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theintrovertsbooks's review against another edition
adventurous
emotional
medium-paced
- 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
3.75
Content Warnings
Graphic: Torture, Murder, Injury/Injury detail, Fire/Fire injury, Death, Cursing, Death of parent, Sexual content, Physical abuse, and Confinement
Moderate: Injury/Injury detail, Mental illness, Hate crime, Gore, Child death, Emotional abuse, Blood, Animal death, Alcohol, Grief, Abandonment, Violence, and Religious bigotry
Minor: Infidelity, Stalking, Misogyny, and Cannibalism
bzliz's review against another edition
adventurous
emotional
fast-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? Plot
- Strong character development? No
- Loveable characters? Yes
- Diverse cast of characters? Yes
- Flaws of characters a main focus? No
3.5
I’m kind of bummed about this one because so many people say it is better than book 2 but I don’t think that’s true unfortunately.
Lou starts this book possessed by Nicholina and it takes the crew a while to realize it and devise a plan to exorcise her from Lou’s body. They’re still on the hunt to eliminate Morgane too so they’ve got a lot on their plate. Célie joins up with the crew with some much-needed money and civility that eases their journey more than once. Just when Lou is freed from her possession, Reid protects her from her mother by making Morgane forget her at the cost of his own memories of her and they have to find a way to stop Morgane while Lou and Reid find their way back together.
Ultimately, way too much of the book ends up with Lou possessed or Reid with memory loss and I don’t think it helped the story. There’s enough going on without those back to back hurdles. We also could have cut the mermaid plot line completely. I really like Célie’s addition to the crew and her desire to be more than what she was born into. Jean Luc is generally less likable but his inclusion showed that it isn’t impossible to change for the better. The final battle was pure chaos and so many characters that I barely remembered kept popping up which made it hard to focus on what was actually happening.
I did have a teary moment during the epilogue becausethey saved a seat at the wedding for sweet baby Ansel and he got to see his friends be happy and healing and then he got to go be with his parents in the afterlife and it hurt my heart in the best way.
Content warnings:
Blood, death, injury, violence (on page):Lots of violence, injuries, etc because of the nature of the plot. Blood witches are involved so there is plenty of blood flowing.
Fire/fire injury (on page):Coco’s grief causes an unceasing hellfire that can’t be put out until she works through her grief. Lou and Reid are sentenced to burn to death and almost do but are rescued by their crew just in time.
Confinement (on page):Lou and Reid are kept in a cage following their failed attempt to infiltrate the city.
Death of parent (on page): Coco’s mother must die for her aunt to die; Morgane gets her comeuppance after a big speech about how she couldn’t really love Lou.
Sexual content (on page):Mostly fade to black scenes between Lou & Reid. Very mild.
Grief (on page):Everyone is still reeling from Ansel’s death but mostly Coco because her grief causes an unending hellfire that destroys parts of Cesarine.
Alcohol (on page):Scene of Lou, Reid, Jean Luc & Beau getting drunk together and playing truth or dare. They have hangovers after.
Cannibalism (off page):Discussion of La Voison and Nicholina eating human hearts.
Torture (off page):King Auguste definitely green-lights torture via rat even if it isn’t explicitly said.
Lou starts this book possessed by Nicholina and it takes the crew a while to realize it and devise a plan to exorcise her from Lou’s body. They’re still on the hunt to eliminate Morgane too so they’ve got a lot on their plate. Célie joins up with the crew with some much-needed money and civility that eases their journey more than once. Just when Lou is freed from her possession, Reid protects her from her mother by making Morgane forget her at the cost of his own memories of her and they have to find a way to stop Morgane while Lou and Reid find their way back together.
Ultimately, way too much of the book ends up with Lou possessed or Reid with memory loss and I don’t think it helped the story. There’s enough going on without those back to back hurdles. We also could have cut the mermaid plot line completely. I really like Célie’s addition to the crew and her desire to be more than what she was born into. Jean Luc is generally less likable but his inclusion showed that it isn’t impossible to change for the better. The final battle was pure chaos and so many characters that I barely remembered kept popping up which made it hard to focus on what was actually happening.
