Reviews tagging 'Sexual violence'

Hell Bent by Leigh Bardugo

92 reviews

savvylit's review against another edition

adventurous dark mysterious slow-paced

• Plot- or character-driven? Plot
• Strong character development? No
• Loveable characters? No
• Diverse cast of characters? It's complicated
• Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes

2.5

Hell Bent disappointed me. Where Ninth House was an engaging and character-driven fantasy/mystery, Hell Bent was not. Perhaps it's unfair to expect a sequel to match its predecessor, but I really had hoped for more.

Hell Bent had practically zero character development. Granted, readers do already know the whole cast from the first book. However, that doesn't make following the adventures of incredibly two-dimensional people enjoyable. One of the most interesting characters in this series is Darlington. He ultimately barely says or does anything in Hell Bent, which I found frustrating. I would love to know more about Darlington. I also desperately want him and Alex to acknowledge their attraction to one another.

Lastly, what is with the plot of this novel? It's absolutely all over the place. Readers are taken on a disjointed journey from Yale to Hell and Yale to Hell. Meanwhile, there's a new professor leading Lethe and some murders have occurred on campus. AND Alex is a bounty hunter for her former drug dealer/enemy Eitan. The inclusion of Eitan drove me nuts! That entire subplot felt like it was just included to make the final scenes go smoothly (IYKYK).

All in all, this sequel left me wishing that Ninth House was a standalone.

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Animal death, Violence, Murder, and Death

Moderate: Stalking, Sexual assault, and Sexual violence

scripturient's review against another edition

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? It's complicated

4.5

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Drug use, Rape, Sexual harassment, Sexual violence, Death, Police brutality, Murder, Physical abuse, Panic attacks/disorders, Sexual assault, Animal death, Violence, Blood, and Injury/Injury detail

Moderate: Misogyny, Forced institutionalization, Gun violence, Fire/Fire injury, Medical content, and Mental illness

Minor: Torture, Suicide, Panic attacks/disorders, Slavery, and Racism

Just basically ALL the trigger warnings.

trips's review against another edition

adventurous dark funny 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

4.5

I guess the simplest thing to say is: I really enjoyed it!
I was so excited to be brought back into the spooky world Ninth House let me explore and I wanted to explore it more. I almost wish there was a book written by Darlington or something to talk to me about the secret societies of Yale to give me extra context, lol.
Alex and Dawes are determined to get Darlington back from hell, and despite their setbacks are more determined than ever. Its easy to get caught up in Bardugo's writing, she writes in a way that incites staying up till 2AM trying to read just one more chapter.
There are certain plot points surrounding Eitan that I didn't really feel like were necessary for most of the book till the end, where things came full circle. There were also some gruesome moments my Lagomorph loving self didn't enjoy but!! I think the found-family and the character growth you could see in not just Alex, but in Dawes and many others as well made the book for me.

(Darlington fans be warned though,

you're probably gonna have to wait for something substantial in book 3 lol)

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Violence, Blood, and Death

Moderate: Death of parent, Drug abuse, and Animal death

Minor: Sexual violence, Suicidal thoughts, and Slavery

aprilbethp's review against another edition

adventurous dark emotional funny mysterious tense medium-paced

• Plot- or character-driven? Plot
• Strong character development? Yes
• Loveable characters? Yes
• Diverse cast of characters? It's complicated
• Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes

4.25

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Animal cruelty, Murder, Racism, Rape, Addiction, Adult/minor relationship, Suicide, and Drug abuse

Moderate: Panic attacks/disorders, Biphobia, Body horror, Child abuse, Colonisation, Sexism, Animal death, Sexual content, Suicidal thoughts, Grief, Police brutality, Slavery, Fire/Fire injury, Alcohol, Death of parent, Mental illness, Sexual assault, Forced institutionalization, Injury/Injury detail, Sexual violence, and Stalking

Minor: Violence, Trafficking, Torture, Toxic friendship, Toxic relationship, and Vomit

ethanlj's review against another edition

adventurous dark emotional hopeful mysterious sad fast-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

4.0

it's been a while since I read the first one... 3.5 years by the calendar or 12 years by how much I aged over quarantine.  I had to go read a synopsis of The Ninth House because the author didn't hold my hand and re-explain everything that had happened.  And honestly, I respect that choice a lot.  I don't mind doing a little homework.

