Reviews tagging 'Gun violence'

Hell Bent by Leigh Bardugo

69 reviews

laurenzokro's review against another edition

adventurous dark emotional 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? Yes

3.0

Conflicted on what to rate this one, but overall I can say I enjoyed it. It definitely was an easier read than the first book given that the world building was out of the way - which made for a more gratifying reading experience. That being said, there was a lot that still confounded me - making for a pretty bumpy first 3/4 of the book, and a pretty solid last 1/4 of the book.

I think this book’s primary strength is in its ability to capture intense emotion and explore deep rooted histories/traumas, both of which helped to construct a very visceral reading experience. However, there were too many instances where the tone of a given scene would do a complete 180 - oftentimes throwing your focus off entirely, Additionally, while there were lots of intense and interesting moments, it felt as though there were too many ideas being crammed into the one book -

from the reintroduction of Darlington’s parents to their deaths pretty quickly after their introduction, to Michelle being a double agent, to Mercy for some reason now being part of the squad? It just felt like so much of it, frankly, didn’t make sense. Especially the ending - why have them go through all of that, closing off the passage between world only for it to suddenly still be open anyways?

All in all, good story and great investigation of the core casts’ character arcs, but definitely tried to take on a bit too much.

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Death, Blood, Murder, and Violence

Moderate: Police brutality, Racism, and Vomit

Minor: Suicide attempt, Gun violence, and Sexual harassment

adrienreads's review against another edition

adventurous dark 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

One of my favorite Bardugo books so far - incredible read, I loved it more than the first in its series. 

This book is dark, but if the first book was too explicit/intense for you, this one definitely felt "lighter", more-or-less. Still dark and horrific, but there was far less (on-screen at least) sexual violence, and overall I had a much easier time with this one. Again, still not "light reading" by any means, but worth noting. 

If you've loved Bardugo's other books, this one scratches that same itch, and more.

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Animal cruelty, Physical abuse, Classism, Death, Domestic abuse, Murder, Addiction, Animal death, Suicidal thoughts, Body horror, Drug abuse, Gore, Grief, Police brutality, and Death of parent

Moderate: Forced institutionalization, Gun violence, Trafficking, Toxic relationship, Fire/Fire injury, and Child death

Minor: Slavery, Misogyny, and Racism

circe813's review

dark emotional tense medium-paced

• 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? Yes

4.0

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Animal cruelty, Body horror, Gore, Injury/Injury detail, Murder, Animal death, Blood, Confinement, Death, Fire/Fire injury, Torture, and Violence

Moderate: Police brutality, Cursing, Drug use, Drug abuse, Gore, and Gun violence

jayfanboi's review against another edition

adventurous dark emotional tense fast-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

I love Leigh Bardugo and I loved this book too. The first book, Ninth House, got me back into reading recreationally because it was so suspenseful and paced so well that I just couldn’t put it down. This book is the same— I read it in a day and a half. Also the ending of this book ties into the first one in a way that was SO satisfying and a real testament to the worldbuilding. 

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Content Warnings

Moderate: Gore, Violence, and Animal death

Minor: Gun violence

enyltiak's review against another edition

adventurous dark emotional 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? Yes

5.0

As with the Grishaverse, I find myself so comfortably tucked into Alex's world—of Yale, of Lethe, and of magic. I'm brokenhearted to have to leave it. These books are a new favorite, a perfect read for anyone who enjoys magic, mystery, and darkness. This book had me gasping aloud, crying, slamming it shut in anxiety, and jumping up and down at clever steps and reveals. A masterpiece of modern fantasy and a must-read for any "dark academia" lovers. <3

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Murder, Blood, Injury/Injury detail, Police brutality, Gore, Gun violence, Death, Drug abuse, Addiction, Body horror, Panic attacks/disorders, Vomit, Emotional abuse, Violence, Self harm, Animal death, Cursing, Fire/Fire injury, Sexual content, and Suicidal thoughts

Moderate: Schizophrenia/Psychosis , Slavery, and Racism

gphemsley's review against another edition

adventurous challenging dark mysterious tense 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? Yes

4.5

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Murder, Torture, Death, and Violence

Moderate: Blood, Injury/Injury detail, Domestic abuse, Emotional abuse, Fire/Fire injury, Gun violence, Death of parent, Forced institutionalization, Addiction, Animal death, Gore, Drug abuse, Police brutality, and Vomit

Minor: Sexism, Sexual content, and Suicide attempt

hyuniecrisp's review against another edition

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

FUCK YEAH FUCK YEAH FUCK YEAH

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Content Warnings

Moderate: Mental illness, Gore, Misogyny, Gun violence, Death, Grief, Animal death, Blood, Body horror, Panic attacks/disorders, Physical abuse, Violence, Drug use, Injury/Injury detail, Murder, Vomit, and Sexual content

camiclarkbooks's review

adventurous dark mysterious 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? Yes

4.5

Yooooooooooooooooo!!!

I could not consume this story fast enough! Everything that happened had my mouth hanging open and going through the whole spectrum of emotions. 

Leigh Bardugo is a genius. 

How much longer until book three though???

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Content Warnings

Moderate: Animal cruelty, Blood, Body horror, Cursing, Death of parent, Injury/Injury detail, Animal death, Death, and Violence

Minor: Drug abuse, Adult/minor relationship, Mental illness, Vomit, Suicide attempt, Emotional abuse, Grief, Domestic abuse, Gun violence, Drug use, and Police brutality

prairieraven's review against another edition

adventurous dark mysterious 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

4.25

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Content Warnings

Moderate: Alcoholism, Animal death, Gaslighting, Alcohol, Car accident, Gore, Addiction, Body horror, Gun violence, Murder, Racial slurs, Medical trauma, Kidnapping, Medical content, Panic attacks/disorders, Self harm, Suicide, Mental illness, Misogyny, Toxic relationship, Animal cruelty, Blood, Body shaming, Bullying, Eating disorder, Rape, Abandonment, Sexism, Slavery, Drug abuse, Hate crime, Sexual content, Violence, Cancer, Child death, Confinement, Colonisation, Death, Death of parent, Drug use, Fire/Fire injury, Grief, Injury/Injury detail, Sexual assault, Sexual harassment, Sexual violence, Stalking, Torture, Vomit, Dysphoria, Emotional abuse, Physical abuse, Suicidal thoughts, Classism, Cursing, Police brutality, Racism, and Toxic friendship

paduckling's review against another edition

adventurous challenging dark emotional funny mysterious fast-paced

• Plot- or character-driven? Plot
• Strong character development? Yes
• Loveable characters? Yes
• Diverse cast of characters? No
• Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes

4.0

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Murder, Blood, Drug use, Gore, Gun violence, Hate crime, Emotional abuse, Animal death, Body horror, Domestic abuse, Excrement, Drug abuse, and Grief

Moderate: Mental illness, Alcohol, Injury/Injury detail, Death, Self harm, Sexual harassment, Classism, Toxic friendship, Addiction, Forced institutionalization, Misogyny, Racism, Rape, Police brutality, Schizophrenia/Psychosis , Slavery, Sexism, Sexual assault, Sexual content, Sexual violence, Violence, and Vomit