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hippievamp'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, Murder, Addiction, Death, Gore, Toxic relationship, Sexual violence, Classism, Drug abuse, Drug use, Emotional abuse, Excrement, Grief, Injury/Injury detail, Rape, Sexual assault, and Pedophilia
Moderate: Gun violence, Sexism, Domestic abuse, Vomit, Cursing, Toxic relationship, Bullying, Misogyny, Racism, and Violence
Minor: Alcohol, Antisemitism, and Addiction
lauskireads'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
4.5
Graphic: Body horror, Drug abuse, Addiction, Domestic abuse, Drug use, Violence, Physical abuse, Alcoholism, and Sexual assault
cwolf83's review against another edition
- Plot- or character-driven? Plot
- Strong character development? It's complicated
- Loveable characters? It's complicated
- Diverse cast of characters? No
- Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes
3.75
Graphic: Murder, Domestic abuse, Rape, Sexual assault, and Drug use
kirnet's review against another edition
- Plot- or character-driven? A mix
- Strong character development? Yes
- Loveable characters? Yes
- Diverse cast of characters? It's complicated
- Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes
4.0
I really enjoyed the prose in this, and I ended up really loving Alex's character. I found her really compelling and was happy to follow her thoughts and actions. I love how flawed she is, as well as how she struggles to cope with it. Her relationships with the other characters are also great, mainly Dawes and North. She has a lot of on page chemistry with everyone that keeps things flowing. The story is interesting (though I did predict every twist), and the world building was interesting, but my main gripe with this book was the pacing. A lot of people mention not being invested in the book until very far in, and while I didn't have that exact problem, I did find a lot of the info dumps pretty grating. The book also spends a lot of time jumping back to the past, mostly to set up Darlington's character, or to explain parts of Alex's tragic backstory. In my opinion they happened too often and were too indulgent, really taking me out of the current storyline and investigation. I wonder if it would have been better to have made this book the second in the series, to have the first one actually show Alex and Darlington's growing relationship and ending with the cliffhanger of
Graphic: Drug use, Sexual violence, Sexual assault, Injury/Injury detail, Domestic abuse, Rape, Physical abuse, Pedophilia, Murder, and Addiction
notsohopelessromantic'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 Alex, and Dawes, but am craving more Darlington. The world built is truly corrupt, dark, and magical. Not unlike real life, but different enough that it has the ability to transport you into a world you'd be interested in living in. The end did throw me a bit, in a good way, with that twist. I still feel quite bad for poor North, but perhaps he'll feel a bit better in the next one.
There are uncomfortable instances throughout the book that maybe should have been prefaced with a page dedicated to trigger warnings. That is my only complaint; but seeing as I am able to push through those parts quite well, it didn't bother me in a way that would detract from the rest of the book, or my rating.
Graphic: Drug abuse, Murder, Addiction, Adult/minor relationship, Rape, Domestic abuse, Blood, Death, Drug use, Gore, Sexual assault, Injury/Injury detail, and Violence
Moderate: Medical content, Vomit, and Toxic relationship
cnjg88'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? No
2.25
Graphic: Excrement, Murder, Sexual assault, Pedophilia, Domestic abuse, Mental illness, Addiction, Vomit, Drug use, Medical trauma, Sexual harassment, Sexual violence, Rape, Torture, and Toxic relationship
kelsnevi's review against another edition
- Plot- or character-driven? A mix
- Strong character development? Yes
- Loveable characters? It's complicated
- Diverse cast of characters? No
- Flaws of characters a main focus? No
5.0
Graphic: Gore, Body horror, Drug abuse, Emotional abuse, Violence, Vomit, Blood, Domestic abuse, Rape, Sexual assault, Death, Murder, and Drug use
Moderate: Excrement
aisling214'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
3.0
Graphic: Addiction, Sexual content, Violence, Death, Classism, Gun violence, Rape, Sexual violence, Sexual harassment, Self harm, Adult/minor relationship, Excrement, Gaslighting, Sexism, Blood, Drug abuse, Drug use, Emotional abuse, Gore, Sexual assault, Domestic abuse, Injury/Injury detail, Medical content, Murder, Body horror, and Mental illness
lotusmoon'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
4.5
Moderate: Addiction, Pedophilia, Rape, Blood, Grief, Toxic friendship, Sexual assault, Violence, Emotional abuse, Toxic relationship, Death, and Domestic abuse
stephliljazz'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
4.75
Graphic: Addiction, Death, Drug abuse, Violence, Blood, Toxic relationship, and Murder
Moderate: Rape, Panic attacks/disorders, Classism, Suicidal thoughts, Sexual assault, Physical abuse, Vomit, Toxic friendship, and Injury/Injury detail
Minor: Death, Gun violence, Self harm, Cursing, Domestic abuse, Drug use, Alcohol, Blood, Emotional abuse, and Fire/Fire injury