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ahanky'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? Yes
3.5
Moderate: Murder, Suicidal thoughts, Sexual harassment, Drug abuse, Grief, and Death
amy_in_the_city's review against another edition
- Plot- or character-driven? A mix
- Strong character development? Yes
- Loveable characters? It's complicated
- Diverse cast of characters? It's complicated
- Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes
4.0
The mystery plot was really engaging and the world was interesting. I was confused by the worldbuilding and think a map of the world (instead of just the city) and a glossary of terminology would have been helpful.
I found the rudeness and hostility between Bryce and Hunt at the beginning to be immature and very annoying. Luckily the characters were developed, and I really liked them and their relationship by the end of the book. I thought it was great that they develop a friendship first and then eventually a romantic relationship. The scene where she takes care of him when he's feeling messed up after getting back from one of Micah's assignments was so sweet.
The last 200 pages or so were awesome. Just a wild ride, crazy action-packed and full of emotion.
Graphic: Slavery, Body horror, Alcohol, Blood, Bullying, Colonisation, Gore, Death, Drug abuse, Vomit, Drug use, Medical content, Murder, Racism, Grief, Physical abuse, Violence, Injury/Injury detail, and War
Moderate: Cursing, Sexual harassment, Sexual content, Confinement, Sexism, Addiction, Torture, Police brutality, Animal cruelty, Gun violence, and Misogyny
Minor: Hate crime, Domestic abuse, Body shaming, Classism, Death of parent, Fire/Fire injury, and Suicidal thoughts
nikkihill22's review against another edition
- Plot- or character-driven? Character
- Strong character development? It's complicated
- Loveable characters? Yes
- Diverse cast of characters? It's complicated
- Flaws of characters a main focus? It's complicated
4.0
Where she does shine though, is writing characters and their interpersonal relationships. I won't say that was perfect in these books either, although i do think it was a lot better than the ACOTAR series. I didn't expect to be as emotionally involved as i was throughout the climax of the story. Which is maybe a knock against the overall quality of the book that i didn't even realize i cared until it was too late.
The pacing of the book was a little slow for me, it's mainly following one macguffin to another and another and another in the hopes of finding a criminal. Although i do think SJM does a decent job of explaining all that when we finally learn what's really been going on, i think most of it she just wanted the story to go to certain settings or explore certain relationships and found a convenient explanation for why the criminal really led them to go those places after the fact.
Graphic: Slavery, Injury/Injury detail, Suicidal thoughts, and Death
Moderate: Sexual harassment, Drug abuse, Drug use, and Sexual content
Minor: Racism and Racial slurs
tguccione'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
Moderate: Drug use, Gaslighting, Gun violence, Murder, Blood, Slavery, Suicidal thoughts, Classism, Medical content, Police brutality, Bullying, Death, Injury/Injury detail, Sexual harassment, Violence, War, Abandonment, Confinement, Gore, Grief, Racism, Torture, and Vomit
Minor: Death of parent, Drug abuse, Domestic abuse, and Genocide
mighty_lizard_queen's review against another edition
- Plot- or character-driven? A mix
- Strong character development? No
- Loveable characters? No
- Diverse cast of characters? It's complicated
- Flaws of characters a main focus? No
2.0
If this didn’t connect back to ACOTAR then I would have DNF’d half way through out of boredom and frustration, but, alas.
Graphic: Alcoholism, Grief, Racism, Panic attacks/disorders, Blood, Body shaming, Confinement, Death, Violence, Suicide attempt, Slavery, Police brutality, Murder, Drug use, and Drug abuse
Moderate: Classism, Medical content, Gun violence, Vomit, Sexual harassment, Sexism, Mass/school shootings, Injury/Injury detail, Fatphobia, Body shaming, Torture, Child abuse, Physical abuse, Addiction, and Animal cruelty
Minor: Domestic abuse, Death of parent, and Infidelity
angelofthetardis'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? Yes
3.5
My first reaction was that it was an odd juxtaposition; people with various magical abilities driving cars, using mobile phones and enjoying Saturday night sport, and while the author of course makes it work, I wasn't as easily able to immerse myself in the world; the intrusion of the familiar made it harder to suspend my disbelief. Imagining an avenging angel slobbing out on the couch wearing a baseball cap and football jersey, wings and all, is brilliant, funny and certainly more relatable than a lot of the other males in Maas' writing (even if he does share the usual trait of the ultimate ripped body), but that's precisely the issue. I like my fantasy characters to be precisely that - fantasies.
