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persephonefoxx's review
dark
mysterious
tense
medium-paced
- 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
Content Warnings
Graphic: Murder, Blood, Violence, and Gore
Moderate: Death, Terminal illness, and Emotional abuse
Minor: Death of parent, Physical abuse, and Grief
nadiaherondale's review against another edition
challenging
mysterious
fast-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? Plot
- Strong character development? No
- Loveable characters? No
- Diverse cast of characters? No
- Flaws of characters a main focus? It's complicated
3.5
A bit predictable and juvenile at times, but honestly, it's YA I get it. The last 25% was a bit rushed honestly, and it infuriated me that Elliot and Tess didn't seem to realize what was going on. And it was also infuriating that they spent half of the book not knowing how to communicate with each other. The plot was interesting with a bit of Dark Academia vibe to it. Overall it's not a bad book, but it's not something special
Content Warnings
Graphic: Emotional abuse, Vomit, Physical abuse, and Blood
Moderate: Terminal illness and Death
readingthroughinfinity's review against another edition
dark
mysterious
tense
slow-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? A mix
- Strong character development? Yes
- Loveable characters? No
- Diverse cast of characters? No
- Flaws of characters a main focus? It's complicated
3.0
Content Warnings
Graphic: Body horror and Death
Moderate: Self harm, Violence, Emotional abuse, Injury/Injury detail, and Physical abuse
hanarama's review against another edition
adventurous
dark
tense
medium-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? A mix
- Strong character development? No
- Loveable characters? It's complicated
- Diverse cast of characters? No
- Flaws of characters a main focus? No
2.75
Cw: abuse (physical, emotional), gore, death, fire, possession
The Good:
• Atmospheric
• Lyrical writing
• Strong premise
The Bad:
• Half-realized villain
• Undefined secondary characters
• Magic system poorly defined
You Might Like This if You Like:
• Riverdale
• The Chilling Adventures of Sabrina
• Supernatural
While a good attempt, I feel like this book needed another draft or two. As it is, the book feels like an especially long episode of a CW show.
My biggest issue is in how the side characters are handled. They're cardboard cutouts at best, and the relationships between the main characters and them is ill defined. For example, much is mad about Tess hating the dean, Dr. Birch, but little reason is given for her to hate him, and he only rarely figures into the narration in Tess's chapters. She never interacts with him in the story. I really have no idea why Eliot (who gets physically/emotionally abused by Dr. Birch) thinks that Tess hates the man as much, if not more than he does. Other characters like Tess's aunt and little sister exist only as plot devices. The world feels really empty because of how little characters seem to exist outside of Tess and Eliot's limited interactions with them.
This extends to the Devil that begins haunting Tess and Eliot. For whatever reason Bovalino decides to give the devil occasional POV chapters. These chapters are very occasional and don't seem to offer much insight into the entity, or even to enhance the dread of the plot. I think it would have helped the pacing if she had either omitted these chapters, or had committed to building up the character more. As is, the devil is a fairly clichéd demon, and is about as paper thin as the other side characters.
Like the side characters, Eliot's magic is very poorly defined. Despite being a central aspect to his character, magic seems tacked on to the story like an afterthought. I feel like it needed further exploration. It feels like magic doesn't typically exist in this world outside of Eliot and this one demon book.
Another gripe I have is that Tess's backstory comes too late in the book. Without knowing her circumstances, she comes off as abrasive and a little ungrateful. She openly hates her job at the library and complains all the time, acting petty towards patrons and her coworker. I think that sharing her backstory earlier, and giving her more opportunity to spend time with her sister would have allowed me to sympathize with her from the start.
Overall mediocre with some good, spooky scenes. Bolavino has a real talent for prose, with an easy, lyrical style. I'd love to see what she writes in the future as she hones her skill further.
The Good:
• Atmospheric
• Lyrical writing
• Strong premise
The Bad:
• Half-realized villain
• Undefined secondary characters
• Magic system poorly defined
You Might Like This if You Like:
• Riverdale
• The Chilling Adventures of Sabrina
• Supernatural
While a good attempt, I feel like this book needed another draft or two. As it is, the book feels like an especially long episode of a CW show.
My biggest issue is in how the side characters are handled. They're cardboard cutouts at best, and the relationships between the main characters and them is ill defined. For example, much is mad about Tess hating the dean, Dr. Birch, but little reason is given for her to hate him, and he only rarely figures into the narration in Tess's chapters. She never interacts with him in the story. I really have no idea why Eliot (who gets physically/emotionally abused by Dr. Birch) thinks that Tess hates the man as much, if not more than he does. Other characters like Tess's aunt and little sister exist only as plot devices. The world feels really empty because of how little characters seem to exist outside of Tess and Eliot's limited interactions with them.
This extends to the Devil that begins haunting Tess and Eliot. For whatever reason Bovalino decides to give the devil occasional POV chapters. These chapters are very occasional and don't seem to offer much insight into the entity, or even to enhance the dread of the plot. I think it would have helped the pacing if she had either omitted these chapters, or had committed to building up the character more. As is, the devil is a fairly clichéd demon, and is about as paper thin as the other side characters.
Like the side characters, Eliot's magic is very poorly defined. Despite being a central aspect to his character, magic seems tacked on to the story like an afterthought. I feel like it needed further exploration. It feels like magic doesn't typically exist in this world outside of Eliot and this one demon book.
Another gripe I have is that Tess's backstory comes too late in the book. Without knowing her circumstances, she comes off as abrasive and a little ungrateful. She openly hates her job at the library and complains all the time, acting petty towards patrons and her coworker. I think that sharing her backstory earlier, and giving her more opportunity to spend time with her sister would have allowed me to sympathize with her from the start.
Overall mediocre with some good, spooky scenes. Bolavino has a real talent for prose, with an easy, lyrical style. I'd love to see what she writes in the future as she hones her skill further.
Content Warnings
Graphic: Gore, Emotional abuse, Physical abuse, Blood, and Fire/Fire injury
cameronreads's review against another edition
dark
mysterious
tense
fast-paced
- 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? No
4.5
Y'all! This reminded me why I love dark academia. It was atmospheric, spooky, and actually scared me at times. I loved the writing and the characters and the plot and twists had me on the edge of my seat. My reactions to this book were completely obscene; cringing in fear, gasping in shock, even holding back tears a couple of times. I loved how it incorporated second person POV, and how scary the devil was made to be. I don't think this book will be for everyone, but it was definitely for me. The perfect Autumn/spooky season read!
Content Warnings
Graphic: Blood, Cancer, Cursing, Death, Death of parent, Gore, Injury/Injury detail, and Self harm
Moderate: Grief and Vomit
Minor: Body horror, Fire/Fire injury, and Physical abuse
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