I did have a teary moment during the epilogue because
Content warnings:
Blood, death, injury, violence (on page):
Fire/fire injury (on page):
Confinement (on page):
Death of parent (on page):
Sexual content (on page):
Grief (on page):
Alcohol (on page):
Cannibalism (off page):
Torture (off page):
Content Warnings
Graphic: Death, Fire/Fire injury, Injury/Injury detail, Violence, and Blood
Moderate: Grief, Confinement, Death of parent, and Sexual content
Minor: Alcohol, Cannibalism, and Torture
kat1105's review against another edition
dark
emotional
funny
tense
medium-paced
- 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
Content Warnings
Graphic: Cannibalism, Confinement, Injury/Injury detail, Child death, Sexual content, Violence, Grief, Body horror, Child abuse, Cursing, Physical abuse, Religious bigotry, Drug use, Emotional abuse, Fire/Fire injury, Gore, Classism, Death of parent, Murder, War, Abandonment, Alcohol, Blood, Kidnapping, Death, and Torture
holliesatchell's review against another edition
adventurous
dark
emotional
funny
mysterious
tense
medium-paced
- 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? It's complicated
3.75
After reading the first two books in this series, I was unsure how to go into this one. The first one was amazing and I rated it 5/5, but the second one was more disappointing and got a lower rating from me. Because of this I started this book quite slowly, afraid that it wouldn't be good, but thankfully, I thoroughly enjoyed it. Yes, I admit that the first half(ish) was kind of all over the place - which truthfully, is the reason I rating this book 3.57/5 - but I believe the last half made up for it. After a rocky start, I devoured the last 300 pages of this book and now I don't know what to do with myself.
Content Warnings
Moderate: Blood, Gore, Grief, Murder, Sexual content, and Violence
Minor: Cannibalism, Child death, Death, and Death of parent
leedolee's review against another edition
adventurous
challenging
dark
emotional
tense
medium-paced
- 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
This series has easily stolen a place in my heart and these characters will truly remain favorites of my mine.
The world, the magic, the action, the drama, the twists, the relationships, and the plot were outstanding! Yes, my least favorite trope was found in this book but I enjoyed the novel regardless.
Lou and Reid will be one of my favorite ships. Always.
The world, the magic, the action, the drama, the twists, the relationships, and the plot were outstanding! Yes, my least favorite trope was found in this book but I enjoyed the novel regardless.
Lou and Reid will be one of my favorite ships. Always.
Content Warnings
Graphic: Blood, Body horror, Cannibalism, Child death, Confinement, Cursing, Death, Death of parent, Emotional abuse, Fire/Fire injury, Gore, Grief, Medical trauma, Mental illness, Murder, Physical abuse, Religious bigotry, Self harm, Sexual content, Torture, Violence, and War
Moderate: Alcohol
theespressoedition's review against another edition
adventurous
dark
slow-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? A mix
- Strong character development? It's complicated
- Loveable characters? It's complicated
- Diverse cast of characters? No
- Flaws of characters a main focus? It's complicated
2.0
This review does contain spoilers, but I won't be hiding them because they'll be throughout - hence this warning.
Oof. This was an interesting end to this series. If you've read my reviews for the previous two, then you already know that this is not even close to my favorite series. I had a tough time with Serpent & Dove, primarily because the narrator of the audiobook really ruined the experience. I thought Blood & Honey would redeem it and that could possibly be one of my least favorite books of all time. Gods & Monsters was the final chance and... well, you can see my rating.
I will state right now that this was leaps and bounds better than Blood & Honey. But there were just so many things I disliked about it as well. It was really, really slow for the first 2/3 of the book. There were exciting moments, to be sure, but nothing that really made my heart race or keep my attention plastered to the page. The entire time that Nicholina was possessing Lou, I thought that she would lose her memories. That's what it was leading to - especially when she forgot Ansel and Beau while talking to the crowd of lost souls in her mind. Instead, she comes to with The Maiden's power and all her memories and within moments of that occurring, Reid loses all of his memories?! It was at this moment that if I was any other reader, I probably would've DNF'd. However, I kept going because this had to get better, right?
