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hunkydory'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? Yes
4.0
Graphic: Animal death, Body horror, Cursing, Death, Suicidal thoughts, Violence, Blood, Grief, Murder, and Injury/Injury detail
Minor: Mental illness, Rape, Sexual assault, Toxic relationship, and Forced institutionalization
laurenvoice'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? Yes
4.0
Graphic: Bullying, Emotional abuse, Physical abuse, Sexism, Violence, Blood, Murder, and Fire/Fire injury
Moderate: Child abuse, Confinement, Misogyny, Panic attacks/disorders, Racism, Forced institutionalization, Police brutality, Grief, Death of parent, and Classism
Minor: Addiction, Drug abuse, Mental illness, Sexual assault, Slavery, and Torture
sauvageloup'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? Yes
4.0
pros:
- the ingenuity and originality of the magical system is fab, I love the dark rituals and magic that the societies come up with.
- the plot is intricate and intriguing, with plot twists, but theres always hints that the reader can spot afterwards
- I do really like the characters, they're all so different and their own people, Alex, Darlington, Turner, Dawes and Mercy, but also all the side characters have their own motivations
- the writing is very good, with some rly vivid imagery and turns of phrase that I wish I'd marked
- I love the extremely grey morality in how we have a lot of compassion for Alex, but she is a dark soldier of a character and so is Darlington. that's never minimalised and actually takes front stage in the book.
- the setting is basically a character itself and while I didnt really fall in love with it, I still appreciated the research and beauty of it all
- I also liked how it didnt shy away from linking magical exploitation to real life, like with the runaway slaves map, and how it was never brushed aside. it showed the dark side of the magical and wealthy.
cons:
- it's a dense book, with a lot of time switches near the start, which threw me. keeping track of characters can be tricky and I definitely needed the summary of the 1st bk to remember a lot of things. the complexity if the book all comes together near the end but it takes some getting your head round and was partly why it took me a longer time to read.
- I do kind of wish the series had started at a different point. leigh mentioned it might have been a much longer series and I kind of wish we'd seen the events with hellie and Alex's introduction to lethe by Darlington first hand, rather than in erratic flashbacks. it was hard to feel very invested in Darlington's return for a lot of it because we dont get to view himself ourselves, only through glimpses through Alex.
- sometimes things happened in the plot that felt a bit random, too much out of nowhere.
but overall I did really like it, especially the badass last scene and I very much want to read the next one. (it was also amazing to meet and see leigh talk, would do that again also)
Graphic: Animal cruelty, Animal death, Body horror, Bullying, Child abuse, Cursing, Death, Drug use, Emotional abuse, Gore, Gun violence, Mental illness, Misogyny, Panic attacks/disorders, Sexism, Violence, Forced institutionalization, Blood, Vomit, Police brutality, Grief, Death of parent, Murder, Abandonment, Injury/Injury detail, and Classism
Minor: Addiction, Racism, Self harm, Sexual assault, Slavery, Suicidal thoughts, Suicide, Toxic relationship, Suicide attempt, and Alcohol
focus on animal death and violence in one graphic scene. the self harm is to do with cutting an arm for a magical ritual the suicide attempt/thoughts are a brief mention by a side character but do come up a couple timeschristina95'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
4.0
Graphic: Animal cruelty, Animal death, Body horror, Bullying, Death, Drug abuse, Drug use, Gore, Physical abuse, Racism, Suicidal thoughts, Violence, Forced institutionalization, Blood, Grief, Death of parent, and Murder
scripturient'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
4.5
Graphic: Animal death, Death, Drug use, Panic attacks/disorders, Physical abuse, Rape, Sexual assault, Sexual violence, Violence, Blood, Police brutality, Murder, Sexual harassment, and Injury/Injury detail
Moderate: Gun violence, Mental illness, Misogyny, Forced institutionalization, Medical content, and Fire/Fire injury
Minor: Panic attacks/disorders, Racism, Slavery, Suicide, and Torture
Just basically ALL the trigger warnings.aprilbethp's review against another edition
- Plot- or character-driven? Plot
- Strong character development? Yes
- Loveable characters? Yes
- Diverse cast of characters? It's complicated
- Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes
4.25
Graphic: Addiction, Adult/minor relationship, Animal cruelty, Drug abuse, Racism, Rape, Suicide, and Murder
Moderate: Animal death, Biphobia, Body horror, Child abuse, Mental illness, Panic attacks/disorders, Sexism, Sexual assault, Sexual content, Sexual violence, Slavery, Suicidal thoughts, Forced institutionalization, Police brutality, Grief, Stalking, Death of parent, Fire/Fire injury, Alcohol, Colonisation, and Injury/Injury detail
Minor: Torture, Toxic relationship, Violence, Vomit, Trafficking, and Toxic friendship
thearielleview's review against another edition
- Plot- or character-driven? A mix
- Strong character development? Yes
- Loveable characters? No
- Diverse cast of characters? Yes
- Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes
3.0
Graphic: Animal death, Death, Drug use, Emotional abuse, Gore, Racism, Rape, Sexual content, Toxic relationship, Violence, Blood, Grief, Murder, Injury/Injury detail, and Classism
Moderate: Sexual content and Police brutality
Minor: Suicidal thoughts and Forced institutionalization
em_aune'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? Yes
4.5
Graphic: Animal death, Death, Blood, and Murder
Moderate: Rape, Slavery, and Forced institutionalization
Minor: Suicide attempt
geiravor's review
- 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
Graphic: Animal death, Sexual assault, and Sexual violence
Moderate: Forced institutionalization and Medical trauma
acleverduck's review
- 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
Graphic: Emotional abuse, Forced institutionalization, and Blood
Moderate: Addiction, Alcoholism, Death, Drug abuse, and Sexual assault