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wizardingwisteria's review against another edition
- Plot- or character-driven? Character
- Strong character development? It's complicated
4.75
I absolutely devoured this. I never wanted to put it down because in every single chapter a new piece of information is revealed or something shifted in a way that made the plot more interesting. It is certainly a good story.
The characters really make this one. Their experiences, their morals, and their motivations (and their powers lol) drive every single plot point.
Although, as much as I enjoyed this, I would be lying if I said I didn't get bored at some points. In the last 100 ish pages I had become impatient. The entire book set up this massive fight that almost felt like it was never going to happen. When it did eventually happen it was quite satisfying.
Some of the characters have special powers that can essentially undo things that would ultimately be fatal which knocked down some stakes in a story that was designed to have the highest stakes possible. I stopped mourning my favorite character after they seemingly died for the second time. By the end I had a grasp on how things were going to play out and it became a bit easy to predict.
Death itself was something that was tossed around with varying degrees of severity. Without spoiling too much, there is a character that dies in the beginning whose death is set up to be this massive shock but is kind of brushed under the rug in a few chapters. This character's death was in some ways the catalyst for the primary antagonist and yet at some point they just kind of get forgotten.
Even with these things I still greatly enjoyed this. I would have quickly DNFed it if I hadn't. But it is definitely a book I had to be in the right mindset to read. The story and the characters are exceedingly dark. If I only had one word to describe this book it would have to be dark. Not to say it was not enjoyable, but it was a heavy one.
Graphic: Toxic relationship, Suicidal thoughts, Violence, Suicide attempt, Self harm, Murder, Injury/Injury detail, and Animal death
Minor: Drug use and Alcoholism
cfell's review against another edition
2.5
Graphic: Animal death, Death, Gun violence, Injury/Injury detail, Self harm, Torture, Toxic friendship, Toxic relationship, and Violence
Moderate: Suicide
Minor: Sexual assault
renn_the_reader's review against another edition
- Plot- or character-driven? A mix
- Strong character development? No
- Loveable characters? It's complicated
- Diverse cast of characters? No
- Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes
4.75
Graphic: Religious bigotry, Violence, and Stalking
Moderate: Toxic friendship, Toxic relationship, Suicide, Suicide attempt, Death, and Torture
Minor: Self harm and Blood
theghostly's review against another edition
- Plot- or character-driven? Character
- 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
4.0
Graphic: Gun violence, Self harm, Suicide, Suicide attempt, Toxic relationship, Death, Murder, Toxic friendship, and Violence
Moderate: Animal cruelty, Sexual assault, Animal death, and Rape
agenericmirkwoodelf's review against another edition
- Plot- or character-driven? Character
- Strong character development? It's complicated
- Loveable characters? It's complicated
- Diverse cast of characters? Yes
- Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes
5.0
The quick chapters and constant bouncing between timelines make it impossible to put down! Especially, I found, during the beginning.
It relies very heavily on implication, which I think works wonderfully! There were many instances where I was smacked in the face with a sudden, dreadful realization maybe a chapter or two before the event was covered. This was pretty clearly intentional, and executed perfectly!
I love the unique set of characters, and the complex explorations of morality! Will definitely be picking up the next one!
Graphic: Self harm, Gore, Religious bigotry, Suicide attempt, Torture, and Gun violence
Moderate: Suicidal thoughts and Toxic relationship
Minor: Animal death
ladynavalon's review against another edition
- Plot- or character-driven? Character
- Strong character development? Yes
- Loveable characters? Yes
- Diverse cast of characters? N/A
- Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes
3.5
Graphic: Animal death, Blood, Car accident, Violence, Suicide, Suicidal thoughts, Self harm, Medical trauma, Injury/Injury detail, Gaslighting, Forced institutionalization, Child abuse, Toxic relationship, Toxic friendship, Suicide attempt, Stalking, Religious bigotry, Murder, Mental illness, Medical content, Abandonment, Addiction, Body horror, Torture, Physical abuse, Gun violence, and Grief
donatio's review
- Plot- or character-driven? A mix
- Strong character development? Yes
- Loveable characters? Yes
- Diverse cast of characters? It's complicated
- Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes
5.0
I loved the writing style and how she skipped back and forth between the past and the present. The characters were well-crafted and I found a connection to every one of them, especially Victor's group of strays.
It was not really action-packed but I still loved how the story evolved.
Before reading one should check the trigger warnings, because it gets dark at points and "There are no good men in this game" is quite true. The mix of flashbacks and present might be annoying for some people too.
Graphic: Violence, Toxic friendship, Suicide, Addiction, Animal cruelty, Animal death, Blood, Body horror, Child death, Drug use, Fire/Fire injury, Abandonment, Alcohol, Child abuse, Gore, Gun violence, Medical content, Medical trauma, Toxic relationship, Death, Deadnaming, Drug abuse, Emotional abuse, Hate crime, Injury/Injury detail, Murder, Physical abuse, and Suicide attempt
blackferrum's review against another edition
- Plot- or character-driven? Character
- Strong character development? Yes
- Loveable characters? No
- Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes
4.5
Pertama kali baca bagian profil penulis, nggak sadar apa maksudnya Vic suka berkhayal soal monster2. Mana monsternya? Karena walaupun ini buku fantasi, nggak ada penampakan wujud monster. And I realized, monsternya itu nggak nampak di mata. At least, wujudnya masih manusia, kok.
Jahat. Kata itu tepat banget kayaknya gambarin ini buku. Pemikiran Victor dan Eli tuh, nggak bisa dipikir cepat. Alias ya kudu pelan2 bacanya baru paham apa maksud mereka. Walaupun sampai detik ini aku juga masih nggak paham kenapa Victor ngusulin (ngeyel lebih tepatnya) ide gila itu. Ide yang bikin dia dan Eli berubah dari manusia biasa (a.k.a MB) jadi luar biasa (a.k.a LB). Awal bencana.
Yang lebih nggak nyangka, pemikiran Eli pendek banget. Sumbunya bahkan nggak sampai semeter. Apa yang bikin dia berpikir berhak berbuat kayak gitu? Like, bodoh banget eh. Ngeselinnn.
Ada something yang hilang, tapi apa ya, aku nggak bener2 paham apa itu. Dari cerita awal Eli dan Victor as teman, berakhir jadi musuh, ada yang kurang sedikit. Eh, tapi kayaknya aku agak paham apa yang hilang. Karena tujuan Victor bukan jadi hero, jadi nggak banyak adegan penyelamatan yg dia lakuin. Dia datang buat balas dendam aja, kan? Dan emang Victor nggak berniat jadi pahlawan. Eli did.
Intinya, aku suka, tapi masih penasaran sama beberapa hal. Terutama lanjutan kalimat terakhir di bab terakhir itu. Ughhh!
Graphic: Blood, Violence, Gun violence, Self harm, Murder, and Injury/Injury detail
Moderate: Animal death, Toxic relationship, and Toxic friendship
luxxltyd's review against another edition
- 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
4.5
Graphic: Injury/Injury detail, Toxic relationship, Animal death, Death, Murder, Suicide attempt, Violence, Blood, Gaslighting, Gun violence, Suicide, and Toxic friendship
Moderate: Self harm, Torture, Abandonment, and Child death
Minor: Stalking
anafi1ipa's review against another edition
- Plot- or character-driven? A mix
- Strong character development? It's complicated
- Loveable characters? It's complicated
- Diverse cast of characters? No
- Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes
5.0
Graphic: Death, Murder, Self harm, Toxic friendship, Gun violence, Gore, Injury/Injury detail, Toxic relationship, and Blood