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kbowles24'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
5.0
Graphic: Confinement, Cursing, Death, Emotional abuse, Gore, Gun violence, Misogyny, Racism, Sexism, Sexual content, Slavery, Violence, Blood, Murder, Gaslighting, Colonisation, War, Injury/Injury detail, and Classism
Moderate: Child death, Physical abuse, Torture, Toxic relationship, Grief, Death of parent, Fire/Fire injury, and Sexual harassment
Minor: Addiction, Alcoholism, Drug abuse, Drug use, Suicide, Medical content, Kidnapping, Car accident, Pregnancy, Abandonment, and Alcohol
amy_in_the_city'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? It's complicated
3.0
The book suffered from pacing problems. The first third of the book dragged on and on, with Bryce spending way too much time wandering through tunnels looking at art. Maybe it would have been a bit more interesting if we at least got some angst from Bryce, but it felt like she wasn't all that concerned about her mate and brother being in grave danger. There was no sense of urgency on her part to rescue them from being tortured and maybe eventually executed. Then, later in the book, we get to follow along as Bryce wanders through tunnels again. Not exactly riveting stuff.
There were also too many POVs happening to allow enough time with the main characters. I really didn't care about Ithan's and Tharion's storylines and dreaded every time it switched back to their POVs. They were mostly just those two characters making stupid mistakes followed by a lot of self loathing. I hope they make Tharion much more interesting and likeable if he's going to feature prominently in the next book. I did like his marriage of convenience subplot and think there is interesting potential there.
Bryce and Hunt's relationship was a mess in this book, and I really didn't like Bryce much. She never communicates her plans with Hunt. Then even though Hunt is blindly following her into danger, she picks fights with him because he isn't enthusiastic about being there. How can he be 100% on board with her plans when he doesn't know what they are? She doesn't seem to care that this is only a couple days after he got back from spending several days being brutally tortured for allowing her to drag him into this mess. Or that the situation is reminiscent of how things went with Shahar and to say that ended tragically would be an understatement. Bryce was being so disrespectful towards Hunt and his trauma because she wanted to look like a badass with gotcha moments and zingers. Really, it feels like most of her plans were half-baked at best, and they only work out in her favor because of plot armor. It didn't feel like an equal partnership between the main couple. Bryce just does whatever she wants, doesn't tell Hunt, and leaves him to deal with the consequences. At least she does apologize to Hunt for being a dick at one point, but I'd prefer if she didn't spend most of the book acting like a dick to begin with.
Ruhn and Lidia were this book's saving grace. I kept wishing they were the main couple because they were great, and I wanted the story to spend more time with them. Lidia was such a badass, so clever and sneaky. I love sneaky characters who know how to play along with the game in order to achieve their goals and there aren't nearly enough leading women out there like this. I don't know that we got enough justification for why she joined the evil side to begin with though, and I feel like the explanation for why she changed sides was kind of flimsy. Ruhn is almost perfect in every way, with a major exception for
Other characters I really liked spending time with in this book were Nesta, Azriel, Hypaxia, and Aidas.
Graphic: Confinement, Death, Genocide, Gore, Gun violence, Misogyny, Physical abuse, Sexism, Sexual content, Slavery, Torture, Violence, Blood, Murder, Colonisation, War, and Injury/Injury detail
Moderate: Addiction, Child abuse, Drug use, Sexual assault, Sexual violence, Excrement, Grief, Fire/Fire injury, Sexual harassment, and Classism
Minor: Child death, Domestic abuse, Vomit, Medical content, and Pregnancy
avarchiss's review against another edition
- Plot- or character-driven? Plot
- Strong character development? No
- Loveable characters? Yes
3.5
3.5/5 overall with most of it going to the nesta appearances and the final battle & reunions
and i can’t believe they killed the autumn king the one sexy character in this book smh like yes he was a bastard fr fr but i could’ve fixed him :/
Minor: Sexual assault, Slavery, Pregnancy, and War
princessrory's review against another edition
- Plot- or character-driven? Plot
- Strong character development? Yes
- Loveable characters? Yes
- Diverse cast of characters? It's complicated
- Flaws of characters a main focus? No
4.0
Graphic: Confinement, Cursing, Death, Genocide, Gore, Gun violence, Misogyny, Physical abuse, Sexual assault, Sexual content, Slavery, Torture, Toxic relationship, Violence, Blood, Excrement, Medical content, Kidnapping, Grief, Murder, Fire/Fire injury, Colonisation, War, and Injury/Injury detail
Moderate: Addiction, Child death, Domestic abuse, Drug abuse, Drug use, and Classism
Minor: Vomit and Pregnancy
kayceeisbookish'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? It's complicated
3.75
Graphic: Child abuse, Child death, Cursing, Death, Gun violence, Misogyny, Physical abuse, Sexual assault, Sexual content, Sexual violence, Suicidal thoughts, Suicide, Torture, Violence, Blood, Kidnapping, Suicide attempt, Death of parent, Murder, Pregnancy, Fire/Fire injury, Gaslighting, Colonisation, War, and Injury/Injury detail
elledanie'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
5.0
Graphic: Torture
Moderate: Gore, Sexism, Sexual content, Slavery, Violence, Murder, Fire/Fire injury, War, and Injury/Injury detail
Minor: Confinement, Cursing, Death, Gun violence, Forced institutionalization, Blood, Grief, Death of parent, and Pregnancy
taryn_g'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: Death, Torture, Violence, Blood, Murder, War, and Injury/Injury detail
Moderate: Child death, Cursing, Domestic abuse, Gun violence, Sexual content, Slavery, Death of parent, Fire/Fire injury, Colonisation, and Classism
Minor: Child abuse, Kidnapping, and Pregnancy
tguccione'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
5.0
Moderate: Body horror, Child death, Death, Genocide, Gore, Gun violence, Slavery, Torture, Violence, Blood, Kidnapping, Grief, Murder, Fire/Fire injury, War, and Injury/Injury detail
Minor: Death of parent and Pregnancy
booksofautumn'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
4.25
Graphic: Addiction, Death, Genocide, Gore, Gun violence, Infertility, Misogyny, Racism, Sexism, Sexual content, Suicidal thoughts, Violence, Blood, Grief, Murder, Pregnancy, Fire/Fire injury, Abandonment, War, Injury/Injury detail, and Classism
thenextbookdilemma'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
4.5
Graphic: Torture, Violence, and War
Moderate: Misogyny, Physical abuse, and Slavery
Minor: Drug use, Rape, Sexual violence, and Pregnancy