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kelisabeth'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? Yes
4.5
Graphic: Child death, Gaslighting, Blood, Classism, Death, Drug use, Colonisation, Grief, Injury/Injury detail, Death of parent, Homophobia, War, Alcohol, Bullying, Cursing, Emotional abuse, Murder, Violence, Gore, and Panic attacks/disorders
blacksphinx'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 was getting really frustrated with the first half of the book. At least three times, a character would say a couple of sentences and then El would explain a ton of inferred details to us for several pages. We had some important plot threads established, and pages were ticking by with no progress being made on them. El spent a lot of time not doing a damn thing, thinking for pages about how she didn't know what to do. There was a decent chunk spent on her wanting to accomplish something I thought was extremely stupid and didn't understand her motives - and then, at almost the 50% mark, the chess pieces were finally all on the board and the game began.
I kept saying to myself "there's no way she can solve [plot thread] in [pages left]" and then she DID over and over again until I had every answer I wanted. I actually want to go back and reread the prior two books knowing what I know now, because the reveals in this book were set up long before she started drafting it, there's just no way. It is a little bit of a spoiler to say this, so just skip over it, but watching El walk away from Omelas made me cry. In this present moment of multiple genocides and an ongoing, stubbornly-ignored pandemic, it hit me just right. "You got us all out for good, and they're trying to start a war over the bones. There's a better way. We know there's a better way. And you're trying to find it."
Graphic: Body horror, Death, Torture, Grief, Gore, Confinement, and Drug use
Moderate: Panic attacks/disorders, Sexual content, and Classism
Minor: Vomit, Child death, Pregnancy, and Homophobia
wickedgrumpy's review against another edition
- Plot- or character-driven? A mix
4.0
I thought that the series was quite solid. Book 3 really tied it all together and bits that were resolved were introduced in book 1 so it was quite good closure to see actions that have consequences and a resolution all together.
Some of the reveals were also top notch, since there's (in hindsight) a lot of foreshadowing but to be able to put it all together wasn't something I managed. I don't know if it was because of the gap between the books and it would have been obvious if I read them in closer succession but I was satisfied with how it came together.
Minor: Blood, Abandonment, Alcohol, Body horror, Death of parent, Drug use, Gore, Panic attacks/disorders, Sexual content, Torture, Violence, Vomit, War, Grief, Infidelity, Injury/Injury detail, Medical content, Murder, Child death, Emotional abuse, Gaslighting, Genocide, Cannibalism, Child abuse, Classism, Confinement, Cursing, Death, and Medical trauma
flyintothestorm'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? Yes
4.5
Graphic: Death, War, Child abuse, Confinement, Grief, Torture, and Child death
Moderate: Death of parent, Drug abuse, Drug use, and Sexual content
Minor: Dysphoria
kadtide'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: Injury/Injury detail, Body horror, Grief, and Torture
Moderate: Murder and Death
Minor: Death of parent, Classism, and Drug use
icarusandthesun's review against another edition
- Plot- or character-driven? A mix
- Strong character development? It's complicated
- Loveable characters? No
- Diverse cast of characters? Yes
- Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes
2.0
such a shattering cliffhanger in book two, and for what?
this book has 400 pages and i kid you not, around 300 were horribly uninteresting. the whole first half of the book was useless rambling - boring, uninspiring and devastatingly dry.
the twist and reveal and all that were fun and had potential, the delivery however was super unexciting and the wow-moment shadowed by the absolute nothingness the whole rest of the book was. great concept, such poor execution.
and don't even get me started on the ending.
the ending was the most frustrating thing ever. like yeah, we all love a happy ending, but
also, watching all the conflict and problems get solved in a little godlike act 20 pages before the end made me want to claw my eyes out.
there were a couple of scenes and happenings that hooked me for a few pages, a chapter at best - for example
i loved book one and two, and the author's catchy and quick writing style didn't disappoint in this one either, but the story - tragic.
Graphic: Grief and Death
Moderate: Murder, Child death, War, and Violence
Minor: Child death, Drug use, Sexual content, and Injury/Injury detail
allyareads'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
3.75
Graphic: Colonisation, Death, Death of parent, Child death, Child abuse, Classism, Drug use, Grief, Gore, Murder, Physical abuse, Violence, War, and Medical trauma
ceruleanseas'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
4.25
Graphic: Grief and Gore
Moderate: Child abuse
Minor: Abortion, Murder, Drug use, and Sexual content
purplatypus's review against another edition
- Strong character development? No
- Loveable characters? Yes
- Diverse cast of characters? Yes
- Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes
4.5
Moderate: Death, Violence, Grief, Sexual content, Child abuse, Child death, Drug use, Gore, and War
Minor: Body horror and Death of parent
mayabaxx'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: Blood, Drug use, Gore, Grief, Murder, Child death, Death, and Death of parent