Scan barcode
katmindae's review
adventurous
challenging
dark
funny
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
4.25
Going to sleep on it because I loooved reading this but I have gripes
- I almost gave up on the intro because I could not get my bearings for maybe 50-100 pages. Seeing that in a lot of reviews now I kind of hate the time jumping but I also kind of love it.. but it was too much at the beginning for a first book in the series. I went back to the first chapter once the timeline caught up and only then did it make sense. Definitely need more time to slowly give introductions when I think a character like Alex (like Harry Potter or a similar “omg what there’s this whole hidden world character) should be such an easy vehicle for excusable exposition - I liked the chapter breaks of the Lethe book but I didn’t even understand what Lethe was until chapter 3. The atmosphere was there but also with the writing style being atmospheric I couldn’t figure out what was real or a metaphor for a long time. I thought the first chapter was an apocalypse situation.
- idk I haven’t seen in other reviews but it felt kind of 2015 feminism to me IDK !!!!! loved parts of the callouts to frat and rape culture but some of it felt heavy handed and tripe. Last sequence especially had me disappointedbecause why have Daisy be the Big Bad when the greedy old white man was right there!!! I get the callout to white feminism but idk felt way more like a book 2 kind of theme.
- last 50? (Ebook so not sure) pages and the final climax left me super disappointed. One too many twists. Wrong Big Bad.
Still can’t wait to get a library card so I can devour hellbent tho
- I almost gave up on the intro because I could not get my bearings for maybe 50-100 pages. Seeing that in a lot of reviews now I kind of hate the time jumping but I also kind of love it.. but it was too much at the beginning for a first book in the series. I went back to the first chapter once the timeline caught up and only then did it make sense. Definitely need more time to slowly give introductions when I think a character like Alex (like Harry Potter or a similar “omg what there’s this whole hidden world character) should be such an easy vehicle for excusable exposition - I liked the chapter breaks of the Lethe book but I didn’t even understand what Lethe was until chapter 3. The atmosphere was there but also with the writing style being atmospheric I couldn’t figure out what was real or a metaphor for a long time. I thought the first chapter was an apocalypse situation.
- idk I haven’t seen in other reviews but it felt kind of 2015 feminism to me IDK !!!!! loved parts of the callouts to frat and rape culture but some of it felt heavy handed and tripe. Last sequence especially had me disappointed
- last 50? (Ebook so not sure) pages and the final climax left me super disappointed. One too many twists. Wrong Big Bad.
Still can’t wait to get a library card so I can devour hellbent tho
Content Warnings
Graphic: Sexual violence, Sexual harassment, Child abuse, Vomit, Sexual assault, Physical abuse, Rape, and Violence
rhimineecat's review
dark
emotional
mysterious
sad
tense
medium-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? A mix
- Strong character development? Yes
- Loveable characters? Yes
- Diverse cast of characters? N/A
- Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes
4.25
Loved the pacing of the book, haven't had a nice pacing like this in quite a while.
Also the characters were so fucking cool. Alex was so badass and even the side characters were so loveable. Also please read the trigger warnings for this one, this was a heavy book with very serious topics.
The "magic" system was really interesting and it's always telling to see how these kind of powers are used and who uses them.
Also the characters were so fucking cool. Alex was so badass and even the side characters were so loveable. Also please read the trigger warnings for this one, this was a heavy book with very serious topics.
The "magic" system was really interesting and it's always telling to see how these kind of powers are used and who uses them.
Content Warnings
Graphic: Blood, Death, Drug abuse, Physical abuse, Toxic relationship, Murder, Addiction, Drug use, Child abuse, Pedophilia, Sexism, and Rape
erupoo's review
Got over half way through (10h12min, 7h51min left) and had to stop. Explicit and detailed descriptions of r*pe and SA, including with a child. Was very disappointed bc love Leigh Bardugo's other work but this ruined the book for me and prevented me finishing it. Would have been a great book otherwise. It was so unnecessary to include these.
Content Warnings
Graphic: Sexual assault, Sexual harassment, Rape, Sexual violence, and Violence
Moderate: Pedophilia, Murder, Blood, Drug use, Bullying, Misogyny, Child abuse, Vomit, Abandonment, Body horror, and Drug abuse
subtlyfurious's review against another edition
- Plot- or character-driven? Plot
- Strong character development? No
- Loveable characters? No
- Diverse cast of characters? It's complicated
- Flaws of characters a main focus? It's complicated
1.0
Never before have I read a book that so utterly fails to live up to its spectacular beginning.
