Scan barcode
sarah837's review against another edition
- Plot- or character-driven? Character
- Strong character development? Yes
- Loveable characters? It's complicated
- Diverse cast of characters? Yes
- Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes
4.75
Graphic: Sexual content, Blood, Gore, and War
writingcaia's review against another edition
- Plot- or character-driven? A mix
- Strong character development? Yes
- Loveable characters? Yes
- Diverse cast of characters? N/A
- Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes
4.75
There Gabe is forced to relay his life’s story which he fast forwards to when he turns fifteen just before being sent to the Ordo Argent, the Silver Order, to become a Silversaint. Half-human half-vampire it seems to his mother that the order will be his best option, and it is. It is there he will find a family, love, power, and recognition all he has ever dreamed and more, but at a cost. That price we see in another period of his life’s journey that he also relays to the vampire historian writing his story down, which is when he is thirty two, just two years before the present time.
In sum we will have a pretty clear idea of who Gabe was until he was seventeen and at thirty two, the rest we get only scraps that tease our appetite for more. One thing is clear Gabriel de Leon is now jaded and crushed, but the light of his hatred for the vampires is unbroken and mighty, and there seems to be hope for his current status as a prisoner or so we hope.
It is hard to review a book I’ve waited for for more than a year, the expectations were enormous, first because it’s Jay and second because I freaking love vampires.
So, what did I think?
I loved it, it was awesome. It’s medium-fast paced, has a great world building, the characters are amazing, well fleshed, and just overall super interesting. It is dark, bloody and the narration has the snarky-ness, which I adore, we are used to since Nevernight, and I mean Gabriel is mega hot, those illustrations wow, and another favourite is Dior. The only minus for me was the back and forth between timelines, I got so invested in one and then had to go back to the other, and vice-versa, plus on those almost seventeen years between them so much happens that we just know from small references dropped here and there, that specially annoyed me. I do prefer a more regular timeline particularly if we almost know what happen between the two timelines but not enough to quench the curiosity. But, honestly it didn’t take much from my love of the story.
And, now the suffering begins, the wait for the next two books in the series.
If you love adult fantasy, vampires and dark moody books, this is for you.
Graphic: Blood, Homophobia, War, Religious bigotry, Torture, Death, Drug abuse, Violence, Alcoholism, Gore, Sexual content, and Drug use
cakeylu'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? It's complicated
4.5
Graphic: Addiction, Alcohol, Alcoholism, Blood, Body horror, Cursing, Death, Death of parent, Drug use, Child abuse, Grief, Emotional abuse, Fire/Fire injury, Gore, Homophobia, Injury/Injury detail, Murder, Outing, Torture, Physical abuse, Religious bigotry, Sexual content, Violence, and Suicide
Moderate: Child death, Bullying, and Animal death
zoe_mh's review against another edition
- Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes
1.5
Graphic: Sexual content, Violence, Gore, and Death
Moderate: Addiction, Alcoholism, Outing, and Animal death
Minor: Child death and Child abuse
emesfiz_28'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
5.0
Graphic: Alcohol, Blood, Death, Gore, Grief, Injury/Injury detail, Religious bigotry, Violence, War, and Cursing
Moderate: Addiction, Alcoholism, Toxic friendship, Torture, and Suicidal thoughts
Minor: Addiction, Body horror, and Child death
bookjedi98's review against another edition
5.0
Graphic: Blood, Cursing, Death, Drug use, Gore, and Violence
karienga's review against another edition
- 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
4.5
Graphic: Blood, Violence, Sexual content, Injury/Injury detail, and Gore
Moderate: Addiction, Alcohol, and Religious bigotry
heather34's review against another edition
- 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
5.0
Graphic: Addiction, Alcohol, Alcoholism, Blood, Cursing, Death, Drug use, Murder, Sexual content, and Violence
Moderate: Bullying, Death of parent, Forced institutionalization, Gore, Grief, Homophobia, and Injury/Injury detail
Minor: Pregnancy
hildaahlstrand's review against another edition
- 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? It's complicated
5.0
Graphic: Gore, Cursing, Mental illness, Physical abuse, Drug use, Injury/Injury detail, Panic attacks/disorders, Death, Blood, Torture, and Violence
Moderate: Sexual content, War, and Child death
It's extremely dark, but if you can handle it, it's an amazing experience.ketreads's review against another edition
- 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? It's complicated
4.5
I had not heard of this book, nor read any of Jay Kristoff's other works before starting on this one.
Simply: I loved it.
Kristoff's use of age old vampire lore + grim-dark & French Gothic setting is something that just fits together effortlessly. The world he has created is full of darkness, danger and years of history that has created the feeling of a well-realised and lived in world.
This book follows our main character of Gabriel de Leon throughout two time-lines in his life:
Naive boy becoming a legend, and the broken legend trying to survive in a world that failed him.
It is a tale about love, loss, faith, humanity, and found family. The book starts with our character already defeated and alone, being forced to tell his story to another. He's immediately a dick, unlikeable and arrogant, even at his lowest. Throughout the story you come to understand him better (often better than even he seems to understand himself), feel for him, his family, and his friends. The story is one of adventure, mystery but most importantly it's a human story.
In a world full of vampires, the story is about humans and the lengths they would go to protect those in-which they love.
I liked it a lot.
Though do be warned this is a foul mouthed and often gory tale, I never found it without reason to be.
Graphic: Gore and Murder
Moderate: Alcoholism and Animal death