or recurring characters.
It deals with a lot of serious topics, like all these books, and also like all these books it's really well done. If you liked the rest of the series, this one will not disappoint.
This book is largely about Daja's relationship with the traders, but it also talks a lot about how that relationship makes her feel about herself. The traders' treatment of Daja makes her feel truly awful- she says and feels a lot of really worrying things about her own self-image after their first interaction, and it's clear that her isolation from her family, her belief system, and everything she's ever known has been really taking a toll on her. The Trader representative sent to do business with her, Polyam, is disabled, and therefore also treated pretty poorly by the rest of the Traders. A lot of the development over the course of the story involves both Daja and Polyam warming up to each other and sort of coming to terms with the fact that maybe their society and beliefs are unfair in the way they treat people. I also really appreciated Polyam's character development- even though she's basically a one-off character who only is important in this book, she's still given the same level of care and development and nuance as any of the major or recurring characters.
It deals with a lot of serious topics, like all these books, and also like all these books it's really well done. If you liked the rest of the series, this one will not disappoint.
niklit's review against another edition
adventurous
emotional
funny
medium-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? Character
- Strong character development? Yes
- Loveable characters? Yes
- Diverse cast of characters? Yes
- Flaws of characters a main focus? No
5.0
anitaforthewin's review against another edition
adventurous
emotional
lighthearted
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
eluhmenohpea's review against another edition
adventurous
challenging
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
4.75
berlinbibliophile's review against another edition
4.0
I had a great time with Daja and the quartet. I thought this book had better pacing than the last two, and seemed more complex in its dealings with Polyam and Yarrun as well. The fire sequence at the end was very exciting, and the living metal tree was fascinating.
jameyanne's review against another edition
5.0
A great third book in this series. I loved leaving Winding Circle and discovering more of this world. I also loved learning more about Daja's and also Frostpine's pasts. Daja has a particularly compelling journey, because not only is she confronted with her old people, who banished her, but she is also confronted with the more dangerous side of fire, which she has worked with as part of her magic every day since coming to Winding Circle. An excellent read, again.
lizlbarrett's review against another edition
4.0
This is the best winding circle so far, the plot was much more cohesive and I liked that it was focused on Daja in a way the first two weren’t focused on their named children
jothaniel's review against another edition
5.0
I know we get it later, but I wish there’s been a hint of queerness in this book. Maybe when we get to it later it wouldn’t have felt so unexpected if they’d laid the groundwork here.