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romie_chat's review against another edition
- Plot- or character-driven? A mix
- 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
“It's about second chances, Neil. Second, third, fourth, whatever, as long as you get at least one more than what anyone else wanted to give you.”
Graphic: Death, Drug use, Drug abuse, and Torture
vpiuke'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
4.0
even if the plot themes might be controversial, something that can't be denied is how well-written the story is. the writing style is very similar to maggie stiefvater's in 'the raven cycle' books, so if you're a fan of those, i'd give this one a shot :)
i did enjoy the story itself. it is well structured and it evolves at a good pace, never too obvious but hinting at what's coming next. the characters are original and come in nicely together, as a group they're very well balanced and developed. the sport side of the story is a clever counterpoint to the other sub plots, and i personally really enjoy how it compliments all the drama that the characters inherently carry with them. it lets the story breathe while also keeping a steady pace.
this is a very violent story though. maybe not that much in this first book, but it gets heavier as the plot progresses in the next ones. there's trauma, there's physical, sexual and emotional abuse, there's guns and knives and torture and self harm. if you're ok with these and are up for a dense, emotional tale, then you found the one.
Graphic: Hate crime, Mental illness, Torture, Alcohol, Suicidal thoughts, Suicide attempt, Abandonment, Kidnapping, Murder, Toxic friendship, Violence, Medical trauma, Toxic relationship, Blood, Child abuse, Cursing, Death of parent, Homophobia, Injury/Injury detail, Addiction, Domestic abuse, Drug abuse, Grief, Gun violence, Death, Emotional abuse, and Forced institutionalization
Moderate: Rape, Schizophrenia/Psychosis , Sexual assault, Stalking, Suicide attempt, Physical abuse, and Self harm
piperclover's review against another edition
- Plot- or character-driven? A mix
- Strong character development? No
- Loveable characters? No
- Diverse cast of characters? It's complicated
- Flaws of characters a main focus? It's complicated
4.0
Update: so its aug 10th 2022 rn and I'm relistening to this series for the 4 times and have listened to each book a combined 11 times. So my star rating is no longer accurate but for the sake of recording my immediate honest reaction, Ill leave everything the same. Just know that I have never loved a series so much despite the numerous blatant issues in it.
Graphic: Death of parent, Drug abuse, Schizophrenia/Psychosis , Sexual harassment, Drug use, Child abuse, Death, Physical abuse, Torture, and Violence
Think of a trigger warning and this book probably has itbeckx'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? It's complicated
- Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes
3.5
Graphic: Abandonment, Drug abuse, Drug use, Suicide, Alcohol, Addiction, Child abuse, Death of parent, Death, Fire/Fire injury, Injury/Injury detail, Medical trauma, Murder, Panic attacks/disorders, Torture, and Violence
Minor: Homophobia and Vomit
bugcollector's review against another edition
- Plot- or character-driven? Character
- Strong character development? It's complicated
- Loveable characters? Yes
- Diverse cast of characters? It's complicated
- Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes
4.0
Graphic: Murder, Physical abuse, Toxic friendship, Addiction, Child abuse, Cursing, Death of parent, Drug abuse, Mental illness, Torture, Violence, Alcohol, Alcoholism, Blood, Death, Drug use, Emotional abuse, Grief, Homophobia, Sexual harassment, and Abandonment
lumiha's review against another edition
- Plot- or character-driven? Character
- Strong character development? It's complicated
- Loveable characters? Yes
- Diverse cast of characters? It's complicated
- Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes
4.5
I also highly advise people to check the trigger warnings before reading this one because there is some heavy stuff in there. If you’re here for a quick read and don’t mind the mentioned triggers I do think you could give it a go but I don’t think I would ever really recommend this book to someone even though I like it.
Graphic: Mental illness, Gun violence, Murder, Rape, Sexual violence, Violence, and Torture
Moderate: Self harm
reygov's review against another edition
- Plot- or character-driven? A mix
- Strong character development? No
- Loveable characters? No
- Diverse cast of characters? It's complicated
- Flaws of characters a main focus? It's complicated
2.0
Graphic: Death, Physical abuse, Violence, Death of parent, and Injury/Injury detail
Moderate: Addiction, Death, Suicide, Alcohol, Cursing, Drug abuse, Sexual violence, Blood, Death of parent, Drug use, Emotional abuse, Physical abuse, Religious bigotry, Injury/Injury detail, Murder, Self harm, Torture, Toxic friendship, Grief, Gun violence, Homophobia, Kidnapping, and Panic attacks/disorders
toscareads's review against another edition
- 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
4.0
Minor: Death of parent, Death, and Torture
elliiecrne22's review against another edition
- Plot- or character-driven? Character
- Strong character development? No
- Loveable characters? Yes
- Diverse cast of characters? It's complicated
- Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes
5.0
Graphic: Alcoholism, Car accident, Drug abuse, Physical abuse, Racial slurs, Rape, Emotional abuse, Sexual violence, Torture, Drug use, Grief, Homophobia, Racism, Self harm, Murder, Panic attacks/disorders, Ableism, Abandonment, Addiction, Child abuse, Death, Domestic abuse, Sexual assault, Sexual content, Sexual harassment, and Violence
the author is shit and uses the worst plot points imaginable for shock value. she's also just fucked in the head. this whole series is fucked up.jenny_librarian's review against another edition
- Plot- or character-driven? Character
- Strong character development? It's complicated
- Loveable characters? It's complicated
- Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes
4.5
It’s much darker than I anticipated. Not gruesome, just dark. There’s a lot of abuse – on and off page – but it didn’t feel as bad as other, less dark books I tried to read.
I don’t think I’d like to see Exy as a sport (I hate the NHL because I find it too violent), but on the context of the book it’s quite interesting.
I’m looking forward to book 2, and trying to figure out how that ship everyone talks about will get to happen (if it’s even canon, cause right now it makes no sense to me that those two could have a romantic relationship).
Graphic: Alcoholism, Child abuse, Bullying, Toxic friendship, Emotional abuse, Drug abuse, Schizophrenia/Psychosis , Gaslighting, Mental illness, Addiction, Death of parent, Fire/Fire injury, and Physical abuse
Moderate: Injury/Injury detail, Murder, Suicide, and Torture
Minor: Toxic relationship, Homophobia, and Vomit