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ladygetslit'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
4.5
What I loved:
- Rhy and Kell’s brotherly shenanigans
- Alucard is mysterious and slightly sexy (still waiting for the full backstory but I know it’s gonna kill me)
- Lila is such a boss babe: watching her discover her magic and take the world by a storm was everything I never knew I wanted
- Setting up for the third book - I am so glad I already downloaded it
What didn’t work for me:
- The pacing in the beginning - I didn’t know why Lila was on a ship and how things were going to tie back together… and I just wanted to get to the tournament already
- The pseudo-slow burn between Lila and Kell is a hard pass. I don’t feel the chemistry, and I think they would’ve been better as friends. It felt like she threw in the romance because she was trying to draw That Audience, but the story would be perfectly fine without romance whatsoever.
Graphic: Blood, Alcohol, and Violence
Moderate: Confinement and Injury/Injury detail
Minor: Sexual assault
l3xi3's review against another edition
- Plot- or character-driven? A mix
- Strong character development? Yes
- Loveable characters? Yes
- Diverse cast of characters? N/A
- Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes
4.75
Graphic: Violence, Kidnapping, Blood, Self harm, and Alcohol
elliya'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? No
3.5
Moderate: Blood and Violence
fixxon'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
4.5
Graphic: Blood, Self harm, and Violence
Moderate: Murder, Alcohol, and Confinement
Minor: Kidnapping
tallnecked_pancakeface'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
4.5
Graphic: Torture and Blood
whatthekatdraggedin'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? It's complicated
3.75
Graphic: Blood and Violence
Minor: Sexual assault
bessadams's review against another edition
- Plot- or character-driven? Plot
- Strong character development? Yes
- Loveable characters? It's complicated
- Diverse cast of characters? Yes
- Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes
4.5
Graphic: Confinement, Blood, and Violence
Moderate: Alcohol, Murder, Death, Kidnapping, Injury/Injury detail, and Fire/Fire injury
Minor: Sexual harassment
barda'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
3.5
Graphic: Violence, Blood, and Injury/Injury detail
Moderate: Confinement, Murder, Sexual violence, Torture, Misogyny, Death, Sexism, and Sexual assault
Minor: Alcohol
zoeelora'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
4.5
Graphic: Blood, Torture, Suicidal thoughts, and Self harm
Moderate: Abandonment, Alcoholism, Body shaming, Cursing, Death, Fatphobia, Fire/Fire injury, Grief, Injury/Injury detail, Murder, Physical abuse, Stalking, Violence, and Vomit
skillyillian'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
4.0
I love so many things about this book. Kell, love of my life. Lila, love of my life. I need more rhy and alucard. Hastra is #1 cinnamon roll and I'd give my life for him. Calla is the ultimate mom, I adore her. The characters are so wonderful.
I feel like Lila as a person didn't develop a ton, although her talents certainly did. I love how much of a badass she is, give no fucks and take no prisoners is so stellar when it's done right and with her it definitely is.
Kell's frustration with feeling trapped and held accountable when no one else really was is such an older sibling vibe. God it was so frustrating to read, but in the way it was meant to be. It was extremely relatable for me and made me support him even more.
I loved this book, but I also had issues with it. Someone online introduced me to the idea of "bridge books" where a novel in a series is basically just a bridge to get from one major plot point to the next and doesn't do a ton for the story in and of itself besides giving context for the next big thing. This kind of felt like that? Not terribly, but it was noticeable. Like the biggest things we needed were Kelly getting back to white London and Lila discovering her powers. Everything else felt, not as important. Which is fine, not every plot point should have the same level of importance, but it did make a lot of the rest of the story feel like it dragged on. There wasn't a lot of vital stuff that happened in the first half of the book, it was mostly drama and kind of "where are they now". The only reason I didn't dock more off my score was because it's Schwab, so even when it felt kind of like filler, it was still really well done and held my attention.
Once things picked up though, they definitely went off. The Essen Tasch was a blast, I definitely caught myself grinning a few times throughout. Schwab builds tension in a way that makes it hard to pull out of once you're there and it's addictive. Truly one of my favorite authors 🖤
I adored this book despite it feeling a little bit like filler at some points so we could get to the third installment. The cliffhanger ending was insane, the characters are lovable af, and the magic system grows ever more interesting. I can't wait to dive into the third one, I love these characters so damn much 😮💨🖤
Graphic: Self harm, Violence, Blood, Injury/Injury detail, and Murder
Moderate: Fire/Fire injury, Injury/Injury detail, Body horror, and Cursing