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aliyachaudhry'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? Yes
5.0
Graphic: Child death, Classism, Confinement, Cursing, Fire/Fire injury, Gun violence, Death of parent, Terminal illness, Infidelity, Mass/school shootings, Toxic friendship, Death, Murder, Blood, Injury/Injury detail, Sexual content, and Kidnapping
Moderate: Adult/minor relationship and Alcohol
erised's review against another edition
- Plot- or character-driven? A mix
- Strong character development? No
- Loveable characters? No
- Diverse cast of characters? Yes
- Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes
3.75
Moderate: Sexual content, Toxic friendship, Toxic relationship, and Violence
Minor: Classism
booksthatburn's review against another edition
The characters seemed initially pretty interesting, but there's very little description of how their powers actually work. There are discussions of magical theory which I enjoyed, but they were usually couched in ways where the magic is actually secondary, which made them feel unmoored from the world being built.
It's six (sometimes eight) people in a house, talking to each other and slowly changing how they feel about one another, which is not what I was expecting in a book about "magicians living in the Library of Alexandria".
Ultimately I stopped because it became clearly stated that the whole thing is a slow burn trolley problem, and I don't like trolley problem situations.
Graphic: Death, Classism, Murder, Emotional abuse, Sexual content, and Suicide
Moderate: Blood, Injury/Injury detail, Toxic friendship, Cursing, Grief, Sexism, Violence, and Gun violence
Minor: Child death and Fire/Fire injury
avie_j'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
3.75
Graphic: Toxic relationship, Death, Violence, and Sexual content
Moderate: Mental illness, Gaslighting, and Classism
Minor: Sexual violence, Rape, and Grief
anniereads221's review against another edition
- Plot- or character-driven? Character
- Loveable characters? Yes
4.0
I wanted to come back to this book to review because why not and maybe I will do more reviews like this, probably not though.
The characters are all pretentious assholes, there I said it, but they all have their flaws and things that make you like them a little bit at least.
Though I did expect everyone to kiss in this book or be a thing, I was like these two should date, not these two. but whoever gets with who I am just having a good time that is for sure.
I resonated with Libby more than I thought I would, but her anxiety really came through and her just asking all the questions to be absolutely sure of something, that is me all over.
The only character that I ever had trouble liking out of the main 6 was Callum and I am hoping for that to change in the second book because there is definitely more to him than we get to see. But if not oh well I will continue to root for the others over him. no biggie.
Give me fantasy elements, dark academia and asshole characters that have to interact, and I am probably gonna have a great time!! I am excited to see where this series will take us too next
Graphic: Alcohol, Gaslighting, Gore, Grief, Body horror, Classism, Gun violence, Injury/Injury detail, Kidnapping, Murder, Physical abuse, Sexism, Suicide, Suicidal thoughts, Toxic friendship, Violence, Blood, Death, Emotional abuse, Child abuse, and Sexual content
dnlrbchd's review against another edition
All of the characters were unlikable. The premise was overly complicated and the set up felt incredibly slow as a result. I was more invested in getting through the book than finding out what happened.
Moderate: Bullying, Classism, Sexual content, and Toxic friendship
cluckieduck's review
- Plot- or character-driven? A mix
- Strong character development? No
- Loveable characters? It's complicated
- Diverse cast of characters? Yes
- Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes
3.0
Graphic: Confinement, Suicide attempt, Violence, Bullying, Cursing, Murder, Blood, Death, Fire/Fire injury, Toxic friendship, Emotional abuse, Injury/Injury detail, Kidnapping, Panic attacks/disorders, Self harm, and Suicide
Moderate: Alcohol, Classism, and Stalking
Minor: Sexual content, Chronic illness, Infidelity, and Sexual harassment
thehappylittleelf'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? It's complicated
3.0
Anyway! That being said: The review.
This book reminded me of Wonder Woman 1984. And if there’s a story you DON’T want people thinking about while reading your book, it’s that movie. Anyway, I thought of that crap movie because a lot of the dialogue was written to SOUND profound, but if you thought about it for two seconds, you realize it doesn’t actually say anything.
That is the truth. That is the only truth, and truth is all there is.You cannot be the winner, because you are not ready to win, and there is no shame in that. Only in knowing the truth in your heart and not accepting it. No true hero is born from lies.
(later in the movie)
This world was a beautiful place just as it was… and you cannot have it all. You can only have the truth. And the truth is enough. The truth is beautiful.
When listening to these speeches in the movie, I kept thinking, “What does that even mean????” It doesn’t mean anything. The writers just threw the word “truth” around because it sounded important.
And that’s how I felt with the prose in this book. It tried deeply, deeply hard to be smart, and yet barely any of it actually meant anything. It harped on things like, “Oh no, these characters don’t know how to starve but Parisa knows or some shit!” (not exact quote, but arguably better prose)
It’s also very repetitive. The same points are talked about over and over and over and over and you’re left thinking whether the ending will make it make sense, but NO. The ending makes LESS sense. It’s sequel bait at its finest.
The twist is pretty silly, IMHO.
Really, this book isn’t meant to be read for the plot. It’s meant for you to pick your favorite pairing and talk about it on TikTok. And that’s okay. You will probably like it if you like characters having sexual tension with each other. It’s just not for me.
Graphic: Infidelity, Sexual content, and Classism
uranaishi'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? Yes
- Flaws of characters a main focus? No
3.75
Graphic: Suicide, Emotional abuse, Gun violence, Infidelity, Murder, Suicidal thoughts, Suicide attempt, Toxic friendship, and Toxic relationship
Moderate: Grief, Terminal illness, Violence, Death of parent, Gaslighting, Injury/Injury detail, Kidnapping, Sexual content, Abandonment, Cursing, Alcohol, Bullying, Child death, and Death
Minor: Child abuse, Vomit, Classism, War, Blood, Colonisation, Confinement, Drug use, and Fire/Fire injury
maiahhtratchh's review against another edition
- Plot- or character-driven? Plot
- Strong character development? No
- Loveable characters? It's complicated
- Diverse cast of characters? Yes
- Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes
3.75
Graphic: Classism, Alcohol, and Toxic friendship
Moderate: Murder and Suicide