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readers_sea's review against another edition
adventurous
hopeful
mysterious
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
I fell in love with this book so quickly!
This book had everything! Mystery, a bit of romance, and adventure. When I first started it, I wasn't too sure what to expect, but I loved every minute of it.
Bryce was such an amazing lead and I loved getting to know Hunt as well. The side characters also added so much to the book! I felt like the pacing of the book was actually so well done. I was never bored or waiting for something. I think the balance between the mystery and romance/character plot was perfect. Both Bryce and Hunt had so much in their lives that they needed to work through, and I loved seeing them begin to trust each other. Neither of them had a whole lot to live for, but together they found a reason!
I loved it all and I am happy with the ending. I feel like we could end it there if we wanted to, but I am still really excited to see where the rest of the series takes us. I fell in love with these characters and the storyline was so exciting. There were a lot of twists and turns throughout the whole book, and when I got towards the end I seriously couldn't put the book down! So well done, loved it!
This book had everything! Mystery, a bit of romance, and adventure. When I first started it, I wasn't too sure what to expect, but I loved every minute of it.
Bryce was such an amazing lead and I loved getting to know Hunt as well. The side characters also added so much to the book! I felt like the pacing of the book was actually so well done. I was never bored or waiting for something. I think the balance between the mystery and romance/character plot was perfect. Both Bryce and Hunt had so much in their lives that they needed to work through, and I loved seeing them begin to trust each other. Neither of them had a whole lot to live for, but together they found a reason!
I loved it all and I am happy with the ending. I feel like we could end it there if we wanted to, but I am still really excited to see where the rest of the series takes us. I fell in love with these characters and the storyline was so exciting. There were a lot of twists and turns throughout the whole book, and when I got towards the end I seriously couldn't put the book down! So well done, loved it!
Content Warnings
Graphic: Death, Violence, and Murder
Moderate: Grief, Suicidal thoughts, and Drug use
Minor: Abandonment
garitchie's review against another edition
adventurous
emotional
inspiring
sad
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
Content Warnings
Moderate: Sexual harassment, Suicidal thoughts, Addiction, and Gun violence
wengerjordann's review against another edition
adventurous
dark
emotional
mysterious
medium-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? A mix
- Strong character development? Yes
- Loveable characters? Yes
- Diverse cast of characters? No
- Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes
4.5
Content Warnings
Moderate: Suicidal thoughts
emilytrnr's review against another edition
adventurous
challenging
emotional
hopeful
mysterious
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? It's complicated
4.0
tl;dr it gets much better after the cop/murder investigation is over, and in true SJM fashion, she twisted me around like a corkscrew in the last 200ish pages. Still not convinced I like the modern-tech fantasy world.
I wasn’t sure about this at first. I started last October and couldn’t get past the first few pages. In the wake of TOG it just felt empty. I grew to really like the characters, and was able to be more surprised by plot points in this book than her other series because there are fewer spoilers floating around. I think the romantic tension was executed near-perfectly. One thing I thought I was missing from this book compared to others were meaningful friendships, but I was proven wrong in the end. I’m obsessed that Bryce and Hunt got vengeance. I assumed she’d have power after all, but not like that. I didn’t love that the first 60% or so was a magical murder mystery. Thrillers just don’t do it for me as much. But the last 40% really picked up steam for me and got me to fall for the characters, world, and story more. That said, I could go without the cell phones, emails, laptops, “magi screens,” etc. - although I do understand in the end how they impacted the story.
SJM does it again!
I wasn’t sure about this at first. I started last October and couldn’t get past the first few pages. In the wake of TOG it just felt empty. I grew to really like the characters, and was able to be more surprised by plot points in this book than her other series because there are fewer spoilers floating around. I think the romantic tension was executed near-perfectly. One thing I thought I was missing from this book compared to others
SJM does it again!
