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strawberrycandy's review
adventurous
dark
fast-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? Character
- Strong character development? Yes
- Loveable characters? It's complicated
- Diverse cast of characters? N/A
- Flaws of characters a main focus? It's complicated
2.0
Content Warnings
Graphic: Violence
Moderate: Murder, Physical abuse, Toxic relationship, Gaslighting, and Death
Minor: Homophobia and Gore
strawberrytheauthor's review against another edition
I did not care about the characters anymore and honestly I didn’t care to see how the story got resolved. Also I have now learned there was a trilogy before this called the Winners Trilogy I think.
Content Warnings
Graphic: Injury/Injury detail, Classism, Fire/Fire injury, Genocide, Blood, Gore, Homophobia, Lesbophobia, Death, Murder, Violence, and War
claudiamacpherson's review against another edition
adventurous
emotional
hopeful
tense
medium-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? Character
- Strong character development? Yes
- Loveable characters? Yes
- Diverse cast of characters? Yes
- Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes
4.0
Content Warnings
Moderate: War, Grief, Violence, Blood, and Murder
Minor: Child abuse, Death of parent, Emotional abuse, Abandonment, Confinement, Fire/Fire injury, Gore, Child death, Classism, Gun violence, and Sexual content
plumpaperbacks's review
dark
emotional
slow-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? Character
- Strong character development? Yes
- Loveable characters? It's complicated
- Diverse cast of characters? Yes
- Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes
3.0
After thoroughly enjoying The Midnight Lie, I was so excited to dive into The Hollow Heart. Unfortunately, I found it incredibly underwhelming, and even considering DNFing more than once. I pushed through because of how much I liked the first book, thinking it had to get better. And while it did, marginally, it never managed to achieve the same levels of intrigue, emotion and romance as its predecessor.
The slow pacing and long chapters made reading this feel like an uphill battle. At risk of sounding dramatic, it was sort of a Sisyphus situation—every time I would start to get invested, an especially long, boring chapter would ruin that for me. I shudder to think of what this book would’ve been without Sid’s chapters; I love her to pieces, 10/10, my favorite character, book girlfriend material. In all seriousness, her narration was what saved the story for me.
The girls were reunited in the final third, making it somewhat but not entirely better than the first two thirds. What really could’ve upped my opinion is a more detailed ending, because I feel like I was cheated. Not nearly enough sapphic content or story resolution, in my opinion.
Honestly, this might be one of my most disappointing reads of the year, alongside Kingdom of the Wicked. Whereas KOTW was a case of a book not living up to internet hype, The Hollow Heart was a sequel that I don’t think lived up to the first book, and that, I think, is so very sad. :((
Representation
The slow pacing and long chapters made reading this feel like an uphill battle. At risk of sounding dramatic, it was sort of a Sisyphus situation—every time I would start to get invested, an especially long, boring chapter would ruin that for me. I shudder to think of what this book would’ve been without Sid’s chapters; I love her to pieces, 10/10, my favorite character, book girlfriend material. In all seriousness, her narration was what saved the story for me.
The girls were reunited in the final third, making it somewhat but not entirely better than the first two thirds. What really could’ve upped my opinion is a more detailed ending, because I feel like I was cheated. Not nearly enough sapphic content or story resolution, in my opinion.
Honestly, this might be one of my most disappointing reads of the year, alongside Kingdom of the Wicked. Whereas KOTW was a case of a book not living up to internet hype, The Hollow Heart was a sequel that I don’t think lived up to the first book, and that, I think, is so very sad. :((
Representation
- sapphic protagonist of color
- biracial lesbian love interest
- sapphic romance
- queer side character
- side characters of color
Content Warnings
Graphic: Blood, Gore, Death, and Murder
Most of the murders in this book are done by beheading, which is mentioned and briefly described, but never in graphic detail.
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