Reviews with content warning for Torture - The Starless Sea

Reviews tagging 'Torture'

The Starless Sea by Erin Morgenstern

17 reviews

ashleyreads88's review against another edition

adventurous challenging dark emotional mysterious medium-paced

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

The Starless Sea is a beautiful book. At times, I found it confusing due to the multiple storylines. The storylines did all come together nicely. Another thing that was confusing at times was all the different characters and their stories. I did enjoy this book, and how much of a dark, mysterious adventure it was.

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dannythestreet's review against another edition

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adventurous mysterious slow-paced

Plot- or character-driven? Character
Strong character development? Yes
Loveable characters? Yes
Diverse cast of characters? Yes

5.0

This whole book is a metaphor (but still a book). You are just trying to keep up with all these symbols until you give up and sink into it. That was a wonderful experience for me, the writing style is the best thing that can happen to anyone and the atmosphere of the book makes you never want to get back to the real life. The character dynamic was also just magical and I'm glad I went on this journey with them

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oliverreeds's review against another edition

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adventurous emotional slow-paced

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

4.75

i really, very greatly enjoyed this book. the book is basically a set of artfully woven stories from the past, present, future, and fairy tales that all feed into each other and all connect in literally the most beautiful ways. the characters are fleshed out. the writing is easy to read and yet poigniant. it was a little slow getting into the book because every other chapter is a "random" fairy tale which made getting to know the characters a little difficult for me, but less than half-way in, i was hooked. the romance is also magnificent and while important to the book/story, doesn't take away from the world-building or characters. my only issue with this book is that the time spent in the under-world with the starless sea takes up a LOT of time and was very confusing for me to read. i didn't quite understand what was going on (although kat's interludes helped a decent bit and were a fantastic addition to this story), and since i didn't understand, i got bored for like 75 pages. to be fair i was also never super sure what

dorian and zachary were doing in the under-world starless sea place. zachary was trying to find dorian and vice versa but there were so many strange side quests that happened, i started getting confused. i also wanted more on the Zachary/Dorian romance. i thought what was written was great, but i wanted more on where it came from. why were they so in love all of a sudden. i think that this book could have benefitted from additional scenes in which we got to see their relationship bloom a little more

. all said and done, this book is an incredible display of the author's knowledge of craft, attention to detail, and incredible mind when writing stories. she literally killed it. like every character is so important and it was beautiful and incredible, which is why i gave this book such a high rating despite my two qualms.

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corvicore's review against another edition

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adventurous challenging emotional mysterious reflective slow-paced

Plot- or character-driven? Character
Strong character development? N/A
Loveable characters? Yes
Diverse cast of characters? Yes
Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes

4.75

this book fixed all the problems i had with the night circus. there are some bits im confused about, but given that this is my first read through it means that this book has reread value which is great.

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allisoncc's review against another edition

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adventurous dark mysterious medium-paced

Strong character development? Yes
Loveable characters? Yes
Diverse cast of characters? Yes
Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes

5.0

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lilifane's review against another edition

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adventurous dark emotional hopeful inspiring mysterious medium-paced

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

5.0

14.07.2022 (Reread)
I'm still loving it with all my heart.
What an amazing feeling to be back in this world with these characters. I enjoyed it very much to discover all the small details and references I missed the first time. I will definitely have to return to the Starless Sea at some point.

16.06.2020
I love these characters SO SO SO SO much! They feel so real, like actual friends. They've become so dear to me and will always have a special place in my heart.
I'm in love with the setting, I'm sad I have to leave it behind. My heart breaks when I think about it.

I have so much to say but I can't find the words.
This was just perfect for me. All the details, all the wibbly wobbly stuff, all the fairy tales, all the puzzles, all the different parts of the story coming together in such a chaotic, weird but also satisfying way, all the references, all the meta about story telling, all the scenes that read like point and click adventures or pen and paper RPGs, all the epic locations, all the beautiful writing, the meaningful quotes and the humour. All the love!

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bebidocrimes's review against another edition

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adventurous hopeful inspiring mysterious fast-paced

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

Morgenstern's writing style really just feels like home. I read somewhere she writes things to be impossible to put on screen and that decision elevates all her choices. Her environmental description are pristine and just wraps me up into the story. (I also think she would throw the most kickass parties.) The story and the message and the interweaving of it all is so masterful, this story will never really end. It will always be constantly running in my mind.

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