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sam0ny's review against another edition
- Plot- or character-driven? Plot
- Strong character development? Yes
- Loveable characters? It's complicated
- Diverse cast of characters? N/A
- Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes
4.0
Graphic: Blood
Moderate: Animal death, Violence, Torture, and Gore
Minor: Death, Domestic abuse, Emotional abuse, Excrement, and Gaslighting
inadequate_hero's review against another edition
- Plot- or character-driven? Character
- Strong character development? Yes
- Loveable characters? No
- Diverse cast of characters? It's complicated
- Flaws of characters a main focus? It's complicated
2.5
Having already read the second in the series, I’m just going to say I’m glad I proceeded with it. Everything is muuuuch better.
Minor: War, Cannibalism, Gaslighting, Drug use, Rape, Excrement, Physical abuse, Grief, Confinement, Toxic relationship, Slavery, Emotional abuse, Cursing, Kidnapping, Torture, Sexual harassment, Sexual assault, Classism, Blood, Murder, Eating disorder, Death, and Abandonment
mandersdraws's review against another edition
- Plot- or character-driven? Character
- Strong character development? It's complicated
- Loveable characters? No
- Diverse cast of characters? No
2.0
I’m currently reading the next book in the series, and the further I get, the more I think this book is only here to serve as a prequel. I don’t feel like it stands very well on its own merits, and as it is, I’m wondering if it was all set up just for the sequel to tear down.
Now. The main thread of this book, and one of the most frustrating things about it, is how the main character Feyre is kept incredibly uninformed about the world, its magic, and the people around her.
For most of the novel the characters have reasons or excuses for never telling her important details. But in my opinion, there are plenty of situations in the book where they definitely could have told her more. They could have answered many more of her questions. They could have explained why something was dangerous. Especially when it becomes clear that this girl will not follow a rule or a warning without being given any reasoning behind it. Characters then often blame Feyre for being uninformed about magic or faerie society, which I find to be…well, unfair and kinda slimy. Especially when sex gets involved.
It also means that some of the rules of the magic in the world are just murky and unclear and appear to be inconsistent. The narration is in 1st person so (with maybe a few exceptions) we only know what Feyre knows.
And on the topic of world building, I had a little trouble staying invested when it came to the main villain of this book. They felt a little stereotypical to me in the way they are described. Additionally one of the great challenges they present, that ends up being the climax of the book, just felt a little silly.
I also have some thoughts about how the narration deals with class issues in this book. There seems to be kind of a rigid caste structure in this world that doesn’t really get examined.
Another point of frustration for me are Feyre’s own feelings about her family. I feel personally like whenever the narrative turns towards her father and sisters that her feelings are inconsistent. And listen. I know feelings don’t have to make sense. But it was a frustrating reading experience, mostly because for the majority of the book, I don’t feel like the narration recognizes the dichotomy in how she feels about them. It just kind of switches back and forth between devotion and resent.
I also feel a little uncomfortable knowing who the fan-favorite love interest ends up being in later books. That character treats the protagonist absolutely horribly in this book, and while there are (again) lots of magical and political reasons for him to treat her that way, if it’s not addressed and reconciled later, I’ll be kind of grumpy about it lol. Of course, this book’s love interest doesn’t treat Feyre great either IMO, and has a fair few red flags himself, but honestly. It’s bad. It’s all bad.
Now here’s what I did like:
I like that Feyre has character growth. It’s subtle and slow, but as a character who hasn’t had the time or privilege for introspection in her adolescent life, I think it makes sense. Feyre is a hunter by trade but the story has her questioning who and what she wants to be.
I like that the love story has our characters finding common ground. That sounds like a low bar I guess, but the narrative is VERY EXPLICIT that they find each other sexy, so it’s nice that spice isn't all the characters have in common lol.
When the book bothers to flesh out other characters than our main couple, I do tend to like them. Lucien is very likable, and I even ended up liking Nesta.
Already I can see the sequel has more characters for us to get to know, and I hope for more development for them and for Feyre.
