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kirnet's review against another edition
- Plot- or character-driven? A mix
- Strong character development? Yes
- Loveable characters? Yes
- Diverse cast of characters? It's complicated
- Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes
4.0
I really enjoyed the prose in this, and I ended up really loving Alex's character. I found her really compelling and was happy to follow her thoughts and actions. I love how flawed she is, as well as how she struggles to cope with it. Her relationships with the other characters are also great, mainly Dawes and North. She has a lot of on page chemistry with everyone that keeps things flowing. The story is interesting (though I did predict every twist), and the world building was interesting, but my main gripe with this book was the pacing. A lot of people mention not being invested in the book until very far in, and while I didn't have that exact problem, I did find a lot of the info dumps pretty grating. The book also spends a lot of time jumping back to the past, mostly to set up Darlington's character, or to explain parts of Alex's tragic backstory. In my opinion they happened too often and were too indulgent, really taking me out of the current storyline and investigation. I wonder if it would have been better to have made this book the second in the series, to have the first one actually show Alex and Darlington's growing relationship and ending with the cliffhanger of
Graphic: Drug use, Sexual violence, Sexual assault, Injury/Injury detail, Domestic abuse, Rape, Physical abuse, Pedophilia, Murder, and Addiction
kenziekat'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? No
- Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes
4.5
Moderate: Violence, Sexual assault, Murder, Drug abuse, Drug use, Sexual violence, and Toxic relationship
Minor: Physical abuse and Injury/Injury detail
kileyjojo'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
4.0
This was a fun read. It was a little difficult to get into in the beginning but the middle to end was super suspenseful and interesting. The ending felt like it fumbled the ball just a bit but overall I enjoyed the book. It takes a while to get into it but the payoff is worth it. If you like realistic fantasy and the paranormal, this is the read.
In terms of the content warning, a lot of the SA scenes feel very rushed and used only for shock value. In the moment, they are relevant but they seem to just disappear and never have any other message behind them when all is said and done. They are all very shocking and it makes it very difficult to want to continue the read.
Graphic: Drug abuse, Violence, Physical abuse, Sexual violence, Rape, Grief, Sexual assault, Drug use, Gore, Murder, Sexual harassment, Body horror, Pedophilia, Addiction, Cursing, Death, Excrement, and Panic attacks/disorders
Moderate: Adult/minor relationship
dearhaleynicole'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
4.0
I don’t know why it has taken me so long to read this book truly. It has been on my tbr for FAR too long 👀 Once I got into the story, I absolutely ate up Leigh Bardugo’s writing! Her characters + their backstories and how we find out those backstories through the progression of the book had me gasping for breath it felt like every ten minutes. So many twists and turns in this one. Overall, I really liked reading Ninth House and plan to pick up Hell Bent (the sequel) soon to hopefully get some more Darlington. we need more Darlington.
What I loved:
♡ ba anti-heroine
♡ the audiobook was brilliant
♡ gothic uni setting
♡ well-painted characters
♡ plot twists for days
♡ magical houses + secret societies
♡ unrelenting tension
♡ darlington. 🫶🏻
♡ “there were always excuses for why girls died”
Graphic: Sexual assault, Rape, and Murder
Moderate: Drug use, Drug abuse, and Physical abuse
halefa'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? It's complicated
4.25
Graphic: Rape, Murder, Physical abuse, Blood, Body horror, Death, Sexual violence, Violence, Gore, Sexual assault, and Drug abuse
paula357's review against another edition
- Plot- or character-driven? A mix
- Strong character development? Yes
- Loveable characters? Yes
- Diverse cast of characters? It's complicated
- Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes
3.5
Graphic: Violence, Sexual violence, Physical abuse, Rape, Murder, Blood, Addiction, Vomit, and Death
jhuang'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
5.0
Graphic: Addiction, Sexual assault, Sexual content, Rape, Blood, Cursing, Death, Drug abuse, Drug use, Emotional abuse, Grief, Murder, Injury/Injury detail, Toxic relationship, and Physical abuse
torts's review against another edition
- Plot- or character-driven? A mix
- Loveable characters? Yes
- Diverse cast of characters? Yes
4.25
Graphic: Drug use, Sexual assault, Addiction, Blood, Murder, and Rape
Moderate: Adult/minor relationship, Excrement, Vomit, and Physical abuse
emmiemopho'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
Graphic: Sexual assault, Body horror, Toxic relationship, Sexual harassment, Vomit, Violence, Toxic friendship, Torture, Sexual violence, Sexual content, Rape, Physical abuse, Murder, and Misogyny
Moderate: Blood and Addiction
Minor: Bullying
emilywemily6's review against another edition
- 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? It's complicated
5.0
Graphic: Violence, Schizophrenia/Psychosis , Self harm, Sexism, Classism, Terminal illness, Blood, Injury/Injury detail, Cursing, Death, Gaslighting, Medical content, Gore, Drug abuse, Alcohol, Body horror, Grief, Emotional abuse, Medical trauma, Physical abuse, and Sexual assault
Moderate: Rape, Vomit, Racism, Addiction, Misogyny, Police brutality, Sexual violence, and Stalking