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theodorawhitly'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
That was a hell of a ride. In the best way possible.
I'm not easily impressed by the books I read, but this one somehow managed to pleasantly surprise me.
Admittedly, it was kind of confusing in the beginning. Maybe because there is no beginning. You get thrown right in the middle of the story, and it takes some time to figure out what is going on. I even had to double check it was actually the first book in the series. It is, and apparently it's just how this book is supposed to unravel. It sounds a bit complicated, but it's totally worth it.
The plot is incredibly engaging, the writing gets you hooked, so even when you don't quite understand what's happening, you want to understand, so you stick to reading.
What makes it even better is characters. They feel real, they are multi-dimensional, they are likeable.
I loved the main character, Alex. She is not your usual fantasy book MC who can do no wrong. She is not a typical fish-out-of-water character who spends most of the book being helpless, clueless and pathetic. She's not that type of a pretentious antihero who keeps whining " I am a monster" without showing absolutely any remotely monstrous qualities either. She is real - survivor, fighter, incredibly adaptable and self-reliant. She looks out for herself. And she is sympathetic enough to root for her.
The book is dark(very dark, actually), but I love darkness. It deals with very heavy topics, but it doesn't make it worse. A brilliant story.
Graphic: Death and Blood
Moderate: Drug abuse, Physical abuse, Sexual assault, Excrement, and Sexual violence
Minor: Cursing
anastashamarie's review against another edition
- Plot- or character-driven? Plot
- Strong character development? It's complicated
- Loveable characters? Yes
- Diverse cast of characters? Yes
- Flaws of characters a main focus? No
5.0
⚠️THIS IS NOT A YA SERIES, IT CONTAINS MATURE THEMES. I've seen a lot of folks surprised by the content; I lost trigger warnings in my "considerations" section below to help make an informed decision
📜I need to start of by saying that I've never read anything by this author, even through the Grishaverse has been on my TBR for a while. Other than knowing that Leigh Bardugo is widely loved and that it was a dark academia fantasy (which is quickly becoming a fave subgenre of mine), I went into this totally blind. And man, did I thoroughly enjoy it.
🔮 Why was it great?
• The world building is awesome. Soft magic system with lots of paranormal/supernatural elements. Realistic but "off" setting. (Someone said Stephen King, and I could see that.) Very immersive, likely influenced by the author actually holding alum status at Yale.
• Interesting story weaving: Alternating timeframes (before to now) and perspectives (Darlington's vs Alex's) showed how the MCs worlds intertwined. The confusion, slow reveal of the world, and missed references make me relate to Alex more (though I already do in a lot of ways -- first gen college student at "fancy" university, imposture syndrome, trying to balance my personal sh*t with my school work and overwhelming job). Excellent literary choice in terms of matching tone and theming to info given.
• Gentle exploration of classism & privilege in higher ed. Nothing has heavy-handed as some dark academia can be, but very present through in a way that enhanced the story and character development.
• I related to little pieces of a lot of the characters, which made a lot of this hit close to home. The emotions in this hit hard for me. Also, I especially loved Dawes; she speaks to my PhD candidate heart in a way few other characters can.
• I switched between the audiobook and the paperback due to time constraints on this. Both are great options.
🐍 Considerations if you want to read it:
• This is an ADULT paranormal crime novel. There is no romance in it, but it definitely covers adult themes. TWs: blood, violence, drug use, death, overdose, sexual assault
• Early parts of the book felt a little slow, almost like a minute-by-minute play of present day, like watching it unfold IRL, boardering on slice-of-life if your life involved secret societies. I don't mind this, but I know a slow build isn't everyone's cup of tea.
• A lot of folks complained about "not understanding the references" which is sort of the point. Alex is confused, and I think in a lot of ways we are meant to be too to understand that. I also think the extra details/history/lore that you can look up are part of the fun because this book is very well researched and a lot of what's included has toes to real life things. It's almost worth two reads: one for the plot and one to go back and dig up everything they reference. But I don't think the homework is at all necessary if you go in with the understanding that you don't NEED the details to grasp the plot.
📖 I don't have any criticisms. I just absolutely adored this one.
