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seekerxr'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
5.0
i was engaged from the beginning to the very end. there wasn't a single moment of this book where i wasn't on the edge of my seat. it is worth every single bit of its 700-something pages because the story simply couldn't be told in less than that.
the atmosphere? unable to be duplicated. take every hard, dramatic aesthetic of the church and turn it up to eleven. it's blood and silver and hopelessness and battle fury.
the characters were intensely flawed and intensely loveable. no one could have told this story like gabriel did.
i didn't realize this was an incomplete series when i started it (i don't usually read incomplete series) but i am absolutely locked in. i cant wait for the rest of the story.
if you want a grimdark vampire fantasy epic, why aren't you already reading this?
Graphic: Religious bigotry
Moderate: Xenophobia, Homophobia, War, and Gore
darkwolf28's review against another edition
- Plot- or character-driven? A mix
- Strong character development? Yes
- Loveable characters? Yes
- Diverse cast of characters? No
- Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes
5.0
Graphic: Blood and Death
Moderate: War, Violence, and Alcohol
Minor: Death of parent and Animal death
grets_reads'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? It's complicated
- Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes
4.0
Graphic: Violence, Fire/Fire injury, Injury/Injury detail, Death, Drug use, and Blood
Moderate: Addiction, Alcohol, Child death, Sexual content, War, Death of parent, Religious bigotry, Murder, Grief, and Gore
Minor: Slavery, Homophobia, Physical abuse, and Animal death
shadesofdivine'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? Yes
5.0
Graphic: Alcohol, Alcoholism, Drug abuse, Drug use, Murder, War, Animal death, Child death, Gore, Grief, Injury/Injury detail, Misogyny, Addiction, Blood, Cursing, Death, Death of parent, Pedophilia, Sexual content, and Violence
wrensreadingroom's review
Moderate: Violence, Alcoholism, Injury/Injury detail, Medical content, Fire/Fire injury, Sexual content, War, Emotional abuse, Gore, Addiction, Blood, Body shaming, Grief, Infidelity, Animal cruelty, Classism, Animal death, Confinement, Cursing, Gun violence, Bullying, Cannibalism, Child death, Child abuse, Pregnancy, Vomit, Misogyny, Alcohol, Body horror, Death, Drug abuse, Drug use, Domestic abuse, and Physical abuse
breazy777's review against another edition
- Plot- or character-driven? Character
- Strong character development? Yes
- Loveable characters? Yes
- Diverse cast of characters? No
- Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes
5.0
Graphic: Blood, Gore, and War
Moderate: Death, Animal death, and Cursing
Minor: Misogyny, Death of parent, and Homophobia
calton'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
5.0
Truth be told, initially I bought this book simply because I love vampire stories and a look at the illustrations inside told me that there is a ravishing main character at play. And when I started reading it, I understood from the first fifty pages that this book was so much more. I've read a lot of books in my twenty-something years of life, and there are books that come to mind when I am asked to name a favourite, but I'm pretty sure that from now it, this will be the name that will be on my tongue. It's simply incredible. It's brutal, cruel, and cold like the word that it's set in, it's filled with hatred, contempt, pain, loss and grief like Gabriel is. But it's also full of hope and love, of faith that's so often the last thing a person clings to and that saves him.
I've lost count of the times I've audibly laughed at the jokes, gasped at the plot twist (I couldn't see ANY of them coming) and cried. Dear gods, I've cried rivers over this book, it seems. Jay Kristoff really does know how to slam a knife into your heart and twist it.
The world-building in this book is simply incredible. The last time I read something so richly imaginative and unique was probably "The Witcher" series and that is simply beyond all words. The concept of vampire hunters that are half-vampires themselves, the different ranks of vampires, the four bloodlines and a mysterious fifth one. The concept of daysdeath and the religion based on Christianity yet very different, with the Holy Grail that's not a chalice at all. Absolutely astonishing.
The mysteries that are drawn through the whole book and that only start really dawning on you by the end, before they're fully revealed, are done expertly. Figuring everything out yourself and then seeing the final confirmation is what really makes your heart race and your jaw drop. The way I broke into tears after "They're home because that is where you buried them" will probably never be forgotten by me.
Moreover, this book features one of my favourite tropes of all time: a tired, broken man and a troublesome teenage girl that he comes to love like a daughter despite himself and becomes ready to not only let the world burn to save her but to set it alight himself. This trope always gets to the very bottom of my heart (The Witcher, The Last of Us, Logan) and here, it's done perfectly.
There are a thousand things that I could say about this book and this review would be half as long as it is, but they would all sum up to simply perfection. I've heard some people say that this book is full of red flags but in that case, I'm fucking colourblind and I don't give a single shit. It's cruel and brutal, full of blood and gore and strong language and that is just how I like it. I truly don't know where I will find the patience to wait for the next two instalments of this.
Finally, I'd like to add that I listened to the audiobook as I was reading along, and Damian Lynch is an incredible narrator for this story. I hope with all my heart that he will also read the next two books because his Garbiel is the Gabriel I fell for.
P.S. If the raw tension between de Leon and Jean-Francois doesn't get resolved in the next two books, then gods help me.
Graphic: War, Murder, Gore, Blood, Violence, and Injury/Injury detail
Moderate: Sexual content and Torture
lifeonasofa's review
- Plot- or character-driven? Plot
- 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, Murder, Addiction, Alcohol, Cursing, Violence, Blood, Death, Gore, and Grief
Moderate: Confinement, Death of parent, Religious bigotry, Torture, Animal death, Homophobia, War, Child death, Fire/Fire injury, and Misogyny
Minor: Adult/minor relationship, Sexual assault, Sexual content, Infidelity, Pregnancy, and Rape
aseel_reads'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
3.75
Moderate: Injury/Injury detail, Rape, Religious bigotry, Sexual assault, Child death, Gore, Grief, Domestic abuse, Pregnancy, Sexism, Addiction, Animal death, Child abuse, Death of parent, Death, Torture, Violence, Alcohol, Blood, and War
booksandstarss'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
5.0
Graphic: Body horror and War
Minor: Rape and Xenophobia