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dizzyizzyy's review against another edition
- Plot- or character-driven? A mix
- Strong character development? No
- Loveable characters? Yes
- Diverse cast of characters? Yes
- Flaws of characters a main focus? No
5.0
Graphic: Animal death, Blood, Gore, Injury/Injury detail, Confinement, and Body horror
Moderate: Torture, Alcohol, and War
Minor: Sexism
vixenreader's review against another edition
- Plot- or character-driven? A mix
- Strong character development? It's complicated
- Loveable characters? Yes
- Diverse cast of characters? Yes
- Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes
4.25
Graphic: Medical trauma, Torture, Gore, Medical content, War, Gun violence, Violence, Grief, Mental illness, Alcohol, Animal death, Blood, Death, and Body horror
Moderate: Confinement, Death of parent, Injury/Injury detail, Gaslighting, and Cursing
Minor: Sexual content
Be aware that there are instances of PTSD, violation of a grave, hallucinations, taking one’s breath, suffocation, insomnia and exhaustion, flashbacks to war, and colliding cultural practices.yogomagpie's review against another edition
- Plot- or character-driven? Plot
- Strong character development? No
- Loveable characters? Yes
- Diverse cast of characters? Yes
- Flaws of characters a main focus? No
4.0
Graphic: Death, Gore, Animal death, Body horror, Gun violence, and War
Moderate: Alcohol and Medical content
wordsareworlds's review against another edition
- 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
3.0
I found myself getting caught up in the way Kingfisher sets this in the fictional country of Gallacia (not to be confused with Galicia, which I did), but plops it down in the middle of real Europe with all its actual history. The myth at play in this book is of the moroi, so there are strong Romanian elements, but honestly the less you think about it the better off you'll be. Vibes only.
This book is also even more self aware than her other works, and I find that the tropes she's using work better when they're not being lampshaded by the character breaking the fourth wall to address the reader to do so. After about the 60% mark she commits to the tone and the entire book gets much better for it.
Overall, I enjoyed it fine but by far not my favorite of Kingfisher's horror works. I'd recommend it for people who want to dip their toe into fantasy horror without being too scared and can be assured of a good outcome.
Graphic: War
Moderate: Chronic illness, Grief, and Death
aseel_reads'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? It's complicated
4.0
Graphic: Animal death, Body horror, War, Gun violence, and Gore
Moderate: Death, Murder, and Mental illness
Minor: Rape and Sexism
meltingpages's review against another edition
- Plot- or character-driven? Plot
- Strong character development? No
- Loveable characters? Yes
- Diverse cast of characters? Yes
- Flaws of characters a main focus? It's complicated
4.0
Moderate: Body horror, War, Chronic illness, and Animal cruelty
librarymouse'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? It's complicated
4.5
Graphic: Death, Medical trauma, Mental illness, Violence, War, Alcohol, Body horror, Medical content, Grief, Gun violence, and Injury/Injury detail
While there is no intentional cruelty, there is animal injury during a dream sequence in the last third of the book. More detail is listed in the spoiler part of my review.thegayestghost's review against another edition
- Plot- or character-driven? A mix
- Strong character development? No
- Loveable characters? Yes
- Diverse cast of characters? No
- Flaws of characters a main focus? No
4.25
Graphic: Blood, Body horror, Animal cruelty, Injury/Injury detail, and War
matcha_cat's review against another edition
- Plot- or character-driven? A mix
- Strong character development? It's complicated
- Loveable characters? Yes
- Diverse cast of characters? Yes
- Flaws of characters a main focus? No
3.5
Graphic: Body horror
Moderate: Alcohol, Injury/Injury detail, and Violence
Minor: Animal death, Blood, and War
meaghanelizabook'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? No
3.0
Graphic: Animal death, Violence, Body horror, Death, Gore, Gun violence, and War
Moderate: Alcohol