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leila_reads_too_much's review against another edition
dark
emotional
mysterious
medium-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? Plot
- Strong character development? Yes
- Loveable characters? Yes
- Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes
4.5
Content Warnings
Graphic: Body horror, Confinement, Murder, Physical abuse, Gore, Injury/Injury detail, Rape, Sexual violence, Slavery, Blood, Classism, Death, and Violence
cryosphinx's review against another edition
adventurous
dark
slow-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? Plot
- Strong character development? No
- Loveable characters? Yes
- Diverse cast of characters? No
- Flaws of characters a main focus? It's complicated
2.75
Kind of a step back compared to the previous two. It's pretty slow and then all the excitement happens in the last 30 or so pages. Lots of repetative mate pining which I suppose is to be expected.
There is overall less spice, but the spice is still well written. This book definitely takes a much darker turn and there is quite a bit of violence and torture scenes.
I mostly just wish more happened. You spend the entire book with the two main characters imprisoned and imprisoned in a weird way (as in they have some amount of freedom randomly?) And you don't get a whole lot of the characters you've met.
In the end, I'll still pick up the next one especially because CLIFFHANGER.
There is overall less spice, but the spice is still well written. This book definitely takes a much darker turn and there is quite a bit of violence and torture scenes.
I mostly just wish more happened. You spend the entire book with the two main characters imprisoned and imprisoned in a weird way (as in they have some amount of freedom randomly?) And you don't get a whole lot of the characters you've met.
In the end, I'll still pick up the next one especially because CLIFFHANGER.
Content Warnings
Graphic: Torture, Violence, Sexual content, Gore, and Confinement
Moderate: Blood and Sexual violence
Minor: Rape
virgoabb's review against another edition
medium-paced
3.5
entertaining, but the ending didn’t make sense at all lol
Content Warnings
Graphic: Sexual content, Violence, and Gore
jules531's review against another edition
dark
sad
slow-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? Character
- Strong character development? No
- Diverse cast of characters? Yes
3.0
I loved the first two books but this fell flat for me. The entire book felt like reading the middle section of a book. No plot advancement. No movement. It was honestly mostly torture and a few smut scenes. My biggest issues are with the plot. I just kept yearning for the characters to take their destiny in their hands; plot, scheme, fight, SOMETHING.
Characters are consistent to what we've seen so far.
Writing was fine.
Smut scenes were good.
So much of this book was just Mab torturing Caldris and Estrella. They never escape, they never even try to escape or come up with any kind of plan. They just hang out kidnapped in the castle waiting on ~ something ~ to happen. They don't try to figure out what Estrella is and they never do in this book. We get a few tidbit clues. I just needed SOMETHING to happen. Mab consistently wins at every corner even in the end. So we're basically back to where we started with no positive change. Well except she's missing a hand now I guess.
Characters are consistent to what we've seen so far.
Writing was fine.
Smut scenes were good.
Content Warnings
Graphic: Torture and Violence
Moderate: Sexual assault
Minor: Rape
There is an attempted rape, mentions of rape/assault but with no graphic details, and explicit violent torturebookswithcee's review against another edition
adventurous
dark
hopeful
mysterious
tense
slow-paced
- 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? Yes
3.75
I liked this book. Not loved it. But it was good. The spice was kicked up a notch which I did enjoy. But there was a LOT of torture and often mentions a character’s past sexual assaults.
I really feel like this could have been the end of the series but it of course had a spin and a Cliff hanger and didn’t make any progress on Estrella’s lineage or what she is. Still just very vague clues which could be literally anything and after 3 books I feel like we deserved to know by now, and not at the very end.
The cliff hanger was frustrating because it did NOT have to end that way and the other options were obvious to everyone except Estrella and Caldris apparently. The storyline did finally progress now that they’re in the Fae lands but really not a lot of new information in an entire additional book.
All in all, will still read the next one because of the questions left unanswered and I love the relationships Estrella has built.
Also, RIP to the most helpful god she’s met besides her mate. He was a real one. :(
I really feel like this could have been the end of the series but it of course had a spin and a Cliff hanger and didn’t make any progress on Estrella’s lineage or what she is. Still just very vague clues which could be literally anything and after 3 books I feel like we deserved to know by now, and not at the very end.
