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grizzlysnack's review against another edition
- Plot- or character-driven? Character
- Strong character development? No
- Loveable characters? No
- Diverse cast of characters? No
- Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes
3.0
Graphic: Murder, Violence, and Suicide
Moderate: Sexual content and Sexual violence
Minor: Drug abuse and Alcohol
sab7800's review against another edition
- Plot- or character-driven? Character
3.0
Graphic: Death, Murder, and Suicide
Moderate: Homophobia, Sexual violence, Addiction, Alcoholism, Domestic abuse, Drug abuse, Drug use, Eating disorder, and Grief
achallinan'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
4.5
Graphic: Drug abuse, Sexual violence, Murder, and Violence
fandomsandfiction's review against another edition
- Plot- or character-driven? A mix
- Strong character development? No
- Loveable characters? Yes
- Diverse cast of characters? No
4.0
Moderate: Violence, Death, Drug use, Toxic relationship, and Sexual violence
Minor: Addiction, Eating disorder, and Vomit
tinyjude's review against another edition
- Plot- or character-driven? Character
- Strong character development? It's complicated
- Loveable characters? It's complicated
- Diverse cast of characters? No
4.0
Pretentious, dramatic and passionate theatre kids who bring to life shakespearean plays both in ans offstage, are a tangled mess of emotions and riddles while also being quite flat characters. I liked the writing, it was fitting for the theme and atmosphere. I loved some passages and use of the plays throughout the story to obscure and bring light to the characters' feelings. I enjoyed the drama and the story. I had my doubts about dark academia books but this one made it for me and now I know I yearn for more books with theatre actors as protagonists being unhinged and frustrating. I also liked the references to some motifs in Shakespeare's plays (ghosts, lies, blood, guilt, madness). As a Shakespeare enthusiastic, especially his tragedies and villains, I am content.
The parts that mostly bother me are for example, what exactly did send Alexander spiraling into overdose? Was it the guilt in all cases? Did Richard haunt them so bad as a ghost like in Macbeth? Did Wren knew all along it was James? I needed to see them descend into madness more.
At some point I truly thought I was being lied by the internet and my own biased analysis, which always searches for some homoerotic subtext, because HELL the moments between Oliver and James were sparse. Those weren't even crumbs, I was holding the ship with a thread and both eyes closed, going by instinct. So yeah, the slow-burn was way too much, as it didn't deliver the relief you would expect after so many "heteronormative looking" scenes (idk how to describe it bc the book had me doubting my bisexual suspicions and then rooting for a poly relationship between Oliver Meredith and James). (What do you mean a botherly kiss that is not quite brotherly? but yeah, only one brief kiss, nothing else, no more scenes between them that hint at their feelings before or after halloween. I am not even asking for a love confession or any grand gesture, but more subtle scenes between them, more tension... idk i went insane, i am in pain but i also apprecite how complicated their relationship is, as they were best friends, brothers, partners in crime, lovers, enemies...). Or more about the internal turmoil they had going on realizing they are queer, which we barely got because they didn't want to think about it... I wanted to see how they come to terms with their sexuality, the guilt and love they felt (this specially)!!!
I probably forget many things I want to say but frankly I have been reading 3h non-stop and cried at the ending, so cut me some slack.
Graphic: Suicide, Toxic friendship, Violence, Addiction, Alcohol, Alcoholism, Biphobia, Drug abuse, Panic attacks/disorders, Sexual content, Bullying, Death, Infidelity, Murder, Sexual violence, Classism, Misogyny, Blood, Body shaming, Child abuse, Domestic abuse, Eating disorder, Homophobia, and Physical abuse
nicolebooks's review against another edition
- 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
Graphic: Alcohol, Death, Domestic abuse, Toxic friendship, Suicide, Violence, Murder, and Grief
Moderate: Addiction, Blood, Drug abuse, Drug use, Emotional abuse, and Sexual violence
Minor: Eating disorder
jacobandthefrogs's review against another edition
- Plot- or character-driven? Character
- Strong character development? It's complicated
- Loveable characters? It's complicated
- Diverse cast of characters? No
- Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes
4.75
Theatre troupe of 7 turns to a shatter 6 when one of them is dead after the opening night of their first show of the year.
The characters in this book took me as a reader by storm, with terrible decisions but realistic voices. If someone spoke to me any of their dialogue in real life I would tinge on the feeling of unsafeness and insanity around them, because their voices are dipped and coated in that old English of Shakespeare in at least 25% of their words on paper. I knew this book would highlight many of Shakespeare’s plays given the synopsis but the depth and thought given to how they are interpreted really adds a much deeper level to how I appreciated the novel.
Graphic: Addiction, Alcohol, Blood, Bullying, Child abuse, Cursing, Death, Drug abuse, Drug use, Eating disorder, Emotional abuse, Gore, Grief, Homophobia, Hate crime, Injury/Injury detail, Mental illness, Murder, Physical abuse, Sexism, Sexual assault, Sexual content, Sexual harassment, Sexual violence, Toxic friendship, Toxic relationship, Terminal illness, Violence, Alcoholism, Body shaming, and Domestic abuse
Moderate: Biphobia and Homophobia
ruthio's review against another edition
- 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? It's complicated
4.5
Moderate: Drug use
Minor: Sexual violence and Sexual content
jenniferpalmblad's review against another edition
- Plot- or character-driven? Character
- Strong character development? Yes
- Loveable characters? Yes
- Diverse cast of characters? It's complicated
- Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes
5.0
Graphic: Addiction, Alcohol, Bullying, Death, Drug abuse, Drug use, Domestic abuse, Emotional abuse, Murder, Physical abuse, Toxic friendship, Toxic relationship, and Violence
Moderate: Blood, Grief, Misogyny, Sexual violence, Sexual content, Suicidal thoughts, Suicide, Suicide attempt, and Vomit
ceallaighsbooks'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
5.0
“This… This is the excellent foppery of the world, that, when we are sick in fortune—often the surfeit of our own behavior—we make guilty of our disasters the sun, the moon, and the stars… as if we were villains on necessity; fools by heavenly compulsion; knaves, thieves, and treachers by spherical predominance; drunkards, liars, and adulterers by an enforc’d obedience of planetary influence; and all that we are evil in, by a divine thrusting-on!” He looked heavenward, made a fist, and shook it at the stars. A laugh blossomed from his lips and rang in my ears, bold and unabashed. “An admirable evasion of whore-master man, to lay his goatish disposition to the charge of a star!” — James speaking lines from King Lear
“The thing about Shakespeare is, he’s so eloquent… He speaks the unspeakable. He turns grief and triumph and rapture and rage into words, into something we can understand. He renders the whole mystery of humanity comprehensible.”
“The sky was clear and quiet, stars peering curiously down at us from a wide dome of indigo. The water, too, was still, and I thought, what liars they are, the sky and the water. Still and calm and clear, like everything was fine. It wasn’t fine, and really, it never would be again.”
- The Secret History, by Donna Tartt—these two books are remarkably similar to the point where if you like one you’ll probably enjoy the other, but also *entirely* different to the point where you couldn’t even begin to really compare them… isn’t that fun??? 😂😂
- Oligarchy, by Scarlett Thomas
- The Historian, by Elizabeth Kostova
- Ninth House, by Leigh Bardugo
- The Bookman’s Tale, by Charlie Lovett
- The Rehearsal, by Eleanor Catton
Graphic: Violence, Bullying, Drug use, and Drug abuse
Moderate: Eating disorder and Sexual violence