We go right back to the vibes from the first book: severe enemies-to-lovers. Reid absolutely loathes Lou again and wants to kill her for being a witch. Eventually, it's his lust for her that begins to redeem his memories and helps him see the "gold threads" again. Let me repeat that: sex helps him get his witchy powers back. Excuse me? That was the most anticlimactic and frustrating way for him to have that breakthrough.
Also, there was hardly any final battle. Beau lights Lou on fire, Claud kind of took over with his tree god thing, and Coco's mom dies (that entire scene is so gruesome that I was actually nauseous). There are several holes in the story that bother me now and I'll forget about later because I just don't care that much.
The only redeeming parts of this book were when Ansel showed up. Yes, yes, I know he's dead. He should never have died in the first place though and his character is really the only one I ever liked, so his appearances helped a little bit. Finding out at the beginning that he was the spectral dog - and the way he helps Lou beat Nicholina - was really sweet. The final chapter being his perspective of Reid and Lou's official wedding was also sweet. If only he was ALIVE.
Big sigh. This series just isn't it for me. A grand total of 2-stars for the whole trilogy.
Oof. This was an interesting end to this series. If you've read my reviews for the previous two, then you already know that this is not even close to my favorite series. I had a tough time with Serpent & Dove, primarily because the narrator of the audiobook really ruined the experience. I thought Blood & Honey would redeem it and that could possibly be one of my least favorite books of all time. Gods & Monsters was the final chance and... well, you can see my rating.
I will state right now that this was leaps and bounds better than Blood & Honey. But there were just so many things I disliked about it as well. It was really, really slow for the first 2/3 of the book. There were exciting moments, to be sure, but nothing that really made my heart race or keep my attention plastered to the page. The entire time that Nicholina was possessing Lou, I thought that she would lose her memories. That's what it was leading to - especially when she forgot Ansel and Beau while talking to the crowd of lost souls in her mind. Instead, she comes to with The Maiden's power and all her memories and within moments of that occurring, Reid loses all of his memories?! It was at this moment that if I was any other reader, I probably would've DNF'd. However, I kept going because this had to get better, right?
We go right back to the vibes from the first book: severe enemies-to-lovers. Reid absolutely loathes Lou again and wants to kill her for being a witch. Eventually, it's his lust for her that begins to redeem his memories and helps him see the "gold threads" again. Let me repeat that: sex helps him get his witchy powers back. Excuse me? That was the most anticlimactic and frustrating way for him to have that breakthrough.
Also, there was hardly any final battle. Beau lights Lou on fire, Claud kind of took over with his tree god thing, and Coco's mom dies (that entire scene is so gruesome that I was actually nauseous). There are several holes in the story that bother me now and I'll forget about later because I just don't care that much.
The only redeeming parts of this book were when Ansel showed up. Yes, yes, I know he's dead. He should never have died in the first place though and his character is really the only one I ever liked, so his appearances helped a little bit. Finding out at the beginning that he was the spectral dog - and the way he helps Lou beat Nicholina - was really sweet. The final chapter being his perspective of Reid and Lou's official wedding was also sweet. If only he was ALIVE.
Big sigh. This series just isn't it for me. A grand total of 2-stars for the whole trilogy.
Content Warnings
Graphic: Gore, Blood, Murder, and Death
Moderate: Cannibalism, Cursing, Emotional abuse, and Fire/Fire injury
Minor: Grief
powellki's review against another edition
adventurous
challenging
emotional
hopeful
fast-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? A mix
- Strong character development? It's complicated
- Loveable characters? Yes
- Diverse cast of characters? Yes
- Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes
4.5
Content Warnings
Graphic: Blood, Body horror, Cannibalism, Child death, Confinement, Cursing, Death, Emotional abuse, Grief, Kidnapping, Medical trauma, Murder, Misogyny, Panic attacks/disorders, Physical abuse, Sexism, Sexual content, Slavery, Stalking, Violence, and War
Moderate: Abandonment, Alcoholism, Animal death, Child death, Cursing, Death, Gaslighting, and Grief
lisa_marie04's review against another edition
adventurous
emotional
hopeful
fast-paced
- 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
3.75
It wasn’t as good as I had hoped it to be. Some cliches were fallen into that I feel the story would have been better without. Overall, I love these characters and am satisfied with the ending
Content Warnings
Moderate: Sexual content
Minor: Cannibalism
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