Reviews tagging 'Gore'

Dief van de nacht by Holly Black

111 reviews

cgp1234's review against another edition

medium-paced

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

3.5

A fun ride, but I wanted more from Holly Black's first foray into adult fantasy. The world building felt incomplete, the characters felt a little flat, and the mystery didn't get really excited until the last 20% of the book. I'm hoping the sequel will be better! Also, I'm gong to need authors to stop using

incest

as a plot device.

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Gore, Blood, Body horror, Death, Alcohol, Injury/Injury detail, Murder, and Violence

Minor: Drug use and Incest

kyrstin_p1989's review against another edition

adventurous challenging dark emotional funny mysterious reflective sad tense medium-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

4.0

Really interesting premise for a story. Fantasy with a badass, curvy, female protagonist who is a little rough around the edges but sharp as a tack. I’m excited for the second one…in 2024. Really starting to get into fantasy stuff more and more. Will also be checking out this author’s other books. 

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Death, Gore, Grief, Infidelity, Murder, Panic attacks/disorders, Physical abuse, Stalking, Toxic relationship, Classism, Confinement, Drug use, Gun violence, Injury/Injury detail, Misogyny, Torture, Violence, Fire/Fire injury, Blood, and Child abuse

kayladaila's review against another edition

dark mysterious tense medium-paced

• Plot- or character-driven? A mix
• 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

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Blood, Death, and Self harm

Moderate: Addiction, Alcohol, Classism, Emotional abuse, Fire/Fire injury, Gore, Gun violence, Injury/Injury detail, Murder, Physical abuse, Stalking, and Violence

Minor: Abandonment, Car accident, Child abuse, Confinement, Domestic abuse, Drug abuse, Forced institutionalization, Incest, Toxic relationship, Vomit, and Death of parent

black_cat_iiix's review against another edition

adventurous dark tense fast-paced

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

3.75

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Vomit and Gore

Moderate: Body horror, Physical abuse, Gun violence, Violence, and Child abuse

Minor: Abandonment and Panic attacks/disorders

ceruleanseas's review against another edition

dark fast-paced

• Plot- or character-driven? A mix
• 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

Charlie Hall has never found it easy to live honestly, but she's trying. She's got a decent bartending job, a shadow-less boyfriend, and her magic-obsessed sister will be going to college soon (if they can scrounge up enough for tuition). But Charlie's past won't stay quiet, so when her boyfriend disappears and dangerous people start asking questions, she ends up embroiled in a scheme that could end with her dead or worse. 

Holly Black's first foray into adult fantasy is a fascinating story of magic, shadows, and the inescapable histories that make us who we are.

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Violence

Moderate: Gore, Classism, Emotional abuse, and Murder

Minor: Sexual content and Domestic abuse

bobbie_l's review against another edition

adventurous dark mysterious 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? It's complicated

3.0

3.5 Stars

Shadows are power in Charlie Halls world. A place where a shadow can be altered, and used to hide the darkest parts of a person. But messing with a shadow comes at a cost. Charlie is a thief, who works part time at a bar and does odd con jobs for customers. But when a billionaire asks Charlie to find the Liber Noctem for him, its a job she cannot refuse (mainly because he’s blackmailing her). And so Charlie is thrown into the world of secrets, and shadows.


I think the concept of this book is super interesting. The magic system of shadows, that are fed with blood, and can be made more powerful dependent on a variety of measures is very clever. But its also quite a lot to try and understand. Sometimes it felt a little confusing to follow.

The main plotline of Charlie trying to find the Liber Noctem was very well done. There was a perfect mix of action, suspense and mystery. There were also side plots such a Charlies familial relationships and the relationship between Charlie and her boyfriend Vince.

Overall I enjoyed this book, but based on the slightly confusing magic system, and sometimes it feeling a little slow is the reason its only a 3.5 for me.

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Alcohol, Gore, and Blood

Minor: Drug abuse

hello_linzie's review against another edition

adventurous dark sad slow-paced

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

3.0

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Blood

Moderate: Murder, Death, and Gore

Minor: Incest

micheala's review against another edition

3.25

So once again, this book has an unlikable main character which is not really my preference. The plot concept was interesting, however it took about 50% before it started to feel like things were actually happening. 

This is set in an alternative, magical USA in modern time. I would say that this is urban fantasy (but not Urban Fantasy - the romance is definitely a small side plot point rather than being about 50% of the plot). I wasn't a huge fan of the writing style, I felt like things were overly discribed (not always but on a reoccurring basis).

This is the author's first adult novel. I've previously read the Spiderwick Chronicles (many years ago) and DNF'd The Coldest Girl in Cold Town, so I'm not sure if the writing style is the same as their YA novels. 

Everything indicates that this is a standalone, however if it remains so, it has a very unsatisfactory ending. I'm not sure if I liked this book enough to want to read a sequel, so I probably won't be keeping an eye out to see if it does continue. 

Overall, this book was fine, but very middle of the road for me. 

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Blood, Gore, Violence, Classism, Murder, and Self harm

Moderate: Gun violence

Minor: Vomit

aseel_reads's review against another edition

dark mysterious medium-paced

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

3.0

i liked the dark, gritty atmosphere of this book and there were several plot moments that were unpredictable, which was nice. but overall, i just felt that the book didn't make sense and it didn't flow well - jumping too much between recollections of the past and the present. 

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Content Warnings

Moderate: Gore, Violence, Physical abuse, Panic attacks/disorders, and Injury/Injury detail

chloebrown13's review against another edition

challenging dark slow-paced

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

5.0

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Violence and Gore

Moderate: Incest and Death

Minor: Child abuse