The cliff hanger was frustrating because it did NOT have to end that way and the other options were obvious to everyone except Estrella and Caldris apparently. The storyline did finally progress now that they’re in the Fae lands but really not a lot of new information in an entire additional book.
All in all, will still read the next one because of the questions left unanswered and I love the relationships Estrella has built.
Also, RIP to the most helpful god she’s met besides her mate. He was a real one. :(
Content Warnings
Graphic: Physical abuse, Violence, Slavery, Sexual violence, and Torture
Moderate: Rape
Minor: Confinement, Death, and Murder
arianna_99's review against another edition
adventurous
challenging
dark
emotional
hopeful
mysterious
tense
fast-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? A mix
- Strong character development? Yes
- Loveable characters? Yes
- Diverse cast of characters? No
- Flaws of characters a main focus? No
5.0
This book si amazing. The final cliffhanger destroyed me, so now I need the next book ASAP!
Content Warnings
Graphic: Torture and Violence
kayemm's review against another edition
adventurous
dark
emotional
tense
fast-paced
- 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
4.0
This book is infinitely better than the first two. I really enjoy the series overall, but this book has a much deeper, richer plot. The sex in this book actually moves the story along (I mean ok, not all of it lol). It's not entirely salacious. The character development here is good as well, and there are some twists that you definitely don't see coming. I'm usually able to predict books, and there were some things about this that I actually didn't predict. I liked that about it.
Without giving spoilers away, there are some plot holes that are still lingering from the first and second books, as well as some that are created in this third book, but potentially those could all be tied up in the fourth book, so just keep those in mind in case plot holes aggravate you like they do me...
The violence in this book is a lot stronger and more gorey than the first two books. There were absolutely parts that made me cringe, but I felt like the author did an incredibly good job at conveying the raw, visceral feelings and scenes that she wants the reader to understand so that the scenes serve a purpose instead of just being gratuitous.
Also, I can't help but laugh at all of the people who say that there isn't a diverse cast. The author does a very good job at describing all of the different shades of skin tone of the characters in the book. They range from caramel skin, porcelain skin, practically see-through (they're technically dead lol), the skin of burnt leaves in autumn, etc. It's a unique and fantasy-based way of describing skin tones. That makes it very clear that the characters are based around multiple different ethnicities, not to mention it's literally based around various types of beings. She even refers to one of the Fae as sepia-toned. It's also fae, humans, witches, Gods, changelings, and other fantasy creatures. It's not diverse in reality, but it's definitely diverse!!
I'm dying to see where the fourth book goes. I can't believe how long we have to wait for it to come out. Ugh.
Without giving spoilers away, there are some plot holes that are still lingering from the first and second books, as well as some that are created in this third book, but potentially those could all be tied up in the fourth book, so just keep those in mind in case plot holes aggravate you like they do me...
The violence in this book is a lot stronger and more gorey than the first two books. There were absolutely parts that made me cringe, but I felt like the author did an incredibly good job at conveying the raw, visceral feelings and scenes that she wants the reader to understand so that the scenes serve a purpose instead of just being gratuitous.
Also, I can't help but laugh at all of the people who say that there isn't a diverse cast. The author does a very good job at describing all of the different shades of skin tone of the characters in the book. They range from caramel skin, porcelain skin, practically see-through (they're technically dead lol), the skin of burnt leaves in autumn, etc. It's a unique and fantasy-based way of describing skin tones. That makes it very clear that the characters are based around multiple different ethnicities, not to mention it's literally based around various types of beings. She even refers to one of the Fae as sepia-toned. It's also fae, humans, witches, Gods, changelings, and other fantasy creatures. It's not diverse in reality, but it's definitely diverse!!
I'm dying to see where the fourth book goes. I can't believe how long we have to wait for it to come out. Ugh.
