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magical_sof'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
4.5
Despite that, all the characters are loveable. Penelope is quite the foil to Simon and their friendship is great, she provides a lot of insight and chuckles in this book. The whole cast of characters really grow and you learn their secrets as you go along which kept me engaged throughout the whole story (lots of twists and turns and surprises). Something else I loved about this book was the chapters being written from different characters' perspectives. I think this makes books more interesting and I loved the different view points. It made especially tense scenes more exciting and fast paced! I loved that.
If you're looking for a queer magical school fantasy world with LITERALLY every AO3 trope, this is the book for you. It looks hefty, but its a fast read.
Moderate: Death, Blood, and Violence
the_chocolate_bookshelf'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
4.5
Moderate: Blood, War, and Vomit
Minor: Cursing
brynn_books's review against another edition
4.0
The magic system was also kind of confusing, it took me basically the whole book to understand it and I still don’t get it.
Towards the end of the book, there was just plot twist after plot twist after plot twist that was so beautifully executed and I loved everything about. It was like I was getting whiplash.
I loved the dynamic between Penny and Simon. I loved their friendship and just seeing a great friendship represented in this book was awesome and I love how it was a platonic friendship and how nothing romantic was going on between them.
I do have to say that Agatha annoyed me several times throughout this book and she was probably my least favorite character but I didn’t care as much because I was just focused on Penny, Simon and Baz.
I try not to take this too seriously. It kind of reads like poorly written fanfiction. But I love Baz and Simon (especially Baz). The worst part of this book was the first 100 or so pages before Baz showed up. That part was so frustrating to read. Overall, this was a pretty average read.
Graphic: Death and Death of parent
Moderate: Blood, Violence, Kidnapping, and Animal death
foldingthepage_kayleigh's review against another edition
- Plot- or character-driven? Character
- Strong character development? Yes
- Loveable characters? Yes
- Diverse cast of characters? No
- Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes
4.0
Graphic: Murder
Moderate: Violence, Homophobia, Animal death, and Blood
maevemil'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
Graphic: Death, Murder, and Violence
Moderate: Blood
Minor: War
strange_little_ranger'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
4.5
Graphic: Blood, Death, Death of parent, and Fire/Fire injury
Minor: Animal death, Mental illness, Murder, Panic attacks/disorders, Vomit, Death, Drug use, Grief, Violence, Animal cruelty, Blood, Alcohol, Death of parent, Fire/Fire injury, Homophobia, Injury/Injury detail, and Suicidal thoughts
frannyd'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
4.75
Graphic: Death, Death of parent, and Abandonment
Moderate: Blood, Classism, Suicide, Bullying, Fire/Fire injury, and Grief
directorpurry's review against another edition
- Plot- or character-driven? A mix
- Strong character development? Yes
- Diverse cast of characters? It's complicated
- Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes
1.25
Graphic: Kidnapping
Moderate: Death of parent and Blood
emilyg0663's review against another edition
4.0
Another interesting thing is how the chapters are split up. Being able to hear everyone’s side of the story and cut from 1 character to anything didn’t stop me from having favourites, but also meant that my opinion of each character could be justified cause I’ve met every single one of them. I’ve heard their opinions, their biases and how their brains react to the situations around them. It’s brilliant!
My reason for the 4 starts however is that I felt the ending was incredibly rushed. It makes sense now that there are 2 other sequels to go along with the world, but there is no cliffhanger to link the next book. The finale happens out of nowhere which feels very rushed, leaving us more frustrated with questions than conclusions. And it wasn’t a satisfying ending, which disappointed me because I loved the beginning and middle so much.
But maybe that’s a good thing as a trilogy book, leaving us wanting more. But as a stand along ending, it just finished quickly.
Moderate: Blood
Minor: Kidnapping and Sexual content
vaguely_pink'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: Abandonment, Bullying, Confinement, Suicidal thoughts, Toxic relationship, Death of parent, Fire/Fire injury, and Kidnapping
Moderate: Blood, Cursing, Homophobia, Suicide attempt, Child abuse, Domestic abuse, Emotional abuse, Grief, Animal death, Biphobia, Classism, Murder, Violence, Death, and Toxic relationship
Minor: Physical abuse, Alcohol, Body shaming, Injury/Injury detail, Panic attacks/disorders, Pregnancy, Eating disorder, Mental illness, Vomit, and War