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livvmarks'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
Moderate: Blood, Fire/Fire injury, Sexual content, Slavery, Animal death, Body horror, Car accident, Pregnancy, Self harm, Sexual assault, Classism, Gun violence, Medical content, Drug abuse, Drug use, Injury/Injury detail, Suicidal thoughts, Suicide attempt, Vomit, Death, Grief, Physical abuse, Addiction, Gore, Misogyny, War, Animal cruelty, Alcohol, Torture, Alcoholism, Domestic abuse, Genocide, Murder, and Violence
moond4ncer'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
4.0
Graphic: Vomit, Blood, Cursing, Drug abuse, Drug use, Grief, Medical trauma, Sexism, Sexual content, Suicidal thoughts, Xenophobia, Body horror, Car accident, Murder, Violence, Alcohol, Medical content, Sexual harassment, and Slavery
rchulin1'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? It's complicated
4.25
Graphic: Alcoholism, Fire/Fire injury, Sexual content, Suicidal thoughts, Violence, Vomit, War, Medical content, Physical abuse, Addiction, Drug abuse, Injury/Injury detail, Slavery, Grief, Gun violence, Blood, Animal cruelty, Drug use, Alcohol, Cursing, Mental illness, Body horror, Body shaming, Bullying, Car accident, Gore, Classism, Death, Hate crime, and Murder
mad_books_'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: Addiction, Drug abuse, Confinement, Fire/Fire injury, Body horror, Classism, Cursing, Gun violence, Death, Gore, Slavery, Suicidal thoughts, Blood, Car accident, Murder, Injury/Injury detail, Abandonment, Violence, War, Drug use, and Grief
angelofthetardis'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
3.5
My first reaction was that it was an odd juxtaposition; people with various magical abilities driving cars, using mobile phones and enjoying Saturday night sport, and while the author of course makes it work, I wasn't as easily able to immerse myself in the world; the intrusion of the familiar made it harder to suspend my disbelief. Imagining an avenging angel slobbing out on the couch wearing a baseball cap and football jersey, wings and all, is brilliant, funny and certainly more relatable than a lot of the other males in Maas' writing (even if he does share the usual trait of the ultimate ripped body), but that's precisely the issue. I like my fantasy characters to be precisely that - fantasies.
I enjoyed the characterisations of both the individuals and the different beings very much; there are a lot more shades of grey in here, which definitely makes the reading more interesting. However, there are a LOT of creatures to get to know, and at times I found it hard to keep track of everything. There's not much of an 'on ramp' with this world; you're dropped almost straight into the middle of it and left to fend for yourself, picking things up as you go. And where in her other series there have been some similarities that allow you to grasp basic concepts, again this setting is so different it's a lot harder to establish the ground rules.
Similarly, understanding the structure and hierarchy of the world isn't exactly straightforward. I do like the Roman-inspired feel of the city as a whole, but it took me a while to get to grips with the angelic legions, the Aux and so on. It's just a lot to wrap your head around.
I would say that this story doesn't flow quite as well as her other works either. The story has certainly been well mapped out in the author's head, but the writing somehow just feels a bit clunky - the development of the relationship between Bryce and Hunt, while clearly inevitable, just seems to happen in the blink of an eye, rather than via the slow build which Maas is so good at. And some of the twists aren't so much shocking as head-scratchingly confusing.
I'm thinking this one might be a 'soaker' - it just needs to marinade in my head for a while before I 'get' it in the same was as TOG and ACOTAR. Also wondering if the graphic audio version might help. I do want to see where the series goes and how we end up at the spoilers I've heard about the end of book 2, but I am hoping for better next time around...
Graphic: Gore, Slavery, Violence, Blood, Torture, Injury/Injury detail, Death, Drug use, and Murder
Moderate: Suicidal thoughts, Medical trauma, Drug abuse, Sexual harassment, Medical content, Alcohol, Gun violence, Cursing, Sexual content, and War
Minor: Animal cruelty, Bullying, Vomit, and Car accident
mads_reads_books'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: War, Suicide attempt, Slavery, Self harm, Death, Torture, Suicidal thoughts, and Violence
Minor: Forced institutionalization, Trafficking, Toxic relationship, Violence, Torture, Car accident, Child abuse, Death, Racism, Sexual harassment, Gun violence, Murder, Slavery, Emotional abuse, Hate crime, War, Animal cruelty, Classism, Colonisation, Domestic abuse, Drug use, Injury/Injury detail, Police brutality, Suicidal thoughts, and Suicide attempt
ladydeathnesta'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
I love them equally.
Graphic: Body shaming, Fatphobia, Forced institutionalization, Mental illness, Religious bigotry, Domestic abuse, Genocide, Kidnapping, Racial slurs, Sexual content, Sexual harassment, Confinement, Stalking, Car accident, Classism, Infidelity, Misogyny, Toxic friendship, Dysphoria, Eating disorder, Emotional abuse, Fire/Fire injury, Gaslighting, Physical abuse, Pregnancy, Violence, Toxic relationship, Vomit, War, Body horror, Murder, Racism, Sexism, Slavery, Child abuse, Child death, Drug abuse, Colonisation, Death, Death of parent, Gore, Gun violence, Hate crime, Medical content, Suicidal thoughts, Xenophobia, Panic attacks/disorders, Torture, Abandonment, Animal cruelty, Bullying, Cursing, Grief, Sexual violence, Addiction, Alcohol, Dementia, Ableism, Animal death, Deportation, Drug use, Medical trauma, Rape, Blood, Injury/Injury detail, Pandemic/Epidemic, Police brutality, Self harm, Suicide, and Trafficking
elledanie'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
Minor: Self harm, Suicide attempt, Torture, Blood, Bullying, Cursing, Death, Grief, Medical content, Animal death, Murder, Sexual content, Slavery, Suicidal thoughts, War, Abandonment, Alcohol, Violence, Car accident, Chronic illness, Drug abuse, Injury/Injury detail, Classism, Gun violence, Vomit, Addiction, Death of parent, Drug use, and Gore
lava_crown's review
- Plot- or character-driven? A mix
- Strong character development? Yes
- Loveable characters? Yes
- Diverse cast of characters? It's complicated
- Flaws of characters a main focus? No
5.0
Graphic: Sexual harassment, Panic attacks/disorders, Murder, Grief, Blood, Suicidal thoughts, Gore, Violence, Sexism, Death, Cursing, Alcohol, Slavery, Drug use, Drug abuse, and Injury/Injury detail
Moderate: War and Alcoholism
Minor: Animal cruelty, Animal death, Medical content, Medical trauma, Stalking, Car accident, Genocide, and Gun violence
kam_be's review against another edition
- Plot- or character-driven? A mix
- Strong character development? Yes
- Loveable characters? Yes
- Diverse cast of characters? It's complicated
- Flaws of characters a main focus? No
5.0
Graphic: Bullying, Drug use, Injury/Injury detail, Murder, War, Racism, Torture, Gun violence, Medical trauma, Sexual content, Alcohol, Blood, Grief, Death, Gore, Slavery, Violence, Drug abuse, Emotional abuse, and Hate crime
Moderate: Suicide attempt and Suicidal thoughts
Minor: Death of parent, Panic attacks/disorders, Car accident, Infidelity, and Trafficking