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A review by celinbean
Hell Bent by Leigh Bardugo
adventurous
dark
emotional
tense
fast-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? Plot
- Strong character development? No
- Loveable characters? Yes
- Diverse cast of characters? It's complicated
- Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes
3.5
don’t get me wrong i loved the book i got sucked into the story even though with my exams coming up i have no time.
My main issue with the book is that there was always so much happening that neither the characters nor the reader had any time to just breath and process everything that happened before jumping into the next catastrophe thrown at them. There were no heartfelt conversations and the bonds between the characters were never truly explored.
Like when alex brought darlington back from hell by herself there was no heartfelt reunion. He barely even got a hug and a im so glad you made it back. They relayed what happened and the he just shuffles into his old bedroom and pours himself a drink and has a short pragmatic conversation with alex and that’s it. It was so anticlimactic! These people literally went to hell to get hin back each with their own motivation and then we just brush over it?? Even though that was basically the whole point of them interacting at all. That was the main plot point? Like my man spend a whole fucking year in hell and all he gets when he comes back is a clap on the back and that’s it? A “how was spain?” “Hotter than expected” off hand joke and nothing more?
There were so many plot twists unfurling one after another without really exploring the consequences. A lot of these plot points led nowhere or were a distraction for the characters. So many themes were touched on that i wish we had lingered on more (like the corruption at the heart of academia, the cost of magic and desire, the way our most intimate traumas can shape and distort us and what it takes to survive in a world that either wants to actively get rid of you or doesn’t care about you at all).
So overall i appreciate bardugo’s well of creativity when it comes to plot but i wish we had explored the emotional bonds between the characters more and lingered more on big reveals in the story to make them actually meaningful.
Also why was i absolutely convinced this was a duology and i would get closure for this whole story?? Now i probably have to wait another like 2 years 😭
My main issue with the book is that there was always so much happening that neither the characters nor the reader had any time to just breath and process everything that happened before jumping into the next catastrophe thrown at them. There were no heartfelt conversations and the bonds between the characters were never truly explored.
There were so many plot twists unfurling one after another without really exploring the consequences. A lot of these plot points led nowhere or were a distraction for the characters. So many themes were touched on that i wish we had lingered on more (like the corruption at the heart of academia, the cost of magic and desire, the way our most intimate traumas can shape and distort us and what it takes to survive in a world that either wants to actively get rid of you or doesn’t care about you at all).
So overall i appreciate bardugo’s well of creativity when it comes to plot but i wish we had explored the emotional bonds between the characters more and lingered more on big reveals in the story to make them actually meaningful.
Also why was i absolutely convinced this was a duology and i would get closure for this whole story?? Now i probably have to wait another like 2 years 😭
Content Warnings
Graphic: Domestic abuse, Animal death, and Death
Moderate: Addiction, Misogyny, Physical abuse, Sexual violence, Suicide attempt, Police brutality, and Rape