Reviews tagging 'Grief'

Wer die Hölle kennt by Leigh Bardugo

140 reviews

hanz's review against another edition

dark mysterious slow-paced

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

3.0

The pace of this was a little off because I was missing a more prominent mystery element like the first book. The mystery didn't affect the main plot until about two thirds into the book. 

Reading these back to back was interesting because there are some clever hints to the previous book that made the mystery a little more interesting. 

The last third was the most interesting to me, so I will most likely read the sequel that seems likely based on the ending. 

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Death, Grief, Murder, Addiction, Blood, and Sexism

Minor: Vomit and Torture

cowardlyteaman's review against another edition

adventurous dark emotional funny mysterious tense medium-paced

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

4.5

Very good book! I definitely enjoyed reading this.

North was my favourite in Ninth House, but since he wasn't here, I'd say my Hell Bent favourite is Darlington. I really like his whole obsessive-knowledge-seeker thing, and although he's kinda cliché, that's kinda the point.

... and I won't pretend that him being a sexy demon-thing wasn't a factor, either. I'm only human.

I don't really have much bad about it to say other than that it was pretty predictable. There was never an «Oh, shit,»-moment, and I really missed it.
The prologue caught my attention immediately, and I just couldn't wait to know what happened next, but I never really got that same feeling throughout the rest of the book.

However, finishing off with a positive comment, it is an interesting story, with interesting characters, and an interesting setting nonetheless. I love how Bardugo depicted demons, vampires, and probably most of all: ghosts.

I recommend this to anyone who's interested in reading a dark academia, mystery, urban fantasy type story with an fantastic take on ghosts.

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Emotional abuse, Animal death, Blood, Cursing, Death, Death of parent, and Murder

Moderate: Sexual content, Gun violence, Sexual violence, Racism, and Misogyny

Minor: Grief, Bullying, and Alcohol

mlewis's review against another edition

adventurous dark funny mysterious sad tense medium-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

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Animal death, Death, Blood, and Grief

Moderate: Emotional abuse, Toxic relationship, Domestic abuse, Police brutality, Gun violence, Drug abuse, Drug use, Stalking, Sexual assault, Sexism, and Racism

Minor: Slavery

alexandra296's review against another edition

adventurous mysterious fast-paced

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

5.0

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Grief

Moderate: Animal cruelty, Animal death, and Violence

theremightbecupcakes's review against another edition

adventurous challenging dark emotional informative inspiring mysterious reflective sad 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

5.0

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Rape, Murder, Animal death, Death, Grief, Body horror, and Gore

nicoleisalwaysreading's review against another edition

adventurous challenging dark emotional mysterious tense slow-paced

• 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

5.0

um…..!!!!!!

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Blood, Grief, Gun violence, Body horror, Death, Injury/Injury detail, Sexual content, Gore, and Violence

chinaskye12's review against another edition

dark emotional mysterious tense medium-paced

• Plot- or character-driven? A mix
• Loveable characters? Yes
• Diverse cast of characters? Yes
• Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes

5.0

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Murder, Addiction, Blood, Death, Drug abuse, Drug use, Grief, Violence, and Mental illness

Moderate: Animal death and Sexual assault

Minor: Self harm, Toxic relationship, Suicide, Suicide attempt, and Sexism

rdmoreland0801's review against another edition

adventurous dark funny 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

5.0

We’re going to hell and not everyone will make it out alive.

Alex and Dawes are are determined to bring Darlington back from hell.  The problem is, they have to learn how to do so.  Enlisting the help of Turner, Tripp, and Mercy, the group figures out the riddle to the gate and makes the descent.

As expected, nothing goes according to plan and demons follow them back.  In a race to close the gate, the group finds them facing off against vampires and demons, while also trying to solve a murder.

In this wildly chaotic story, we delve deeper into the lives and pasts of Alex, Darlington, Dawes, Turner, Tripp, and Mercy.

Lauren Fortang and Michael David Axtell bring this story to life in a captivating way, leaving you wanting more. I’ve listened to both Ninth House and He’ll Bent on Audible, and I think it just adds to the experience.

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Violence, Death, and Murder

Moderate: Addiction, Animal death, Drug abuse, Sexual violence, Grief, Sexual assault, and Rape

Minor: Suicide attempt

suchsweetsorrow89's review against another edition

dark funny mysterious tense fast-paced

• 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

4.0

3.5 really, but I thought the book was fun so it gets bumped a star. overall, compared to her last, I think this one is slightly better in the sense that I felt there were fewer random/unnecessary moments than in the first book (especially in moments that deal with heavy gender-based cases of abuse and assault). however, one of the negatives is the pacing of the book. I often found that the descriptions were a bit heavy at times and I felt that there was not as much connection and genuine interactions with the characters as there was in the first book, so the chemistry, while not feeling forced, just fell flat. 

there are some specific things within this that I will spoil below, but all in all, I think this is a really fun read when you're looking to pass the time. in addition, I think the serious moments and reflections in this book are really stunning and you can tell how much leigh as evolved as a writer, philosopher, and world-builder.

- I would have liked to see more of dawes' backstory! while alex's story is special, it's also the story we have heard before. I thought one of the strongest aspects of ninth house was darlington's story, and I would have loved something similar for dawes, especially since she plays a more prominent role.

- on that note on darlington, I wish there were more of him. while I understand that's the 'point', I thought he fell way flatter than usual in his own thoughts and in his interactions with everyone after being rescued. it really did feel like he took more of a secondary/unnecessary role after his rescue, and it left me feeling uncomfortable in the wrong way (almost like it was defamation to all that his character was built up to be in the first book). I'm also not really buying that he would just surrender to alex, to his role, and to lethe as easily as he did.

- the twist was... just fine. maybe it's because I'm older, but I thought that this twist was a bit more expected than the first and just was not a page-turner in the way the other was.

- unfortunately, the ending did not make me really excited for the third book, since this new plotline just felt like a weird grab all while the one for the first book just made more sense? idk idk

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Death, Death of parent, Physical abuse, Torture, Child death, Blood, Gore, Grief, Fire/Fire injury, Animal death, Violence, and Murder

Moderate: Addiction, Sexual content, Injury/Injury detail, Drug abuse, Drug use, Alcohol, Emotional abuse, Vomit, and Police brutality

Minor: Animal cruelty, Police brutality, Body shaming, Forced institutionalization, and Panic attacks/disorders

hopefully_purple's review against another edition

adventurous dark hopeful mysterious tense fast-paced

• 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

4.75

Brandon Sanderson has his famed “Sander-lanche” but there needs to be a term for Leigh Bardugo’s roller coaster. This is such an excellent part 2 of 3!! A lot of times part 2’s leave you with more questions than answers, kind of like a lull in the story that’s just meant to be a set up for the main event in part 3. But Hellbent does not feel like that at all. It grips you just like Ninth House, and the mystery is just as multi-layered. If you liked Ninth House, 10/10 you will love Hellbent. 

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Bullying, Death, Death of parent, Grief, Misogyny, Injury/Injury detail, and Animal death

Moderate: Murder, Violence, and Panic attacks/disorders

Minor: Self harm and Suicide attempt