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themelleh'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? No
2.5
and yeah, just let percy get away with being a matricidal/sororicidal little shit. i would have told blythe who tried to kill her and who did kill her mother, told elijah who killed his wife and tried to kill his daughter. screw pretence.
Death being Sylas sucked and was such a cop out. I hate love triangles but it was <i>too</i> easy and Signa didn’t have to make a choice because it was made for her.
Moderate: Injury/Injury detail, Death of parent, Alcoholism, Grief, Death, Terminal illness, War, and Vomit
Minor: Blood
nataliebootlah's review against another edition
- Plot- or character-driven? A mix
- Strong character development? Yes
- Loveable characters? It's complicated
- Diverse cast of characters? Yes
- Flaws of characters a main focus? No
3.5
Graphic: Death
Minor: Sexual content, Murder, and Death of parent
lmhowell'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
3.75
Graphic: Death of parent, Murder, Death, and Vomit
jessiereads98's review against another edition
- Plot- or character-driven? A mix
- Strong character development? No
- Loveable characters? No
- Diverse cast of characters? No
- Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes
2.0
Moderate: Grief, Vomit, Death, and Murder
Minor: Death of parent, Sexual content, and Child abuse
ambenicole418's review against another edition
- Plot- or character-driven? A mix
- Strong character development? No
- Loveable characters? No
- Diverse cast of characters? No
- Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes
3.0
Honestly, it’s not the age difference that weirds me out about Signa x Death, it’s really the fact that Death has been watching and protecting Signa since she was a BABY, and for more than half of the book he acts as if he’s her father and not a potential love interest. I mean he does things like, killing off all of her family members because they didn’t treat Signa as kindly as he wanted them to, saving Blythe so Signa could go to Thorn Grove because he wanted her in a “safe and stable home”, he calls her “Little Bird” which frankly sounds like the nickname you would give to a child, and then when Signa refuses to let Death train her on how to use her powers he puts on his Dad voice and commands her to meet him at midnight for training. Ms. Adalyn creates this whole power imbalance between Death and Signa and spends the first half of the book setting Death up as if he’s going to be Signa’s father figure/mentor. It got to the point that by the time the tea party happens, I got whiplash because Death has a full 180 in his personality and starts acting like a jealous lover. The change is his demeanor was so drastic and came out of nowhere that I had to flip back through the book because I felt like I was missing something. How am I supposed to believe Death is her love interest when you write lines like:
“Why is it you are so polite to others? So demure and soft yet bullish when we speak? Ask me kindly, Signa.”
“Death spoke as though Signa were a child. As though she were a small, fragile thing that needed to be coddled.” (remind you Signa is 19 years old, so why is he talking to her as if she’s a child???)
It has to be either gaslighting or Ms. Adalyn just SET OUT to create a creepily paternalistic relationship between them because how are these lines said about the love interest?? It certainly didn’t help that the romance was incredibly inorganic, Death literally admitted that the only reason he’s interested in Signa at all is because she shares his powers and can’t be killed by his touch, and Death says things like,
“I have waited for you for a very long time, Signa.”
Like yeah Death, we know, you’ve been watching Signa since she was a baby and she’s 19 now, so you’ve been watching and waiting for about……….19 years for Signa to become legal 💀.
Outside of Signa being in a relationship with her father-boyfriend, the book is really just average. It reads like a lot of other YA books that are popular on social media. It’s not bad. The main mystery is just fairly predictable and nothing to write home about. So, the book was fine I just couldn’t vibe with Signa being in a relationship with this creepily paternalistic and groomy shadow.
Graphic: Death, Death of parent, and Grief
Moderate: Sexual content and Vomit
tuhkasirius's review against another edition
- Plot- or character-driven? Character
- Strong character development? Yes
- Loveable characters? Yes
- Diverse cast of characters? No
- Flaws of characters a main focus? It's complicated
5.0
Graphic: Death, Child death, Death of parent, Vomit, and Terminal illness
Minor: Animal death
saramcaps'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? Yes
4.0
Dark & atmospheric gothic fantasy romance with paranormal elements, murder mystery, and magical realism.
Signa can’t die and that along with her relationship with Death (written as a young man??) was pretty much the most interesting thing about her. But, the plot was so twisty and even after the first book there’s still so many mysteries that I’m excited for the next one!
Graphic: Murder, Suicide, Gore, Death, and Death of parent
calicat42'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
Graphic: Child death, Violence, Drug use, Fire/Fire injury, Murder, Self harm, Terminal illness, Abandonment, Injury/Injury detail, Child abuse, Chronic illness, Death, Death of parent, and Grief
teddy_books'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: Death, Terminal illness, and Grief
Moderate: Death of parent, Child death, and Alcohol
Minor: Toxic friendship, Murder, Vomit, and Blood
kstacy91'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? No
5.0
Graphic: Death and Death of parent
Moderate: Vomit and Blood
Minor: Sexual content