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black_cat_iiix's review against another edition
dark
mysterious
tense
medium-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? Character
- Strong character development? It's complicated
- Loveable characters? It's complicated
- Diverse cast of characters? Yes
- Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes
4.0
Content Warnings
Graphic: Gaslighting, Toxic friendship, Self harm, Emotional abuse, Suicide attempt, Suicidal thoughts, Death, and Classism
Moderate: Bullying, Gore, Body horror, Child death, Chronic illness, Domestic abuse, Fire/Fire injury, Injury/Injury detail, Murder, and Kidnapping
noareads415's review against another edition
adventurous
challenging
dark
emotional
informative
mysterious
reflective
slow-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? Character
- Strong character development? Yes
- Loveable characters? N/A
- Diverse cast of characters? Yes
- Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes
3.5
Very complicated story and characters. This book took me over a month to read and normally I read books with this many pages in less than a week. It definitely was a very hard book for me personally to get through especially with the switching perspectives. Overall though it has a good plot and story line.
Content Warnings
Moderate: Alcohol, Blood, Death of parent, and Suicide attempt
Minor: Addiction
hannahcstocks's review against another edition
adventurous
dark
funny
tense
medium-paced
- 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? It's complicated
4.25
Content Warnings
Graphic: Kidnapping, Suicide, Stalking, Blood, Mental illness, Gaslighting, Alcohol, Bullying, Classism, Colonisation, Death, Dysphoria, Infidelity, Murder, Panic attacks/disorders, Self harm, Suicide attempt, Toxic friendship, Toxic relationship, and Violence
weltengaengerin's review against another edition
dark
emotional
mysterious
tense
medium-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? Character
- Strong character development? No
- Loveable characters? It's complicated
- Diverse cast of characters? No
- Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes
3.25
Not going to lie: the booknhad me hooked and turning page afzer page until I finished it.
BUT it also left me unsatisfied and wanting. There was a lot of potential and fun ideas but none of it was really well executed.
There was very little grey, i. e. characters were portrayed very black-and-white. They also all were very edgy and non-conformist and still managed to lack depth and come across very tropey. Which is sad as there is very limited actual plot and mostly a character study and hence the characters remaining so flat despite us getting so much insight and information on them is frustrating.
Alsonsome characters are just annoying in the relationships they have. Specifically the one who feels he needs to protect and solce his best friends problems all on his own. Very annoying and unbelievable.
We also get very little in terms of actual studying. Just some pseudo philosophical stuff sprinkled throughout the pages that wants to be thought provoking but is more embarassing.
Also everyone is on and on about all the benefits and what they get from the fellowship but to me as a reader the actual motivarion / benefits are only believable / clear to me for maybe 2 of the characters.
So yeah. Loved the idea, fell in love with the potential of the story but was disappointed by the execution.
BUT it also left me unsatisfied and wanting. There was a lot of potential and fun ideas but none of it was really well executed.
There was very little grey, i. e. characters were portrayed very black-and-white. They also all were very edgy and non-conformist and still managed to lack depth and come across very tropey. Which is sad as there is very limited actual plot and mostly a character study and hence the characters remaining so flat despite us getting so much insight and information on them is frustrating.
Alsonsome characters are just annoying in the relationships they have. Specifically the one who feels he needs to protect and solce his best friends problems all on his own. Very annoying and unbelievable.
We also get very little in terms of actual studying. Just some pseudo philosophical stuff sprinkled throughout the pages that wants to be thought provoking but is more embarassing.
Also everyone is on and on about all the benefits and what they get from the fellowship but to me as a reader the actual motivarion / benefits are only believable / clear to me for maybe 2 of the characters.
So yeah. Loved the idea, fell in love with the potential of the story but was disappointed by the execution.
Content Warnings
Minor: Suicide and Suicide attempt
ahgauci's review against another edition
adventurous
challenging
dark
emotional
mysterious
reflective
medium-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? Character
- Strong character development? Yes
- Loveable characters? Yes
- Diverse cast of characters? Yes
- Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes
3.0
I really enjoyed the book until the end. It started off as grounded and very character driven before diving into a completely different story as the book was coming to a close. It’s a shame as I found the characters compelling.
