Scan barcode
multiplyoctopi's review
medium-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? Plot
- Strong character development? No
- Loveable characters? It's complicated
- Diverse cast of characters? No
2.5
Content Warnings
Graphic: Blood, Gore, and Alcohol
Moderate: Drug use, Gun violence, Violence, Injury/Injury detail, Murder, and Toxic relationship
Minor: Addiction, Emotional abuse, Death of parent, and Child abuse
madmadmaddymad's review
dark
mysterious
tense
fast-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
5.0
I really loved this book, it had me gripped the whole time.
I wondered the whole time what Lionel Salt had taken from Charlie…. Was it just her innocence? To be fair, I found him extremely sinister and chilling. In a world where shadows and magic exist - still a pretentious billionaire who’s used to getting anything he wants can be a compelling villain.
Also, I really liked Charlie! A very different sort of YA heroine, set in her faults and hooked on the adrenaline of adventure. Vince was hard for me to trust at first. Then, I thought he betrayed her. And that ENDING!!!! Wow! I wasn’t expecting at all.
Excellent, thrilling, and very dark - and somewhat spooky. I loved it.
I wondered the whole time what Lionel Salt had taken from Charlie…. Was it just her innocence? To be fair, I found him extremely sinister and chilling. In a world where shadows and magic exist - still a pretentious billionaire who’s used to getting anything he wants can be a compelling villain.
Also, I really liked Charlie! A very different sort of YA heroine, set in her faults and hooked on the adrenaline of adventure. Vince was hard for me to trust at first. Then, I thought he betrayed her. And that ENDING!!!! Wow! I wasn’t expecting at all.
Excellent, thrilling, and very dark - and somewhat spooky. I loved it.
Content Warnings
Graphic: Incest
Moderate: Physical abuse, Alcohol, Murder, Violence, and Toxic relationship
Minor: Body horror
slburg's review
dark
emotional
mysterious
slow-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? Character
- Strong character development? No
- Loveable characters? No
- Diverse cast of characters? No
- Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes
3.0
Really trying to be adult fantasy, but it’s only giving YA.
Content Warnings
Moderate: Sexual content, Death, Toxic relationship, and Classism
maistfu's review against another edition
adventurous
challenging
dark
emotional
mysterious
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? It's complicated
3.75
the first half of the book was a bit boring but seeing as you get introduced to a new world with magic and all the characters it's normal. the more I read the more interesting it became and the end was well worth the wait.
the amount of different characters did give me a whiplash because I got confused quite a bit.
charlie was kind of annoying at the beginning too but she changed my mind by fighting for vince. vince was my absolute favourite though.
the amount of different characters did give me a whiplash because I got confused quite a bit.
charlie was kind of annoying at the beginning too but she changed my mind by fighting for vince. vince was my absolute favourite though.
Content Warnings
Moderate: Alcohol, Blood, Toxic relationship, Adult/minor relationship, Alcoholism, and Murder
Minor: Injury/Injury detail
taryn_g's review
dark
mysterious
tense
slow-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? A mix
- Strong character development? Yes
- Loveable characters? No
- Diverse cast of characters? It's complicated
- Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes
3.0
Content Warnings
Graphic: Violence, Death, and Murder
Moderate: Gore, Toxic relationship, and Child abuse
Minor: Death of parent
leahfoko's review against another edition
adventurous
dark
mysterious
tense
fast-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? A mix
- Strong character development? Yes
- Loveable characters? Yes
- Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes
4.5
This book was so good. It took me a little bit to get into the story and understand the world because there was a lot to it, but once I was hooked I was hooked. I felt like I was able to predict some of the twists but at that the same time I had no idea what was coming. The plot beats and surprises were the kind that looking back maybe should’ve been obvious but they felt like HUGE surprises at the time and were so unique from the kind of plot points you’d expect in a fantasy. Which is the best kind, the kind where all the pieces were set up for you along the way and you put the puzzle together as Charlie did.
Speaking of Charlie, at times I got kind of annoyed at her character for being bullheaded but that was also who she was and I couldn’t fault her for that at the end of the day because she needed to be that way to develop as a character and get to where she was at the end of the book.
I really felt while reading this book that I had never read anything like it before and that is saying something. Holly Black once again coming in with the unique and wonderful world building. I also really liked that the story wrapped up pretty succinctly at the end while also leaving me intrigued for the second book. For a bit there I wasn’t sure what was going to be left to keep me hooked into wanting to read book two, but then she did it! Last minute hook to keep me coming back for more, while also feeling like the book could stand pretty well on its own if it needed to. I really appreciated that.
Overall I really liked this book, I’m going with 4.5 stars because it took a bit to get going and at times I felt a bit confused and lost trying to keep track of all the pieces of information about the world that were coming my way that it felt a bit like an overload of information at times. But that comes with the elaborate world building at times. I would definitely recommend this book though to fans of Holly Black!
Speaking of Charlie, at times I got kind of annoyed at her character for being bullheaded but that was also who she was and I couldn’t fault her for that at the end of the day because she needed to be that way to develop as a character and get to where she was at the end of the book.
