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rwsmith's review against another edition
- 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
it is almost a murder mystery, kind of hunder games adjacent, in that theres a competition that a bunch of teenagers are participating in in a secluded location.
the worldbuilding is awesome, once i finished the book i ended up reading The Locked Tomb wiki for three hours because i wanted to know more. i could have read the rest of the series but i got into a rabbit hole . . .
the writing is well done, the cast of characters are kind of "tropes" on the surface but they all have deeper more complex meanings and experiences beneath the surface that surprised me at every turn. so, somewhat predictable or familiar while still being interesting!
i listened to the audiobook and the narrator was amazing, i could easily tell the characters apart and each inflection the different characters had gave them all so much life and fit them each so well.
overall i highly highly recommend this book to anyone who enjoys a touch of sci-fi in their fantasy magic systems, anyone who's looking for a story with lgbtq+ characters who aren't defined by their sexuality or who's queerness isnt the center the whole story and isn't brushed aside either.
Graphic: Injury/Injury detail, Suicide, Blood, Murder, and Gore
Moderate: Chronic illness, Abandonment, Classism, Death of parent, and Death
Minor: Cancer, Child death, and Gaslighting
scifi_rat's review against another edition
- Plot- or character-driven? A mix
- Strong character development? Yes
- Loveable characters? Yes
- Flaws of characters a main focus? It's complicated
4.75
Graphic: Violence, Grief, Body horror, Death, Gore, and Injury/Injury detail
Moderate: Torture, Cursing, Blood, Bullying, Cancer, Chronic illness, Confinement, Death of parent, Murder, Suicide, Terminal illness, Toxic friendship, and Toxic relationship
Minor: Medical content, Cannibalism, Child abuse, Child death, Vomit, Emotional abuse, and Gaslighting
carrieclothwright's review against another edition
eta: just went through the list of content warnings and wow, for being less than 10% in that's... a lot. I think this book just might not be my style.
Moderate: Blood, Bullying, Toxic friendship, Toxic relationship, Child death, Confinement, Murder, Child abuse, Cursing, Death, Death of parent, Drug use, Emotional abuse, Gaslighting, Injury/Injury detail, Physical abuse, and Violence
snipinfool's review against another edition
- Plot- or character-driven? Plot
- Strong character development? Yes
- Loveable characters? It's complicated
- Diverse cast of characters? Yes
- Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes
3.75
I really, really wanted to love this book. It was an intriguing story. Multiple teams vying for the chance to win accolades is usually a winner for me. While the story centered around Gideon and Harrow, having multiple house teams with both a lead and cavalier made it difficult for me to remember who each person was and what house they were from. I wish the author had written more interactions between the competitors so readers could learn more about their individual characteristics and what role they played. I read the e-book version and there was a "Cohort Intelligence File" at the end which told more about each person in the competition. I would have loved that information at the beginning. I didn't know it was a more detailed cast of characters info until after I finished the story. The pacing of the book was way off for me. The difference between the first half of the book and the second was like night and day. The first half was so slow. I considered DNFing it, but I was reading it for my book group and wanted to give it a chance. The second half was wonderful. It was much more fast paced and I loved every bit of it. Overall, it was an interesting book and I am glad I continued reading it.
Graphic: Death, Murder, Toxic relationship, Violence, Body horror, and Injury/Injury detail
Moderate: Gaslighting, Forced institutionalization, and Terminal illness
boglord'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
5.0
Graphic: Murder, Body horror, Blood, Child death, Genocide, Gore, Grief, Violence, Injury/Injury detail, Terminal illness, and Toxic relationship
Moderate: Child abuse, Chronic illness, Gaslighting, Suicide, Cancer, Emotional abuse, Classism, Forced institutionalization, Cursing, and Death of parent
Minor: War, Cannibalism, Religious bigotry, and Vomit
jonie_rich's review against another edition
- Plot- or character-driven? Plot
- Strong character development? It's complicated
- Loveable characters? Yes
- Diverse cast of characters? Yes
- Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes
5.0
Graphic: Child abuse, Chronic illness, Murder, Physical abuse, Suicide, Suicide attempt, Terminal illness, Vomit, War, Blood, Cancer, Child death, Cannibalism, Genocide, Gore, Medical content, Religious bigotry, Suicidal thoughts, Confinement, Cursing, Death, Death of parent, Body horror, Grief, Mental illness, Gaslighting, Domestic abuse, Emotional abuse, Injury/Injury detail, and Medical trauma
aether_seawo1f'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
4.0
Graphic: Chronic illness, Terminal illness, Body horror, Injury/Injury detail, and Gore
Moderate: Vomit, Blood, Gaslighting, and War
booking_along'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
If my heart had a dick you would kick it.
Gideon was one of the best characters to read about. She’s one of those characters that are just a joy to read.
even though with Gideon, it’s a bit strange to say that, not only on regards of the story itself, but also her character which is just not a joyful character at all.
She’s a snarky ball of sarcasm, deadly and stab happy and would fight a blanket if it looked at her either too long or in a funny way.
But at the same time she’s incredibly caring and loving, friendly and buried deep under all that quick snark she clearly likes people.
so i just enjoyed her and how the story was told with her voice.
the plot itself was good.
honestly it was very chaotic and for 99% of the book it feels like nobody including the author actually knew where it was going and if anything will ever make sense or if there even is an explanation to everything.
and for a lot of things there are never real and logical explanations given.
the murder mysteries and strange puzzles and what it all means are interesting, but i am not sure if i enjoyed it or was just happy once the story finally got over those sections and moved on to trying to short through what’s going on overall.
also the constant thing of nobody being and doing what they were or said to be… it was a lot.
and at the end… there kinda is one that makes some resemblance of sense, so there is that i guess?
what i mean by that it is that there are some resemblance of tries given to explain what’s happening through this book ins own ways. but even those are chaotic and leave a lot more question then answers are given.
also the end is a lot of action to the point where i just wanted it to come to an end somehow because i was getting bored with the kind of fights given.
honestly this story is build on the characters and the writing style itself and less on the actual plot and/or logic or really any kind of connectable sense.
the actual ending ending of this book through?
i am not sure if i want throw something, cry, rip the book or either reread it right away or go on to the next one or never touch this series again.
i am frustrated and sad and the same amounts of disbelief and shock that the author actual did that.
which to be fair is just part of the entire range of emotions i went through while reading the book.
i enjoyed this book. a lot.
but i also kind of hate it?
which is interesting. not sure i ever raged loved a book before? wasn’t even aware sich a thing could happen.
Graphic: Gaslighting, Gore, Murder, Physical abuse, Self harm, Stalking, Violence, Death, Emotional abuse, Suicide, Torture, Toxic friendship, Blood, Cancer, and Chronic illness
ljausten05'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? It's complicated
4.75
Graphic: Blood, Body horror, Cancer, Child abuse, Child death, Chronic illness, Cursing, Death, Death of parent, Emotional abuse, Gaslighting, Grief, Panic attacks/disorders, Self harm, Suicide, Suicidal thoughts, Violence, Injury/Injury detail, Murder, Terminal illness, Toxic friendship, Suicide attempt, Gore, Toxic relationship, and Vomit
Moderate: Colonisation, War, Abandonment, and Confinement
ireadqueerbooks'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: Body horror, Death of parent, Emotional abuse, Medical content, Blood, Gaslighting, Self harm, Suicide, Bullying, Child death, Injury/Injury detail, Murder, Violence, and Vomit