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skillyillian's review against another edition
adventurous
challenging
dark
emotional
funny
tense
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? Yes
4.0
Spoilers abound ✨
I love so many things about this book. Kell, love of my life. Lila, love of my life. I need more rhy and alucard. Hastra is #1 cinnamon roll and I'd give my life for him. Calla is the ultimate mom, I adore her. The characters are so wonderful.
I feel like Lila as a person didn't develop a ton, although her talents certainly did. I love how much of a badass she is, give no fucks and take no prisoners is so stellar when it's done right and with her it definitely is.
Kell's frustration with feeling trapped and held accountable when no one else really was is such an older sibling vibe. God it was so frustrating to read, but in the way it was meant to be. It was extremely relatable for me and made me support him even more.
I loved this book, but I also had issues with it. Someone online introduced me to the idea of "bridge books" where a novel in a series is basically just a bridge to get from one major plot point to the next and doesn't do a ton for the story in and of itself besides giving context for the next big thing. This kind of felt like that? Not terribly, but it was noticeable. Like the biggest things we needed were Kelly getting back to white London and Lila discovering her powers. Everything else felt, not as important. Which is fine, not every plot point should have the same level of importance, but it did make a lot of the rest of the story feel like it dragged on. There wasn't a lot of vital stuff that happened in the first half of the book, it was mostly drama and kind of "where are they now". The only reason I didn't dock more off my score was because it's Schwab, so even when it felt kind of like filler, it was still really well done and held my attention.
Once things picked up though, they definitely went off. The Essen Tasch was a blast, I definitely caught myself grinning a few times throughout. Schwab builds tension in a way that makes it hard to pull out of once you're there and it's addictive. Truly one of my favorite authors 🖤
I adored this book despite it feeling a little bit like filler at some points so we could get to the third installment. The cliffhanger ending was insane, the characters are lovable af, and the magic system grows ever more interesting. I can't wait to dive into the third one, I love these characters so damn much 😮💨🖤
I love so many things about this book. Kell, love of my life. Lila, love of my life. I need more rhy and alucard. Hastra is #1 cinnamon roll and I'd give my life for him. Calla is the ultimate mom, I adore her. The characters are so wonderful.
I feel like Lila as a person didn't develop a ton, although her talents certainly did. I love how much of a badass she is, give no fucks and take no prisoners is so stellar when it's done right and with her it definitely is.
Kell's frustration with feeling trapped and held accountable when no one else really was is such an older sibling vibe. God it was so frustrating to read, but in the way it was meant to be. It was extremely relatable for me and made me support him even more.
I loved this book, but I also had issues with it. Someone online introduced me to the idea of "bridge books" where a novel in a series is basically just a bridge to get from one major plot point to the next and doesn't do a ton for the story in and of itself besides giving context for the next big thing. This kind of felt like that? Not terribly, but it was noticeable. Like the biggest things we needed were Kelly getting back to white London and Lila discovering her powers. Everything else felt, not as important. Which is fine, not every plot point should have the same level of importance, but it did make a lot of the rest of the story feel like it dragged on. There wasn't a lot of vital stuff that happened in the first half of the book, it was mostly drama and kind of "where are they now". The only reason I didn't dock more off my score was because it's Schwab, so even when it felt kind of like filler, it was still really well done and held my attention.
Once things picked up though, they definitely went off. The Essen Tasch was a blast, I definitely caught myself grinning a few times throughout. Schwab builds tension in a way that makes it hard to pull out of once you're there and it's addictive. Truly one of my favorite authors 🖤
I adored this book despite it feeling a little bit like filler at some points so we could get to the third installment. The cliffhanger ending was insane, the characters are lovable af, and the magic system grows ever more interesting. I can't wait to dive into the third one, I love these characters so damn much 😮💨🖤
Content Warnings
Graphic: Self harm, Violence, Blood, Injury/Injury detail, and Murder
Moderate: Fire/Fire injury, Injury/Injury detail, Body horror, and Cursing
victoriousbookworm's review against another edition
adventurous
mysterious
fast-paced
- 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
Content Warnings
Graphic: Blood and Violence
Moderate: Confinement, Injury/Injury detail, Body horror, Torture, and Classism
purplepenning's review against another edition
adventurous
dark
emotional
tense
medium-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? A mix
- Strong character development? Yes
- Loveable characters? Yes
4.25
Content Warnings
Moderate: Confinement, Blood, Body horror, Death, Injury/Injury detail, Murder, Sexual harassment, and Violence
Minor: Alcohol and Fire/Fire injury
headinthepages's review against another edition
adventurous
dark
medium-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? A mix
4.0
Content Warnings
Moderate: Gore, Vomit, Injury/Injury detail, Torture, Abandonment, Ableism, Grief, Blood, Alcohol, Fire/Fire injury, Kidnapping, Murder, Body horror, Death, Sexual content, Toxic relationship, and Violence
midnightcomets's review against another edition
adventurous
dark
mysterious
slow-paced
- 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
3.5
Look, everyone talks about the unknown like it's some big scary thing, but it's the familiar that's always bothered me. It's heavy, builds up around you like rocks, until it's walls and a ceiling and a cell.