I really felt while reading this book that I had never read anything like it before and that is saying something. Holly Black once again coming in with the unique and wonderful world building. I also really liked that the story wrapped up pretty succinctly at the end while also leaving me intrigued for the second book. For a bit there I wasn’t sure what was going to be left to keep me hooked into wanting to read book two, but then she did it! Last minute hook to keep me coming back for more, while also feeling like the book could stand pretty well on its own if it needed to. I really appreciated that.
Overall I really liked this book, I’m going with 4.5 stars because it took a bit to get going and at times I felt a bit confused and lost trying to keep track of all the pieces of information about the world that were coming my way that it felt a bit like an overload of information at times. But that comes with the elaborate world building at times. I would definitely recommend this book though to fans of Holly Black!
Content Warnings
Graphic: Death, Blood, Classism, Child abuse, Alcohol, Alcoholism, Injury/Injury detail, Gore, Gun violence, Murder, Cursing, Toxic relationship, Emotional abuse, and Death of parent
Moderate: Sexism and Misogyny
Minor: Drug abuse, Drug use, Addiction, and Sexual content
norwegianforestreader's review
challenging
dark
emotional
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
4.0
Content Warnings
Graphic: Confinement, Body horror, Abandonment, Toxic relationship, Gun violence, Blood, Child abuse, Vomit, Violence, Emotional abuse, Murder, Kidnapping, Injury/Injury detail, Grief, Gore, Gaslighting, Alcohol, Fire/Fire injury, Death, and Child death
Minor: Addiction
aliciaw's review
adventurous
dark
mysterious
medium-paced
- Strong character development? No
- Diverse cast of characters? No
3.0
The volume of telling, not showing especially in the first half of the book was too much. I wasn't rooting for Charlie and her character development felt pretty flat. Perhaps in part it was that app name dropping happened without any necessity: Facebook, YouTube, Patreon, Slack, Zoom.. all of these could have been written in a way that won't require the reader to be aware of the apps. It dates the book and requires the reader to be aware of these things as they are now regardless of when they pick up the book or any familiarity with them. Urban Fantasy with a robust magic system and morally ambiguous characters can be made without need to change things in any reprints due to the rate of change in technology. The premise was good, but the execution could have been tightened up and more time spent on the magic system. It needed a better ratio of showing over telling. I had to push myself to keep reading it because if this had been my introduction to the author, I would have dnf'd it by around the 20% mark. I don't know if I'll pick up anything else in the series but this was a miss for me.
Content Warnings
Moderate: Toxic relationship, Murder, Gaslighting, and Blood
Minor: Emotional abuse, Suicide, Physical abuse, and Child abuse
carlyoc's review against another edition
dark
funny
mysterious
medium-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? A mix
- Strong character development? It's complicated
- Loveable characters? Yes
- Diverse cast of characters? No
- Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes
4.75
One of my favorite books to come out this year. Although classified as fantasy due to the shadow magic element, I would say this book has more of a thriller/mystery vibe.
Charlie Hall used to be known as Charlatan, the thief. She's trying to put that life behind her and not screw up the stability she's built with a steady job, a good boyfriend named Vince, and funds to just barely put her little sister Posey through college. But Charlie can never resist a little bit of danger.
Besides, Posey doesn't want to go to school; she wants to figure out how to join the ranks of Gloamists, the people who can consciously manipulate their shadows to become corporeal and act independently from their bodies to various degrees.
Meanwhile, there's a reason Vince never ever talks about his past. Charlie is keeping secrets from him, too, but the truth will out.
Charlie is hired to find a mysterious book from the collection of rich and cruel Lionel Salt, which allegedly contains a ritual for a shadow to rid itself of its human controller and be fully autonomous. She must pull together different threads of clues to out-smart everyone hoping to watch her fail.
The structure of the novel alternates scenes from Charlie's perspective in the present storyline with vignettes from both Charlie's and Vince's pasts.
Charlie Hall used to be known as Charlatan, the thief. She's trying to put that life behind her and not screw up the stability she's built with a steady job, a good boyfriend named Vince, and funds to just barely put her little sister Posey through college. But Charlie can never resist a little bit of danger.
Besides, Posey doesn't want to go to school; she wants to figure out how to join the ranks of Gloamists, the people who can consciously manipulate their shadows to become corporeal and act independently from their bodies to various degrees.
Meanwhile, there's a reason Vince never ever talks about his past. Charlie is keeping secrets from him, too, but the truth will out.
Charlie is hired to find a mysterious book from the collection of rich and cruel Lionel Salt, which allegedly contains a ritual for a shadow to rid itself of its human controller and be fully autonomous. She must pull together different threads of clues to out-smart everyone hoping to watch her fail.
The structure of the novel alternates scenes from Charlie's perspective in the present storyline with vignettes from both Charlie's and Vince's pasts.
Content Warnings
Graphic: Violence, Murder, Injury/Injury detail, and Alcohol
Moderate: Toxic relationship
Minor: Sexual content, Car accident, and Domestic abuse
I included Toxic relationship to refer to the emotional neglect Charlie and her sister experienced from their mother as children.pellepanda's review
adventurous
dark
mysterious
reflective
tense
medium-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? A mix
- Strong character development? It's complicated
- Loveable characters? Yes
- Diverse cast of characters? No
- Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes
4.5
Content Warnings
Graphic: Violence
Moderate: Abandonment, Death, Kidnapping, Medical content, Murder, and Toxic relationship
Minor: Torture and Vomit