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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
miaaa_lenaaa'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
‘But he'd run out of things to believe in. Magic was all he had left. He was a boy on an adventure, not a boy swallowing poison… Magic had almost killed him, but in the end it had saved him. Just like in stories.’
‘Her skin looked sallow and her arms had the lean, ropy look of someone who would never be full. She could see pink from her wound seeping through the wool of her dress; her new bandage must have come loose at the edges. She'd meant to look reputable, like a good girl, a girl who tried, someone to be trusted. Instead, she looked like the monster at the door.’
Graphic: Addiction, Drug abuse, Murder, Rape, Violence, Vomit, Blood, Body horror, Gun violence, Excrement, Drug use, Grief, Child abuse, Death, Sexual assault, Sexual content, and Toxic relationship
ptoridactyl30's review against another edition
- Plot- or character-driven? A mix
- Strong character development? Yes
- Loveable characters? Yes
- Diverse cast of characters? No
- Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes
Graphic: Rape, Sexual violence, Child abuse, Death, Drug abuse, Gun violence, Mental illness, Addiction, Body horror, Injury/Injury detail, Physical abuse, and Sexual assault
koerli'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: Sexual assault, Death, Murder, Gun violence, Addiction, Violence, Physical abuse, Drug use, Drug abuse, and Mental illness
emilymax21'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
So so good. My only complaints were minor.
It took a few chapters for my neurodivergent brain to truly become invested, but I am glad I kept going. I love how she introduces characters, the flow of the story, and the very rough very real themes addressed in a book about Magic. I liked that the inner workings of the magic were not a large plot point, yet the world building still felt complete. It truly felt like we were seeing it as the characters did, and that the narrator was not just an impartial factual 3rd party . I love that this was so different from Leigh's other books, but was just as intriguing
One Note: on Page 24 she says Darlington wears white gloves to handle raremanuscripts, but that is actually not how to do it!
Clean dry hands are best!!
Graphic: Rape, Sexual assault, Murder, and Gun violence
karinahull's review against another edition
- Plot- or character-driven? A mix
- Strong character development? Yes
- Loveable characters? No
- Diverse cast of characters? Yes
- Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes
3.5
Really enjoyed the characters and the world building, could have done without the sexual assault in my opinion but thankfully nothing was extremely graphic. Do look up content warnings before reading please, going in blind was perhaps not the best choice.
Graphic: Mental illness, Drug abuse, Drug use, Murder, Sexual content, Vomit, Rape, Addiction, Death, Domestic abuse, Gun violence, Injury/Injury detail, Sexual violence, Violence, Sexual assault, and Blood
torturedreadersdept'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
5.0
Graphic: Blood, Domestic abuse, Emotional abuse, Gore, Violence, Body horror, Drug abuse, Injury/Injury detail, Rape, Vomit, Gaslighting, Grief, Murder, Sexual assault, Toxic relationship, Sexual content, Cursing, Death, Drug use, and Gun violence
Moderate: Addiction and Alcohol
laurenbb23'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
Graphic: Alcohol, Gun violence, Addiction, Domestic abuse, Gaslighting, Sexual assault, Violence, Child abuse, Drug abuse, Gore, Rape, Murder, Medical trauma, Drug use, Grief, Sexual content, Vomit, Emotional abuse, Sexual harassment, Torture, Physical abuse, Self harm, Alcoholism, Blood, Death, Excrement, Injury/Injury detail, Medical content, and Sexual violence
apierlessbridge's review against another edition
- Plot- or character-driven? A mix
- Strong character development? Yes
- Loveable characters? Yes
- Diverse cast of characters? No
- Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes
4.75
Graphic: Physical abuse, Domestic abuse, Sexual violence, Injury/Injury detail, Gun violence, Murder, Excrement, Gore, Sexual assault, and Death
ddarlington'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
5.0
Graphic: Sexual assault, Rape, Injury/Injury detail, Murder, Medical content, and Self harm
Moderate: Grief, Blood, Body horror, Adult/minor relationship, Vomit, Gun violence, Death, and Child abuse
Minor: Antisemitism