Reviews with content warning for Body horror - Hell Bent

Reviews tagging 'Body horror'

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!

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_likethefruit's review

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challenging dark emotional informative mysterious reflective tense medium-paced

Plot- or character-driven? Plot
Strong character development? Yes
Loveable characters? Yes
Diverse cast of characters? Yes
Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes

4.5

As a sequel to Ninth House, Hell Bent is a fantastic book with an epic adventure to hell. Unfortunately, the epic level of this journey is so complex, and loaded with so much history and context, that the book is sometimes an information overload. I kept wondering if I missed too many details from the previous book, but in reality, the author was dropping more world building so casually that it felt pre-established. This made the book a little harder to read, but the adventure was totally worth it. Total book hangover after this one!

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chasinggrace's review

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adventurous challenging dark emotional mysterious tense medium-paced

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

I’m gnawing at the bars of my enclosure waiting to talk to someone about this series. I love these characters, the found family, the setting, the mystery that all comes together at the end, the banter, the LORE, the history, the badassery of it all. How FERAL a certain someone gets during the last third of this book. I need to get Miss Leigh Bardugo on the phone expeditiously because what do you mean you’ve put the third book of this series on the back burner?? Get to work ma'am or I’m sicking Tripp on your ass.

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itsheyfay's review

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adventurous dark emotional funny 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

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ashwiebe's review

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adventurous dark emotional mysterious 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? Yes

4.75

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carolyn_baird_'s review against another edition

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adventurous dark tense medium-paced

Plot- or character-driven? A mix
Strong character development? It's complicated
Loveable characters? No
Diverse cast of characters? No
Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes

3.0

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lancemama's review

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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

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jacksons_books_and_music's review against another edition

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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.

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