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shottel's review against another edition
- Plot- or character-driven? Plot
- Strong character development? Yes
- Loveable characters? Yes
- Diverse cast of characters? Yes
- Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes
4.75
Outside of the deep themes of regret, loss, absence, grief, and psychosis, there is much to say positively. Harrow manages to pull off pop culture references and memes humorously, without making me want to throw the book across the room. (Minimally spoiling example: A subtle joke invoking none pizza left beef.) This, combined with a tamer but still present version of the sense of humor that made Gideon distinctive makes for an enjoyable time. It doesn’t lag so hard in the first half like Gideon does (although I do feel it could’ve likely been shortened a good 50-100 pages). The ending was exciting, the payoff for working through over 400 pages of confusion (albeit a well-written 400 pages) deeply worth it. My only gripe is that, without spoiling anything, the last 5 or so pages are a bit confusing and sad in a way I don’t think fits, but this doesn’t harm it enough for me to say the ending was anything but excellent.
Overall, I would strongly recommend this book to anyone who has read Gideon the Ninth and would be interested in a good mystery or an evocative portrait of disturbed mental faculties.
Graphic: Death, Body horror, Gore, Mental illness, Blood, Injury/Injury detail, Grief, Schizophrenia/Psychosis , Violence, Toxic friendship, Murder, and Gaslighting
Moderate: Vomit, Suicide attempt, Suicide, Gun violence, Suicidal thoughts, Alcohol, and Self harm
Minor: Pregnancy, Dementia, Sexual assault, and Sexual content
boywonder'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? Yes
- Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes
3.75
This book helped me understand Harrow a lot better (though I don't like her all that much, but liking a character has nothing to do with whether they are well-written or a good character). I think the pacing is kind of slow at the start, which is in keeping with the last book.
I don't really like or appreciate the tumblr meme additions like "none x with left y" and things like that. Because I know a bunch of spoilers that come after this, I sort of understand why they might fit, but it doesn't work for me. I also think after the reveal of who the second-person narrator is, the tone changes to be more what you expect from that character and it was almost jarring.
For me, seeing that this author CAN write less snappy on purpose than the last book, I was almost disappointed. The first book really stood out to me as internet writing and this one didn't (for the most part) until the last quarter. Still, overall I like this book better, though I like Gideon as a character more than Harrow.
Graphic: Murder, Gore, Child death, Blood, and Violence
Moderate: War and Vomit
enyltiak's review against another edition
- Plot- or character-driven? Character
- Strong character development? Yes
- Loveable characters? Yes
- Diverse cast of characters? Yes
- Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes
4.5
Despite the confusing nature, I managed to figure out that
Graphic: Blood, Gaslighting, Vomit, Murder, Panic attacks/disorders, Gore, Grief, Gun violence, Body horror, Self harm, Violence, Injury/Injury detail, Medical content, and Death
xosirenox's review against another edition
- 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
4.25
Graphic: Injury/Injury detail, Self harm, Gore, Blood, Body horror, Vomit, Violence, Death, and Murder
notthatkat's review against another edition
- Plot- or character-driven? A mix
- Strong character development? Yes
- Loveable characters? It's complicated
- Diverse cast of characters? It's complicated
- Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes
4.5
Graphic: Child death, Blood, Mental illness, Injury/Injury detail, Murder, Death, Body horror, Genocide, Gore, and Vomit
Moderate: Schizophrenia/Psychosis
monadocookie's review against another edition
5.0
Graphic: Body horror, Mental illness, Murder, Toxic relationship, Grief, Blood, Gore, Schizophrenia/Psychosis , Toxic friendship, Death, Gaslighting, and Violence
Minor: Vomit
irlvampire's review against another edition
- 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
Graphic: Body horror, Blood, Gore, and Violence
Moderate: Religious bigotry
Minor: Vomit
azureandroid's review against another edition
- Plot- or character-driven? Character
- Strong character development? It's complicated
- Loveable characters? It's complicated
- Diverse cast of characters? Yes
- Flaws of characters a main focus? It's complicated
4.5
Graphic: Medical trauma, Body horror, Mental illness, Death, Gore, Suicidal thoughts, Medical content, Injury/Injury detail, and Self harm
Moderate: Child death, Eating disorder, Toxic friendship, Gore, and Murder
Minor: Cursing, Vomit, Blood, Sexual content, and Dysphoria
Harrow is traumatised, she is really her own warning at this pointyutsubara's review against another edition
- Plot- or character-driven? Character
- Strong character development? It's complicated
- Loveable characters? It's complicated
- Diverse cast of characters? Yes
- Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes
4.5
Graphic: Blood, Body horror, Death, Gore, Gun violence, and Injury/Injury detail
Moderate: Vomit, Toxic friendship, and Murder
Minor: Alcohol
lizziaha's review against another edition
- Plot- or character-driven? A mix
- Loveable characters? Yes
- Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes
5.0
Second Read: This book was IMMENSELY more enjoyable (and heart wrenching) the second go around. I’m frankly astounded at how much went right over my head on the first read. I should also say that it was remiss for me to spend so much of my first review talking about how funny it is. It IS funny, but it’s also so deeply sad that it’s hard to wrap your head around. There is so much grief at the forefront—the plot is necessary, but it”s driving force, at every point, is grief.
Graphic: Death, Grief, Blood, and Violence
Moderate: Mental illness, Murder, Body horror, Cursing, Death of parent, Genocide, Gore, Vomit, and War
Minor: Cannibalism, Alcohol, and Self harm