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wizardingwisteria's review against another edition
- Plot- or character-driven? Character
- Strong character development? It's complicated
4.75
I absolutely devoured this. I never wanted to put it down because in every single chapter a new piece of information is revealed or something shifted in a way that made the plot more interesting. It is certainly a good story.
The characters really make this one. Their experiences, their morals, and their motivations (and their powers lol) drive every single plot point.
Although, as much as I enjoyed this, I would be lying if I said I didn't get bored at some points. In the last 100 ish pages I had become impatient. The entire book set up this massive fight that almost felt like it was never going to happen. When it did eventually happen it was quite satisfying.
Some of the characters have special powers that can essentially undo things that would ultimately be fatal which knocked down some stakes in a story that was designed to have the highest stakes possible. I stopped mourning my favorite character after they seemingly died for the second time. By the end I had a grasp on how things were going to play out and it became a bit easy to predict.
Death itself was something that was tossed around with varying degrees of severity. Without spoiling too much, there is a character that dies in the beginning whose death is set up to be this massive shock but is kind of brushed under the rug in a few chapters. This character's death was in some ways the catalyst for the primary antagonist and yet at some point they just kind of get forgotten.
Even with these things I still greatly enjoyed this. I would have quickly DNFed it if I hadn't. But it is definitely a book I had to be in the right mindset to read. The story and the characters are exceedingly dark. If I only had one word to describe this book it would have to be dark. Not to say it was not enjoyable, but it was a heavy one.
Graphic: Toxic relationship, Suicidal thoughts, Violence, Suicide attempt, Self harm, Murder, Injury/Injury detail, and Animal death
Minor: Drug use and Alcoholism
nekoshka'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? Yes
5.0
Graphic: Murder, Gun violence, Animal death, Suicide, Self harm, Violence, and Death
Moderate: Blood, Child death, and Torture
Minor: Child abuse, Addiction, and Alcoholism
laurafrances's review against another edition
- Plot- or character-driven? Character
- Strong character development? No
- Loveable characters? It's complicated
- Diverse cast of characters? It's complicated
- Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes
4.75
Graphic: Death, Torture, Toxic friendship, Violence, Blood, Gun violence, Murder, Self harm, Suicide, and Suicide attempt
Moderate: Abandonment, Animal death, Gore, Gun violence, Sexual assault, and Sexual content
Minor: Alcohol, Drug use, and Alcoholism
astrid_mel's review against another edition
- Plot- or character-driven? Character
- Strong character development? It's complicated
- Loveable characters? It's complicated
- Diverse cast of characters? N/A
- Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes
4.5
Graphic: Medical content, Medical trauma, Blood, Violence, Hate crime, Self harm, Animal cruelty, Religious bigotry, Death, Animal death, Gun violence, and Murder
Moderate: Alcohol, Toxic friendship, Child death, Fire/Fire injury, and Child abuse
Minor: Car accident, Alcoholism, and Addiction
alexandrabelze's review against another edition
- Plot- or character-driven? Character
- Strong character development? Yes
- Loveable characters? Yes
- Diverse cast of characters? No
- Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes
4.25
Graphic: Suicide, Violence, Cursing, Drug use, Toxic friendship, Self harm, Torture, Animal death, Blood, Gun violence, Death, Gore, Alcohol, Body horror, Injury/Injury detail, Toxic relationship, Child death, Medical content, Murder, Suicidal thoughts, and Suicide attempt
Moderate: Fire/Fire injury, Stalking, and Abandonment
Minor: Addiction and Alcoholism
ashwyn's review against another edition
- Plot- or character-driven? Plot
- Strong character development? No
- Loveable characters? It's complicated
- Diverse cast of characters? No
- Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes
3.5
However, the super quick pace costs character depth. Victor Vale (<3) and Sydney are the only characters I felt had any sort of interesting depth/backstory. We hardly know anything about any of the cast of main characters (which is kept really small too!!) which does make the novel feel shallow. We are told that Victor and Eli are bffs but are never told how they became friends (being colleges roomies doesn't automatically make you bffs) or even why they are truly friends (especially cause Victor feels very jealous and less than around the perfect (and actually incredibly painful to read) Eli).
The pace and plot keeps you reading. Victor Vale keeps you reading. The other characters make you question why you even care about what is happening to them.
Graphic: Violence, Gun violence, Blood, Murder, Animal death, and Death
Moderate: Abandonment and Alcoholism
rosenau's review against another edition
- Plot- or character-driven? Character
- 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
Graphic: Death, Car accident, Body horror, Torture, Self harm, Injury/Injury detail, Gun violence, Gore, Addiction, Alcohol, Alcoholism, Blood, and Murder
Moderate: Alcohol, Addiction, Animal death, Violence, Toxic friendship, Self harm, Medical content, Fire/Fire injury, Alcoholism, and Toxic relationship
Minor: Confinement, Drug use, and Religious bigotry
aliyachaudhry'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
4.5
Graphic: Animal death, Blood, Gun violence, Violence, Medical content, Torture, Cursing, Death, Medical trauma, Self harm, Suicide attempt, Gore, Injury/Injury detail, Murder, Physical abuse, Toxic friendship, and Toxic relationship
Moderate: Alcohol and Alcoholism
house_of_hannah's review against another edition
- Plot- or character-driven? Plot
- Strong character development? No
- Loveable characters? Yes
- Diverse cast of characters? Yes
- Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes
4.0
Each character feels unique, but also real. They all have their own personalities, and I found it really easy to fall in love with the ragtag group of found family. I see that this is supposed to be a series, and although I don't really see where it's going to go based on the ending, I definitely wouldn't mind spending more time with these characters.
I did feel that the story was a tad too long. The short chapters definitely helped in mitigating that though. There are quite a few moments of "plot convenience", which is what brings it down to a 4 for me. Those moments really stick out to me, and unfortunately take me out of the story.
Overall, I am just straight up happy with this book, and I'll be thinking about it a lot over the next few days.
Graphic: Murder, Religious bigotry, Gun violence, Violence, Animal death, Self harm, Stalking, Blood, Death, and Toxic friendship
Minor: Abandonment, Addiction, Alcoholism, Fire/Fire injury, and Mental illness
oliverreeds's review against another edition
- Plot- or character-driven? Character
- Strong character development? It's complicated
- Loveable characters? Yes
- Diverse cast of characters? No
- Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes
5.0
Graphic: Abandonment, Addiction, Alcohol, Kidnapping, Alcoholism, Animal cruelty, Animal death, Blood, Gun violence, Mental illness, Murder, Religious bigotry, Stalking, Torture, Child abuse, Death, Gore, Grief, Injury/Injury detail, Violence, and Child death