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shubka's review
- 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: Blood and Death of parent
Moderate: Kidnapping, Injury/Injury detail, Murder, and Toxic relationship
brynalexa's review against another edition
- Plot- or character-driven? Character
- Strong character development? Yes
- Loveable characters? Yes
- Diverse cast of characters? No
- Flaws of characters a main focus? No
4.0
Graphic: Gun violence, Death of parent, Abandonment, Blood, Toxic relationship, and Murder
Minor: Alcohol, Sexual content, and Emotional abuse
leexpenandpages's review against another edition
- Plot- or character-driven? Plot
- Strong character development? It's complicated
- Loveable characters? Yes
- Diverse cast of characters? Yes
- Flaws of characters a main focus? No
4.75
After the death of their father, two sisters discover the world of magic is much bigger than he let on, and their blood—literal and figurative—is more valuable than they realized; meanwhile, the only known living Scribe of magical books learns that The Library houses more dark secrets than he'd thought.
🩸✒️📜✨️🪞👭👫🇬🇧🇺🇲
👍🏻 RECOMMENDATION:
💚 READ IT!
💬 FAVORITE QUOTES:
In Gil's world, women found themselves in mirrors. They became hypnotized and stared into their own eyes until they recognized themselves, and once they did, the mirror ceased to be a trap and became instead a doorway. An escape route. A path.
Cold was easier to bear when you’d never been warm.
(SPOILER)Stepping through the mirror was like [...] swimming if the water was made of treacle and also of outer space, sweet and airless and tugging and infinite, and dark in a way that wasn't a binary to light but rather a different state entirely, complete unto itself.
👓 FORMAT:
🎧
📑 COMMENTS:
• Törzs's attention to craft is undeniable. If you're looking for a dark academic book, the aesthetic conjured by the prose will live rent-free in your beautiful mind, and the magic system will delight you!
• Pacing is slow. (The beautiful descriptions contribute to it, unfortunately.) It's especially hindersome in the first part. Plus, the POV changes often needlessly worsen it throughout the story. Significant cutting during revision would've greatly improved this book.
• The story is intricate, but all the details, some cleary important and some that seem innocuous, come together in the end. That being said, the details sometimes drove me toward boredom. Again, this book could've been shorter, and it would've been even more captivating.
• Characters come from around the world, and their diversity does not come across as tokenship. For instance, one character mourns the heritage she'd lost when she lost a parent, so she learns Spanish to reconnect with her ancestry.
• Even when the characters themselves are a little flat, the characters' relationships (including romantic, platonic, and familial) are natural and believable. These relationships affect the story in complex, meaningful ways.
Graphic: Murder, Violence, Blood, Confinement, and Death of parent
Moderate: Emotional abuse, Gaslighting, Gun violence, and Toxic friendship
Minor: Injury/Injury detail, Self harm, and Alcohol
mary_c's review
- Plot- or character-driven? A mix
- Strong character development? Yes
- Loveable characters? It's complicated
- Diverse cast of characters? No
- Flaws of characters a main focus? No
5.0
Graphic: Medical content
Moderate: Gun violence and Murder
Minor: Blood
navayiota'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
I really, really enjoyed this story. The plot twists made complete sense and I felt proud of myself whenever I managed to see one coming, the characters are lovable, (I want to give all our protagonists a hug) and the descriptions of sensations were vivid and visceral. I loved every moment.
It was also a stunning portrayal of how people deal with trauma, especially trauma inflicted by one's primary caregivers. Excellent work!
Graphic: Child abuse, Kidnapping, Injury/Injury detail, Abandonment, Death of parent, Violence, Confinement, Gun violence, Emotional abuse, Blood, Physical abuse, Stalking, Death, Grief, and Murder
Moderate: Alcohol, Chronic illness, Medical content, and Sexual content
Minor: Pregnancy
atamano'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
Graphic: Blood, Gaslighting, Child abuse, Confinement, Death of parent, Death, Injury/Injury detail, and Toxic relationship
Moderate: Murder and Grief
Minor: Gun violence and Abandonment
abicaro17'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? It's complicated
4.75
Graphic: Gaslighting, Grief, Infidelity, Medical trauma, Gun violence, Kidnapping, Murder, Panic attacks/disorders, Stalking, Toxic relationship, Violence, Abandonment, Alcohol, Blood, Body horror, Emotional abuse, Gore, Death, Injury/Injury detail, Child abuse, Chronic illness, Classism, Cursing, Death of parent, Medical content, and Misogyny
liss_reads'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? No
3.75
Graphic: Blood
Moderate: Gore, Murder, Death of parent, and Child abuse
bookaholic84'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
4.5
Will definitely recommend this book
Graphic: Blood
Moderate: Violence
Minor: Forced institutionalization, Murder, and Emotional abuse
shannnne_reads_words's review against another edition
- Plot- or character-driven? A mix
- Loveable characters? Yes
- Diverse cast of characters? Yes
3.75
Graphic: Blood
Moderate: Death, Grief, Injury/Injury detail, Medical trauma, Violence, Abandonment, and Death of parent
Minor: Gun violence, Kidnapping, Vomit, and Murder