Reviews with content warning for Blood - The Demon in the Wood

Should’ve listened to your mother’s advice mate.

I’m not a Darkling stan, I never will be ~~he does make a great villain though~~ but it’s amazing how one short story could make me empathise with one of the darkest characters in the Grishaverse

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emily_mh's review against another edition

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dark sad fast-paced

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

3.5

This was an atmospheric and entertaining short story. It was interesting seeing a more in-depth view of the Darkling's backstory. However, the narrative seemed confused as to what it was trying to say. The resolution and "character development" was supposed to be about Grisha being persecuted, but the narrative itself backgrounded this topic in favour of showing Grisha infighting and the danger the Darkling was in due to being an Amplifier.

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breedawnwriter's review against another edition

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2.5

The Demon in the Wood is an intriguing short story, but it felt kinda mediocre to me, so I’m giving it 2.5 stars.

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loonieslibrary's review

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dark mysterious reflective sad medium-paced

Plot- or character-driven? Character
Strong character development? It's complicated
Loveable characters? It's complicated
Diverse cast of characters? No
Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes

4.5

It was very interesting to learn more about The Darkling’s tragic past. Leigh is not justifying his actions, but helping the reader understand them.

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mirelg6's review against another edition

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dark mysterious sad fast-paced

Plot- or character-driven? Character
Strong character development? No
Loveable characters? No
Diverse cast of characters? N/A
Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes

3.75

I hate so much the Darkling, but this short story makes me undersand him so much better, even when anything that he does is slightly acceptable it has so much sense, and that's why i love him as character. He's one of the best "villians" i had read.

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beauty_andbooks's review

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adventurous dark emotional sad tense fast-paced

Plot- or character-driven? Character
Strong character development? Yes
Loveable characters? It's complicated
Diverse cast of characters? No
Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes

4.0

The Darkling is one of my favorite characters from the Shadow and Bone trilogy, so I was excited to read a bit of a backstory on him. This was a cute little insight into what perhaps influenced the Darkling’s reactions in S&B. It was short and sweet with a bit of sinister murder. What more could you want? I finished this in 30 minutes, so I think it’s worth a read.

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angelsfw's review

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adventurous dark emotional informative mysterious sad fast-paced

Plot- or character-driven? Character
Strong character development? It's complicated
Loveable characters? N/A
Diverse cast of characters? It's complicated
Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes

5.0

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my_greek_curls's review

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dark mysterious sad slow-paced

Plot- or character-driven? Character
Strong character development? No
Loveable characters? It's complicated
Diverse cast of characters? N/A
Flaws of characters a main focus? No

2.5

It was okay, mainly setting the backstory for the character, what formed him and what drives him. Also a little bit of worldbuilding but not enough, if you read it first you'll be a little confused.

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