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mollymoll44's review
4.0
Graphic: Sexual violence and Sexual assault
Moderate: Death, Drug abuse, Emotional abuse, Drug use, Misogyny, and Suicide
jeggert10's review
- Plot- or character-driven? Plot
- Strong character development? Yes
- Loveable characters? Yes
- Diverse cast of characters? Yes
- Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes
5.0
Graphic: Injury/Injury detail, Excrement, Gore, Blood, Bullying, Cursing, Death, Murder, Toxic relationship, and Violence
Moderate: Alcohol, Drug abuse, Drug use, Rape, Sexual violence, Classism, Domestic abuse, Emotional abuse, Grief, Gun violence, Sexual assault, Trafficking, Vomit, Sexual content, and Adult/minor relationship
Minor: Misogyny
chamaeleontis'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
3.75
Graphic: Classism, Injury/Injury detail, Medical content, Misogyny, Religious bigotry, Sexual violence, Sexual harassment, Vomit, Child death, Cursing, Sexism, Violence, Rape, Gore, Grief, Gun violence, Gaslighting, Sexual content, Toxic relationship, Domestic abuse, Drug abuse, Infidelity, Racism, Addiction, Alcohol, Antisemitism, Blood, Death, Excrement, Alcoholism, Cancer, Drug use, Murder, Physical abuse, and Sexual assault
hippievamp'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: Blood, Murder, Addiction, Death, Gore, Toxic relationship, Sexual violence, Classism, Drug abuse, Drug use, Emotional abuse, Excrement, Grief, Injury/Injury detail, Rape, Sexual assault, and Pedophilia
Moderate: Gun violence, Sexism, Domestic abuse, Vomit, Cursing, Toxic relationship, Bullying, Misogyny, Racism, and Violence
Minor: Alcohol, Antisemitism, and Addiction
folkofthebook'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
5.0
Mors irrumat omnia. Death fucks us all.
i INHALED this book, omg. this was a VAST change of pace from shadow & bone and i much preferred it. it was very reminiscent to vicious but more complicated with it's worldbuilding and lore and a stronger theme of sexism and corruption in academia and society.
“I let you die. To save myself, I let you die.
That is the danger in keeping company with survivors.”
i LOVE alex, she's a fighter, a survivor. she is grit and teeth and isn't afraid to bite. it was really cool to see sephardic jewish rep and seeing ladino used in magic. darlington is naively pretentious but unavoidably loveable. this is yet another case of i don't know who i want to be or be with more lol. let the bi panic ensue.
“All you children playing with fire, looking surprised when the house burns down”
i would say the first maybe 10-20% or so was slow for me. not bad but i didn't feel driven until a certain point was hit - and then it took off from there. bardugo's creativity in constructing the houses of lethe and crafting how certain magics fit in with them, intermingled with an undercurrent of demonology and other deathlore, and the weaving of race/class/gender politics within a town and society that is very much built for a specific demographic to come out on top was masterful. i also, despite the sometimes grim scenarios, found myself still huffing in a laugh at the dry humor that tended to come from alex.
“I want to survive this world that keeps trying to destroy me.”
i'm excited to jump into book 2 asap!
Time to go to hell
Graphic: Alcohol, Blood, Death, Injury/Injury detail, Murder, Sexism, and Sexual assault
Moderate: Toxic relationship, Drug abuse, Addiction, Classism, Drug use, and Grief
Minor: Cancer, Gun violence, Misogyny, Racism, Suicidal thoughts, and Vomit
alexstartsthings'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
4.25
Graphic: Injury/Injury detail, Gore, Drug abuse, Violence, Toxic relationship, Murder, Rape, and Death
Moderate: Gun violence, Excrement, Addiction, Classism, Medical trauma, Sexual violence, and Misogyny
emmiemopho'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: Sexual assault, Body horror, Toxic relationship, Sexual harassment, Vomit, Violence, Toxic friendship, Torture, Sexual violence, Sexual content, Rape, Physical abuse, Murder, and Misogyny
Moderate: Blood and Addiction
Minor: Bullying
emilywemily6's review
- 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? It's complicated
5.0
Graphic: Violence, Schizophrenia/Psychosis , Self harm, Sexism, Classism, Terminal illness, Blood, Injury/Injury detail, Cursing, Death, Gaslighting, Medical content, Gore, Drug abuse, Alcohol, Body horror, Grief, Emotional abuse, Medical trauma, Physical abuse, and Sexual assault
Moderate: Rape, Vomit, Racism, Addiction, Misogyny, Police brutality, Sexual violence, and Stalking
emmirosereads's review against another edition
- Plot- or character-driven? Plot
- Strong character development? It's complicated
- Loveable characters? It's complicated
- Diverse cast of characters? Yes
- Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes
3.75
I will be honest and say I don't think I would have gotten through this book, let alone so quickly, if I hadn't listened to the audiobook. The audiobook narrator does a really good job and makes the experience really enjoyable. I love the dark and gritty world Leigh Bardugo builds for us in our world today. I think the way she writes and tells this story is unique in how she flip-flops between timelines, giving us little bits of information to trail us to the big finish. That being said there is a lot of world lore that gets thrown at us at once which can be a lot to take in.
I love Alex Stern as our main character. She's tough and gritty and I love seeing how she fights to overcome and conquer everything in her life, despite everything going against her. I loved seeing how Leigh Bardugo deals with the themes throughout the book, of race and class. Of an underdog getting a second chance at life, but at what cost? Just seeing how she writes and deals with Alex Stern's moral grayness throughout this book.
This book is definitely not for the faint of heart and is not a book for everyone but I'm glad I at least gave it a chance. I'm having mixed feelings about the ending but I'm interested to see what the sequel brings.
Graphic: Drug use, Misogyny, Mental illness, Sexual assault, Addiction, Violence, Drug abuse, and Murder
Moderate: Toxic friendship, Violence, Toxic relationship, and Sexual assault
Minor: Fire/Fire injury and Car accident
kiwij96's review against another edition
- Plot- or character-driven? A mix
- Strong character development? Yes
- Loveable characters? Yes
- Diverse cast of characters? No
- Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes
4.0
The concept for this book is well thought-out: Alex is a young girl plagued by ghosts, both metaphorical and literal, who finds herself with a free pass to one of the most prestigious universities as a result of her gift, and also where finds herself in the midst of at least 3 murder mysteries. However, at times the chapters were too long, paragraphs too clunky or generally too wordy. Her roommate characters were also super forgettable and definitely plot devices.
I would highly recommend checking your trigger warnings for this because there are some heavy topics and triggering scenes in here if you are unprepared.
Graphic: Drug use, Addiction, Death, Adult/minor relationship, Bullying, Drug abuse, Blood, Gore, Gun violence, Injury/Injury detail, Body horror, Murder, Sexual assault, Sexual violence, Torture, Grief, Rape, Self harm, Violence, Medical content, Misogyny, and Vomit