Reviews tagging 'Torture'

Casa Pământului și a Sângelui by Sarah J. Maas

223 reviews

mighty_lizard_queen's review against another edition

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

2.0

This book needed so much more editing and thought, it’s ridiculous. 

If this didn’t connect back to ACOTAR then I would have DNF’d half way through out of boredom and frustration, but, alas. 

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selena13's review against another edition

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adventurous emotional funny hopeful mysterious medium-paced
  • 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? It's complicated

5.0

I didn’t understand why people liked this book until I read it! I’ve read all of ToG and ACOTAR before starting this book and loved it more for it!

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ahbee_p_'s review against another edition

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adventurous emotional funny 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

4.5


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ld_reads_things's review against another edition

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adventurous dark mysterious 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? Yes

4.5


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steffxxxsteff's review against another edition

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adventurous challenging emotional hopeful 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? It's complicated

4.25


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angelofthetardis's review against another edition

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dark emotional mysterious tense slow-paced
  • Plot- or character-driven? A mix
  • Strong character development? It's complicated
  • Loveable characters? It's complicated
  • Diverse cast of characters? Yes
  • Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes

3.5

The third of Sarah J Maas' fantasy series, Crescent City brings the world of Fae, angels, witches, werewolves and a host of other magical creatures into a modern setting. We follow Bryce Quinlan, a half-Fae twenty something who parties hard with her friends, hates her boss and is living a some what ordinary life, until a horrific murder changes her life forever. 

My first reaction was that it was an odd juxtaposition; people with various magical abilities driving cars, using mobile phones and enjoying Saturday night sport, and while the author of course makes it work, I wasn't as easily able to immerse myself in the world; the intrusion of the familiar made it harder to suspend my disbelief. Imagining an avenging angel slobbing out on the couch wearing a baseball cap and football jersey, wings and all, is brilliant, funny and certainly more relatable than a lot of the other males in Maas' writing (even if he does share the usual trait of the ultimate ripped body), but that's precisely the issue. I like my fantasy characters to be precisely that - fantasies. 

I enjoyed the characterisations of both the individuals and the different beings very much; there are a lot more shades of grey in here, which definitely makes the reading more interesting. However, there are a LOT of creatures to get to know, and at times I found it hard to keep track of everything. There's not much of an 'on ramp' with this world; you're dropped almost straight into the middle of it and left to fend for yourself, picking things up as you go. And where in her other series there have been some similarities that allow you to grasp basic concepts, again this setting is so different it's a lot harder to establish the ground rules. 

Similarly, understanding the structure and hierarchy of the world isn't exactly straightforward. I do like the Roman-inspired feel of the city as a whole, but it took me a while to get to grips with the angelic legions, the Aux and so on. It's just a lot to wrap your head around.

I would say that this story doesn't flow quite as well as her other works either. The story has certainly been well mapped out in the author's head, but the writing somehow just feels a bit clunky - the development of the relationship between Bryce and Hunt, while clearly inevitable, just seems to happen in the blink of an eye, rather than via the slow build which Maas is so good at. And some of the twists aren't so much shocking as head-scratchingly confusing. 

I'm thinking this one might be a 'soaker' - it just needs to marinade in my head for a while before I 'get' it in the same was as TOG and ACOTAR. Also wondering if the graphic audio version might help. I do want to see where the series goes and how we end up at the spoilers I've heard about the end of book 2, but I am hoping for better next time around...

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lannahreads's review against another edition

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adventurous dark emotional 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

I just love this book so much.  The characters hold my whole heart. I love the true crime aspect and the twist at the end. So so so good. I do subtract .25 of a star for the incessant use of the word "preternatural" haha

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mads_reads_books's review against another edition

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adventurous emotional funny 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

5.0


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erinkellyreads's review against another edition

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adventurous challenging dark emotional funny mysterious reflective tense 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? No

4.5

Thank you Graphic Audio for making your adaptation of this book! I really struggled trying to read this TWICE, and I'm a huge Maas fan. I think I was so focused on trying to understand this new world with its history, magic vs tech systems, politics, and locations that I never got a chance to learn to like the characters. The Graphic Audio did a great job with helping me break up narration and voices, and it allowed me to see the full picture of what was happening. I also really enjoyed Bryce's voice actress - her growly, deep, and sarcastic voice made her fun and juxtaposed her moments of vulnerability well. My only note on this first part is that it was pretty disturbing listening to the tape of Danika - no spoilers, that's all I'm going to say on that. I get that it was supposed to be, but hearing it echoed with me much longer than both times I read it on paper. So good job? But also, ouch. Part two comes out today, so I'll try to wrap up the story and see if my 4.5 stands - already an increase from 3 stars before!

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hgosart's review against another edition

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adventurous 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

5.0


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