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karouty'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
3.5
Graphic: Drug abuse, Addiction, Murder, and Drug use
michaelat21's review against another edition
- Plot- or character-driven? A mix
- Strong character development? It's complicated
- Loveable characters? No
- Diverse cast of characters? Yes
- Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes
1.5
Graphic: Drug abuse, Addiction, Alcohol, Animal cruelty, Animal death, Medical trauma, Drug use, Gun violence, Injury/Injury detail, Mental illness, Murder, Sexual content, and Toxic friendship
agooding's review
- 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
4.0
Graphic: Drug use, Drug abuse, and Addiction
Moderate: Animal death and Gore
Minor: Murder
kristinrdub's review against another edition
5.0
Graphic: Addiction, Injury/Injury detail, Drug abuse, Drug use, Vomit, and Violence
Moderate: Gore
Minor: Animal cruelty and Animal death
sienna727's review against another edition
- Plot- or character-driven? A mix
- Strong character development? No
- Loveable characters? No
- Diverse cast of characters? Yes
- Flaws of characters a main focus? No
0.25
This is NOT a YA book and the story and characters are incredibly messed up.
0/5
Graphic: Drug abuse, Addiction, Drug use, Animal death, Animal cruelty, Homophobia, Rape, and Sexual assault
sassper17'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
3.5
Graphic: Addiction, Drug use, and Drug abuse
Moderate: Sexual content, Sexual assault, and Death
Minor: Adult/minor relationship, Animal cruelty, and Animal death
sleeping_jem'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
4.0
Generally darker and grittier in tone than Tithe, potential readers should be aware that this story features sensitive topics such as homelessness and drug abuse. The romance element is once again quite light but does end up being a driving factor in the story.
Val is a complex character who often confounds or frustrates the reader but is nonetheless an interesting protagonist. Her actions feel in line with the behaviour of a struggling teenager who feels abandoned by her friends and family, even if they are often misguided and lead to trouble.
The setting of New York city is an unlikely place for a faerie story - a bold choice which expands on the worldbuilding begun in Tithe but might have been a bit more clear or detailed at times.
The cast of supporting characters (including the love interest) felt slightly under-developed; while morally ambiguous characters are realistic, the four friends Val spends time with all have similar temperaments and flaws, making them slightly indistinguishable. Several of them have no backstory whatsoever, and the characters who do recieve very little time to explore their respective pasts.
Overall, a well-written and unique book which doesn't hesitate to explore the darkest parts of both the human and faerie worlds. My main criticism lies in the fact that I couldn't help but feel while I was reading this book that it mainly served to set up the final book in the series.
Graphic: Addiction, Drug abuse, and Drug use
Moderate: Animal death
Minor: Injury/Injury detail and Violence
fiercereadsfiction's review against another edition
- Plot- or character-driven? Character
- Strong character development? It's complicated
- Loveable characters? Yes
- Diverse cast of characters? No
- Flaws of characters a main focus? It's complicated
4.0
Graphic: Drug use and Drug abuse
Moderate: Addiction and Violence
Minor: Adult/minor relationship
camiclarkbooks's review against another edition
- Plot- or character-driven? Character
- Strong character development? Yes
- Loveable characters? Yes
- Diverse cast of characters? Yes
- Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes
4.5
As in the first book, Black weaves a story that balances between showing the wondrous parts of fairyland and the wicked side. She puts her human characters through it, especially the main character Val.
This book was dark in a different way than “Tithe,” with much of the story centered around the main characters’ abuse of a fictional drug called Nevermore.
Graphic: Bullying, Injury/Injury detail, Murder, Classism, Drug use, Addiction, Blood, and Drug abuse
Moderate: Death, Cursing, and Adult/minor relationship
eloisenicolina'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? No
3.5
Graphic: Animal death, Animal cruelty, and Addiction
Moderate: Sexual assault