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melluzyne's review against another edition
adventurous
dark
emotional
sad
tense
medium-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? A mix
- Strong character development? It's complicated
- Loveable characters? Yes
- Diverse cast of characters? It's complicated
- Flaws of characters a main focus? No
4.5
Content Warnings
Graphic: Gun violence, Violence, and Blood
Moderate: Injury/Injury detail
Minor: Child abuse and Child death
brittbabbles's review
challenging
dark
mysterious
sad
tense
slow-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? A mix
- Strong character development? No
- Loveable characters? It's complicated
- Diverse cast of characters? Yes
- Flaws of characters a main focus? No
4.0
I enjoyed this book, but it started so slow. There were several triggers right up front that made it hard to get through and really didn't add to the story. The world was unique, and the magic was interesting.
Content Warnings
Graphic: Child abuse, Cursing, Death, Gore, Gun violence, Physical abuse, Slavery, Violence, Blood, Cannibalism, Murder, Gaslighting, and Injury/Injury detail
Moderate: Drug use
Minor: Racial slurs and Rape
lnmac13's review against another edition
adventurous
dark
mysterious
tense
slow-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? Character
- Strong character development? Yes
- Loveable characters? Yes
- Diverse cast of characters? Yes
- Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes
3.5
Content Warnings
Graphic: Gore
Moderate: Child abuse, Physical abuse, Racism, Abortion, and Schizophrenia/Psychosis
Minor: Miscarriage and Rape
colorwired's review
This book has an interesting premise but it moves so slowly that I found myself questioning whether I really liked it or not.
I was also very thrown off by The Boy That Lived trope that becomes glaringly present in the first quarter.
There are definitely parts that are dark and scary, but I somehow felt confined even though the story skips around the globe.
I didn’t finish this book because I didn’t want to do the work to plug through everything to get to the point.
I was very disappointed because I was initially very excited about this book.
I was also very thrown off by The Boy That Lived trope that becomes glaringly present in the first quarter.
There are definitely parts that are dark and scary, but I somehow felt confined even though the story skips around the globe.
I didn’t finish this book because I didn’t want to do the work to plug through everything to get to the point.
I was very disappointed because I was initially very excited about this book.
Content Warnings
Moderate: Addiction, Body horror, Child abuse, Child death, Chronic illness, Confinement, Death, Drug abuse, Drug use, Emotional abuse, Gore, Mental illness, Physical abuse, Racism, Forced institutionalization, Blood, Police brutality, Kidnapping, Grief, Cannibalism, Stalking, Death of parent, Murder, Fire/Fire injury, Gaslighting, Toxic friendship, Abandonment, and Classism
Minor: Trafficking
callistag1's review
dark
tense
slow-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? Plot
- Strong character development? It's complicated
- Loveable characters? It's complicated
- Diverse cast of characters? Yes
- Flaws of characters a main focus? It's complicated
1.5
This is one of those books that had potential, had intrigue, and even had a compelling start, but it failed to keep that engagement throughout the book and quickly turned into a snooze fest where I was just wanting to get done with this book.
So, for the good part: The beginning was very good at getting you hooked... for a while. The settings and events that revolve around the introduced characters have a great set up, especially for Marlowe (and Eliza), Alice, and Charlie. Their meetings and the events they go through with learning about the two boys' powers and what the mysterious shadow man they are running from, with the help of Alice, to get to an institute that is meant to protect them and help them harness/control their powers gets you hooked.
But after that, the story goes downhill from there. I think it has to do with Alice being split up from the boys, but also there were a lot of things that just made this book feels flat. None of the other characters interested me much besides Jacob and Brynt. Despite how annoyingly long this book was, it felt like the characters got no development and we just saw them on a surface level because we were "told" more than "shown."
Speaking of how long this book was, at least a good 100 pages could have been lopped off, possibly more, because so much of it felt unnecessary. I say this because I remember so little of this book and I just finished reading it. Things felt repetitive at times to the point I just started skimming it, and it felt like everything from the beginning of the book was a waste of a start for a book that became so very boring.
Also, you can definitely tell this book is written by a man because practically every woman who is around Marlowe is hit with sudden 'maternal instincts,' which isn't how that works. And you also know this was written by a man because Eliza, a "minor" character who helped raise Marlowe, is shown to have deep maternal love for him and care, but when she has a miscarriage of her own baby, the book quite literally says, "And that was that."
I understand Eliza's baby wasn't conceived out of love, but for a character that cares for Marlowe the way she did to have no reaction at all from miscarrying is odd. Even if she didn't mourn the child she lost, you would think she could have had a negative response as this pain would have reminded her of the sexual trauma she went through. But that was just glossed over.
