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brentdot's review against another edition
3.25
Graphic: Bullying, Child abuse, Death, Domestic abuse, Emotional abuse, Gun violence, Infidelity, Mental illness, Misogyny, Physical abuse, Sexism, Sexual content, Sexual violence, Torture, Toxic relationship, Blood, Murder, Gaslighting, and Abandonment
itsheyfay's review against another edition
- Loveable characters? It's complicated
- Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes
3.25
Graphic: Child death, Death, Infidelity, Self harm, Violence, Blood, Grief, Murder, and Abandonment
Moderate: Gun violence, Misogyny, Physical abuse, Sexism, and Religious bigotry
Minor: Adult/minor relationship and Cancer
boop123's review against another edition
- Plot- or character-driven? A mix
- Strong character development? It's complicated
- Loveable characters? No
- Diverse cast of characters? No
- Flaws of characters a main focus? It's complicated
3.25
On the positive side, the worldbuilding and rules behind how Hell works was impressive. I am glad the author took her time explaining to the readers how it works and it seemed like it was cohesive. I also loved the characters in Hell (Pey, Cal, etc.) because it was like they were morally ambiguous characters (given that they were in Hell for different reasons). The worldbuilding peaked my interest the most because there was this whole corporate hierarchal vibe going so I commend the author for dedicating her time to the worldbuilding.
Graphic: Death, Infidelity, Self harm, Suicide, and Murder
Moderate: Deadnaming, Pedophilia, Physical abuse, Sexism, and Alcohol
Minor: Eating disorder
esme_may's review
- Strong character development? Yes
- Flaws of characters a main focus? It's complicated
3.5
Graphic: Child death, Death, Gun violence, Infidelity, Self harm, Violence, Blood, Grief, Murder, and Injury/Injury detail
Moderate: Body horror, Body shaming, Bullying, Cursing, Domestic abuse, Drug abuse, Drug use, Emotional abuse, Misogyny, Physical abuse, Sexism, Sexual content, Suicide, Torture, Toxic relationship, Pregnancy, Toxic friendship, and Alcohol
Minor: Cancer, Terminal illness, Medical content, Car accident, Abortion, and War
micaelamariem's review
- Plot- or character-driven? A mix
- Strong character development? It's complicated
- Loveable characters? No
- Diverse cast of characters? No
- Flaws of characters a main focus? It's complicated
2.0
Graphic: Bullying, Cancer, Child abuse, Cursing, Death, Drug use, Gore, Infidelity, Sexism, Suicide, Violence, Blood, Grief, Car accident, Death of parent, Murder, Pregnancy, Fire/Fire injury, Abandonment, Alcohol, and Injury/Injury detail
nekoshka's review against another edition
- Plot- or character-driven? Character
- Strong character development? Yes
- Loveable characters? It's complicated
- Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes
3.25
Cal’s backstory was interesting, if a bit too convoluted. I really wanted to like Pey, but he was just too bland.
Overall, it was dark, unnecessarily sexual and the characters a bit underdeveloped. But not bad.
Graphic: Child abuse, Child death, Death, Gun violence, Infidelity, Self harm, and Violence
Moderate: Drug use, Eating disorder, Sexism, and Fire/Fire injury
Minor: Cancer, Suicide, and Pregnancy
lizacorn's review against another edition
- Plot- or character-driven? A mix
- Strong character development? Yes
- Loveable characters? It's complicated
- Diverse cast of characters? No
- Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes
4.5
Graphic: Body horror, Child abuse, Death, Infidelity, Self harm, and Violence
Moderate: Bullying, Child death, Drug use, Eating disorder, Gun violence, Misogyny, Sexism, Alcohol, and Injury/Injury detail
Minor: Sexual content, Gaslighting, and War
cheezh8er's review against another edition
- Plot- or character-driven? Character
- Strong character development? Yes
- Loveable characters? It's complicated
- Diverse cast of characters? No
- Flaws of characters a main focus? No
3.5
Graphic: Body shaming, Bullying, Child abuse, Cursing, Eating disorder, Infidelity, Self harm, Suicide, Toxic relationship, Toxic friendship, and Alcohol
Moderate: Death, Drug abuse, Sexism, Torture, and Grief
Minor: Child death, Gun violence, Car accident, and Death of parent
thatswhatshanread's review
- Plot- or character-driven? A mix
- Strong character development? It's complicated
- Loveable characters? No
- Diverse cast of characters? It's complicated
- Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes
3.0
1. From BOTM’s description and the book’s general marketing, I fully expected this to be a horror/thriller. It was not. It was more just a family drama with a supernatural sort-of twist with half of the book’s POV set in literal Hell.
2. Every time I picked this book up to read it over the last several months, I was bored. The first half of the book seems like it’s going NOWHERE and nothing stuck. The storyline that follows Peyote in Hell seems completely irrelevant to the storyline in present day that follows The Harrison family.
3. But then, it finally picks up. Once I finally pushed myself to get more into it (after almost DNFing many times), something shifted. The stakes changed. Suddenly the Harrison family story is dysfunctional and mysterious and gripping. The Peyote storyline shows potential of intersecting with the other, some interesting twists come about.
4. Still, it’s confusing. I still have no idea how they will connect, just that now Peyote is actually referencing the Harrison family members and their dilemmas.
5. Peyote and Cal’s plot becomes even more confusing and drawn out. But I’m very intrigued with the POVs from the Harrisons’ side.
6. I finish the last 250 pages within a couple days. The pacing finally hit a sweet spot for me. The imminent ending seemed promising; everything would finally make sense.
7. Except… it wasn’t? And it didn’t?
This really felt like two different books in one. In the end, I was still confused, and disappointed in all of that buildup to… what, exactly? I would have rather read about only The Harrisons. But I guess it was entertaining, nonetheless. Something different. Just maybe not the different I wanted it to be.
Graphic: Alcoholism, Bullying, Child abuse, Cursing, Death, Drug abuse, Drug use, Eating disorder, Emotional abuse, Gore, Gun violence, Infidelity, Physical abuse, Self harm, Sexual content, Suicidal thoughts, Suicide, Terminal illness, Torture, Toxic relationship, Violence, Blood, Grief, Murder, Pregnancy, Toxic friendship, Abandonment, Alcohol, War, and Injury/Injury detail
Moderate: Adult/minor relationship, Body shaming, Cancer, Child death, Confinement, Genocide, Pedophilia, Sexism, Stalking, and Abortion
amplawrence's review
- 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? It's complicated
5.0
Graphic: Child abuse, Child death, Death, Eating disorder, Emotional abuse, Gore, Self harm, Sexism, Violence, and Murder
Moderate: Sexual harassment
Minor: Sexual content