SuitabookLightlark
Alex Aster
- Reading
- If the contest’s violence or intimate scenes may be difficult, agree beforehand whether to pause and check in. You could also take breaks after intense chapters and talk about how Isla handles pressure and trust.
- Themes
- Perseverance and teamwork: Despite physical hardship, Isla keeps going, seeks to understand the world and works with other characters to find answers. These qualities are presented as strengths in Isla’s efforts to solve problems.
- Curses and the cost of the contest: The rulers seek to undo curses on their realms, but the contest requires one ruler to die; the Wildlings’ curse is linked to killing those they love. The deadly stakes and curses drive the rulers’ struggle to free their realms.
- Worth knowing
- Expect fantasy violence with blood, killing and agonising pain, alongside sexual touching and a sexual encounter described through orgasm. Alcohol and magical wine also appear.