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emperor_aj'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? Yes
4.0
Graphic: Sexual violence, Death, Toxic relationship, Violence, Blood, Rape, Murder, Gore, and Sexual assault
Moderate: Medical content, Addiction, Alcohol, Injury/Injury detail, Vomit, and Bullying
Minor: Racism, Cursing, Sexism, Fire/Fire injury, Adult/minor relationship, Cancer, Stalking, and Gaslighting
stephliljazz's review against another edition
- 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
Graphic: Addiction, Death, Drug abuse, Violence, Blood, Toxic relationship, and Murder
Moderate: Rape, Panic attacks/disorders, Classism, Suicidal thoughts, Sexual assault, Physical abuse, Vomit, Toxic friendship, and Injury/Injury detail
Minor: Death, Gun violence, Self harm, Cursing, Domestic abuse, Drug use, Alcohol, Blood, Emotional abuse, and Fire/Fire injury
emmirosereads's review against another edition
- 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
3.75
I will be honest and say I don't think I would have gotten through this book, let alone so quickly, if I hadn't listened to the audiobook. The audiobook narrator does a really good job and makes the experience really enjoyable. I love the dark and gritty world Leigh Bardugo builds for us in our world today. I think the way she writes and tells this story is unique in how she flip-flops between timelines, giving us little bits of information to trail us to the big finish. That being said there is a lot of world lore that gets thrown at us at once which can be a lot to take in.
I love Alex Stern as our main character. She's tough and gritty and I love seeing how she fights to overcome and conquer everything in her life, despite everything going against her. I loved seeing how Leigh Bardugo deals with the themes throughout the book, of race and class. Of an underdog getting a second chance at life, but at what cost? Just seeing how she writes and deals with Alex Stern's moral grayness throughout this book.
This book is definitely not for the faint of heart and is not a book for everyone but I'm glad I at least gave it a chance. I'm having mixed feelings about the ending but I'm interested to see what the sequel brings.
Graphic: Drug use, Misogyny, Mental illness, Sexual assault, Addiction, Violence, Drug abuse, and Murder
Moderate: Toxic friendship, Violence, Toxic relationship, and Sexual assault
Minor: Fire/Fire injury and Car accident
cloud_kitty_cat's review against another edition
- Plot- or character-driven? Character
- Strong character development? No
- Loveable characters? It's complicated
- Diverse cast of characters? It's complicated
- Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes
4.5
Graphic: Murder, Violence, Blood, Death, Grief, Rape, Sexual content, Vomit, Drug abuse, Emotional abuse, Drug use, Fire/Fire injury, Gore, Injury/Injury detail, and Medical content
estefizaga's review against another edition
- 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
Moderate: Drug use, Fire/Fire injury, Gun violence, Hate crime, Injury/Injury detail, Mental illness, Addiction, Alcohol, Alcoholism, Excrement, Misogyny, Physical abuse, Rape, Sexual assault, Gaslighting, Gore, Blood, Body horror, Cursing, Death, Grief, Murder, and Drug abuse
annemoon's review against another edition
- Plot- or character-driven? Plot
- Strong character development? Yes
- Loveable characters? Yes
- Diverse cast of characters? Yes
- Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes
4.5
Graphic: Child death, Death, Sexual harassment, Sexual violence, Sexual assault, Injury/Injury detail, Grief, Gore, Drug abuse, Blood, Addiction, Rape, Drug use, Sexual content, Physical abuse, Murder, Mental illness, and Kidnapping
Moderate: Vomit, Toxic relationship, Suicide, Pedophilia, Bullying, and Gun violence
Minor: Fire/Fire injury and Infidelity
quinnpjd930's review against another edition
- Plot- or character-driven? A mix
- Strong character development? Yes
- Loveable characters? It's complicated
- Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes
5.0
Graphic: Addiction, Alcohol, Death, Animal death, Blood, Classism, Murder, Medical content, Gore, Violence, Sexual assault, Sexual violence, Sexual content, Physical abuse, Medical trauma, Injury/Injury detail, Vomit, Misogyny, Fire/Fire injury, Cursing, Rape, Body horror, and Domestic abuse
Moderate: Animal death, Emotional abuse, Excrement, Murder, Misogyny, Cursing, Gore, Grief, Injury/Injury detail, Medical content, Physical abuse, Rape, Self harm, Addiction, Body horror, Classism, Domestic abuse, Drug abuse, Sexual assault, Blood, Death, Drug use, Sexual violence, Stalking, and Violence
Minor: Physical abuse, Body horror, Blood, Drug use, Injury/Injury detail, Gore, Fire/Fire injury, Sexual harassment, Sexual assault, Rape, Trafficking, Sexual violence, Toxic relationship, Death, Misogyny, Murder, and Violence
sam_wal'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? No
4.25
Graphic: Grief, Blood, Murder, Injury/Injury detail, Mental illness, Death, Sexual assault, Cursing, Gore, Drug use, Rape, Addiction, and Drug abuse
Moderate: Emotional abuse, Child abuse, Confinement, Violence, Alcohol, Sexual content, Fire/Fire injury, Medical trauma, and Physical abuse
thequiltyreader'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? No
4.0
Graphic: Gun violence, Violence, Blood, Toxic friendship, Toxic relationship, Death, Drug abuse, Drug use, Gore, Injury/Injury detail, Medical trauma, Murder, and Fire/Fire injury
art_books_chemistry'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? Yes
5.0
Firstly, I loved the setting. Is New Haven a crime ridden city and not as nice as Yale-ites would like to pretend? Totally. But they get locked into their campus and can ignore it and the rest of us just avoid The Green and stick to the main bar area at night. I went to school at the other college in the Havens area and then stayed and worked for an extra year. I really loved the reference to the body found under the giant old tree after Hurricane Sandy since I was around when it happened. It's the little touches like that that help me immerse into a story when I know the setting.
This is peak Dark Academia. Secret Societies have always been shrouded in mystery and the potential of magic. The way Leigh Bardugo went about explaining it in this novel felt incredibly realistic from an outside perspective which allows you to get drawn into the story. I will say that there are a lot of moving pieces that could become confusing. I'm glad I read this on kindle instead of listening to it since I could flip around and make sure I was remembering names and associations correctly, especially since there were time jumps periodically.
I found the plot engrossing, the magic intriguing, and the mystery riveting. As far as characters go, I won't say they are lovable because they have many flaws, some of which are distasteful. This does, however, make them very real which is far more important than a lovable character that is too perfect for the plot to make sense. Plot and character development is top notch though.
TL;DR Amazing urban fantasy, I NEED THE SEQUEL NOW.
Graphic: Death, Drug use, Medical content, Toxic relationship, Blood, Classism, Injury/Injury detail, Cursing, Murder, Violence, and Vomit
Moderate: Rape
Minor: Excrement, Alcohol, Suicide, Fire/Fire injury, Gun violence, Sexual content, and Sexual violence