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bellepierson's review against another edition
- Plot- or character-driven? Character
- Strong character development? No
- Loveable characters? No
- Diverse cast of characters? Yes
- Flaws of characters a main focus? No
3.75
Graphic: Addiction, Death, Drug abuse, Drug use, Gore, Sexual violence, Violence, Blood, Murder, and Injury/Injury detail
theebster'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? Yes
5.0
Graphic: Gun violence, Rape, Sexual violence, Suicide, Violence, Murder, and Sexual harassment
Moderate: Addiction, Blood, and Injury/Injury detail
Minor: Medical content
r0r0'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? No
3.0
Graphic: Adult/minor relationship, Body horror, Bullying, Child abuse, Drug abuse, Drug use, Gore, Physical abuse, Rape, Self harm, Sexual assault, Sexual violence, Blood, Excrement, Medical content, Murder, Alcohol, Sexual harassment, and Injury/Injury detail
hippievamp'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? Yes
5.0
Graphic: Addiction, Death, Drug abuse, Drug use, Emotional abuse, Gore, Pedophilia, Rape, Sexual assault, Sexual violence, Toxic relationship, Blood, Excrement, Grief, Murder, Injury/Injury detail, and Classism
Moderate: Bullying, Cursing, Domestic abuse, Gun violence, Misogyny, Racism, Sexism, Toxic relationship, Violence, and Vomit
Minor: Addiction, Antisemitism, and Alcohol
ceruleanshelves'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
4.75
Mors irrumat omnia. Death fucks us all.
i INHALED this book, omg. this was a VAST change of pace from shadow & bone and i much preferred it. it was very reminiscent to vicious but more complicated with it's worldbuilding and lore and a stronger theme of sexism and corruption in academia and society.
“I let you die. To save myself, I let you die.
That is the danger in keeping company with survivors.”
i LOVE alex, she's a fighter, a survivor. she is grit and teeth and isn't afraid to bite. it was really cool to see sephardic jewish rep and seeing ladino used in magic. darlington is naively pretentious but unavoidably loveable. this is yet another case of i don't know who i want to be or be with more lol. let the bi panic ensue.
“All you children playing with fire, looking surprised when the house burns down”
i would say the first maybe 10-20% or so was slow for me. not bad but i didn't feel driven until a certain point was hit - and then it took off from there. bardugo's creativity in constructing the houses of lethe and crafting how certain magics fit in with them, intermingled with an undercurrent of demonology and other deathlore, and the weaving of race/class/gender politics within a town and society that is very much built for a specific demographic to come out on top was masterful. i also, despite the sometimes grim scenarios, found myself still huffing in a laugh at the dry humor that tended to come from alex.
“I want to survive this world that keeps trying to destroy me.”
i'm excited to jump into book 2 asap!
Time to go to hell
Graphic: Death, Sexism, Sexual assault, Blood, Murder, Alcohol, and Injury/Injury detail
Moderate: Addiction, Drug abuse, Drug use, Toxic relationship, Grief, and Classism
Minor: Cancer, Gun violence, Misogyny, Racism, Suicidal thoughts, and Vomit
hrobles1009'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? It's complicated
4.0
Graphic: Addiction, Drug abuse, Drug use, Rape, Sexual assault, Murder, and Injury/Injury detail
akirma'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? Yes
4.0
Graphic: Death, Drug abuse, Drug use, Rape, Sexual assault, Sexual violence, and Murder
Moderate: Body horror, Cursing, Gore, Blood, Injury/Injury detail, and Classism
Minor: Vomit
kirnet's review against another edition
- 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? Yes
4.0
I really enjoyed the prose in this, and I ended up really loving Alex's character. I found her really compelling and was happy to follow her thoughts and actions. I love how flawed she is, as well as how she struggles to cope with it. Her relationships with the other characters are also great, mainly Dawes and North. She has a lot of on page chemistry with everyone that keeps things flowing. The story is interesting (though I did predict every twist), and the world building was interesting, but my main gripe with this book was the pacing. A lot of people mention not being invested in the book until very far in, and while I didn't have that exact problem, I did find a lot of the info dumps pretty grating. The book also spends a lot of time jumping back to the past, mostly to set up Darlington's character, or to explain parts of Alex's tragic backstory. In my opinion they happened too often and were too indulgent, really taking me out of the current storyline and investigation. I wonder if it would have been better to have made this book the second in the series, to have the first one actually show Alex and Darlington's growing relationship and ending with the cliffhanger of
Graphic: Addiction, Domestic abuse, Drug use, Pedophilia, Physical abuse, Rape, Sexual assault, Sexual violence, Murder, and Injury/Injury detail
kenziekat'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? Yes
4.5
Moderate: Drug abuse, Drug use, Sexual assault, Sexual violence, Toxic relationship, Violence, and Murder
Minor: Physical abuse and Injury/Injury detail
battysbooks'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? Yes
5.0
Graphic: Drug abuse, Drug use, Rape, Sexual assault, Sexual violence, Violence, Blood, Excrement, Murder, Injury/Injury detail, and Classism