I have no idea what went wrong, for when the book began, I enjoyed every single minute of it, but towards the end, everything became repetitive and lackluster, for me at least. The characters became strangers to me, and even Holland, a character I constantly find immensely interesting, became someone I really couldn't care less for by the end of the book. The stakes were high, yes, but the plot didn't move where I wanted it to, and the Essen Tasch, the magical tournament I was so waiting to experience, was barely 200 pages long. Overall, I probably will read the third book as well, but I will not rush into it immediately, and not with the utmost enthusiasm, for sure.
I have no idea what went wrong, for when the book began, I enjoyed every single minute of it, but towards the end, everything became repetitive and lackluster, for me at least. The characters became strangers to me, and even Holland, a character I constantly find immensely interesting, became someone I really couldn't care less for by the end of the book. The stakes were high, yes, but the plot didn't move where I wanted it to, and the Essen Tasch, the magical tournament I was so waiting to experience, was barely 200 pages long. Overall, I probably will read the third book as well, but I will not rush into it immediately, and not with the utmost enthusiasm, for sure.
Content Warnings
Graphic: Self harm
Moderate: Body horror
Minor: Rape
bcrowes11's review
adventurous
dark
lighthearted
tense
medium-paced
- 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? It's complicated
4.25
Content Warnings
Moderate: Body horror
Minor: Sexual content
reddeddy's review against another edition
adventurous
dark
funny
hopeful
inspiring
mysterious
tense
fast-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? Yes
4.0
i am just *inhales*……Delilah Bard…..you are insane….but you’re also a fucking badass…..i had some issues with this book through the middle and towards the end, but that ending….i’m kinda shook…..that final line gave me literal chills.
overall a solid sequel, and im so looking forward to the last one, especially after that cliffhanger…i mainly had issues with some of the character development, especially Lila, because i feel like she doesn’t get the same kind of nuance as Kell or even Rhy, especially with everything going on, it feels like she doesn’t ever get the same emotional depth the others do, but hopefully in the next book she will!
overall a solid sequel, and im so looking forward to the last one, especially after that cliffhanger…i mainly had issues with some of the character development, especially Lila, because i feel like she doesn’t get the same kind of nuance as Kell or even Rhy, especially with everything going on, it feels like she doesn’t ever get the same emotional depth the others do, but hopefully in the next book she will!
Content Warnings
Graphic: Kidnapping, Murder, Gore, Injury/Injury detail, Toxic relationship, Violence, Toxic friendship, Body horror, Self harm, Emotional abuse, Blood, Fire/Fire injury, and Death
Moderate: Gun violence, Suicidal thoughts, Xenophobia, Alcohol, Classism, Gaslighting, Physical abuse, Abandonment, Ableism, Confinement, Sexism, Sexual harassment, Cursing, Dysphoria, Grief, Torture, and Sexual assault
Minor: Mental illness, Religious bigotry, Bullying, Infidelity, Panic attacks/disorders, Medical trauma, Alcoholism, Death of parent, Dementia, Misogyny, and War
kazoo's review
adventurous
challenging
emotional
funny
fast-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? Character
- Strong character development? Yes
- Loveable characters? Yes
- Diverse cast of characters? It's complicated
- Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes
5.0
I loved a lot of this book, and I thought it really showed all of the characters weaknesses in thoughtful ways that made sense from the previous book, I was worried that some of the characters would stay one dimensional. was really worried about Rhy tbh but it felt good and felt like enough character development for me to care when he did start feeling Kell's pain at the end.
I was worried about Alucard and about him feeling shallow but he didn't, I do wish we had more moments with him and Rhy in this book but from what I remember from the next book there's more.
Lila is still good, she's wore a dress in this and I thought okay so we are seeing less hatred for women who are fem instead like her, she still has some leftover not like other girls. but to be fair she isn't, I really love all her magic bits and her bonding with Alucard even if it felt really wrong when they kissed.
Will say it annoyed me at some points when the king and queen acted certain ways but its kind of expected for the story, I just also want Kell to have parents that like him.
if you love dramatic anime with many filler episodes that eventually pull off and into something very interesting you'll probably like this because that's all I could think about.
Content Warnings
Graphic: Body horror and Violence
Moderate: Alcoholism
Minor: Self harm
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