Graphic: Xenophobia, Animal death, Violence, Injury/Injury detail, Murder, Excrement, Gore, Sexual harassment, Sexual content, Torture, Classism, Alcohol, and Confinement
Moderate: Vomit, Abandonment, and Toxic relationship
Minor: Drug use, Drug abuse, War, Alcoholism, and Sexual violence
-Is drinking “faerie wine” alcohol use or drug use? It blurs the line. -Fantasy racism is a big topic in this book. -Additionally while it’s never addressed directly, I think this book is kind of heavy on rape culture.m_parker9612'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
4.5
Graphic: Death, Toxic relationship, Confinement, Excrement, Kidnapping, Medical trauma, Blood, Death of parent, Emotional abuse, Forced institutionalization, Injury/Injury detail, Murder, Physical abuse, Grief, and Slavery
juliiitschka's review against another edition
- Plot- or character-driven? Plot
- Strong character development? It's complicated
- Loveable characters? It's complicated
- Diverse cast of characters? No
- Flaws of characters a main focus? No
4.0
Graphic: Blood, Body horror, Death, Injury/Injury detail, Murder, and Gore
Moderate: Sexual content and Excrement
Minor: Rape, Vomit, Sexual violence, and Child death
plethora's review against another edition
- Plot- or character-driven? Plot
- Strong character development? No
- Loveable characters? No
- Diverse cast of characters? No
- Flaws of characters a main focus? No
2.0
Graphic: Emotional abuse, Torture, Adult/minor relationship, Body horror, War, Vomit, Toxic relationship, Suicidal thoughts, Slavery, Sexual violence, Blood, Excrement, Gore, Injury/Injury detail, Kidnapping, Sexual content, Rape, Physical abuse, Death, Domestic abuse, Drug abuse, Violence, and Murder
tieflingmom's review against another edition
- Plot- or character-driven? Character
- Strong character development? It's complicated
- Loveable characters? No
- Diverse cast of characters? No
- Flaws of characters a main focus? No
2.0
Graphic: Slavery, Torture, War, Xenophobia, Violence, Sexual content, Sexual assault, Toxic friendship, Racial slurs, Murder, Medical content, Injury/Injury detail, Emotional abuse, Excrement, Cursing, Confinement, Sexual harassment, Toxic relationship, Sexual violence, Rape, Sexism, Infidelity, Gore, Racism, Genocide, Death, and Death of parent
lizzisok's review against another edition
- Plot- or character-driven? A mix
- Strong character development? Yes
- Loveable characters? No
- Diverse cast of characters? No
- Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes
2.75
Graphic: Murder, Sexual content, Suicidal thoughts, Kidnapping, Body horror, Blood, Torture, Vomit, Violence, Gore, and Excrement
Moderate: Animal death, Sexual harassment, and Confinement
anndreya's review against another edition
- Plot- or character-driven? Plot
- Strong character development? No
- Loveable characters? It's complicated
- Diverse cast of characters? No
- Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes
3.5
Graphic: Blood, Murder, Injury/Injury detail, Torture, Body horror, Physical abuse, Gore, Death, and Violence
Moderate: Confinement, Excrement, Sexual content, and Sexual harassment
Minor: Death of parent and Vomit
readyforit's review against another edition
- Plot- or character-driven? Plot
- Strong character development? Yes
- Loveable characters? It's complicated
- Diverse cast of characters? No
- Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes
4.25
This had been on my TBR for 4 years and idk what took me so long. People either love or hate this book and this series in general and I liked it a lot! I will say the beginning 20% is pretty slow, it took me a couple weeks to get through that and then I read the last 80% in less than 24hrs. I read along with the graphic audiobook and that version shuffles some inner monologue and dialogue around to make conversations flow, so I’d suggest the regular audiobook first and the graphic audio for a reread. I really didn’t find the book spicy at all, I think this could be appropriate for YA readers, but I’ve heard the rest of the series is spicier. Another thing: why does everyone hate tamlin?? He’s a pretty decent guy and takes care of FMC and her family when he doesn’t need to. I can see the rhys hype, he’s the misunderstood villain bad boy who I predict will be an enemies to lovers in the future and his fan art is🥵. Some of the book is gory and graphic, I would classify this as a dark romantasy with plenty of fluff. I would definitely reread in the future and I’m looking forward to the rest of the series!
Graphic: Vomit, Injury/Injury detail, Blood, Violence, Animal death, Murder, Gore, and Body horror
Moderate: Sexism, Classism, War, Confinement, Misogyny, Abandonment, Sexual violence, and Alcohol
Minor: Excrement, Panic attacks/disorders, Slavery, Death of parent, Suicidal thoughts, and Stalking