Content Warnings
Graphic: Suicide attempt, Violence, Suicide, Incest, and Emotional abuse
bookcasey's review against another edition
adventurous
dark
mysterious
reflective
tense
- Plot- or character-driven? A mix
- Strong character development? Yes
- Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes
4.5
The audiobook has multiple narrators, one for each POV represented, split chapter-by-chapter.
Content Warnings
Moderate: Suicide attempt and Suicidal thoughts
Minor: Antisemitism and Violence
Brief and unexpected description of an antisemetic mass shootingcham721's review against another edition
adventurous
dark
mysterious
tense
fast-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? A mix
- Strong character development? Yes
- Loveable characters? It's complicated
- Diverse cast of characters? Yes
- Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes
5.0
Content Warnings
Graphic: Suicide attempt, Toxic friendship, Death, Injury/Injury detail, Violence, and Confinement
Moderate: Body horror, Blood, and Sexual content
Minor: Sexual harassment and Incest
bunnylewis's review against another edition
mysterious
reflective
medium-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? A mix
- Strong character development? Yes
- Loveable characters? No
- Diverse cast of characters? Yes
- Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes
3.5
It was the first english book I ever read so take my rating with a little grain of salt. I loved the representation tho :)
Content Warnings
Moderate: Suicide attempt
yoursbia's review
mysterious
slow-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? Character
- Strong character development? No
- Loveable characters? It's complicated
- Diverse cast of characters? Yes
- Flaws of characters a main focus? It's complicated
3.0
I just finished this book, and now i can say with certainty that about 70% of it was just random rambling.
Yes, the way the author writes is beautiful, and I love the way she conjures up her sentences on paper, but that's the only good thing going on for this book (and as it might be important to mention, i read the self-published version). The problem is that this book was, possibly, 200 pages too long. There was no plot, and the whole thing felt like it was just a collection of beautiful sentences put together in order to fill up this book, saying everything and nothing at the same time.
More than halfway through this book, nothing had been explained. There are magicians—medeians, as they call them—, there are magic-less people, secret societies, elemental powers, mind-reading, and whatnot. But at no point in the book are these explained. We don't know how the magic system works, we don't know why some people have it, we don't know what they do with it or its impact on the world, we don't know why this is important.
Six people—the most powerful that exist—are invited to join this secret society, where they are promised access to all the knowledge in the world. I would say this is a pretty cool idea for a book, especially with magic involved. Academic secret societies and magic? Yes, please! This book had so much potential, but it was so boring to read because nothing ever happens! All we get to see is them researching some random philosophical topic that doesn't get explained properly, hating on each other, or the vague mention of them having sex.
If you're looking for a found family trope, this is also not the place to be. In the one year these six people had to live and study together, they didn't form any significant relationships with each other. All their conversations started and ended the same way: vague, poetic, and philosophical, with no character development or conclusion whatsoever.
This book was purely just vibes, pretty sentences, and a weird, undeniable sexual tension between all of the characters (and yes, I mean all of them!). Which would honestly not be a problem with me if it wasn't 400 pages! The only time something interesting starts to happen is at the end, when you're too tired to keep reading it. And I admit that I was confused most of the time while doing so.
And i don't mean to be too harsh on the author, especially since i haven't read the traditionally published version. There were definitely things i enjoyed reading too. I loved the ambiguity of the characters, not knowing whether their intentions were good or bad. I loved getting mad at them for their shit actions. I loved Parisa. And i would even say i started to like Callum towards the end, even with him being a literal psychopath (or at least portraying himself to the others as such). I loved Nico and Libby's relationship (which was pre-existent). And i honestly loved the tiny bits of actual plot that we got to see, especially near the end. But as i said, all of this went flat because of the lack of development and exploration of these characters.
Overall, I strongly believe that this book would've been an amazing read if it wasn't so long, possibly even 4 or 5 stars. And i wish i could know what happens next without having to go through another 400 tiring pages to read the next book (which i most likely won't).
Yes, the way the author writes is beautiful, and I love the way she conjures up her sentences on paper, but that's the only good thing going on for this book (and as it might be important to mention, i read the self-published version). The problem is that this book was, possibly, 200 pages too long. There was no plot, and the whole thing felt like it was just a collection of beautiful sentences put together in order to fill up this book, saying everything and nothing at the same time.
More than halfway through this book, nothing had been explained. There are magicians—medeians, as they call them—, there are magic-less people, secret societies, elemental powers, mind-reading, and whatnot. But at no point in the book are these explained. We don't know how the magic system works, we don't know why some people have it, we don't know what they do with it or its impact on the world, we don't know why this is important.
