Reviews tagging 'Toxic friendship'

Hell Bent by Leigh Bardugo

15 reviews

klsreads's review against another edition

adventurous challenging dark mysterious reflective sad tense medium-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? Yes

4.0

*Extremely long sigh* I made a mistake because I thought this was the final book, not the second in a trilogy. I read it thinking it was going to wrap everything up and ended up pretty disappointed. I was wrong!! That being said, I don't think Hell Bent hit it out of the park like I thought it would. There was so much action and (dare I say) extraneous plot devices that I got whiplash. This isn't the first time I felt that way with Bardugo's writing. I think it worked in Six of Crows, but not as much here. The darkness requires some sitting, some stewing. I think Bardugo needs to fully commit to the audience - is this adult? Mature YA? There's sexual violence, but no sexual autonomy or processing. There's physical and emotional violence, but it doesn't settle. There's urgency, but less understanding. Things aren't reckoned with. College kids don't always act like college kids, cops don't act like cops, people are just kind of...off? I wanted to sit more in the big moments and implications, but found myself getting rushed along despite the first ~300 pages dragging. 

I'm giving this a 4 because I love the premise of the series, and I hope that Bardugo can pull it off with the final novel. There are SO many interesting things going on, and I think she can recapture the balance of the first book, answer the big questions, and actually explore power, class, racism, sexism, colonialism, and violence in academia. 

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Animal death, Body horror, Bullying, Cursing, Death, Domestic abuse, Emotional abuse, Gore, Gun violence, Misogyny, Physical abuse, Racism, Sexism, Toxic relationship, Violence, Blood, Grief, Stalking, Murder, Toxic friendship, Alcohol, Injury/Injury detail, and Classism

Moderate: Confinement, Drug abuse, Drug use, Panic attacks/disorders, Rape, Sexual violence, Vomit, Police brutality, Fire/Fire injury, Sexual harassment, and Colonisation

Minor: Animal cruelty, Child death, Slavery, Suicidal thoughts, and Suicide attempt

prairieraven's review against another edition

adventurous dark mysterious sad tense medium-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

4.25

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Content Warnings

Moderate: Addiction, Alcoholism, Animal cruelty, Animal death, Body horror, Body shaming, Bullying, Cancer, Child death, Confinement, Cursing, Death, Drug abuse, Drug use, Eating disorder, Emotional abuse, Gore, Gun violence, Hate crime, Mental illness, Misogyny, Panic attacks/disorders, Physical abuse, Racial slurs, Racism, Rape, Self harm, Sexism, Sexual assault, Sexual content, Sexual violence, Slavery, Suicidal thoughts, Suicide, Torture, Toxic relationship, Violence, Blood, Vomit, Police brutality, Medical content, Kidnapping, Grief, Medical trauma, Stalking, Car accident, Death of parent, Murder, Fire/Fire injury, Gaslighting, Toxic friendship, Abandonment, Alcohol, Sexual harassment, Colonisation, Dysphoria, Injury/Injury detail, and Classism

paduckling's review against another edition

adventurous challenging dark emotional funny mysterious fast-paced

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

4.0

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Animal death, Body horror, Domestic abuse, Drug abuse, Drug use, Emotional abuse, Gore, Gun violence, Hate crime, Blood, Excrement, Grief, and Murder

Moderate: Addiction, Death, Mental illness, Misogyny, Racism, Rape, Self harm, Sexism, Sexual assault, Sexual content, Sexual violence, Slavery, Violence, Forced institutionalization, Vomit, Police brutality, Schizophrenia/Psychosis , Toxic friendship, Alcohol, Sexual harassment, Injury/Injury detail, and Classism

andra_mihaela_s's review against another edition

mysterious sad medium-paced

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

3.25

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Content Warnings

Moderate: Addiction, Body shaming, Bullying, Child abuse, Death, Emotional abuse, Gun violence, Physical abuse, Racism, Sexual violence, Toxic relationship, Murder, Gaslighting, Toxic friendship, Abandonment, and Classism

