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booksemmahasread'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
4.0
Graphic: Sexual assault, Murder, Suicide, Suicidal thoughts, Death, Child death, Emotional abuse, Sexual content, Child abuse, and Suicide attempt
Moderate: Grief, Gun violence, Cancer, Injury/Injury detail, and Classism
anastasia_raf'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? Yes
3.0
I still cannot decide if I liked the book or disliked it, or just didn’t care for it. It took me too long to become interested in the story; It started getting intriguing after 200 pages. I believe it’s a bit predictable… I guessed almost everything. It is a unique story, but the characters seemed mediocre to me. The author was so concerned in convincing us of everyone’s “gray morality” that I couldn’t distinguish any personalities within them. It felt like I read everything from the same POV but with just different “magical” abilities each time. Although I have a feeling that it’s going to be improved in the next books. Maybe I just need more time with them! I think I need to see how they behave outside of the society, how they are without one another, what they become on their own.
I liked the writing. The dialogue was pleasing as well! But I’m not sure if it’s enough for me to continue with the second book…
''A flaw of humanity,( said Parisa) the compulsion to be unique, which is at war with the desire to belong to a single identifiable sameness.''
Moderate: Blood, Child abuse, Cursing, Suicidal thoughts, Emotional abuse, Injury/Injury detail, Sexual assault, Murder, Terminal illness, Violence, Death, Suicide, and Suicide attempt
zarhara'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
3.5
Graphic: Alcohol, Suicide attempt, Toxic friendship, Toxic relationship, Death, Emotional abuse, and Murder
Moderate: Child death, Emotional abuse, Blood, Cancer, Terminal illness, Infidelity, and Sexual content
bxnnny's review against another edition
- Plot- or character-driven? A mix
- Strong character development? It's complicated
- Loveable characters? No
- Diverse cast of characters? Yes
- Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes
2.0
Graphic: Emotional abuse and Violence
Moderate: Blood, Suicidal thoughts, Suicide, and Suicide attempt
narcissistic personalities, emotional manipulation.booksthatburn's review against another edition
The characters seemed initially pretty interesting, but there's very little description of how their powers actually work. There are discussions of magical theory which I enjoyed, but they were usually couched in ways where the magic is actually secondary, which made them feel unmoored from the world being built.
It's six (sometimes eight) people in a house, talking to each other and slowly changing how they feel about one another, which is not what I was expecting in a book about "magicians living in the Library of Alexandria".
Ultimately I stopped because it became clearly stated that the whole thing is a slow burn trolley problem, and I don't like trolley problem situations.
Graphic: Death, Classism, Murder, Emotional abuse, Sexual content, and Suicide
Moderate: Blood, Injury/Injury detail, Toxic friendship, Cursing, Grief, Sexism, Violence, and Gun violence
Minor: Child death and Fire/Fire injury
em_of_swags's review against another edition
- Diverse cast of characters? Yes
3.25
Moderate: Kidnapping, Emotional abuse, Murder, Violence, Death of parent, Suicide attempt, Sexual content, Mass/school shootings, Alcohol, Suicidal thoughts, Grief, and Death
Minor: Terminal illness
montyalmoro's review against another edition
- Plot- or character-driven? Character
- Strong character development? It's complicated
- Loveable characters? Yes
- Diverse cast of characters? Yes
- Flaws of characters a main focus? No
4.0
Graphic: Alcohol, Emotional abuse, and Gaslighting
raichou'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? It's complicated
4.0
Am Ende hatte ich auch alle der Sechs ins Herz geschlossen, auch wenn sie nicht perfekt sind und ihre Ecken und Kanten haben.
Mir war länger nicht ganz bewusst, was eigentlich der Sinn der Gesellschaft ist (ist es immernoch nicht ganz), aber den Twist am Ende habe ich nicht erwartet.
Ich bin gespannt wie es im zweiten Band weiter geht.
Graphic: Suicidal thoughts and Emotional abuse
bookleafcrow's review against another edition
- Plot- or character-driven? Plot
- Strong character development? No
- Loveable characters? It's complicated
- Diverse cast of characters? Yes
- Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes
3.75
however, it was a really enjoyable concept with an interesting take on the dark academia genre. the shock twist that
nevertheless, i still enjoyed it a fair amount and will pick up the sequel when it's available in paperback. if you can stomach the writing style, definitely give this one a shot.
Graphic: Injury/Injury detail, Gun violence, Blood, Emotional abuse, and Murder
Moderate: Panic attacks/disorders
the characters (for the most part) are all awful to each other for most of the book so if you don't wanna read about six adults struggling to get along then skip this one lmaohobbit_tomes's review against another edition
- Plot- or character-driven? A mix
- Loveable characters? It's complicated
- Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes
4.5
However, for the majority of the time I was reading, the story doesn't feel like it's moving towards a specific goal or endpoint for me. I think this book was a little more character driven than plot driven which I wasn't aware of going into it, and to be fair, the characters are the reason to read this book. They are INCREDIBLY interesting and their interactions with one another are very entertaining.
I do wish that things were explained a little bit better, particularly the student's powers/magic. And the way that magic is used in this world is a little vague and underdeveloped. However I'm hoping we'll gain more insight into that in the next book.
All that to say, I really enjoyed the characters in this book. Their personalities are wildly different and watching them compete with one another was very captivating. I also appreciate how flawed they all are in their own ways.
Moderate: Death, Suicide, Emotional abuse, Blood, and Murder