Reviews with content warning for Toxic relationship - Gideon the Ninth

regarding the ending: from the bottom of my heart, tamsyn muir — you can get bent (affectionate) (mostly. i’m mad but i get it but also i want them to be in love but also i guess that’s what fan fiction is for. you’re on thin ice tho))
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actual review:
half the time i had no idea what was going on, but i didn’t care because i was having an incredible time. i wish more books were this unapologetically ambitious with genre, plot, and world building. i’m absolutely feral to start harrow the ninth!!

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achingallover's review against another edition

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adventurous dark mysterious tense slow-paced

Plot- or character-driven? Plot
Strong character development? Yes
Loveable characters? Yes
Diverse cast of characters? Yes
Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes

4.0

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alouette's review against another edition

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adventurous dark funny fast-paced

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

1.5

feels like half the worldbuilding didn't actually make it onto the page, leaving me confused for most of the plot related aspects. the battle scenes were cool and well written, though, and the idea of the trials was fascinating (very danganronpa-esque!).

meanwhile, the character related aspects: while there was a really cool overall cast, the direction the author took with gideon's character and her relationship with harrow made me incredibly uncomfortable. a lot of gideon's POV is just her watching other people accomplish things or discuss things or be proactive, and the things that she accomplishes are often done at the behest of others. she was witty and brave, but felt like more of a commentator than a character.

and then the ending...

for gideon to sacrifice her life for a girl in a position of power over her who legitimately tortured her for years? ew

there's a difference between dark books for the sake of sending a message and books that romanticize abusive behaviour. this leaned heavily towards the latter, especially when half the marketing is about there being lesbians.

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garciaga's review against another edition

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adventurous dark funny mysterious reflective tense medium-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

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ritte_e's review against another edition

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adventurous dark funny mysterious tense slow-paced

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

Creative worldbuilding and solid plot once it gets rolling (which took a while, but it was worth hanging on!). The action scenes were exciting. Gideon is likeable enough, but I really, really enjoyed the character that turned out to be the antagonist the most.

Critique:
Personally, I wasn't too fond of the narrator voice, too snarky for my taste and keeping track of all the characters and titles might have been easier if their given names were used more frequently to describe them.

As for the mystery, the stakes weren't too clear (how final is death in a necromancy setting? What was everyone's goals exactly?) so as a reader you were left guessing about a lot more than just the whodunit. I'm guessing navigating the pages will be easier in the sequel, now that the groundwork of the setting has been established.

I'm not sure yet what to make of the other main character, Harrow, but I'm sure I'll find out in the next book.

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