The first few chapters are excellent (and the only reason I’m giving this book any stars). Bardugo weaves the character’s personalities and worldviews and backgrounds into the action flawlessly while also setting up a number of compelling topical themes.
It’s all downhill from there.
To me this feels like a YA book made “adult” by throwing in a bunch of disturbing content in for shock value alone. At first, I tried to give Bardugo the benefit of the doubt, believing she’d be able to give us a reason for why things weren’t just graphic, but borderline (or maybe fully) pornographic. But no. She fails to explore anything on a deeper level, speaking about complex issues such as classism, racism, and sexism without doing any work to ever dip below the surface. In fact, her ability to swerve away from actually choosing a side and stating an opinion is almost impressive.
Still, I pressed on thinking “surely Bardugo will find a way to wrap this up in a somewhat satisfying way.”
No.
The last 15% is a slog and (spoilers) the who that dunnit turn out to be both the most boring who-you-expect and the most throwaway character.
The first few chapters are excellent (and the only reason I’m giving this book any stars). Bardugo weaves the character’s personalities and worldviews and backgrounds into the action flawlessly while also setting up a number of compelling topical themes.
It’s all downhill from there.
To me this feels like a YA book made “adult” by throwing in a bunch of disturbing content in for shock value alone. At first, I tried to give Bardugo the benefit of the doubt, believing she’d be able to give us a reason for why things weren’t just graphic, but borderline (or maybe fully) pornographic. But no. She fails to explore anything on a deeper level, speaking about complex issues such as classism, racism, and sexism without doing any work to ever dip below the surface. In fact, her ability to swerve away from actually choosing a side and stating an opinion is almost impressive.
Still, I pressed on thinking “surely Bardugo will find a way to wrap this up in a somewhat satisfying way.”
No.
The last 15% is a slog and (spoilers) the who that dunnit turn out to be both the most boring who-you-expect and the most throwaway character.
Content Warnings
Graphic: Sexual violence, Child abuse, Excrement, Death, Racism, Rape, and Sexual assault
Moderate: Bullying, Drug use, Medical trauma, Murder, and Classism
megbar15's review against another edition
Graphic sexual violence.
Content Warnings
Graphic: Child abuse, Pedophilia, Rape, and Racism
boojangler's review
adventurous
dark
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? No
3.75
Content Warnings
Graphic: Child abuse and Rape
frawst_disasta_reads's review
challenging
dark
emotional
mysterious
sad
tense
medium-paced
- 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
4.25
This book has everything I love: fully realized characters, dark moments, fantasy, and budding friendship. What it doesn’t have, which is refreshing, is romance. This is what A Discovery of Witches should have been, and could have been, if Matthew was a differently written character.
There are graphic scenes, though, and a couple descriptions left me feeling sick.
I couldn’t give it five stars, because I felt the prologue and first chapter didn’t draw me in, so much as confuse me. However, chapter two helped and I found after that, the timelines were fascinating, not just confusing.
There are graphic scenes, though, and a couple descriptions left me feeling sick.
I couldn’t give it five stars, because I felt the prologue and first chapter didn’t draw me in, so much as confuse me. However, chapter two helped and I found after that, the timelines were fascinating, not just confusing.
Content Warnings
Graphic: Death, Drug abuse, Medical content, Injury/Injury detail, Misogyny, Physical abuse, Sexual violence, Drug use, Emotional abuse, Sexual assault, Body horror, Vomit, Blood, Classism, Gore, Addiction, Alcohol, Domestic abuse, and Violence
Moderate: Adult/minor relationship and Child abuse
moonlitmarauder's review
CSA
Content Warnings
Graphic: Child abuse, Sexual assault, and Sexual violence
robles2yggdrasil's review
Alright, I didn't finish the book because I was uncomfortable with the sexual assault and rape that happened in the book. Given I only made it to Chapter 17 (pg. 266), I loved the story and the universe and everything with the occult was great. However, the visualization of the sexual trauma was too much for me.
I added a toned-down, but inclusive overview of what transpired.
I added a toned-down, but inclusive overview of what transpired.
Content Warnings
Graphic: Sexual assault, Murder, Child abuse, and Rape
Moderate: Death, Drug use, Sexual content, Addiction, Drug abuse, Excrement, and Cursing
Spoilers (Sexual Content and Rape): p. 122-123grisha's review
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
4.5
Content Warnings
Graphic: Body horror, Drug abuse, Child abuse, and Death