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karapillar'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? Yes
5.0
Graphic: Child abuse, Medical content, Body horror, Self harm, Violence, Blood, Child death, Chronic illness, Confinement, Abandonment, Murder, Grief, Panic attacks/disorders, Physical abuse, Terminal illness, Torture, Death, Gore, and Injury/Injury detail
teaand_tomes's review against another edition
- Plot- or character-driven? A mix
- Strong character development? Yes
- Loveable characters? Yes
5.0
Moderate: Blood, Self harm, Alcohol, Violence, Gore, and Sexual content
tays_books's review against another edition
- Plot- or character-driven? A mix
- Strong character development? Yes
- Loveable characters? Yes
- Diverse cast of characters? No
- Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes
4.0
Graphic: Death, Body horror, Violence, Blood, Injury/Injury detail, Sexual content, and Terminal illness
Moderate: Alcohol, Abandonment, Child death, Self harm, Cursing, Murder, Vomit, and Death of parent
Minor: Torture, Infidelity, and Fire/Fire injury
wildflower_magic'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? No
4.75
Graphic: Abandonment, Confinement, Genocide, Gore, Injury/Injury detail, Vomit, Blood, Child death, and Violence
Moderate: Self harm, Police brutality, Sexual content, Domestic abuse, and Fire/Fire injury
noellelovesbooks's review against another edition
5.0
Scenes of terror
General violence/gore
Child in peril
Blood
Mention of self-harm for magic
Moderate sexual content
Mention of parental neglect
Alcohol consumption
https://rachelgillig.com/2022/05/23/o...
OMG this book was phenomenal. This being Rachel's debut...I know I'm gonna be auto-buying all her work. We get magic, mystery, a lil love story, a character that gives major Tairn vibes [if you read Fourth Wing you'll know what I mean lol] and so much more!
I am so ready for October when book 2 drops! I already preordered my copy 💜
Graphic: Self harm, Abandonment, Blood, Sexual content, Violence, Gore, and Confinement
sometimes_samantha_reads'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: Gore, Vomit, Body horror, Injury/Injury detail, and Blood
Moderate: Self harm
onthesamepage's review against another edition
- Plot- or character-driven? Plot
- Strong character development? No
- Loveable characters? Yes
- Diverse cast of characters? No
- Flaws of characters a main focus? No
3.0
If I didn't know this was an adult fantasy, I would've thought it was YA. It's always hard to find that line between the two age groups, and I can't put my finger on why, exactly, this feels more like YA to me, except that the pacing, the tropes, and the relative simplicity of the world and magic feel more reminiscent of YA fantasy.
I really like the premise: Elspeth has a Nightmare trapped in her head, sharing her thoughts, and sometimes, when she's in trouble, she can call on him. Magic in this world is only allowed if it's performed by using a Providence card, but children sometimes become infected, granting them magical powers. Using those will cause some kind of degeneration, ultimately leading to madness and/or death, which is why the king has ordered all these children killed immediately upon discovery of their magic.
The Nightmare clearly has a lot of knowledge about the magic and the world, constantly teasing Elspeth with rhymes that she didn't understand, but which were clearly meant to signal specific dangers and act as a warning. Some of the rhymes are better than others, and most of them are pretty simple.
Unfortunately, this is another book where the mystery was incredibly predictable. There's also little depth to the characters or the relationships. The romance promises more than it delivers; there is a sex scene, but it's written in such a tame way, using so many vague ways to describe what was happening, that I wondered why it was included at all instead of just fading to black.
There are a lot of references to the poem The Highwayman--the main character's nickname is Bess, the love interest is a highwayman, the title of a book is lifted directly from the poem, and I even see some similarities in the plot. I like the poem, and I definitely don't mind reading a story based on it, but I do think more could've been done to make this stand out from the original.
Graphic: Gore and Violence
Moderate: Self harm