Scan barcode
readingwithkaitlyn's review against another edition
- Plot- or character-driven? A mix
- Loveable characters? Yes
- Diverse cast of characters? Yes
- Flaws of characters a main focus? No
4.0
Graphic: Violence, Death, Grief, Death of parent, Mental illness, Murder, Colonisation, Self harm, Injury/Injury detail, Alcohol, War, Gore, Torture, Blood, and Fire/Fire injury
Moderate: Suicide, Medical content, Child death, Suicidal thoughts, Sexual content, Physical abuse, Confinement, Child abuse, and Classism
Minor: Slavery, Animal cruelty, Misogyny, Pregnancy, Vomit, Homophobia, and Animal death
imaginaryalchemist'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
4.25
I'll start with the things I did like. First, I love the characters. They had good chemistry and played off each other well. I enjoyed the banter between Kell and Alucard. I know some people didn't like Lila, but I did, I thought she was fun and pretty badass. I saw the romance between her and Kell coming a mile away but I still enjoyed it. I thought they were good together.
Speaking of romance, I loved the subplot with Rhy and Alucard. I feel VE Schwab handled it tastefully. Speaking as a queer person, queer romance often feels like it's pandering to us.
I really wanted more time with these characters. In my opinion, Schwab's character writing is pretty strong. They felt like they could be real people, even the background characters. Rhy ended up being my favorite.
Now for some of my criticisms. For the story, I enjoyed it overall but felt it dragged at some points. The ship voyage in particular seemed to go on for a bit too long.
I also had a lot of unanswered questions at the end.
So, overall I really liked this trilogy! It was the first thing I'd read from VE Schwab and I'll definitely read more of her work in the future.
Graphic: Death of parent
Moderate: Injury/Injury detail, Grief, Confinement, Blood, Child death, Body horror, Death, Violence, War, and Suicidal thoughts
Minor: Alcohol and Cursing
smkoontz'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
4.0
Graphic: Blood and War
Moderate: Child death, Violence, Murder, Body horror, and Death
whiterabbitslibrary'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? No
4.5
Graphic: Injury/Injury detail, Grief, Torture, Blood, Death, Death of parent, Murder, Violence, and War
Moderate: Panic attacks/disorders, Self harm, Child abuse, Gore, Pandemic/Epidemic, Child death, and Kidnapping
msradiosilence's review against another edition
5.0
Graphic: Pandemic/Epidemic, Torture, Classism, Death of parent, Blood, Cursing, Death, Gore, Injury/Injury detail, Murder, Alcohol, Body horror, Child death, and Grief
Moderate: War
Minor: Pregnancy and Sexual content
arwen_ds's review against another edition
- Plot- or character-driven? Plot
- Strong character development? No
- Loveable characters? Yes
- Flaws of characters a main focus? No
3.0
Graphic: Violence and Blood
Moderate: Homophobia
Minor: Child death
purplepenning's review against another edition
- Plot- or character-driven? A mix
- Strong character development? Yes
- Loveable characters? Yes
4.5
Graphic: Homophobia, Injury/Injury detail, Blood, Physical abuse, Emotional abuse, Body horror, Death, Torture, and Violence
Moderate: Murder, Physical abuse, Confinement, Domestic abuse, Grief, Self harm, Slavery, Alcohol, Child abuse, Child death, Chronic illness, and Classism
Minor: Sexual content
halliot's review against another edition
- Plot- or character-driven? A mix
- Strong character development? It's complicated
- Loveable characters? Yes
- Diverse cast of characters? Yes
- Flaws of characters a main focus? No
4.5
Moderate: Child abuse, Child death, Death, Murder, Fire/Fire injury, Blood, Homophobia, Physical abuse, Hate crime, and Injury/Injury detail
madmadmaddymad'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
I had to put the book down for a few weeks after Anisa died, but I’m glad I picked it back up again. I needed to know how the journey would finally end. And the loss of so many characters really hit me, but the loss of Anisa for whatever reason hit me so damn hard.
I loved the relationship between Kell and Lila finally getting somewhere! And likewise, Rhy and Alucard were similarly easy to root for.
I’m also surprised at how much I came to love Holland’s character throughout the course of this book.
If you think bout it, the first book is Kell’s book, the second book is Lila’s, and this book is Holland’s, and I was rooting for him so hard.
I’m gonna have quite the book hangover after this incredible series. Thank you, V.E. Schwab, for being an incredible author and for taking me on this adventure.
Anoshe.
Graphic: Death, Death of parent, Child death, Suicidal thoughts, Violence, and Biphobia
asipofcozy'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
Schwab has a way of writing tense scenes, mixed with lighthearted banter, mixed with real emotions. You could feel the pain and frustration of the characters when it was needed but you could also feel those moments where they were trying to make a good/funny situation out of a bad one. The bantering was never misplaced.
I felt overall this has to be one of the best books I have read in a while with really great character development. I felt by the end that many of our characters had the closure they needed to move on from there pasts. Yet at the same time there was that pain still lingering, that everything while not great would be okay one day. Kell, Lila, Rhy, Alucard, and Holland have come such a long way since A Darker Shade of Magic. Each have grown into themselves and their power.
I could definitely see myself picking up more books by V.E. Schwab. If not for her amazing plot and worldbuilding then for her ability to create loveable and rich characters.
Graphic: Death, Death of parent, Physical abuse, Torture, Blood, Child death, Emotional abuse, and War