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anntharai's review against another edition
- Plot- or character-driven? Plot
- Strong character development? No
- Loveable characters? It's complicated
- Diverse cast of characters? Yes
- Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes
3.5
The issues I have with it REALLY irk me.
The world building is immaculate if a bit on the nose, really vivid writing and visceral descriptions, a great mechanic. Love the use of tattoos and the lore building. Overall I liked the story itself.
The issues, though?
I found myself rolling my eyes at a lot of the vulgarity because it was genuinely ludicrous at times. Swearing doesn’t bother me in the slightest but the lengths to which these characters went just to get a “banged your relative” joke in was over the top.
Everything has a simile. Everything. The doors locked like a secret. The floors cold like the night. The night air cold like knives. Wind like knives. Words like knives. Running frightened like a startled horse in a barn on fire and the devil whipping it all the way. The lips red like red things.
The repetitive phrases (fuck my face, like his lady’s lips the last time he kissed her, better a bastard than a fool) stopped feeling symbolic and started feeling like a crutch about half way through and using the same *twist* mechanic used twice (gender neutral names being the crux of two stories told so closely together) made it feel less polished than it could have been.
Thanks to various reviews etc I was also expecting a “big thing” to shock me at the end but I kind of felt it was obvious…?
Anti-climactic, in a word, but I do want to know what happens so it’s not like I hated it.
Graphic: Addiction, Alcoholism, Animal death, Drug abuse, Drug use, Gore, Hate crime, Homophobia, Misogyny, Physical abuse, Sexual content, Sexual violence, Slavery, Suicide, Torture, Violence, Blood, Excrement, Religious bigotry, Murder, Outing, Abandonment, War, and Injury/Injury detail
karapillar's review against another edition
- Plot- or character-driven? Plot
- Strong character development? Yes
- Loveable characters? Yes
- Diverse cast of characters? Yes
- Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes
5.0
Graphic: Addiction, Alcoholism, Animal death, Body horror, Child death, Cursing, Death, Drug abuse, Drug use, Gore, Gun violence, Homophobia, Sexual content, Torture, Violence, Blood, Grief, Religious bigotry, Stalking, Death of parent, Murder, Alcohol, and Injury/Injury detail
Moderate: Animal cruelty, Confinement, Excrement, Vomit, Kidnapping, Stalking, Fire/Fire injury, Abandonment, and War
Minor: Rape and Pregnancy
cutewitch's review against another edition
- Plot- or character-driven? A mix
- Strong character development? Yes
- Loveable characters? It's complicated
- Diverse cast of characters? It's complicated
- Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes
3.75
Plus, I don’t get why other reviewers are raving about the worldbuilding? Did they READ Nevernight?? This is pretty basic powered-up-vampires, plus pretty basic pseudo-medieval-renaissancey-Europe, plus Catholicism with a VERY THIN new coat of paint. This is not revolutionary, people.
Sex cw:
Graphic: Gore and Murder
Moderate: Alcoholism, Drug use, Homophobia, Religious bigotry, and Abandonment
kylahspages's review against another edition
- Plot- or character-driven? Plot
- Strong character development? Yes
- Loveable characters? Yes
- Diverse cast of characters? Yes
- Flaws of characters a main focus? It's complicated
4.75
Graphic: Addiction, Alcoholism, Animal death, Bullying, Child abuse, Death, Drug use, Gore, Hate crime, Homophobia, Physical abuse, Suicidal thoughts, Torture, Violence, Blood, Murder, Abandonment, War, and Injury/Injury detail
holly_n'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
5.0
Graphic: Animal death, Blood, and Murder
Moderate: Alcoholism, Child abuse, Homophobia, and Grief
Minor: Child death, Drug abuse, Sexual assault, and Torture
sundayray's review against another edition
- Plot- or character-driven? A mix
- Strong character development? Yes
- Loveable characters? It's complicated
- Diverse cast of characters? Yes
- Flaws of characters a main focus? It's complicated
4.75
Graphic: Addiction, Alcoholism, Animal death, Biphobia, Body horror, Cursing, Death, Gore, Violence, Blood, Grief, Death of parent, Murder, and Fire/Fire injury
Moderate: Child death, Torture, and Toxic friendship
booksarefriends_notfood'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
5.0
Graphic: Addiction, Alcoholism, Body horror, Cursing, Death, Drug abuse, Violence, Blood, and War
Moderate: Animal death, Child abuse, Child death, Gore, Homophobia, Grief, Religious bigotry, Death of parent, and Injury/Injury detail
Minor: Sexism, Sexual content, and Torture
amzief's review against another edition
- Plot- or character-driven? Character
- Strong character development? It's complicated
- Loveable characters? It's complicated
- Diverse cast of characters? Yes
- Flaws of characters a main focus? It's complicated
4.5
Graphic: Addiction and Alcoholism
Moderate: Body horror and Blood
writingcaia's review against another edition
- Plot- or character-driven? A mix
- Strong character development? Yes
- Loveable characters? Yes
- Diverse cast of characters? N/A
- Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes
4.75
There Gabe is forced to relay his life’s story which he fast forwards to when he turns fifteen just before being sent to the Ordo Argent, the Silver Order, to become a Silversaint. Half-human half-vampire it seems to his mother that the order will be his best option, and it is. It is there he will find a family, love, power, and recognition all he has ever dreamed and more, but at a cost. That price we see in another period of his life’s journey that he also relays to the vampire historian writing his story down, which is when he is thirty two, just two years before the present time.
In sum we will have a pretty clear idea of who Gabe was until he was seventeen and at thirty two, the rest we get only scraps that tease our appetite for more. One thing is clear Gabriel de Leon is now jaded and crushed, but the light of his hatred for the vampires is unbroken and mighty, and there seems to be hope for his current status as a prisoner or so we hope.
It is hard to review a book I’ve waited for for more than a year, the expectations were enormous, first because it’s Jay and second because I freaking love vampires.
So, what did I think?
I loved it, it was awesome. It’s medium-fast paced, has a great world building, the characters are amazing, well fleshed, and just overall super interesting. It is dark, bloody and the narration has the snarky-ness, which I adore, we are used to since Nevernight, and I mean Gabriel is mega hot, those illustrations wow, and another favourite is Dior. The only minus for me was the back and forth between timelines, I got so invested in one and then had to go back to the other, and vice-versa, plus on those almost seventeen years between them so much happens that we just know from small references dropped here and there, that specially annoyed me. I do prefer a more regular timeline particularly if we almost know what happen between the two timelines but not enough to quench the curiosity. But, honestly it didn’t take much from my love of the story.
And, now the suffering begins, the wait for the next two books in the series.
If you love adult fantasy, vampires and dark moody books, this is for you.
Graphic: Alcoholism, Death, Drug abuse, Drug use, Gore, Homophobia, Sexual content, Torture, Violence, Blood, Religious bigotry, and War
cakeylu's review against another edition
- Plot- or character-driven? Plot
- Strong character development? Yes
- Loveable characters? It's complicated
- Diverse cast of characters? Yes
- Flaws of characters a main focus? It's complicated
4.5
Graphic: Addiction, Alcoholism, Body horror, Child abuse, Cursing, Death, Drug use, Emotional abuse, Gore, Homophobia, Physical abuse, Sexual content, Suicide, Torture, Violence, Blood, Grief, Religious bigotry, Death of parent, Murder, Fire/Fire injury, Outing, Alcohol, and Injury/Injury detail
Moderate: Animal death, Bullying, and Child death