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emeraldrina'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: Gore, Sexual assault, Drug use, Vomit, Violence, and Murder
Moderate: Addiction, Excrement, Cursing, Adult/minor relationship, Domestic abuse, Murder, Rape, Classism, Injury/Injury detail, Death, Drug abuse, Abandonment, and Blood
Minor: Cancer
whiterabbit_metta'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
4.25
Graphic: Addiction, Domestic abuse, Gaslighting, Murder, Sexism, Sexual content, Body horror, Death, Physical abuse, Rape, Emotional abuse, Medical content, Blood, Gore, Grief, Gun violence, Sexual violence, Terminal illness, Violence, Drug abuse, Injury/Injury detail, Medical trauma, Slavery, Sexual assault, and Vomit
Minor: Abandonment
praptireads's review against another edition
5.0
im going to just say this rn but i liked this as much as i liked six of crows. which is saying a lot. for entirely different reasons tho. this was a paranormal fantasy heavily entwined with the real world and also very much an adult novel. it was dark and sinister and honestly spooked me too much sometimes but i absolutely cannot and will not complain, because as always leigh bardugo served. the plot, the characters, the twists, the heart wrenching backstories, this had it all.
the concept itself had me hooked from the beginning. i loved alex, the mc, so so much. she's deeply flawed and messed up but has become one of my favourite protagonists. i also loved darlington because he is literally everything tbh. he's literally described as the golden boy. he's incredibly smart, charismatic and inquisitive, and above all, a gentleman.
tl ; dr, it's LEIGH BARDUGO, just read it. deserves as much hype as the grishaverse. ‼️make sure to check trigger warnings ‼️
Graphic: Excrement, Suicide, Misogyny, Drug abuse, Gore, Addiction, Blood, Body horror, Sexual harassment, Murder, Abandonment, and Death
patienceholmes'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: Drug abuse, Drug use, Murder, Sexual assault, Death, Violence, Toxic relationship, Pedophilia, Rape, and Sexual violence
Moderate: Blood, Bullying, Addiction, Domestic abuse, Emotional abuse, and Injury/Injury detail
Minor: Abandonment, Gore, Grief, Sexism, Torture, Racism, Sexual harassment, Terminal illness, Alcohol, Infidelity, Misogyny, Physical abuse, Gun violence, Medical content, Vomit, Antisemitism, Cancer, Classism, Cursing, and Gaslighting
faduma's review against another edition
- Plot- or character-driven? A mix
- Strong character development? No
- Loveable characters? Yes
- Diverse cast of characters? N/A
- Flaws of characters a main focus? It's complicated
1.5
Graphic: Adult/minor relationship, Blood, Misogyny, Medical content, Medical trauma, Sexual harassment, Sexual violence, Torture, Abandonment, Animal cruelty, Animal death, Grief, Gun violence, Injury/Injury detail, Rape, Alcohol, Body horror, Confinement, Death, Drug abuse, Drug use, Emotional abuse, Gore, Murder, Physical abuse, Pedophilia, Self harm, Sexual assault, Alcoholism, Domestic abuse, and Violence
msradiosilence's review against another edition
- Plot- or character-driven? A mix
- Strong character development? Yes
- Loveable characters? It's complicated
- Diverse cast of characters? It's complicated
- Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes
2.25
Content warnings at the bottom. :)
I have quite a few gripes with this one. Listen, I love dark academia as much as the next Master’s student, but I don’t like authors writing outside of their lane.
There’s been a ton of (very fair) criticism about Leigh Bardugo, a white person, writing from the perspective of a Latina woman who has the ‘did not earn her place’ stereotype at a prestigious university. There are PLENTY of racists out there who 100% believe that Black, Indigenous, and other people of color don’t earn the spots they have at colleges and universities, and are rather only there because they’re being used to meet a quota, and subsequently taking the spot of some deserving white person, which is entirely FALSE. This is RACIST. And this is
This is a huge issue, and one that GREATLY dropped my review of a book I think I otherwise would have enjoyed. Secret societies? Yes, give it to me. Murder? Absolutely. A character that can see ghosts? Hell yeah. But it’s all overshadowed by the fact that Bardugo chose to write a character like Alex.
I’ll probably read the second one, considering I have it already, but I don’t think I’ll be buying the others. If I’m really pressed about the mystery, I’ll just google it.
Rating: 2.25
Would I recommend? No. I refuse to recommend books I disagree with on a morality issue.
Content warnings: Rape (implied, discussed), Sexual Assault (on page), Child Rape (on page), Gaslighting, Alcohol, Death, Drug use, Drug abuse, Overdose, Gun violence, Alcoholism, Grief, Injury/Injury detail, Murder (on page), Violence, Abandonment, Addiction, Racism, Vomit, Blood, Body horror, and Gore
Graphic: Abandonment, Addiction, Alcohol, Alcoholism, Gun violence, Blood, Death, Drug abuse, Gore, Violence, Body horror, Drug use, Racism, Vomit, Grief, Gaslighting, Injury/Injury detail, and Murder
chronicacademia'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
5.0
Graphic: Addiction, Alcoholism, Blood, Domestic abuse, Drug abuse, Grief, Vomit, Body horror, Drug use, Excrement, Adult/minor relationship, Sexual violence, Death, Abandonment, Gore, Injury/Injury detail, Murder, Physical abuse, Sexual assault, Racism, Racial slurs, Alcohol, Pedophilia, Rape, Sexual harassment, and Violence
Minor: Cancer
jcavey'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
4.0
Graphic: Sexual assault, Abandonment, and Addiction
kassidyreads's review against another edition
- Plot- or character-driven? A mix
- Strong character development? No
- Loveable characters? It's complicated
- Diverse cast of characters? Yes
- Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes
3.5
Graphic: Gore, Death, Murder, Addiction, Rape, Violence, Injury/Injury detail, Drug abuse, and Drug use
Moderate: Adult/minor relationship, Abandonment, and Toxic relationship
bffbookclubbritt's review against another edition
- Plot- or character-driven? Character
- Strong character development? Yes
- Loveable characters? It's complicated
- Diverse cast of characters? Yes
- Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes
5.0
Alex Stern has something the secret societies at Yale want - she can see ghosts. Despite her troubled past, she gets a full ride to the prestigious school where she is mentored by the pretentious Darlington. After a murder close to campus brings Alex and Darlington on the brink of something off about the societies, Darlington goes missing and it’s up to Alex to find him.
This book is so unique and soooooo dark. I love Bardugo’s take on the ability to see ghosts and the way she builds this magic system very slowly. Alex is so cool and rough around the edges, which makes her perfect for a strong character arc.
Never have I ever had a book boyfriend who has shown up less in a novel. How is Darlington the best character and he’s in the novel the least? That’s good writing, my friends.
My only beef with the novel is that the beginning was sooooo confusing. I’m glad I pushed through though and when I re-read the beginning I was like “oh yes I know what this all means now,” ha!
5/5 ghostie stars!
Graphic: Injury/Injury detail, Rape, Drug abuse, Death, Blood, and Gore
Moderate: Abandonment and Adult/minor relationship