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ellenkennedy's review against another edition
dark
funny
slow-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? Character
- Strong character development? Yes
- Loveable characters? Yes
- Diverse cast of characters? No
- Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes
3.0
I enjoyed the characters in this book (especially Nikolai) but the plot and execution were lacking. Nikolai was funny and absolutely unhinged, which worked as a perfect opposition to the closed-off, repressed Bran. Nothing about Nikolai's approach was healthy or acceptable, but that's given in a dark story like this. Although the mafia theme was rather ridiculous, especially when you compare the blurbs of the other books in the series (God of Fury is the only one that I've read) to the actual characters in the background. :D Let's take Killian, who's depicted as a dangerous monster wherever you look, and what he does in the background of this book is mostly cuddle and kiss his girlfriend. All the killing, torturing, and violence is mostly on the periphery (except things like Grace's death which was another level of unhinged, and not in a good way ). Some emotions were very surface-level, especially on Bran's side (surprisingly). There were moments when I was wondering whether it was inspired by "For The Fans" in some way, especially Bran's staring at a mirror, "not your baby", repressed trauma that makes you conceal your sexuality, the new Instragram photos every day, the "bimbo" character and so on .
Most of the "dark" characters seemed rather playing at mafia than actually being a part of it, and the book could have been half of its length if the author got rid of all the repetitions and unnecessary scenes, but being in Nikolai's head was so funny, and I liked how they opened up to one another in the end.
Most of the "dark" characters seemed rather playing at mafia than actually being a part of it, and the book could have been half of its length if the author got rid of all the repetitions and unnecessary scenes, but being in Nikolai's head was so funny, and I liked how they opened up to one another in the end.
Content Warnings
Graphic: Blood, Sexual assault, Suicide attempt, Pedophilia, Sexual violence, Stalking, Gaslighting, Injury/Injury detail, Murder, Panic attacks/disorders, Rape, Self harm, Sexual content, Suicidal thoughts, and Violence
Moderate: Kidnapping, Sexism, Toxic relationship, Acephobia/Arophobia, and Mental illness
lissa_bee's review
dark
emotional
medium-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? It's complicated
4.5
Content Warnings
Graphic: Rape, Suicide attempt, Mental illness, Sexual assault, Self harm, Sexual content, Adult/minor relationship, and Pedophilia
Moderate: Injury/Injury detail, Murder, Violence, and Acephobia/Arophobia
Minor: Biphobia and Homophobia
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