Content Warnings
Graphic: Violence, Death, Gore, Injury/Injury detail, Physical abuse, Blood, Sexual content, and Torture
Minor: Death of parent, Toxic relationship, and Rape
haleyc00k's review against another edition
dark
tense
medium-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? A mix
- Strong character development? Yes
- Loveable characters? It's complicated
- Diverse cast of characters? It's complicated
- Flaws of characters a main focus? It's complicated
2.75
Content Warnings
Graphic: Physical abuse, Violence, Blood, Death, Murder, Torture, Gore, Sexual content, Body horror, Confinement, and Injury/Injury detail
Moderate: Emotional abuse, Sexual harassment, Classism, Mental illness, Rape, Sexual violence, and Toxic relationship
cheerfullyplanted's review against another edition
dark
emotional
mysterious
slow-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? A mix
- Strong character development? Yes
- Loveable characters? It's complicated
- Diverse cast of characters? No
- Flaws of characters a main focus? No
3.5
I picked this series up after a booksagram rec of “spicy things to read after an ACOTAR series hangover”. It really doesn’t come close to that series high, but it does have a few things going for it.
I like most of the world building, which happens mainly in the first two books, but quite a bit of the Faery world is still left to discover within the 3rd book with, it seems, more to learn in the upcoming 4th. I also liked the themes of a future fight for equality and plots of revenge and rebellion.
The series is very much centered around the MFC and MMC’s relationship and mate bond, so you don’t get much secondary character development to invest in beyond wanting the main villain dead. The main characters’ sexual relationship seems to keep promising consent and sexual liberation, only to result in scenes where there is one initial “yes” and a lot of pushing past what the MFC wants or is comfortable with (like plugging her nose during a BJ so she can swallow him deeper and is gasping for air 🤢).
I feel like most kinks can vibe well with a book as long as characters and motivations are written cohesively, but this main relationship just misses the mark for me.
Question that has been plaguing me since the second book: in the 2nd book she has a thing for controlling snakes, but why hasn’t she tried even once the remove the snake from Caldris’ heart? Like use your golden threads and just give it a try? If it doesn’t work, cool, go on with the plot, but at least try once.
I like most of the world building, which happens mainly in the first two books, but quite a bit of the Faery world is still left to discover within the 3rd book with, it seems, more to learn in the upcoming 4th. I also liked the themes of a future fight for equality and plots of revenge and rebellion.
The series is very much centered around the MFC and MMC’s relationship and mate bond, so you don’t get much secondary character development to invest in beyond wanting the main villain dead. The main characters’ sexual relationship seems to keep promising consent and sexual liberation, only to result in scenes where there is one initial “yes” and a lot of pushing past what the MFC wants or is comfortable with (like plugging her nose during a BJ so she can swallow him deeper and is gasping for air 🤢).
I feel like most kinks can vibe well with a book as long as characters and motivations are written cohesively, but this main relationship just misses the mark for me.
Content Warnings
Graphic: Injury/Injury detail, Death, Violence, and Torture
Moderate: Slavery and Suicide
Minor: Rape
buildawallofbooks's review against another edition
challenging
dark
emotional
tense
medium-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? A mix
- Strong character development? Yes
- Loveable characters? Yes
- Diverse cast of characters? It's complicated
- Flaws of characters a main focus? It's complicated
4.0
This was such an anticipated read for me and it didn’t disappoint!!!
This book is dark! Much darker in my opinion than books 1&2 and I urge you to check the trigger and content warnings having said that there is such growth in this book between Estrella & Caldris that even in the darkest moments their bond and relationship shines through!
Book 3 jumps straight in with the action and “Mab’ oh how I hate thee Mab- she makes it very easy to hate her but in this book we get backstory and are shown first hand why we should hate Mab. She’s a superbly written villain!
Estrella & Caldris have a rough ride in Lurks and I love how well Harper L Woods has done the mating bond and “fated mates” trope- we also see Estrella’s character develop hugely as she steps in to her power and learns more of what she’s capable of! I love the relationship that Estrella & Caldris have and we see shifts in the power dynamic as they move silently as one person at times. I had my doubts about Caldris in book one but his development has been fantastic.
I whizzed through this book but did find some parts really slow however I also acknowledge that this is an epic world and adventure that’s being created and that I need to cool my jets because there’s so much more to come!
The cliffhanger is almost painful but I have theories and I can’t wait for book 4 in October because I am way too invested in these characters now.
🔮 Fated Mates
☠️ Touch her & you die
🌶️ Spice
⚠️ check content warnings
🔥 Burn the world down for you energy
🖤 Super Villain
Content Warnings
Graphic: Sexual content, Violence, and Torture
Moderate: Sexual assault