Reviews with content warning for Trafficking - Lair of Dreams

Reviews tagging 'Trafficking'

Lair of Dreams by Libba Bray

17 reviews

annakh16's review against another edition

adventurous mysterious medium-paced

Plot- or character-driven? A mix
Loveable characters? Yes
Diverse cast of characters? Yes

3.75

A fun continuation of the series.

This part is less spooky than the last one but I personally preferred that. It‘s mainly concerned with developing characters and setting up mysteries for the next book.

I did find that this less plot-focused nature made the book slightly too long/slow. It was somewhat compensated by the fact that the characters are an absolute strength of this series. They are very likeable, their relationships are heartwarming (found family!) and so hanging out with them is fun even when not too much happens. Ling was a great addition, though I was sad to see less of Memphis in this book. I also enjoyed Evie‘s character development in this

, and the discussions of how she copes with her trauma

.

The „mystery“ was less interesting - I had guessed

the fact that Louis was dead

almost from the beginning, though not

the role of Wai-Mae as the veiled woman

. Bray‘s continued nuance and comprehensiveness in discussing the historical realities of racism in relation to the sleeping sickness made this more compelling however - and this approach in general, also looking at her discussion of homophobia, trade unionism etc., remains a strength of the series.

I‘ll be very interested to see how the mysteries set up here develop in the next book. I do hope the pace picks up though.

(Also January LaVoy is great as a narrator - drunk Evie was hilarious).

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sandsing7's review against another edition

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adventurous dark funny mysterious tense slow-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

3.5

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maddiereadswords's review against another edition

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5.0

Oh, this one hits different in a post-Covid world. :)

That being said, this is still my favorite book in the whole series, mostly because I would both kill and die for Ling Chan, disabled autistic ace-spec mean lesbian extraordinaire. <3 I literally don't even have coherent thoughts about this book, it's just so fucking good!! It's fun, spooky, and it both breaks and warms my heart at the same time, and I swear every time I read it those 600 pages feel even shorter. And that final meeting scene?? These angsty 1920s teenagers are my Avengers.

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ellie_gonzalez's review against another edition

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emotional mysterious medium-paced

Plot- or character-driven? A mix
Strong character development? No
Loveable characters? Yes
Diverse cast of characters? Yes

3.75

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rainbeauregard's review against another edition

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adventurous challenging dark emotional funny informative mysterious tense 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? Yes

5.0

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anntharai's review against another edition

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adventurous dark mysterious 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? No

5.0

I put off reading #2 because I was worried it wouldn’t live up to how much I enjoyed #1, but I was happy to be proven wrong.

The grasp the author has on horror is nuanced and subtle at times and palpably visceral at others.

I love the cast of characters, the people are so rich and full that I feel like I’m friends with them. I want to read everything ever written by Memphis, dance with Theta to Henry’s songs. I adore the addition of Ling to the story, she’s such a wonderfully no BS character.

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justagrlandherdog's review against another edition

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adventurous dark mysterious tense 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? No

3.0

While this book didn’t scare me as much as the last, I think that actually hinders the book more than helped it. There’s wasn’t a sense of urgency or a time limit that had me flipping page after page to find out what happens. The character development was good and I continue to like each character. Sam and Evie’s storyline was my favorite.

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