Minor: Animal cruelty

theespressoedition's review against another edition

4.5

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Animal cruelty, Animal death, Body horror, Death, Drug abuse, Emotional abuse, Sexual assault, Sexual violence, Suicidal thoughts, Blood, and Murder

Moderate: Cursing, Gore, Rape, Toxic relationship, Violence, Vomit, Toxic friendship, and Injury/Injury detail

jakobmarleymommy's review against another edition

adventurous dark mysterious tense fast-paced

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

3.5

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Content Warnings

Moderate: Animal cruelty, Animal death, Death, Drug abuse, Gore, Mental illness, Misogyny, Rape, Sexual content, Slavery, Suicidal thoughts, Suicide, Torture, Violence, Forced institutionalization, Blood, Vomit, Grief, Suicide attempt, Death of parent, Fire/Fire injury, Toxic friendship, Colonisation, Injury/Injury detail, and Classism

bi_n_large's review against another edition

adventurous challenging dark mysterious tense fast-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

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Animal death, Confinement, Emotional abuse, Gore, Racism, Slavery, Toxic relationship, Blood, Murder, and Toxic friendship

Moderate: Misogyny, Rape, Suicidal thoughts, Grief, Religious bigotry, and Fire/Fire injury

Minor: Drug use and Torture

molly_storm's review against another edition

adventurous challenging dark emotional mysterious fast-paced

• Plot- or character-driven? Plot
• Strong character development? It's complicated
• Loveable characters? Yes
• Diverse cast of characters? Yes
• Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes

5.0

I put off listening to Hell Bent for ages after getting it on Audible, because I figured I would really need to focus on it - the time skips in Ninth House had really baffled me at first but by the end everything made sense so I figured this one would be the same. 

I was definitely not disappointed in the plot! Three nights in a row, I stayed up past 4am listening to this audiobook after going to bed. It flows beautifully - I know a lot of people have said that it’s too fast or feels rushed but I disagree wholeheartedly. 

I’m excited for the story to continue in the 3rd one!

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Animal death, Death, Emotional abuse, Gore, Toxic relationship, Blood, Fire/Fire injury, Toxic friendship, and Injury/Injury detail

Moderate: Addiction, Panic attacks/disorders, Self harm, Blood, Police brutality, Death of parent, and Murder

Minor: Confinement, Drug abuse, Drug use, Mental illness, Physical abuse, Sexual assault, Suicidal thoughts, Torture, Excrement, Vomit, Police brutality, Medical content, Cannibalism, Medical trauma, and Classism

By and large, the above triggers I feel are present are handled appropriately and are not there for gratuitous reasons.

frankieclc's review against another edition

3.0

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Animal death, Violence, and Murder

Moderate: Body horror, Drug abuse, Drug use, Gore, Misogyny, Sexual assault, Blood, and Toxic friendship

Minor: Rape

lovelymisanthrope's review against another edition

adventurous dark mysterious sad tense slow-paced

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

3.5

I read "Ninth House" last year and was captivated by the story, and absolutely dying to see the resolution to the cliffhanger ending
"Hell Bent" is the sequel to "Ninth House" and continues to follow Alex Stern in her journey to free Darlington from purgatory. Alex and Dawes are forbidden from attempting to save Darlington, so they assemble their own team to get the job done.
I did enjoy this story, and I did appreciate how much of an urban fantasy this felt to me, but I was a little bored at times. This book and the series as a whole has a lot of world building because of the magic system. With this being the second book, I wanted to get to the meat of the story faster. I felt at times that there were entire sections that could have been cut out of the book. Perhaps there re easter eggs that will feel more important for the next book, but right now, it felt unnecessary.
I do still really enjoy Alex as a character. She is rough around the edges and so relatable with her chaotic energy. I also really appreciate how committed she is to rescuing those that she loves. Darlington was so good for her, and she is hell bent on saving him.
The mystery that is going on was very okay. I was not super invested in all of the murders and trying to resolve what was happening, but I was not entirely bored by it either.
Will I keep reading this series? Probably. I am invested in Alex as a character, and I do love Leigh Bardugo's writing. 

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Torture, Toxic relationship, Violence, Blood, Stalking, Murder, and Toxic friendship