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li_reading's review against another edition
5.0
I will say, I do think the new edition is an improvement to the original.
Graphic: Bullying, Suicide, Death, Toxic relationship, Murder, Suicide attempt, Toxic friendship, Violence, Infidelity, Alcohol, and Kidnapping
Moderate: Chronic illness, Death of parent, Sexual content, Panic attacks/disorders, Gun violence, Emotional abuse, Child abuse, Child death, Gaslighting, Grief, and Blood
Minor: Misogyny and Adult/minor relationship
sunsetcity'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: Emotional abuse, Gaslighting, Sexual content, Suicidal thoughts, Death of parent, Murder, Alcohol, Cursing, Violence, Abandonment, Child death, Death, Grief, Suicide, Suicide attempt, Blood, Bullying, Chronic illness, Injury/Injury detail, Kidnapping, and Terminal illness
bookishgoob's review against another edition
- Plot- or character-driven? A mix
- Strong character development? Yes
- Loveable characters? It's complicated
- Diverse cast of characters? Yes
- Flaws of characters a main focus? N/A
5.0
Graphic: Suicide, Classism, Gaslighting, Grief, Sexism, Alcohol, Death, Misogyny, Suicidal thoughts, Toxic friendship, and Toxic relationship
Moderate: Medical trauma, Chronic illness, Gore, Infidelity, Child death, Death of parent, Religious bigotry, Injury/Injury detail, Torture, and Addiction
Minor: Hate crime, Kidnapping, and Gun violence
jfield351's review against another edition
- Plot- or character-driven? A mix
- Strong character development? No
- Loveable characters? Yes
- Diverse cast of characters? Yes
- Flaws of characters a main focus? No
4.0
Graphic: Blood
Moderate: Cursing, Gore, Injury/Injury detail, Death, Grief, Murder, Sexual content, and Violence
Minor: Kidnapping, Confinement, Drug use, Gun violence, Infidelity, Domestic abuse, Alcohol, Child abuse, Abandonment, Addiction, Car accident, and Chronic illness
claudiamacpherson'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
Moderate: Death, Gaslighting, Murder, Suicidal thoughts, Suicide attempt, Toxic friendship, Cursing, and Sexual content
Minor: Alcohol, Blood, Child death, Drug use, Fire/Fire injury, Body horror, Classism, Grief, Injury/Injury detail, Panic attacks/disorders, Kidnapping, Violence, Chronic illness, Emotional abuse, and Gore
leahrosiee's review against another edition
- Plot- or character-driven? Character
- Strong character development? No
- Loveable characters? It's complicated
- Diverse cast of characters? Yes
- Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes
3.5
Full cast audiobook could really redeem any book for me.
Graphic: Blood, Toxic friendship, Violence, Death, Emotional abuse, and Gaslighting
Moderate: Injury/Injury detail, Toxic relationship, Gun violence, and Kidnapping
Minor: Sexual content, Chronic illness, Infidelity, Terminal illness, and Alcohol
leahpardon's review against another edition
- Plot- or character-driven? Plot
- Strong character development? No
- Loveable characters? No
- Diverse cast of characters? Yes
- Flaws of characters a main focus? It's complicated
1.75
It was…disappointing to say the least. The characters had so much potential, yet fell short, underdeveloped and boring. Most of them were recycled copies of “edgy” stereotypes and were somewhat 2D. The plot as an idea was great, though it wasn’t put into action the way it could’ve. It was dull, for the majority of the book. The last 25% or so when it gets interesting.
The ending was a cop out.
Graphic: Gaslighting, Kidnapping, Murder, and Mental illness
Moderate: Alcoholism and Classism
Minor: Chronic illness
doodeedoda's review against another edition
- Plot- or character-driven? Character
- Flaws of characters a main focus? It's complicated
3.0
Moderate: Cursing and Suicide attempt
Minor: Kidnapping, Murder, Toxic friendship, Alcohol, Blood, Chronic illness, Death, Sexual content, Suicide, and Violence
lainiereads's review against another edition
- Strong character development? Yes
- Loveable characters? Yes
- Diverse cast of characters? Yes
- Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes
4.5
Speaking about magic, that was also very hard for me to understand- but once again, in an enjoyable way. It felt a lot like reading about philosophy, but instead of being all theoretical, it was about the magical abilities that they had. It was very interesting to learn about, although I absolutely understood none of it (like actual philosophy). If anyone enjoys that kind of abstract thinking, then this book is 100% for you. If you don't like that kind of thing though, don't worry, it's still enjoyable when you don't understand it.
Now for the best part of the book: the characters! They were all so complex! And their dynamic with each other?? Also complex! It was so hard to figure out what was going to happen next because there were so many layers to each person. It felt like every chapter, my perception of each character was completely changed! My personal favorites would probably be Nico and Libby, who I can't wait to see more of in the next book (psssst Olivie Blake, please give me more Libby and Nick content in the next one, that's all I want). They both try to be morally good but find themselves struggling with doing the right thing at times. Libby especially questions her beliefs a lot, which made me connect to her a lot more than others who just did crazy things for fun (though I also love those characters too).
This book includes many morally gray characters, fancy dark academia vibes, and a complex storyline- what's not to like? Everyone go read it so we can all discuss the ending and wait patiently for the next one :)
Graphic: Death, Emotional abuse, and Suicide attempt
Moderate: Alcohol, Cursing, Kidnapping, Sexual content, Injury/Injury detail, and Fire/Fire injury
Minor: Adult/minor relationship, Child death, Chronic illness, Violence, and Grief
foxcrofty's review against another edition
- 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
4.5
The over all premise is six of the worlds most power medeians (magic users) have been offered a chance to join the premiere and secretive Alexandrian Society, however after a year of study together only five will be initiated into the society and one will be eliminated and it is up to the group to decide which member they will eliminate.
My dark academia/Warehouse 13/The Librarians loving self was all over this concept.
Now I will say, this book is dense. The rules of magic are deeply rooted in the rules of physics and there were several times I was struggling to keep up. But I am not a science girl.
The only other reason I'm giving this book a 4.5 rather than a 5 is because the opening section was difficult to get through. Initially I found some of the characters more irritating than interesting but the further I got into the book the more my opinion changed. I thought this was going to be a plot driven book but it sort of bait and switches in the middle and becomes almost entirely about the characters. By the end I was deeply attached to all of them, even Callum, though he certainly scares me the most.
I am also very glad that this isn't a stand alone because final act left me very confused and wanting more.
Graphic: Toxic friendship and Toxic relationship
Moderate: Emotional abuse, Infidelity, Murder, Sexual content, and Suicide
Minor: Chronic illness, Colonisation, and Incest