Reviews tagging 'Toxic relationship'

Hell Bent by Leigh Bardugo

50 reviews

claireisagrisha'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? Yes

5.0

 READ THIS BOOK ASAP!!!! 

OMG, I loved this one even more than Ninth House and I loved Ninth House. Both 5 star reads!! I need the 3rd one pls Miss Bardugo :( 

 

Alex’s character development from book 1 to book 2 is insane. She grows more confident in who she is and her powers. I truly loved her as a main character. 

 

Dawes… she doesn’t get enough credit for her healing, cooking, and keeping the team together. I stan Dawes. 

 

The team that Alex put together may have been dysfunctional at the start of their journey, but as they continue on through the book, they become powerful friends and they learn so much about each other that they can’t help but want to help each other out. The soldier, the scholar, the priest, and the prince! 

 

Michelle… damn I did not see that coming. 

 

Darlington is back! Alex being the one to rescue him and Darlington bowing to her saying he serves her… uhhh elaborate please… book three needs to explore this a little more. 

 

Also … I do not think they should have let Tripp live. This seems like a disaster waiting to strike. 

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Content Warnings

Moderate: Death of parent, Toxic relationship, and Death

bi_n_large's review against another edition

adventurous challenging dark mysterious tense fast-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

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Toxic friendship, Blood, Toxic relationship, Confinement, Emotional abuse, Murder, Racism, Gore, Slavery, and Animal death

Moderate: Fire/Fire injury, Misogyny, Grief, Suicidal thoughts, Religious bigotry, and Rape

Minor: Torture and Drug use

mae_dexter_author's review against another edition

adventurous challenging dark funny hopeful informative mysterious sad 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? It's complicated

5.0

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Body horror, Drug abuse, Animal death, Blood, Animal cruelty, Death, Fire/Fire injury, Murder, Drug use, Racism, and Toxic relationship

mlewis's review against another edition

adventurous dark funny mysterious sad tense medium-paced

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

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Animal death, Death, Blood, and Grief

Moderate: Emotional abuse, Toxic relationship, Domestic abuse, Police brutality, Gun violence, Drug abuse, Drug use, Stalking, Sexual assault, Sexism, and Racism

Minor: Slavery

molly_storm's review against another edition

adventurous challenging dark emotional mysterious fast-paced

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

5.0

I put off listening to Hell Bent for ages after getting it on Audible, because I figured I would really need to focus on it - the time skips in Ninth House had really baffled me at first but by the end everything made sense so I figured this one would be the same. 

I was definitely not disappointed in the plot! Three nights in a row, I stayed up past 4am listening to this audiobook after going to bed. It flows beautifully - I know a lot of people have said that it’s too fast or feels rushed but I disagree wholeheartedly. 

I’m excited for the story to continue in the 3rd one!

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Injury/Injury detail, Emotional abuse, Fire/Fire injury, Animal death, Death, Toxic friendship, Toxic relationship, Gore, and Blood

Moderate: Panic attacks/disorders, Murder, Blood, Police brutality, Addiction, Death of parent, and Self harm

Minor: Vomit, Police brutality, Torture, Physical abuse, Medical trauma, Cannibalism, Excrement, Drug abuse, Medical content, Drug use, Mental illness, Confinement, Classism, Suicidal thoughts, and Sexual assault

By and large, the above triggers I feel are present are handled appropriately and are not there for gratuitous reasons.

chinaskye12's review against another edition

dark emotional mysterious tense medium-paced

• Plot- or character-driven? A mix
• Loveable characters? Yes
• Diverse cast of characters? Yes
• Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes

5.0

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Murder, Addiction, Blood, Death, Drug abuse, Drug use, Grief, Violence, and Mental illness

Moderate: Animal death and Sexual assault

Minor: Self harm, Toxic relationship, Suicide, Suicide attempt, and Sexism

lovelymisanthrope's review against another edition

adventurous dark mysterious sad tense slow-paced

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

3.5

I read "Ninth House" last year and was captivated by the story, and absolutely dying to see the resolution to the cliffhanger ending
"Hell Bent" is the sequel to "Ninth House" and continues to follow Alex Stern in her journey to free Darlington from purgatory. Alex and Dawes are forbidden from attempting to save Darlington, so they assemble their own team to get the job done.
I did enjoy this story, and I did appreciate how much of an urban fantasy this felt to me, but I was a little bored at times. This book and the series as a whole has a lot of world building because of the magic system. With this being the second book, I wanted to get to the meat of the story faster. I felt at times that there were entire sections that could have been cut out of the book. Perhaps there re easter eggs that will feel more important for the next book, but right now, it felt unnecessary.
I do still really enjoy Alex as a character. She is rough around the edges and so relatable with her chaotic energy. I also really appreciate how committed she is to rescuing those that she loves. Darlington was so good for her, and she is hell bent on saving him.
The mystery that is going on was very okay. I was not super invested in all of the murders and trying to resolve what was happening, but I was not entirely bored by it either.
Will I keep reading this series? Probably. I am invested in Alex as a character, and I do love Leigh Bardugo's writing. 

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Toxic friendship, Violence, Toxic relationship, Blood, Torture, Stalking, and Murder

badwaifu's review against another edition

adventurous dark mysterious 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

5.0

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Animal death and Blood

Moderate: Sexual violence, Police brutality, Adult/minor relationship, Toxic relationship, Addiction, Death, Drug use, and Murder

starsnotshadows's review against another edition

adventurous challenging dark funny mysterious fast-paced

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

5.0

Incredible sequel to Ninth House! loved learning more about the magic, loved the mystery and the puzzles and loved how Leigh Bardugo somehow finds a way to insert humor into such dark, tense moments. 

I do think Hell Bent gets more gorey (or I could be completely forgetting how intense Ninth House was) so reader beware.

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Animal death, Murder, Death, Sexual violence, and Injury/Injury detail

Moderate: Sexual content

Minor: Toxic relationship, Racism, Suicide attempt, and Drug abuse

locajohanna's review against another edition

challenging dark emotional sad tense medium-paced

• Plot- or character-driven? Plot
• 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

2.5

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Death, Injury/Injury detail, Physical abuse, Emotional abuse, Gore, Rape, Sexual assault, Child abuse, Domestic abuse, Sexual violence, Violence, Body horror, Bullying, Drug abuse, Drug use, Murder, and Toxic relationship

Moderate: Addiction, Police brutality, Suicide attempt, Alcohol, Animal cruelty, Animal death, and Racism