If my recollections are clear, I liked T9H but I liked this one a lot more.  This is urban fantasy with strong themes of guilt and damnation and growth. Loooooots in here about survivor's guilt.  The plot moved fast and I wasn't sure if the author would manage to secure all the balls she was juggling, but she did.  I want more.

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Content Warnings

Moderate: Grief, Drug abuse, and Sexual violence

Almost all triggering content takes place in the past as the main character remembers with remorse. It's not front-and-center.

celinbean's review against another edition

adventurous dark emotional tense fast-paced

• Plot- or character-driven? Plot
• Strong character development? No
• Loveable characters? Yes
• Diverse cast of characters? It's complicated
• Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes

3.5

don’t get me wrong i loved the book i got sucked into the story even though with my exams coming up i have no time.

My main issue with the book is that there was always so much happening that neither the characters nor the reader had any time to just breath and process everything that happened before jumping into the next catastrophe thrown at them. There were no heartfelt conversations and the bonds between the characters were never truly explored.

Like when alex brought darlington back from hell by herself there was no heartfelt reunion. He barely even got a hug and a im so glad you made it back. They relayed what happened and the he just shuffles into his old bedroom and pours himself a drink and has a short pragmatic conversation with alex and that’s it. It was so anticlimactic! These people literally went to hell to get hin back each with their own motivation and then we just brush over it?? Even though that was basically the whole point of them interacting at all. That was the main plot point? Like my man spend a whole fucking year in hell and all he gets when he comes back is a clap on the back and that’s it? A “how was spain?” “Hotter than expected” off hand joke and nothing more? 

There were so many plot twists unfurling one after another without really exploring the consequences. A lot of these plot points led nowhere or were a distraction for the characters. So many themes were touched on that i wish we had lingered on more (like the corruption at the heart of academia, the cost of magic and desire, the way our most intimate traumas can shape and distort us and what it takes to survive in a world that either wants to actively get rid of you or doesn’t care about you at all). 

So overall i appreciate bardugo’s well of creativity when it comes to plot but i wish we had explored the emotional bonds between the characters more and lingered more on big reveals in the story to make them actually meaningful. 

Also why was i absolutely convinced this was a duology and i would get closure for this whole story?? Now i probably have to wait another like 2 years 😭 

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Domestic abuse, Animal death, and Death

Moderate: Addiction, Misogyny, Physical abuse, Sexual violence, Suicide attempt, Police brutality, and Rape

geiravor's review against another edition

adventurous challenging dark emotional funny 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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Content Warnings

Graphic: Sexual assault, Sexual violence, and Animal death

Moderate: Forced institutionalization and Medical trauma

sabmanosa's review against another edition

adventurous challenging dark emotional hopeful inspiring mysterious sad 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

4.0

I enjoyed this book a lot. The first book took a while for me to warm up to, because of the timeline, setting, and general vibe was so different from her Grishaverse novels that I was a bit put off. This book was a lot easier to fall into, and it had me captivated from the first chapter. 

I didn't expect a lot of the twists and turns, and I enjoyed working through it, and figuring things out with Alex. The story was very satisfying, and left me excited for the next part of the series! 
Something about the way she writes just draws me in - I think it's because she creates very human characters who are put in very inhuman situations. Definitely recommend this series (and anything by her really) for people looking for very dark "YA" (heavy emphasis on the A) type books.

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Death, Animal death, Toxic relationship, Violence, Torture, and Murder

Moderate: Drug use, Panic attacks/disorders, Emotional abuse, Death of parent, and Addiction

Minor: Physical abuse, Suicide attempt, Sexual violence, and Sexual assault

sorayareads's review against another edition

adventurous dark tense fast-paced

• Strong character development? No
• Loveable characters? No
• Diverse cast of characters? Yes
• Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes

1.5

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Sexual violence, Cursing, and Sexual assault

Moderate: Animal cruelty, Animal death, and Racism

Minor: Suicide attempt and Drug use

nicksalex's review against another edition

adventurous challenging dark funny mysterious tense medium-paced

• Plot- or character-driven? A mix
• Strong character development? It's complicated
• Loveable characters? Yes
• Diverse cast of characters? Yes
• Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes

4.75

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Abandonment, Adult/minor relationship, Death, Animal cruelty, Panic attacks/disorders, Addiction, Fire/Fire injury, Cursing, Injury/Injury detail, Murder, Animal death, Blood, Drug abuse, Drug use, Death of parent, Gore, and Gun violence

Moderate: Sexual assault, Pedophilia, Suicide attempt, Slavery, Sexual violence, and Rape