I enjoyed the characterisations of both the individuals and the different beings very much; there are a lot more shades of grey in here, which definitely makes the reading more interesting. However, there are a LOT of creatures to get to know, and at times I found it hard to keep track of everything. There's not much of an 'on ramp' with this world; you're dropped almost straight into the middle of it and left to fend for yourself, picking things up as you go. And where in her other series there have been some similarities that allow you to grasp basic concepts, again this setting is so different it's a lot harder to establish the ground rules.
Similarly, understanding the structure and hierarchy of the world isn't exactly straightforward. I do like the Roman-inspired feel of the city as a whole, but it took me a while to get to grips with the angelic legions, the Aux and so on. It's just a lot to wrap your head around.
I would say that this story doesn't flow quite as well as her other works either. The story has certainly been well mapped out in the author's head, but the writing somehow just feels a bit clunky - the development of the relationship between Bryce and Hunt, while clearly inevitable, just seems to happen in the blink of an eye, rather than via the slow build which Maas is so good at. And some of the twists aren't so much shocking as head-scratchingly confusing.
I'm thinking this one might be a 'soaker' - it just needs to marinade in my head for a while before I 'get' it in the same was as TOG and ACOTAR. Also wondering if the graphic audio version might help. I do want to see where the series goes and how we end up at the spoilers I've heard about the end of book 2, but I am hoping for better next time around...
Graphic: Gore, Slavery, Violence, Blood, Torture, Injury/Injury detail, Death, Drug use, and Murder
Moderate: Suicidal thoughts, Medical trauma, Drug abuse, Sexual harassment, Medical content, Alcohol, Gun violence, Cursing, Sexual content, and War
Minor: Animal cruelty, Bullying, Vomit, and Car accident
mads_reads_books'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: War, Suicide attempt, Slavery, Self harm, Death, Torture, Suicidal thoughts, and Violence
Minor: Forced institutionalization, Trafficking, Toxic relationship, Violence, Torture, Car accident, Child abuse, Death, Racism, Sexual harassment, Gun violence, Murder, Slavery, Emotional abuse, Hate crime, War, Animal cruelty, Classism, Colonisation, Domestic abuse, Drug use, Injury/Injury detail, Police brutality, Suicidal thoughts, and Suicide attempt
ladydeathnesta'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
I love them equally.
Graphic: Child death, Emotional abuse, Toxic friendship, Dementia, Drug abuse, Fatphobia, Gaslighting, Medical trauma, War, Xenophobia, Fire/Fire injury, Police brutality, Ableism, Confinement, Domestic abuse, Gore, Gun violence, Kidnapping, Medical content, Misogyny, Classism, Cursing, Death of parent, Eating disorder, Mental illness, Death, Hate crime, Infidelity, Injury/Injury detail, Sexual content, Sexual violence, Alcohol, Colonisation, Body horror, Child abuse, Animal death, Body shaming, Dysphoria, Genocide, Grief, Bullying, Car accident, Murder, Sexism, Sexual harassment, Slavery, Torture, Forced institutionalization, Pandemic/Epidemic, Racial slurs, Racism, Religious bigotry, Animal cruelty, Blood, Drug use, Stalking, Toxic relationship, Violence, Vomit, Suicidal thoughts, Suicide, Deportation, Panic attacks/disorders, Physical abuse, Pregnancy, Rape, Self harm, Trafficking, Abandonment, and Addiction
reesespuff6'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? No
4.0
Moderate: Physical abuse, Suicide attempt, Injury/Injury detail, Sexism, Medical trauma, Child death, Forced institutionalization, Genocide, Medical content, Murder, Slavery, Suicidal thoughts, Violence, Blood, Death of parent, Confinement, Gore, Sexual harassment, Sexual content, Grief, Alcohol, Classism, Cursing, Death, Drug use, and Gun violence
peskridge3'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
5.0
Graphic: Death and Violence
Moderate: Grief, Sexual harassment, and Murder
Minor: Suicide and Drug abuse