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holly_n'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: Animal death, Blood, and Murder
Moderate: Alcoholism, Child abuse, Homophobia, and Grief
Minor: Child death, Drug abuse, Sexual assault, and Torture
booksarefriends_notfood'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: Addiction, Alcoholism, Body horror, Cursing, Death, Drug abuse, Violence, Blood, and War
Moderate: Animal death, Child abuse, Child death, Gore, Homophobia, Grief, Religious bigotry, Death of parent, and Injury/Injury detail
Minor: Sexism, Sexual content, and Torture
cakeylu'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
4.5
Graphic: Addiction, Alcoholism, Body horror, Child abuse, Cursing, Death, Drug use, Emotional abuse, Gore, Homophobia, Physical abuse, Sexual content, Suicide, Torture, Violence, Blood, Grief, Religious bigotry, Death of parent, Murder, Fire/Fire injury, Outing, Alcohol, and Injury/Injury detail
Moderate: Animal death, Bullying, and Child death
zoe_mh's review against another edition
- Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes
1.5
Graphic: Death, Gore, Sexual content, and Violence
Moderate: Addiction, Alcoholism, Animal death, and Outing
Minor: Child abuse and Child death
no1willnot'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? It's complicated
4.0
Graphic: Addiction, Animal death, Body horror, Child abuse, Cursing, Death, Drug use, Gore, Sexual content, Violence, Blood, Grief, Alcohol, War, and Injury/Injury detail
Moderate: Bullying, Domestic abuse, Homophobia, Rape, Sexism, Sexual assault, Sexual violence, Torture, and Religious bigotry
It’s a book about vampire wars that centres around a religious order of vampire hunters based heavily in Christianity, so there is a LOT of blood, violence and institutional abusesabrinz'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
4.5
______
700 pages never felt so short (and so full of beautiful art! Those art pieces alone should receive 5 stars). However, I have to give a minor dedication because of the sheer amount of cultures that are thrown around in the book (and for most of them you recognize the actual culture/country they were based on) - sometimes it just felt like a little too much.
Having said that, the story is nothing to frown upon. This book is a fest of vampire stories and movies from the past (the scarily good ones, the brutally ugly ones, and the bloody ones). It tells the story of a vampire slayer and his journey from a once devoted member of the Silver Order to a man, jaded and stooped by his years and fallen from his believes. Locked up in a cell with a vampire chronicles, Gabriel de León tells the story of how exactly he came to be in that cell. And that story ain't all kicks and giggles. There are kicks (and punches, and cuts and sword fights) aplenty, some giggles but also bleak and brutal story telling (very reminiscent of Nevernight).
If you pick up this book, you better buckle up for a ride, mes amis!
I don't really want to say much more about the story, apart from that it jumps between three times (the now with Gabriel being imprisoned, the beginning of how he came to be a vampire slayer and the bit in between).
I honestly have to say I did not like him at first, but the more I read the more he grew on me ... like moss. It seems annoying at first, but it's soft and nice - and by the end of this book, my heart was breaking for him (and many other people).
This story has evil vampires a plenty, gore, slaying, cursing and really, really good lines and sentiments, but above all the thing that hit me most was the damn tragedy of it all.
I have answer for a few questions I picked up along the way, some are still unanswered and by the last 100 pages I had more new questions on my list of things that need to be talked about. So now all I can do is patiently wait for book 2.
Graphic: Death, Gore, Violence, Blood, Murder, and Injury/Injury detail
Moderate: Animal death, Domestic abuse, Drug use, Torture, Religious bigotry, and Death of parent
Minor: Child abuse, Homophobia, Suicide attempt, and Outing
sennaje's review against another edition
- Plot- or character-driven? A mix
- Strong character development? It's complicated
- Loveable characters? It's complicated
- Diverse cast of characters? Yes
- Flaws of characters a main focus? It's complicated
5.0
Graphic: Alcoholism, Animal death, Body horror, Child abuse, Child death, Confinement, Death, Drug abuse, Drug use, Gore, Blood, Grief, Death of parent, and Injury/Injury detail
foreverinastory's review against another edition
- Plot- or character-driven? Character
- Strong character development? It's complicated
- Loveable characters? It's complicated
- Diverse cast of characters? It's complicated
- Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes
Rep: Achillean Black male side character, achillean male side character, two sapphic female side characters, various BIPOC side characters.
CWs: Alcohol consumption/alcoholism, animal death, blood, body shaming, child abuse, cursing, death, death of parent, fire/fire injury, gore, homophobia, injury/injury detail, misogyny, murder, religious bigotry, sexism, sexual content, torture, violence, war.
Graphic: Alcoholism, Animal death, Body shaming, Child abuse, Cursing, Death, Gore, Homophobia, Misogyny, Sexism, Sexual content, Torture, Violence, Blood, Religious bigotry, Death of parent, Murder, Fire/Fire injury, Alcohol, War, and Injury/Injury detail
t_higgsreviews'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
Re-Read = 26 October 2022
5 Stars
CAWPILE = 9.43
In the sight of the Seven Martyrs I declare this book a masterpiece! I've taken a while to write this because it's impossible to go into too much about what I loved about it without spoiling anything but I'll give it a shot. It's a dark, snarky, multi-layered, gore-filled deep dive into what a world without sunlight and inhabited by vampires would be like. This has great, immersive world building, complex and flawed characters as well as a rollercoaster of a plot that will have you feeling ALL the emotions. Now just to wait on book 2 with bated breath and pine for yet another thing that Jay Kristoff has come up with that doesn't exist.
Graphic: Addiction, Child death, Confinement, Cursing, Death, Drug use, Genocide, Gore, Sexual content, Blood, Grief, Murder, and Alcohol
Moderate: Child abuse, Homophobia, Misogyny, Forced institutionalization, Excrement, Vomit, and Gaslighting
Minor: Pregnancy