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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
metaphorical_disaster'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? Yes
2.5
I definitely liked it. The story itself was unique and could be interpreted many ways to reflect the world today. The characters (most of them, anyway) had been pretty fleshed out and easy to understand their choices and actions.
My only gripe is that the first bit of the book was so very confusing. I had to reread the first 5 chapters twice because it felt like I was losing my mind.
The story does pick up and, while there are still very confusing bits in the middle, it’s beautiful and clever and dark and hopeful all at once.
This is DEFINITELY one of those books I would have to give a second read through to fully appreciate the story. Until I give it another go, I’m leaving it at a 3⭐️ because it’s still worth the read.
Moderate: Emotional abuse, Mental illness, Murder, Schizophrenia/Psychosis , Sexual assault, Toxic relationship, Drug use, Physical abuse, Rape, Addiction, Blood, Death, and Drug abuse
charlietilstra'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? It's complicated
4.25
Graphic: Sexual assault, Sexual harassment, and Sexual violence
Moderate: Schizophrenia/Psychosis
sgtz00's review against another edition
- Loveable characters? No
- Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes
1.5
Graphic: Toxic relationship, Rape, Murder, Sexual assault, Addiction, Adult/minor relationship, Sexual content, Suicidal thoughts, and Violence
Moderate: Cursing, Death, and Schizophrenia/Psychosis
thenoodlevore's review against another edition
- Plot- or character-driven? A mix
- Strong character development? It's complicated
- Loveable characters? It's complicated
- Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes
4.0
Graphic: Addiction, Alcohol, Drug abuse, Classism, Violence, Schizophrenia/Psychosis , Sexism, Vomit, Toxic relationship, Suicidal thoughts, Sexual harassment, Sexual assault, Body horror, Sexual violence, Rape, Murder, Misogyny, Mental illness, Grief, Gore, and Medical trauma
Moderate: Body horror, Cursing, Drug use, Excrement, Gun violence, Bullying, Kidnapping, Medical content, Mental illness, Misogyny, Physical abuse, Sexual content, Forced institutionalization, Rape, Sexual assault, Sexual violence, Stalking, Suicidal thoughts, Addiction, Body shaming, Colonisation, Death of parent, Drug abuse, Car accident, Death, and Terminal illness
laudee's review against another edition
- Plot- or character-driven? A mix
- Strong character development? Yes
- Loveable characters? Yes
- Diverse cast of characters? No
- Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes
3.75
Graphic: Murder, Drug use, Sexual assault, and Death
Moderate: Blood and Injury/Injury detail
Minor: Schizophrenia/Psychosis and Self harm
ptara's review against another edition
- Plot- or character-driven? Plot
- Strong character development? No
- Loveable characters? No
- Diverse cast of characters? Yes
2.25
Graphic: Mental illness, Gore, Violence, Schizophrenia/Psychosis , Drug use, and Addiction
Moderate: Racism, Sexual assault, and Drug abuse
risaleel'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: Murder, Drug use, Drug abuse, Misogyny, Blood, Injury/Injury detail, Medical trauma, Addiction, Death, and Violence
Moderate: Classism, Racism, Suicide, Alcoholism, Schizophrenia/Psychosis , Alcohol, Gaslighting, and Cursing
Minor: Bullying, Colonisation, Emotional abuse, Gun violence, Grief, and Panic attacks/disorders
anastashamarie's review against another edition
- 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? No
5.0
⚠️THIS IS NOT A YA SERIES, IT CONTAINS MATURE THEMES. I've seen a lot of folks surprised by the content; I lost trigger warnings in my "considerations" section below to help make an informed decision
📜I need to start of by saying that I've never read anything by this author, even through the Grishaverse has been on my TBR for a while. Other than knowing that Leigh Bardugo is widely loved and that it was a dark academia fantasy (which is quickly becoming a fave subgenre of mine), I went into this totally blind. And man, did I thoroughly enjoy it.
🔮 Why was it great?
• The world building is awesome. Soft magic system with lots of paranormal/supernatural elements. Realistic but "off" setting. (Someone said Stephen King, and I could see that.) Very immersive, likely influenced by the author actually holding alum status at Yale.
• Interesting story weaving: Alternating timeframes (before to now) and perspectives (Darlington's vs Alex's) showed how the MCs worlds intertwined. The confusion, slow reveal of the world, and missed references make me relate to Alex more (though I already do in a lot of ways -- first gen college student at "fancy" university, imposture syndrome, trying to balance my personal sh*t with my school work and overwhelming job). Excellent literary choice in terms of matching tone and theming to info given.
• Gentle exploration of classism & privilege in higher ed. Nothing has heavy-handed as some dark academia can be, but very present through in a way that enhanced the story and character development.
• I related to little pieces of a lot of the characters, which made a lot of this hit close to home. The emotions in this hit hard for me. Also, I especially loved Dawes; she speaks to my PhD candidate heart in a way few other characters can.
• I switched between the audiobook and the paperback due to time constraints on this. Both are great options.
🐍 Considerations if you want to read it:
• This is an ADULT paranormal crime novel. There is no romance in it, but it definitely covers adult themes. TWs: blood, violence, drug use, death, overdose, sexual assault
• Early parts of the book felt a little slow, almost like a minute-by-minute play of present day, like watching it unfold IRL, boardering on slice-of-life if your life involved secret societies. I don't mind this, but I know a slow build isn't everyone's cup of tea.
• A lot of folks complained about "not understanding the references" which is sort of the point. Alex is confused, and I think in a lot of ways we are meant to be too to understand that. I also think the extra details/history/lore that you can look up are part of the fun because this book is very well researched and a lot of what's included has toes to real life things. It's almost worth two reads: one for the plot and one to go back and dig up everything they reference. But I don't think the homework is at all necessary if you go in with the understanding that you don't NEED the details to grasp the plot.
📖 I don't have any criticisms. I just absolutely adored this one.
Graphic: Blood, Murder, Sexual assault, Sexual violence, Death, Classism, Drug abuse, Violence, Addiction, Drug use, Injury/Injury detail, and Rape
Moderate: Alcohol, Cursing, Domestic abuse, Emotional abuse, Misogyny, Gun violence, Physical abuse, Vomit, Grief, and Gore
Minor: Racism, Sexual content, and Schizophrenia/Psychosis
daisy2050's review against another edition
- Plot- or character-driven? Plot
- Strong character development? Yes
- Loveable characters? No
- Diverse cast of characters? No
- Flaws of characters a main focus? It's complicated
4.5
Graphic: Drug abuse, Violence, Murder, Death, Drug use, Rape, Sexual assault, Vomit, and Self harm
Minor: Blood, Suicide, Torture, Schizophrenia/Psychosis , Self harm, Medical content, Addiction, Grief, and Injury/Injury detail