Six people—the most powerful that exist—are invited to join this secret society, where they are promised access to all the knowledge in the world. I would say this is a pretty cool idea for a book, especially with magic involved. Academic secret societies and magic? Yes, please! This book had so much potential, but it was so boring to read because nothing ever happens! All we get to see is them researching some random philosophical topic that doesn't get explained properly, hating on each other, or the vague mention of them having sex.
If you're looking for a found family trope, this is also not the place to be. In the one year these six people had to live and study together, they didn't form any significant relationships with each other. All their conversations started and ended the same way: vague, poetic, and philosophical, with no character development or conclusion whatsoever.
This book was purely just vibes, pretty sentences, and a weird, undeniable sexual tension between all of the characters (and yes, I mean all of them!). Which would honestly not be a problem with me if it wasn't 400 pages! The only time something interesting starts to happen is at the end, when you're too tired to keep reading it. And I admit that I was confused most of the time while doing so.
And i don't mean to be too harsh on the author, especially since i haven't read the traditionally published version. There were definitely things i enjoyed reading too. I loved the ambiguity of the characters, not knowing whether their intentions were good or bad. I loved getting mad at them for their shit actions. I loved Parisa. And i would even say i started to like Callum towards the end, even with him being a literal psychopath (or at least portraying himself to the others as such). I loved Nico and Libby's relationship (which was pre-existent). And i honestly loved the tiny bits of actual plot that we got to see, especially near the end. But as i said, all of this went flat because of the lack of development and exploration of these characters.
Overall, I strongly believe that this book would've been an amazing read if it wasn't so long, possibly even 4 or 5 stars. And i wish i could know what happens next without having to go through another 400 tiring pages to read the next book (which i most likely won't).
Content Warnings
Minor: Suicide attempt and Death
tomas_lw's review against another edition
challenging
dark
emotional
mysterious
reflective
medium-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? Character
- Strong character development? Yes
- Loveable characters? Yes
- Diverse cast of characters? Yes
- Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes
4.5
Fun premise, exceptional characters, pretty good execution.
The plot is simple and fun. Six magicians with exceptionally powerful specialities are selected to join a secret society. But only five can actually join at the end. Cue intrigue, sex, betrayal, magic weirdness, love, hate, death and other fun things.
Over all the book was a great read.
I do have som complaints though.
First of all the author seemed to almost forgot entierly about Reina for almost the entire book which was disapointing since her opening chapter made me really attached to her. I really hope she gets more to do in the next book.
And the ending of the book is very out of left field and exposition heavy. It felt like the author at the last time decided to turn the book into a trilogy and rewrote the ending to set up the sequels. It's a bit heavy handed and not entirely satifying. So lets hope it pays of in the next books!
Also, the book could have had a bit more things happening as most of the book is either characters talking with or thinking about the other characters. Don't get me wrong, I love all these characters and the talking and plotting is terrific, but the pacing of the book could probably have been better with some more action in the middle.
Overall, a great read as I said above and I'm definitely getting the rest of the series ASAP.
The plot is simple and fun. Six magicians with exceptionally powerful specialities are selected to join a secret society. But only five can actually join at the end. Cue intrigue, sex, betrayal, magic weirdness, love, hate, death and other fun things.
Over all the book was a great read.
I do have som complaints though.
First of all the author seemed to almost forgot entierly about Reina for almost the entire book which was disapointing since her opening chapter made me really attached to her. I really hope she gets more to do in the next book.
And the ending of the book is very out of left field and exposition heavy. It felt like the author at the last time decided to turn the book into a trilogy and rewrote the ending to set up the sequels. It's a bit heavy handed and not entirely satifying. So lets hope it pays of in the next books!
Also, the book could have had a bit more things happening as most of the book is either characters talking with or thinking about the other characters. Don't get me wrong, I love all these characters and the talking and plotting is terrific, but the pacing of the book could probably have been better with some more action in the middle.
Overall, a great read as I said above and I'm definitely getting the rest of the series ASAP.
Content Warnings
Graphic: Emotional abuse, Gaslighting, Toxic relationship, Violence, Suicide attempt, Toxic friendship, and Murder
Moderate: Alcohol and Death
Minor: Pedophilia