Also Alice's feelings weren't really looked at besides skimming he surface. She learns her mother, who was obviously mentally unwell and had been in an alyssum that she never visited, had been dead for seven years because no one contacted her when it happened. And she has barely any reaction. I wasn't expecting her to burst into tears, but this just felt like these things were more to shock the audience that do anything in terms of the character's response and lives.
Just want to say, if you do decide to read this book, I'd say read a physical or digital copy if you can and not listen to the audiobook. I was doing both, but I mostly read it because the audiobook was not for me. I didn't care for the narrator personality. Some of the accents he did were too thick, as if he was trying to hard, and it made it hard to understand what he was saying.
I don't think I'll be continuing this series.
Content Warnings
Graphic: Child abuse, Child death, Death, Gore, Misogyny, Physical abuse, Racism, Sexism, Blood, Police brutality, Murder, and Injury/Injury detail
Moderate: Body horror, Mental illness, Miscarriage, Rape, Sexual assault, Death of parent, and Fire/Fire injury
Minor: Hate crime
anns_storybound_sanctuary's review
challenging
dark
emotional
mysterious
sad
tense
slow-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
I love this book. Another 5/5 this year.
What impressed me the most was the story telling, the world building, the characters and how the author achieved it to give every character their own voice. The diction, punctuation and grammar is different for every character which gives them even more depth.
The prose is also just gorgeous. The way J. M. Mirow describes each scene, setting the mood before diving into the action. This for me makes the storytelling even more immersive
The story itself is set mostly in Vicotrian England, at the end of the 17th century. This gives this book a dark academia feeling even though half of the cast of characters is under the age of 18. The story is written in a lot of different POVs which contribute to the immersion.
I wouldn't rate this book as a YA novel as which it was marketed here. There is a lot of violence and loss in this book. Which I as an adult reader appreciated but is not fit for children.
What impressed me the most was the story telling, the world building, the characters and how the author achieved it to give every character their own voice. The diction, punctuation and grammar is different for every character which gives them even more depth.
The prose is also just gorgeous. The way J. M. Mirow describes each scene, setting the mood before diving into the action. This for me makes the storytelling even more immersive
The story itself is set mostly in Vicotrian England, at the end of the 17th century. This gives this book a dark academia feeling even though half of the cast of characters is under the age of 18. The story is written in a lot of different POVs which contribute to the immersion.
I wouldn't rate this book as a YA novel as which it was marketed here. There is a lot of violence and loss in this book. Which I as an adult reader appreciated but is not fit for children.
Content Warnings
Graphic: Addiction, Child abuse, Death, Violence, Blood, Grief, and Fire/Fire injury
Moderate: Torture, Murder, Abandonment, and Injury/Injury detail
Minor: Ableism, Drug abuse, Drug use, Gore, and Death of parent
bookishinorlando's review
dark
emotional
mysterious
sad
slow-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? Character
- Loveable characters? No
- Diverse cast of characters? No
3.0
This book dives into a world of kids with some seriously creepy talents. Think skeletons dancing and flesh melting—definitely not your usual magical school story. The pacing in the beginning can be a bit like watching paint dry, especially with all the grim street life and trauma these kids go through. It takes a while to get to the juicy bits about the villain, Jacob, and what’s really going on at the institute.
I almost gave up a bunch of times because it felt like nothing was happening, but I stuck it out, the last few chapters are where it finally gets interesting.
It’s part of a trilogy, but I’m not sure if I’m up for more of the same slow burn. If you’re into dark and gritty stories with a hint of hope, this might be your jam.
I almost gave up a bunch of times because it felt like nothing was happening, but I stuck it out, the last few chapters are where it finally gets interesting.
It’s part of a trilogy, but I’m not sure if I’m up for more of the same slow burn. If you’re into dark and gritty stories with a hint of hope, this might be your jam.
Content Warnings
Graphic: Child abuse and Physical abuse
carizia's review
adventurous
dark
emotional
mysterious
tense
slow-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
Content Warnings
Graphic: Body horror, Child abuse, and Blood
Moderate: Racism
tealdeal's review
adventurous
dark
mysterious
tense
medium-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? Character
- Strong character development? It's complicated
- Loveable characters? No
- Diverse cast of characters? Yes
- Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes
3.5
I really liked the thought behind the book. Though the characters i think could have had more to them, and i really disliked the run on sentences. I appreciate what the writer was trying to do and i liked it. Not sure if i will read the other two books though because the run on sentences were driving me crazy. Also there is a crow on the cover but a crow was only referenced once.
Content Warnings
Graphic: Body horror, Child abuse, Death, Gore, Torture, and Blood
torie444's review against another edition
challenging
dark
emotional
mysterious
sad
tense
slow-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
4.0
Content Warnings
Graphic: Body horror, Child abuse, Child death, Death, Emotional abuse, Gore, Self harm, Blood, Grief, Death of parent, and Murder
Moderate: Abandonment