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deerlybeloved'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
You'll be on the edge of your seat, wanting more, and desperate to see how it all pans out for our beloved characters by the end of it.
Graphic: Abandonment, Grief, Injury/Injury detail, Panic attacks/disorders, Sexual assault, Sexual violence, Classism, Drug abuse, Child abuse, Blood, Confinement, Death, Gun violence, Pedophilia, Physical abuse, Slavery, Torture, Kidnapping, Ableism, and Trafficking
Moderate: Trafficking, Sexual violence, Blood, Death, Death of parent, Violence, Alcohol, Drug use, Grief, Physical abuse, Xenophobia, Child abuse, Panic attacks/disorders, Police brutality, Rape, Sexism, Chronic illness, Confinement, Gun violence, Injury/Injury detail, Torture, Pedophilia, Sexual assault, War, and Slavery
Inej, one of the main characters, has a backstory HEAVILY rooted in discussion of pedophilia, child trafficking, sex trafficking, slavery, sexual slavery, rape, sexual abuse, kidnapping, and so much more. While handled with beautiful tact and insight, the depictions of flashbacks and Inej's feelings of these things can comfort survivors of similar things as much as it destroys us. Go with caution. As well, religious bigotry, ableism, trauma, emotional neglect, horrid things happening to children, war, racial fetishization, and so much more is dealt with in tactful ways, but ever presently used as reminders that the world is as imperfect and dark as it is beautiful.ghostlyprince'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: Classism, Addiction, Death, Drug use, Gore, Confinement, Death of parent, Drug abuse, Child death, Gun violence, and Religious bigotry
Moderate: Animal death, Animal cruelty, Chronic illness, Emotional abuse, Abandonment, Child abuse, Cultural appropriation, Fire/Fire injury, Genocide, Slavery, and Torture
Minor: War, Ableism, Alcohol, Body shaming, Kidnapping, Misogyny, Pedophilia, Rape, Sexual assault, Sexual violence, Vomit, Racism, Sexual harassment, Trafficking, Physical abuse, and Sexism
itsjusterika'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
4.0
Graphic: Violence, Trafficking, Gun violence, Death, Slavery, Kidnapping, Murder, Injury/Injury detail, and Drug use
Moderate: Death of parent, Emotional abuse, Addiction, and Chronic illness
mxbluet18'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
5.0
alcohol consumption and recreational drug use; drugging without consent; forced and coerced drug dependency. As well as implied panic attacks and nightmares; implied coerced suicide; blood and gore depiction, graphic physical injuries, emesis, medical experimentation, dead bodies, plague, body modifications (with consent).
Grief depiction and death of a father, brother, family and friend; murder, attempted murder, physical assault, knife and gun violence, torture, strangulation, explosions. Kidnapping, drowning.
☆
☆
Realistically I picked this up three days ago and finished it in the early hours. Once I started it I didn't really put it down. It's a duology that's been sitting on my TBR list for a while, as was the Shadow and Bone series, and it took a while for me to get to them, which is something I regret. My friend recommended them to me a while ago, and I understand why they did now. I even sent them a message while I was reading saying that I understand the pull of Kaz Brekker now.
~
One thing that really stood out to me was the amount of representation in this. Both in terms of sexuality and disability and neurodivergency. There's a bisexual character and a gay character.
And Kaz walks with a cane because of a severe limp and chronic pain, as well as the leather gloves he always wears, which is somewhat discussed as being because of trauma and a resulting aversion to touch, he the flashbacks and fainting he experiences are potentially the result of PTSD from childhood trauma. And while it's not actually confirmed in the books, the descriptions make it fairly plain that Jesper probably has ADHD. He also has a gambling addiction.
~
Two other things I feel the book does really well, and I feel are written very well is flesh out the characters, give them a really rich backstory, but make their motives subtle but clear. Like for Kaz, he clearly has a reason for persuing Pekka Rollins, and his childhood was explained in segments. But it's left to the reader to connect those dots because nothing is explicitly stated.
Graphic: Gore, Sexual assault, Abandonment, Blood, Body horror, Chronic illness, Death, Sexual content, Injury/Injury detail, Panic attacks/disorders, Physical abuse, Child abuse, Drug use, Medical content, Trafficking, and Gun violence
Minor: Bullying and Ableism
lu_debord'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: Ableism, Murder, Body horror, Chronic illness, Death, and Vomit
Moderate: War, Sexual assault, and Slavery
ari_bryce's review
- 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: Blood, Chronic illness, Death, Gun violence, Injury/Injury detail, Murder, Panic attacks/disorders, Racism, Religious bigotry, and Slavery
Moderate: Sexual violence
entityj'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
4.0
Graphic: Gun violence, Violence, and Injury/Injury detail
Moderate: Alcohol, Classism, Chronic illness, Cursing, Fire/Fire injury, Kidnapping, Murder, and Torture
Minor: Gore and Grief
bookish_paws's review against another edition
- Plot- or character-driven? Character
- Strong character development? Yes
- Loveable characters? Yes
- Diverse cast of characters? Yes
- Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes
4.75
Graphic: Murder
Moderate: Grief, Child death, Drug use, Death, Chronic illness, Addiction, Blood, Murder, and Violence
Minor: Sexual content
booksanna'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
5.0
First of all, it took me 3 separate tries and 2 years to get into the book, before I finished it fully, and I am so glad that I did! Following along the journey of these 6 great characters made me so happy, sad, proud, mad, betrayed, empowered, lost, found, amazed, horrified, appalled, terrified, resentful and hopeful. I really liked the way the characters were written with each unique set of skills, quirks, and setbacks. I loved experiencing each characters story(poor Kaz, that was rough) and following their quest(or should I say heist :) ).
The plot was intriguing and sometimes predictable and sometimes breath-takingly surprising. It was the perfect mix of both. I really loved the mission our characters were on and it kept me interested all the way through. I also loved the representation this book offered(people with disabilities, trauma, mental health problems, gambling addiction, more trauma, abuse, POC, PTSD, and maybe LGBTQ kinda, maybe?). It was a beautiful story and will definitely read the next book in the series.
Graphic: Trafficking, Gun violence, Gore, Genocide, Forced institutionalization, Chronic illness, Addiction, Injury/Injury detail, Xenophobia, Violence, Stalking, Slavery, Religious bigotry, Police brutality, Physical abuse, Murder, Mental illness, Medical trauma, Emotional abuse, Drug use, Death, Body horror, and Blood
szuum's review against another edition
- Plot- or character-driven? A mix
- Strong character development? No
- Loveable characters? No
- Diverse cast of characters? No
- Flaws of characters a main focus? It's complicated
2.0
Graphic: Child death, Kidnapping, Toxic friendship, Xenophobia, Addiction, Animal cruelty, Gun violence, Trafficking, Animal death, Chronic illness, Confinement, Cultural appropriation, Death, Drug abuse, Murder, Religious bigotry, Sexism, Toxic relationship, Violence, Sexual assault, Slavery, and Misogyny
Minor: Death of parent, Sexual harassment, and Torture