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infjkiki'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
5.0
Graphic: Violence, Murder, Animal death, Gun violence, Slavery, Death, Kidnapping, Physical abuse, Torture, Gore, Trafficking, Blood, and Genocide
Moderate: Animal cruelty, Bullying, Excrement, Grief, Misogyny, Child death, Cultural appropriation, Death of parent, Abandonment, Ableism, Alcohol, Vomit, Suicidal thoughts, Cursing, and Panic attacks/disorders
lyrapollock'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
4.5
Graphic: Violence, Death of parent, Emotional abuse, Misogyny, Animal cruelty, Death, Addiction, Slavery, Drug use, Injury/Injury detail, Torture, Deportation, Drug abuse, Gun violence, Murder, and Sexual assault
Moderate: Ableism, Animal cruelty, Colonisation, Drug abuse, Drug use, Panic attacks/disorders, Addiction, Deportation, Gun violence, Kidnapping, Physical abuse, and Animal death
ghostlyprince'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: Classism, Addiction, Death, Drug use, Gore, Confinement, Death of parent, Drug abuse, Child death, Gun violence, and Religious bigotry
Moderate: Animal death, Animal cruelty, Chronic illness, Emotional abuse, Abandonment, Child abuse, Cultural appropriation, Fire/Fire injury, Genocide, Slavery, and Torture
Minor: War, Ableism, Alcohol, Body shaming, Kidnapping, Misogyny, Pedophilia, Rape, Sexual assault, Sexual violence, Vomit, Racism, Sexual harassment, Trafficking, Physical abuse, and Sexism
maggies'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: Violence, Injury/Injury detail, Death, Child death, and Confinement
Moderate: Trafficking, Animal death, and Slavery
purplepenning's review against another edition
- Plot- or character-driven? A mix
- Strong character development? Yes
- Loveable characters? Yes
- Diverse cast of characters? Yes
5.0
Graphic: Body horror, Death, Violence, and Addiction
Moderate: Child abuse, Genocide, Gore, Grief, Blood, Murder, Torture, Xenophobia, Animal cruelty, Animal death, Drug use, Gun violence, Hate crime, Injury/Injury detail, Racism, Classism, Confinement, Child death, Vomit, Panic attacks/disorders, and Religious bigotry
Minor: Sexual violence and Trafficking
lindseysquire'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: Violence, Drug abuse, Murder, Genocide, Gore, Mental illness, Child abuse, Trafficking, Kidnapping, Addiction, Panic attacks/disorders, and Cursing
Moderate: Animal death, Xenophobia, War, Child death, Racism, Forced institutionalization, Death of parent, Animal cruelty, and Sexual assault
Minor: Alcohol
A lot of the content warnings occur in flashbacks to the characters’ childhoods, so most of the violence and abuse is happening to children under the age of 15. Please keep that in mind before reading it. It’s an amazing book, but it could be very triggering.mallorypen'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
I love the universe Leigh Bardugo has created with these novels, and I think I enjoyed this even more now as a reread, and now that I’ve seen the show. The backstory of the different countries, the Grisha, the socioeconomic makeup of the Barrel all feel very lived-in and familiar, without the author having to do tons of exposition and history. Even the character backstories are delivered in a bit-by-bit way that feels like how you may learn more about friends and coworkers, simply by spending more time with them through the course of your relationship.
I also appreciate that the character motivations for every person feel 100% believable - it’s tough to write morally-gray heroes in a way that still makes me root for them, but learning their histories made their actions feel rooted in twisted logic/emotion.
The only thing that kind of gives me pause is the different countries are definitely based off of real-world countries and real-world cultures. That said, though, even these potential caricatures feel deep and three dimensional, rather than using stereotypes to populate a fantasy world. It does walk the line, though, and it did sometimes take me out of the story.
Graphic: Child death, Death, and Vomit
Moderate: Xenophobia, Injury/Injury detail, War, and Animal death
Minor: Sexual violence
perhappiness'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
4.5
Graphic: Animal cruelty, Animal death, Ableism, Classism, Mental illness, Panic attacks/disorders, and Violence
Moderate: Xenophobia and Racism
annaae's review against another edition
- Plot- or character-driven? Plot
- Strong character development? Yes
- Loveable characters? Yes
- Diverse cast of characters? No
- Flaws of characters a main focus? It's complicated
4.5
Minor: Death of parent, Violence, Blood, Death, Animal cruelty, Animal death, and Child death
archivofrances's review against another edition
- Plot- or character-driven? A mix
- Strong character development? No
- Loveable characters? Yes
- Diverse cast of characters? Yes
- Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes
4.5
Graphic: Animal cruelty, Animal death, Addiction, Blood, Death, Drug use, Gore, Gun violence, Murder, Slavery, and Violence
Moderate: Classism, Forced institutionalization, Kidnapping, and Torture