Graphic: Blood, Murder, Sexual assault, Sexual violence, Death, Classism, Drug abuse, Violence, Addiction, Drug use, Injury/Injury detail, and Rape
Moderate: Alcohol, Cursing, Domestic abuse, Emotional abuse, Misogyny, Gun violence, Physical abuse, Vomit, Grief, and Gore
Minor: Racism, Sexual content, and Schizophrenia/Psychosis
alisonluongo'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
Graphic: Blood, Cursing, Sexual assault, Vomit, Gore, Injury/Injury detail, Body horror, Classism, Drug use, Rape, Adult/minor relationship, Mental illness, Murder, Sexual content, Emotional abuse, Excrement, Grief, Medical content, Sexual violence, Addiction, and Death
fantaiil'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: Toxic relationship, Sexual content, Rape, Violence, Sexual violence, and Sexual harassment
Moderate: Drug abuse, Alcohol, Gore, Drug use, Emotional abuse, Addiction, Domestic abuse, Blood, Classism, and Cursing
Minor: Torture, Islamophobia, and Toxic friendship
sam_wal's review against another edition
- Plot- or character-driven? Plot
- Strong character development? Yes
- Loveable characters? It's complicated
- Diverse cast of characters? Yes
- Flaws of characters a main focus? No
4.25
Graphic: Grief, Blood, Murder, Injury/Injury detail, Mental illness, Death, Sexual assault, Cursing, Gore, Drug use, Rape, Addiction, and Drug abuse
Moderate: Emotional abuse, Child abuse, Confinement, Violence, Alcohol, Sexual content, Fire/Fire injury, Medical trauma, and Physical abuse
oliviah1111'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
3.75
Graphic: Addiction, Alcohol, Child abuse, Drug abuse, Medical content, Rape, Sexual assault, Bullying, Cursing, Alcoholism, Blood, Injury/Injury detail, Toxic relationship, and Death
lesejaguar's review against another edition
- Plot- or character-driven? Plot
- Strong character development? Yes
- Loveable characters? No
- Diverse cast of characters? Yes
- Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes
4.0
Graphic: Death and Drug use
Moderate: Cursing, Vomit, and Blood
Minor: Murder and Excrement
samreadssometimes's review against another edition
- Plot- or character-driven? Plot
- Strong character development? Yes
- Loveable characters? Yes
- Diverse cast of characters? It's complicated
- Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes
4.5
Graphic: Murder, Death, Sexual content, Violence, Medical content, Mental illness, Self harm, Sexual assault, Drug use, Grief, Addiction, Blood, Cursing, Drug abuse, Excrement, Gore, and Injury/Injury detail
kaycie51782'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? It's complicated
4.5
This book wasn't at all what I was expecting, but that wasn't a bad thing. It's about secret societies at Yale. The story is well written. The jumps between timelines are well done, though there were a few times I got lost and had to back up to figure out what happened.
The story was very interesting: what if you could see ghosts and no one believed you, so it ruins your life... Until it gets you a free ride to a premier Ivy League University.
The plot moves along at a good pace. I never really felt like it was dragging, but it also wasn't action all the time. There's magic, ghosts, intrigue, humans being humans (for good and bad), college parties, murder investigations. It's a fascinating story.
And the ending? Perfect. I went to the library the minute it opened the next day to get the sequel!
It's a good read, but heed the content warnings. They are in context with the story. They aren't necessary (and I'm increasingly annoyed that they are used as plot devices) but they don't stick out as egregious either.
Moderate: Sexual harassment, Sexual assault, Sexual content, Vomit, Drug abuse, Drug use, Blood, Domestic abuse, Medical content, Physical abuse, Violence, Suicidal thoughts, Child abuse, Cursing, Death, Murder, Addiction, Rape, Sexual violence, Bullying, and Excrement
dokushoka's review against another edition
- Plot- or character-driven? Plot
- Strong character development? Yes
- Loveable characters? It's complicated
- Diverse cast of characters? Yes
- Flaws of characters a main focus? It's complicated
4.25
Graphic: Injury/Injury detail, Murder, Violence, Cursing, Drug abuse, and Drug use
Moderate: Rape, Sexual assault, Torture, and Sexual violence
Minor: Blood, Mental illness, Panic attacks/disorders, Addiction, Death, and Adult/minor relationship