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mandersdraws's review against another edition
- Plot- or character-driven? Plot
- Strong character development? Yes
- Loveable characters? Yes
- Diverse cast of characters? No
- Flaws of characters a main focus? No
4.5
Simply put, I love this shit!! I read it twice, once with an audiobook and then again with an ebook. It got me theorizing and highlighting the text like I’m trying to solve a cryptogram. I don’t even mind the love triangle (though I do hope it manages to subvert some of the cliches and tropes we expect with love triangles)
Edit: I’ve also read the sequel, Hemlock Queen, and I can’t wait for more!
Graphic: Body horror, Animal death, Injury/Injury detail, Violence, Death, Blood, Cursing, and Gore
Moderate: Religious bigotry, Toxic friendship, Toxic relationship, Sexual content, Abandonment, Alcohol, Child death, Confinement, Drug use, Murder, Drug abuse, and Vomit
Minor: Death of parent, Domestic abuse, Classism, Colonisation, Terminal illness, War, and Body shaming
Manipulation is a big theme of this book.kbowles24'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? Yes
- Flaws of characters a main focus? It's complicated
4.5
Graphic: Death
Moderate: Addiction, Violence, Religious bigotry, Murder, Cursing, Injury/Injury detail, Abandonment, Confinement, Child death, and Animal death
Minor: War, Terminal illness, and Pregnancy
bookboxbabe's review against another edition
- Plot- or character-driven? Plot
- Strong character development? It's complicated
- Loveable characters? Yes
- Diverse cast of characters? No
- Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes
5.0
Graphic: Blood, Cursing, Body horror, Death, Drug abuse, Drug use, and Murder
manaledi's review against another edition
- Plot- or character-driven? A mix
- Strong character development? It's complicated
- Loveable characters? Yes
- Diverse cast of characters? No
- Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes
3.25
Graphic: Classism, Death, and Religious bigotry
Moderate: Abandonment, Drug abuse, Drug use, Fire/Fire injury, Injury/Injury detail, Blood, Murder, War, Addiction, Animal death, Child death, Cursing, and Grief
cdoubet's review against another edition
- 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
4.25
Graphic: Religious bigotry, Self harm, Toxic friendship, Death, Torture, Emotional abuse, Terminal illness, Murder, Drug abuse, Alcohol, Classism, Violence, Confinement, Child death, Death of parent, Drug use, Injury/Injury detail, Blood, Genocide, Cursing, Grief, Gore, and Panic attacks/disorders
Moderate: Animal death and Animal cruelty
Minor: Sexual content, Pregnancy, and Sexual harassment
bex_readz's review against another edition
- Plot- or character-driven? Plot
- Strong character development? No
- Loveable characters? No
- Diverse cast of characters? No
- Flaws of characters a main focus? No
2.0
The plot of this book felt promising. The magic and world building did feel a bit different than other books I have read and I enjoyed that. What I was not expecting was having characters that felt flat and had no chemistry, bumbling through the plot line. Many of the plot twists were VERY easy to spot, and yet the characters were clueless throughout. No chemistry AND dumb. The best part of the book was like the last couple of chapters, because at least then some of the characters had the possibility of being interesting.
I just don't know. I feel like this book had potential but the execution was done poorly.
Plot- 3/5🔆
Spice- 0/5🌶️
Romance-0/5💗
Moderate: Animal death
Minor: Vomit, Murder, Drug abuse, and Gore
jaynovara's review against another edition
- Plot- or character-driven? A mix
- Strong character development? Yes
- Loveable characters? It's complicated
- Diverse cast of characters? Yes
- Flaws of characters a main focus? No
3.5
Graphic: Blood, Body horror, Animal death, Drug use, Child death, Animal cruelty, Death, and Murder
Moderate: Genocide, Confinement, Violence, Injury/Injury detail, Death of parent, Abandonment, and Religious bigotry
clairew97's review against another edition
- Plot- or character-driven? A mix
- Strong character development? Yes
- Loveable characters? It's complicated
- Diverse cast of characters? N/A
- Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes
3.75
Graphic: Toxic relationship, Confinement, Cursing, Death, Drug use, Vomit, Murder, Gore, Violence, Gaslighting, Sexual content, Alcohol, Body horror, Bullying, Misogyny, Kidnapping, Child death, Grief, Addiction, Blood, Drug abuse, Emotional abuse, Injury/Injury detail, Terminal illness, Toxic friendship, Abandonment, Fire/Fire injury, War, Religious bigotry, Classism, and Death of parent
mattiedancer'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
- Fans of darker, but not dark, fantasy books
- Fans of love triangles
- Those looking for an interesting high fantasy read with a heavy focus on gods
- Fans of fantasy romances where the love interests are forced together
- Fans of an intriguing fantasy world
- Drug abuse, murder, child death, death, death of parent, torture, blood, confinement,
Graphic: Body horror, Classism, Cursing, Death of parent, Drug abuse, Murder, Animal death, Animal cruelty, Blood, Child death, Death, Gore, Drug use, Injury/Injury detail, Terminal illness, Chronic illness, Violence, and War
camiclarkbooks's review
- 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
3.25
It was long…too long, in my opinion. There was some repetition of story beats that felt unnecessary, like they had been added just to lengthen the book. By the 70% point, I was just trying to power through and couldn’t give an accurate summary.
All I kept thinking through the book was, “this is ‘Serpent and Dove’ but in a palace and with a lot more dead people.” And I stand by that.
Moderate: Addiction, Animal death, Drug use, Abandonment, Blood, Drug abuse, Injury/Injury detail, Classism, and Death
Minor: War, Murder, Cursing, Alcohol, and Death of parent