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locajohanna's review
- Plot- or character-driven? Plot
- 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
2.5
Graphic: Body horror, Bullying, Child abuse, Death, Domestic abuse, Drug abuse, Drug use, Emotional abuse, Gore, Physical abuse, Rape, Sexual assault, Sexual violence, Toxic relationship, Violence, Murder, and Injury/Injury detail
Moderate: Addiction, Animal cruelty, Animal death, Racism, Police brutality, Suicide attempt, and Alcohol
cady_sass'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? It's complicated
2.5
The entirety of this novel is about Darlington, which, as I said in my review of Ninth House, we don’t know nearly enough about nor did we spend enough time with him in the first book to actually care about him. Everything else about the world they built falls away and the only thing that matters is finding Darlington and bringing him home, and the hell that comes along with it (pun intended). To that point, it’s completely nonsensical and out of character for any of these characters to care about Darlington too, except for Pam who is by far the best part of the whole book. Tucker has no reason to join them in their endeavors. The friend (I literally already forget his name) has no reason to risk his life here. ALEX has no real reason here either- they make a point, over and over again, to tell us how she feels nothing and everything she does is self serving. NONSENSE, all of it.
I get that this might do it for some people but for me it’s a let down. I’m sorry, I just don’t care about Darlington. Give me more secret society shady dealings and unsanctioned rituals and detective work and leave the hell portals at home.
Graphic: Animal cruelty, Animal death, Body horror, Cursing, Death, Misogyny, Sexism, Sexual content, Toxic relationship, Violence, Blood, Vomit, Medical content, Kidnapping, Death of parent, Murder, Fire/Fire injury, Toxic friendship, Abandonment, Alcohol, Injury/Injury detail, and Classism
megannoelle'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
4.0
Graphic: Addiction, Animal cruelty, Animal death, Body horror, Cursing, Death, Drug abuse, Drug use, Emotional abuse, Gore, Sexual content, Violence, Blood, Vomit, Grief, Suicide attempt, Death of parent, Murder, Alcohol, and Injury/Injury detail
kaycie51782's review against another edition
- Plot- or character-driven? Character
- Strong character development? Yes
- Loveable characters? Yes
- Diverse cast of characters? It's complicated
- Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes
5.0
The characters are very well written, multi dimensional, believable. The book is long, but doesn't feel unnecessarily so. It's well paced. You can feel the heat of Hell coming off the pages and smell the sulfur. You really feel like a part of the action.
I am eagerly awaiting book 3.
Graphic: Addiction, Animal death, Body horror, Confinement, Death, Drug abuse, Drug use, Emotional abuse, Gore, Mental illness, Racism, Violence, Blood, Vomit, Death of parent, Murder, Fire/Fire injury, and Injury/Injury detail
ohennui'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
4.0
Moderate: Animal death, Cursing, Death, Violence, Blood, Murder, and Injury/Injury detail
Minor: Addiction
martinatan'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
4.25
ok ok some thoughts that ran through my head, but not a cohesive review because I will always be too insane and biased about her writing to write something balanced:
- she strikes again with the calculated development of
- Also I am enjoying this crew becoming
- She did a great job of introducing antagonists into the story and slowly revealing and resolving conflicts throughout. This is something that was done well in the first book and I was pleasantly surprised that it was still so satisfying and fresh in this one.
- I was similarly worried about attempting to replicate the mixed timeline format from the first book but it was just as effective, just made me wary at first because the opening to this series was such an immediate draw for me and to see it attempted again felt like she was setting myself up for disappointment. but it did NOT disappoint.
- I was also anticipating more backstory and development for characters introduced in the first book. This met my expectations and I found their histories to be really compelling, if not admirable or enviable.
- The book deals with issues of race and exploitation in an okay way.
I could say more but I’m done ranting for now. This book truly thrilled me and I was happy to delve into this world again.
Moderate: Body horror, Death, Drug use, Hate crime, Misogyny, Violence, Blood, Vomit, Police brutality, Death of parent, Murder, and Injury/Injury detail
Minor: Addiction, Adult/minor relationship, Animal cruelty, Animal death, Confinement, Cursing, Drug use, Self harm, Sexism, Sexual assault, Sexual content, Slavery, Toxic relationship, Medical content, Grief, Stalking, Schizophrenia/Psychosis , Fire/Fire injury, Alcohol, and Classism
bookwitch_92'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
5.0
Graphic: Drug abuse, Gore, Sexual assault, Sexual violence, Suicide, Violence, Vomit, Grief, Murder, and Injury/Injury detail
Moderate: Animal cruelty, Animal death, Cursing, Death, Blood, and Death of parent
hunkydory'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
4.0
Graphic: Animal death, Body horror, Cursing, Death, Suicidal thoughts, Violence, Blood, Grief, Murder, and Injury/Injury detail
Minor: Mental illness, Rape, Sexual assault, Toxic relationship, and Forced institutionalization
lindsayerin'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
4.75
Graphic: Death, Violence, Murder, and Injury/Injury detail
Moderate: Animal cruelty, Animal death, and Death of parent
Minor: Gun violence and Fire/Fire injury
rjkadlick's review
- 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? Yes
3.5
Graphic: Death, Violence, Blood, Grief, and Murder
Moderate: Animal death, Drug use, and Injury/Injury detail
Minor: Suicide attempt and Fire/Fire injury