Reviews with content warning for Cursing - Hell Bent

Reviews tagging 'Cursing'

emilywemily6's review

adventurous dark mysterious medium-paced

Plot- or character-driven? A mix
Strong character development? It's complicated
Loveable characters? Yes
Diverse cast of characters? It's complicated
Flaws of characters a main focus? It's complicated

4.25

I still really enjoyed this book, but the major themes differed greatly from what I loved and what intrigued me in the first book. This book was less dark academia/Yale and secret society lore, which I missed. And while the plot had plenty to twists and turns, some parts were slow and I didn’t really see where the book was going. This book takes the series in a different direction than the first, and I’m not sure if I will like that direction as much as the first book. Though I’m excited to read more in the series and see how it goes!

Content Warnings

sheebsbooks's review against another edition

Go to review page

adventurous challenging dark mysterious sad tense slow-paced

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

3.5

Content Warnings

leexpenandpages's review against another edition

Go to review page

adventurous dark mysterious sad tense medium-paced

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

📝 SYNOPSIS:
I love you to Hell and back. Immersed in a world of occult magic, Alex vows to return her mentor from Hell with the help of her friends and a magical gift that is hers alone.
👩‍🏫⛪️👻📜💀🐇😈🧛‍♂️🎩

👍🏻 RECOMMENDATION:
💚 READ it!

💬 FAVORITE QUOTES:
[PENDING]

👓 FORMAT:
🎧

📑 COMMENTS:
• Um, this is a sequel? LOL I jumped in here, and it works fine.
• In the contemporary fantasy setting, Bardugo captures the dark academic aesthetic well. When it comes to the real-life setting, the northeast and California are believable (but I haven't spent enough time in Connecticut specifically to judge that). The magic system is convoluted, but the loose logic does fall apart at the end.
• The characters are complex, three-dimensional, and flawed. Their races and genders influence them in meaningful ways. Some are more lovable than others, but they are all understandable. Mercy & Turner are my personal favorites! The antagonists are rounded, too.
• Apt imagery and metaphors flow into the prose. There's plenty to dissect if that's your thing. (It's mine!) I'd love to see it on the page, particulaely to see the tome excerpts.
• Why did they switch audiobook narrators so late into the story? It was jarring, and it pulled me out of the story! The character's voice is defined, but I also hate it. It adds nothing to the story. Overall, Part Two lags.

Content Warnings

notsohopelessromantic's review against another edition

Go to review page

adventurous dark emotional funny mysterious reflective sad tense medium-paced

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

*Spoilers Ahead*

The kindling romance between Darlington and Alex is just that. Kindling. If you wanted romance, boy howdy let me tell you it's a slow burn. A very confused, hesitant flame, with a very eager wick, on a willing candle. That might not make sense to you but it does to me.
Anyway, the book was very good. Much like the first where it just seems to be one thing after another, after another. Nonstop misfortune, bad luck, catastrophe. It really makes you wanna tear your hair out. But, to be fair, they did manage to get Darlington back from the Underworld, something I truly did not believe would happen until the 3rd book with the way things were looking. I am grateful to at least have that issue resolved, if only temporarily.
There is most definitely something off about the current Praetor. He knows more than he's letting on, I'm just not sure why. I probably won't know until it's literally spelled out to us in the next book.
I loved the character development on all fronts. Learning that Turner wasn't as straight-laced as we all thought, that Tripp isn't all that harmless or innocent, that Mercy is stronger than she seems. And speaking of Tripp, I do love what was done with his character at the end of the book. That will be interesting to see play out in the next one. Dawes has grown even more as well, becoming less timid, more sure of herself, confident in her abilities; very much the witch Alex saw her to be. I know that there is even more to unpack with Alex and why she's been described as sitting on a throne with a crown on her head, Darlington her faithful servant (and lover 👀). I can't wait for it all to unfold.
The book truly twisted and turned at all of the unexpected, and expected, moments, making this one helluva ride (read). I cannot wait to receive news on the final book in the trilogy and can only hope that I won't have to suffer for very long. Though if Darlington can survive over a year in hell, then I can certainly wait that long to be saved too.

Content Warnings

lancemama's review

Go to review page

adventurous challenging dark emotional funny hopeful mysterious reflective sad tense fast-paced

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? Yes

5.0

Content Warnings

jacksons_books_and_music's review against another edition

Go to review page

adventurous dark emotional tense fast-paced

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

I was told Hell Bent had better representation than Ninth House, but I’m not sure that’s true. Like in Ninth House, there were clear attempts to call out racism. In the acknowledgements is even a book recommendation on Yale’s racist history. But unfortunately, there were also moments in Hell Bent that were offensive, regardless of intent. Info about a particularly offensive moment is at the end of the review, under “Slight spoiler.”

At first, I thought I liked the story of Ninth House better than Hell Bent. But after thinking about it, I’m not sure that’s the case. It’s still a very well-written book.

I felt certain reveals weren’t set up as well as the reveals in Ninth House, even though they were set up well overall. I enjoyed the villains in Ninth House more, even though these ones were still engaging.

I love a lot of the characters and enjoyed getting to see more of their backstories and growth. That’s where the book really shone for me. There were many exciting, engaging, and emotional scenes. There was a moment when characters are trying to cover up something they did that had me laughing out loud. The friendships and teamwork were beautiful!

I don’t want to spoil these moments by listing them. But I definitely look forward to the next book in the series!

Slight spoiler:

This was not a big part of the plot, hence why I still gave this book a high rating, but it’s still a big problem.

I thought the protector symbol for Turner, the only major character who is Black, should have been different. I understand the author might not have wanted to compare the only Black character to an animal, but all the other characters had animal protectors. So, it was weird when Turner was the only one who didn’t.

I thought it was disrespectful to use an oak as his symbol, given the violence that involves trees that has historically been committed against Black people in the U.S. I get Bardugo wanted to use something strong and dependable, like a “mighty oak.” But it just doesn’t work and is actually really offensive. I wish she had realized this or someone had pointed this out to her prior to publication.

Content Warnings

stephliljazz's review against another edition

Go to review page

adventurous dark emotional mysterious sad tense medium-paced

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

5.0

As second book in the Ninth Gate series I am just hooked to this story. I cannot wait for book three I hope it comes out sooner than later! I don't know how to describe the book without spoilers so I'll just leave it with a couple quotes.

"People shouldn't have to march through the world fighting all the time."

"I will serve you till the end of days."

Content Warnings