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ladyandherlibrary'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? No
4.5
Graphic: Blood, Murder, Medical content, Gore, and Death
Moderate: Cannibalism
mybookthrone's review against another edition
- Plot- or character-driven? Plot
- Strong character development? No
- Loveable characters? Yes
- Diverse cast of characters? No
- Flaws of characters a main focus? No
4.0
Graphic: Blood, Violence, Vomit, Murder, Injury/Injury detail, Gore, Grief, and Death
mrdcoolblue'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
3.5
Graphic: Blood, Death, and Gore
Moderate: Violence
vike's review against another edition
- Plot- or character-driven? A mix
- Strong character development? Yes
- Loveable characters? It's complicated
- Diverse cast of characters? It's complicated
- Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes
4.0
Graphic: Death and Gore
misslescano'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
4.5
Graphic: Gore and Blood
Moderate: Misogyny, Death, and Murder
zarasaleem's review against another edition
- Plot- or character-driven? A mix
- Strong character development? Yes
- Loveable characters? It's complicated
- Diverse cast of characters? It's complicated
- Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes
2.5
Graphic: Gore, Murder, and Death
starryorbit12'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? It's complicated
4.0
Conversely, the mystery held the same probably as the first in which I guess the murderer shortly after they are introduced. It's the problem of having a limited cast of characters and limiting actual interaction or development to only a few of that already limited cast. The murderer is never somebody that the main characters have never met or only briefly interacted with because then it feels out of nowhere. Realistically, there only a few characters with enough page time for it to be. It doesn't take much deducing from there.
It's like the romantic conflict in this one. The conflict basically just boiled down to having Thomas act against the things that made a likable and memorable love interest. The thing about the relationship in the first book that was so great, especially for historical normal, was how much Thomas respected Audrey. He saw her as intelligent and capable, and he never coddled her like the other men in her life tried too. Even when they are about to do something dangerous, he taught her how to protect herself rather than trying to convince her or force her not to go through with her plan. This book he constantly tries to dicate her life, and he constantly goes around behind her back to do so. Is that Audrey is so clear that the one thing she wants from him is expect for her independence he keeps acknowledging that while simultaneously going behind her back, and it leads to her being humiliated in front of her classmates that already think her lesser because of sexism. He stops about halfway through the book, but the apology feels more like an excuse because the crux of it is him claiming not to have thought of the consequences in his bad attempts at emotional support. However, Audrey was very clear about what she did not want him to do. It's disheartening because the respect and admiration for Audrey was what distinguished Thomas from the countless other dark haired, sarcastic male love interests with a tragic backstory. The relationship recovers some of its charm near the end, but be prepared to want to kick Thomas for at least half the book.
Graphic: Blood, Death, Gore, Grief, Murder, and Violence
Moderate: Medical content, Misogyny, and Sexism
Minor: Death of parent and Kidnapping
abbyx's review against another edition
- Plot- or character-driven? Plot
- Strong character development? No
- Loveable characters? Yes
- Diverse cast of characters? No
- Flaws of characters a main focus? It's complicated
3.0
Graphic: Blood, Death, Gore, and Murder
hazel_t23'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
4.75
Graphic: Gore and Body horror
Moderate: Death, Murder, Sexism, and Misogyny
Minor: Lesbophobia
alexiab's review against another edition
- Plot- or character-driven? Plot
- Strong character development? No
- Loveable characters? Yes
- Diverse cast of characters? It's complicated
- Flaws of characters a main focus? No
3.75
I think Kerri Maniscalco is really great with setting up a cool aesthetic, and keeping a story intriguing enough to follow along, but I don’t think the mystery aspect of these books is as killer as it could be. It’s less “we’re solving murder mysteries because we work in forensics and it’s what we do” and more “we keep getting personally pulled into these horrific situations because of who we and our families are”. I liked how deeply the plot of book 1 affected Audrey Rose going into this book - cuz like how could it NOT that was very traumatic - but I would have liked to see her discuss it more, and grow from the trauma rather than just kinda pushing through until it didn’t matter anymore.
But hey, there’s a sharp and witty leading lady, a sassy charming brunette boy who simps for said lady 24/7, and a couple badass lesbian warriors, so overalls I can’t complain.
Graphic: Gore and Violence