Content Warnings
Graphic: Violence and Gun violence
Moderate: Suicidal thoughts
Minor: Abandonment
melaniesw13's review against another edition
adventurous
emotional
mysterious
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
Content Warnings
Graphic: Death, Drug use, and Injury/Injury detail
Moderate: Sexual content and Drug use
Minor: Suicidal thoughts
pulleamurmeli's review against another edition
dark
mysterious
sad
medium-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? Plot
- Strong character development? No
- Loveable characters? Yes
- Diverse cast of characters? Yes
- Flaws of characters a main focus? No
3.5
Content Warnings
Graphic: Violence and Cursing
Moderate: Blood, Grief, Sexual content, Suicidal thoughts, Slavery, Suicide attempt, and Classism
Minor: Medical content
you_fanci_me_mad's review against another edition
adventurous
funny
mysterious
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? It's complicated
5.0
I love that this book reminded me of a serial cop show where the main investigators spend the whole time ribbing each other but also solving the case together. It felt a lot like Castle but with more angst because he was a dirty cop
Content Warnings
Graphic: Gore, Sexual content, Blood, Classism, Death, War, Emotional abuse, Suicidal thoughts, Murder, Slavery, and Alcoholism
hazelbcap's review against another edition
dark
funny
mysterious
medium-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? Character
- Strong character development? It's complicated
- Loveable characters? Yes
- Diverse cast of characters? Yes
- Flaws of characters a main focus? It's complicated
4.25
I recently finished TOG series (which was a 5 star read for me) and was unsure if I’d like CC because of how modern the setting is.
TLDR: By the end I LOVE IT. The characters are funny and emotional, the plot is intriguing!
It did take make about 300 pages to decide I would like it and keep reading. The world building is heavy. There is a lot of adjusting to the politics and history of the world and characters pasts. Overall the main characters are funny, have good chemistry, witty banter, and have many layers making them complicated yet relatable.
TLDR: By the end I LOVE IT. The characters are funny and emotional, the plot is intriguing!
It did take make about 300 pages to decide I would like it and keep reading. The world building is heavy. There is a lot of adjusting to the politics and history of the world and characters pasts. Overall the main characters are funny, have good chemistry, witty banter, and have many layers making them complicated yet relatable.
Content Warnings
Graphic: Drug use, Blood, Death, Sexual content, Violence, Grief, Cursing, Injury/Injury detail, Murder, and Bullying
Moderate: Suicide attempt, Panic attacks/disorders, Torture, and Suicidal thoughts
avialaeleigh's review against another edition
adventurous
emotional
funny
inspiring
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? No
5.0
I definitely wasn't expecting a lot of the plot twists and surprise endings. Bryce is one of my favorite female characters in a fantasy novel. She is objectively the epitome of a dumb party girl but she is also a fucking badass and I can't even begin to explain how happy that combination makes me for some reason.
Also he relationship with Ruhn and Hunt and the sass between them all is just amazing. And the enemies to lovers between Bryce and Hunt is *chefs kiss* one of my favorite tropes. And they do it so well. Plus we have the whole golden retriever black cat relationship as well as two broken people healing each other which is also one of my favorites.
Also fuck the whole slave thing, that's ridiculous, people shouldn't be able to own other people that are able to make their own decisions and think for themselves. Otherwise I liked that this was different enough from SJMs other series but also similar enough to not be a weird read. Cannot wait to start the next book in the series.
Content Warnings
Graphic: Drug abuse, Blood, Racism, Death, Suicidal thoughts, Alcohol, Body horror, Gun violence, Panic attacks/disorders, Classism, Drug use, Injury/Injury detail, Gore, Sexism, Slavery, Mental illness, and Torture
bee12345's review against another edition
adventurous
dark
emotional
mysterious
sad
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
4.0
Content Warnings
Graphic: Body horror, Classism, Slavery, Violence, War, Death, Medical trauma, Cursing, Physical abuse, Torture, Grief, Murder, Drug use, Gore, Blood, and Injury/Injury detail
Minor: Addiction, Drug use, Confinement, and Suicidal thoughts