Reviews tagging 'Cancer'

Dziewiąty dom by Leigh Bardugo

33 reviews

chamaeleontis's review against another edition

dark tense medium-paced

• 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

3.75

Pretty slow start, but when it gets going, it gets GOING.

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Classism, Injury/Injury detail, Medical content, Misogyny, Religious bigotry, Sexual violence, Sexual harassment, Vomit, Child death, Cursing, Sexism, Violence, Rape, Gore, Grief, Gun violence, Gaslighting, Sexual content, Toxic relationship, Domestic abuse, Drug abuse, Infidelity, Racism, Addiction, Alcohol, Antisemitism, Blood, Death, Excrement, Alcoholism, Cancer, Drug use, Murder, Physical abuse, and Sexual assault

folkofthebook's review against another edition

dark emotional funny informative mysterious reflective tense medium-paced

• 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

Mors irrumat omnia. Death fucks us all.

i INHALED this book, omg. this was a VAST change of pace from shadow & bone and i much preferred it. it was very reminiscent to vicious but more complicated with it's worldbuilding and lore and a stronger theme of sexism and corruption in academia and society.

“I let you die. To save myself, I let you die.
That is the danger in keeping company with survivors.”

i LOVE alex, she's a fighter, a survivor. she is grit and teeth and isn't afraid to bite. it was really cool to see sephardic jewish rep and seeing ladino used in magic. darlington is naively pretentious but unavoidably loveable. this is yet another case of i don't know who i want to be or be with more lol. let the bi panic ensue.

“All you children playing with fire, looking surprised when the house burns down”

i would say the first maybe 10-20% or so was slow for me. not bad but i didn't feel driven until a certain point was hit - and then it took off from there. bardugo's creativity in constructing the houses of lethe and crafting how certain magics fit in with them, intermingled with an undercurrent of demonology and other deathlore, and the weaving of race/class/gender politics within a town and society that is very much built for a specific demographic to come out on top was masterful. i also, despite the sometimes grim scenarios, found myself still huffing in a laugh at the dry humor that tended to come from alex.

“I want to survive this world that keeps trying to destroy me.”

i'm excited to jump into book 2 asap! 

Time to go to hell

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Alcohol, Blood, Death, Injury/Injury detail, Murder, Sexism, and Sexual assault

Moderate: Toxic relationship, Drug abuse, Addiction, Classism, Drug use, and Grief

Minor: Cancer, Gun violence, Misogyny, Racism, Suicidal thoughts, and Vomit

bellalalamay's review against another edition

challenging dark emotional mysterious medium-paced

• 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

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Body horror, Addiction, Blood, and Sexual violence

Minor: Cancer and Child death

oxfordcommas91's review against another edition

dark mysterious tense medium-paced

• 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

4.5

At first, I really wasn’t sure I would like this book. The start was rather slow - I respect these types of books have to “set the stage” for what is to come, but it can still be a bit of a slog to get through, and I was having a hard time getting through certain chapters and not knowing what details were “important” to remember. Once I hit about 30% of the way through, though, it was really off to the races! Similarly, the time jumps threw me off at the beginning and I had a tough time calibrating where I was in the story, but this becomes much easier as the book goes on. I ended up really appreciating the back and forth nature and how it set the stage for the grand finale/reveal towards the end. 
This book leans hard into dark magic, occult, rituals, and sacrifices, which I originally wasn’t a fan of, but I got absolutely hooked.
I really love how the author explored the concept of power and class throughout this book. It’s a major theme done in explicit ways, but was also sprinkled throughout in small ways. It did a beautiful job of examining how power is gained, maintained, and expanded amongst those at the top, and the little, if any, repercussions they face for heinous crimes - especially if committed amongst those who are seen as the bottom rungs of society.
I even found myself super intrigued by the occult and dark magic by the end and appreciate this book for opening me up to new genres and types of books.
I am really excited to read “Hell Bent” now!

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Blood, Injury/Injury detail, Murder, Drug use, Drug abuse, Rape, Gore, Death, Sexual assault, and Violence

Moderate: Domestic abuse, Grief, Excrement, Addiction, Classism, and Vomit

Minor: Cancer and Gun violence

While this book isn’t really horror, I would say it’s horror adjacent in many ways, so folks should know that going in!

fionamclary's review against another edition

adventurous dark emotional mysterious medium-paced

• 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

4.0

The premise and plot of this book were excellently executed. Alex was a great main character, and I loved how she had a strong moral compass that still lead her to do grotesque things.

