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cady_sass's review against another edition
- Plot- or character-driven? A mix
- Strong character development? No
- Loveable characters? It's complicated
- Diverse cast of characters? No
- Flaws of characters a main focus? It's complicated
2.5
The entirety of this novel is about Darlington, which, as I said in my review of Ninth House, we don’t know nearly enough about nor did we spend enough time with him in the first book to actually care about him. Everything else about the world they built falls away and the only thing that matters is finding Darlington and bringing him home, and the hell that comes along with it (pun intended). To that point, it’s completely nonsensical and out of character for any of these characters to care about Darlington too, except for Pam who is by far the best part of the whole book. Tucker has no reason to join them in their endeavors. The friend (I literally already forget his name) has no reason to risk his life here. ALEX has no real reason here either- they make a point, over and over again, to tell us how she feels nothing and everything she does is self serving. NONSENSE, all of it.
I get that this might do it for some people but for me it’s a let down. I’m sorry, I just don’t care about Darlington. Give me more secret society shady dealings and unsanctioned rituals and detective work and leave the hell portals at home.
Graphic: Sexism, Death of parent, Murder, Death, Animal cruelty, Toxic friendship, Sexual content, Toxic relationship, Violence, Alcohol, Animal death, Blood, Vomit, Abandonment, Body horror, Classism, Kidnapping, Cursing, Fire/Fire injury, Injury/Injury detail, Medical content, and Misogyny
alisonkolonick'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
4.25
Graphic: Death of parent, Gore, Misogyny, Drug abuse, Panic attacks/disorders, Drug use, Emotional abuse, Grief, Mental illness, Murder, Violence, Suicidal thoughts, Blood, Addiction, Death, Animal cruelty, Abandonment, Domestic abuse, Suicide attempt, and Animal death
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: Police brutality, Sexism, Grief, Gun violence, Injury/Injury detail, Panic attacks/disorders, Violence, Abandonment, Animal cruelty, Vomit, Animal death, Blood, Body horror, Bullying, Death, Death of parent, Emotional abuse, Forced institutionalization, Gore, Mental illness, Misogyny, Murder, Child abuse, Classism, Cursing, and Drug use
Minor: Toxic relationship, Alcohol, Suicidal thoughts, Addiction, Slavery, Suicide, Sexual assault, Racism, Suicide attempt, and Self harm
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 timeswordinessa'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
4.5
I have to amend some things I've said in the past about Ninth House - because for me now, the best thing about Ninth House is that it was just good enough to make me pick up Hell Bent. If you were middling on Ninth House, it's worth giving this sequel a shot. The pacing is better, the plot moves a lot more quickly now that we've established the rules and the world, Alex's powers are more impressive, and I wasn't as frustrated at how Bardugo treats her characters (I had some real problems with how easily sexual assault was used as a plot point in Ninth House. Fortunately, that is not the case here).
My biggest gripe is that I had no idea this would be (at least) a trilogy, and we were left on another cliffhanger. But the journey is worth it, and I can't wait to see these characters again in a couple of years when the next installment releases.
Graphic: Animal death, Death, and Death of parent
Moderate: Blood, Addiction, Abandonment, and Vomit
Minor: Slavery
nicksalex's review against another edition
- Plot- or character-driven? A mix
- Strong character development? It's complicated
- Loveable characters? Yes
- Diverse cast of characters? Yes
- Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes
4.75
Graphic: Abandonment, Adult/minor relationship, Death, Animal cruelty, Panic attacks/disorders, Addiction, Fire/Fire injury, Cursing, Injury/Injury detail, Murder, Animal death, Blood, Drug abuse, Drug use, Death of parent, Gore, and Gun violence
Moderate: Sexual assault, Pedophilia, Suicide attempt, Slavery, Sexual violence, and Rape
tltorrez's review against another edition
- Plot- or character-driven? Character
- Strong character development? Yes
- Loveable characters? It's complicated
- Diverse cast of characters? Yes
- Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes
5.0
Graphic: Cursing, Gore, Death, Vomit, Animal death, Addiction, Violence, Toxic relationship, Sexual violence, Blood, and Murder
Moderate: Police brutality, Suicide attempt, Abandonment, Death of parent, Physical abuse, Adult/minor relationship, Drug abuse, and Classism
dodgeremerson's review against another edition
- 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
Graphic: Body horror, Animal cruelty, Blood, Classism, Colonisation, Death, Drug use, Drug abuse, Excrement, Animal death, Death of parent, Gore, Violence, Cursing, Abandonment, Grief, Injury/Injury detail, Emotional abuse, Murder, and Physical abuse
Moderate: Confinement, Mental illness, Toxic friendship, Addiction, and Alcohol
Minor: Alcohol, Suicidal thoughts, Toxic friendship, Suicide attempt, Sexual assault, Rape, Torture, Mental illness, Toxic relationship, Suicide, and Forced institutionalization
sarahyjackson'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
5.0
Graphic: Murder, Mental illness, Animal death, and Gore
Moderate: Alcohol, Child abuse, Abandonment, and Addiction
ktkeps's review against another edition
- 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
4.0
Graphic: Animal death, Death, Injury/Injury detail, Mental illness, Blood, Fire/Fire injury, Grief, Gore, Panic attacks/disorders, Toxic relationship, Murder, Sexual harassment, and Torture
Moderate: Classism, Abandonment, and Misogyny
Minor: Suicidal thoughts, Racism, and Suicide attempt
bookishbabe93'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 cruelty, Animal death, Vomit, Abandonment, Violence, Addiction, Cursing, Death, Panic attacks/disorders, Racism, Slavery, Blood, Death of parent, Drug use, Injury/Injury detail, and Murder