A couple minor but significant complaints:

The way Alex reacted to Darlington's behavior at the Manuscript party seemed odd considering she is a survivor of SA. While you could argue that she is sympathetic and understanding that the drug he got was a form of SA as well, considering how it affected him, that still doesn't make it reasonable that she'd just be fine with everything. This was jarring amidst Bardugo's otherwise decently sensitive and realistic portrayal of Alex as a SA survivor.

I found that Dawes was autism-coded, and that the way Alex describes her initially indicated that Alex dislikes her for her autistic traits. She seems annoyed by her adherence to rules, alienated by her single-minded focus, put off by her ever-present headphones and favoring the same comfortable clothes.

When Alex does finally get closer to Dawes, it's due to shared trauma, not because she sees that there's nothing wrong with the aspects of her that she was initially put off by.

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Body horror, Classism, Gore, Death, Rape, Sexual assault, Blood, Murder, Drug abuse, Violence, and Injury/Injury detail

Moderate: Gun violence, Bullying, Adult/minor relationship, Domestic abuse, and Vomit

Minor: Terminal illness and Cancer

sofiavilla's review against another edition

adventurous dark mysterious medium-paced

• Plot- or character-driven? A mix
• Strong character development? Yes
• Loveable characters? No
• Diverse cast of characters? No
• Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes

4.0

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Violence, Blood, Murder, Sexual assault, and Excrement

Minor: Cancer

tomasalbanez's review against another edition

adventurous challenging dark emotional mysterious tense medium-paced

• Plot- or character-driven? A mix
• Strong character development? Yes
• Loveable characters? Yes
• Diverse cast of characters? Yes
• Flaws of characters a main focus? No

5.0

MEU DEUS. QUE LIVRO BOM! A história te prende enquanto o mundo de Alex desabrocha na sua frente. A mudança de perspectivas é perfeita! No final eu mudei umas 5 vezes entre "como ela vai conseguir terminar a história nesse livro" e "como vai ter mais coisa pra ser contada no livro seguinte". Um começo maravilhoso, um meio intrigante e um final extremamente satisfatório. 

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Misogyny, Child abuse, Death, Sexual assault, Sexual content, Gore, Blood, Sexism, Rape, Excrement, Violence, Murder, and Pedophilia

Moderate: Classism, Emotional abuse, and Toxic relationship

Minor: Cancer, Alcoholism, Drug abuse, Addiction, Drug use, and Suicidal thoughts

jelliestars's review against another edition

dark mysterious medium-paced

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

2.75

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Body horror, Murder, Drug use, Gore, Medical content, Pedophilia, Physical abuse, Rape, Sexual harassment, Addiction, Adult/minor relationship, Alcohol, Blood, Death, Drug abuse, Injury/Injury detail, Sexual assault, Sexual violence, Violence, and Vomit

Moderate: Antisemitism, Classism, Excrement, Toxic relationship, Sexual content, Misogyny, Gun violence, and Emotional abuse

Minor: Cancer, Colonisation, Cursing, Forced institutionalization, Xenophobia, Infidelity, and Slavery

emeraldrina's review against another edition

dark emotional mysterious tense medium-paced

• 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

Wow this book was so good! Outside the restrictions of YA we really see Bardugo’s full range of skills. The characters, the plot, the mystery, all the incredible details of the world - beautifully mixing truth and fantasy - are perfectly crafted. I loved seeing all the little true facts and places of New Haven and Yale and the various societies. And they were seamlessly woven into the story so that it never felt like we were getting info dumps or extraneous detail. At first Alex annoyed me, but the more I learned about her past and motivations the more I loved her. So many of her snarky quips are stuck in my head now and I can’t get enough! I can’t wait to read the sequel!

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Gore, Sexual assault, Drug use, Vomit, Violence, and Murder

Moderate: Addiction, Excrement, Cursing, Adult/minor relationship, Domestic abuse, Murder, Rape, Classism, Injury/Injury detail, Death, Drug abuse, Abandonment, and Blood

Minor: Cancer

patienceholmes's review against another edition

challenging dark mysterious medium-paced

• 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

4.75

Want to make it very explicit that the SA referenced in the content warnings in one instance refers to a minor/p*dophilia. The scene is very graphic. Be safe. 

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Drug abuse, Drug use, Murder, Sexual assault, Death, Violence, Toxic relationship, Pedophilia, Rape, and Sexual violence

Moderate: Blood, Bullying, Addiction, Domestic abuse, Emotional abuse, and Injury/Injury detail

Minor: Abandonment, Gore, Grief, Sexism, Torture, Racism, Sexual harassment, Terminal illness, Alcohol, Infidelity, Misogyny, Physical abuse, Gun violence, Medical content, Vomit, Antisemitism, Cancer, Classism, Cursing, and Gaslighting