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saliwali'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? Yes
4.0
Graphic: Child abuse, Death, Emotional abuse, Physical abuse, Blood, Grief, Death of parent, Fire/Fire injury, and Injury/Injury detail
Moderate: Addiction, Bullying, Drug abuse, Toxic relationship, Gaslighting, Toxic friendship, and Abandonment
wrensreadingroom's review against another edition
5.0
Graphic: Adult/minor relationship, Alcoholism, Animal cruelty, Body horror, Bullying, Child abuse, Chronic illness, Cursing, Death, Domestic abuse, Emotional abuse, Gore, Gun violence, Physical abuse, Sexism, Suicidal thoughts, Violence, Blood, Vomit, Grief, Death of parent, Murder, Fire/Fire injury, Abandonment, Alcohol, Colonisation, and Injury/Injury detail
notapenguin'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? Yes
5.0
Graphic: Confinement, Emotional abuse, and Violence
Moderate: Child abuse, Death, Racism, and Slavery
Minor: Body horror, Blood, Death of parent, and Abandonment
alyxbeau's review against another edition
- Plot- or character-driven? Plot
- Loveable characters? No
- Diverse cast of characters? Yes
- Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes
2.5
Graphic: Body horror, Death, and Suicidal thoughts
Moderate: Child abuse, Emotional abuse, and Physical abuse
Minor: Slavery
toffishay's review against another edition
- Plot- or character-driven? A mix
- Strong character development? No
- Loveable characters? Yes
- Diverse cast of characters? Yes
- Flaws of characters a main focus? No
3.25
Graphic: Death, Emotional abuse, Gore, Violence, Blood, Grief, and Death of parent
Moderate: Body horror, Child abuse, Confinement, Physical abuse, Suicidal thoughts, and Injury/Injury detail
Minor: Gun violence, Infidelity, Misogyny, Racism, Sexism, Sexual violence, Trafficking, Kidnapping, Religious bigotry, Murder, and Fire/Fire injury
madamenovelist's review against another edition
- Plot- or character-driven? Plot
- Strong character development? It's complicated
- Loveable characters? It's complicated
- Diverse cast of characters? Yes
- Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes
4.5
Graphic: Addiction, Alcoholism, Body horror, Child abuse, Confinement, Death, Domestic abuse, Emotional abuse, Gore, Mental illness, Sexism, Violence, Blood, Grief, Death of parent, Murder, Fire/Fire injury, Abandonment, Alcohol, and Injury/Injury detail
Minor: Trafficking
There is a brief mention of a child being rescued from sex trafficking. The emotional/physical abuse, blood, gore, and violence are all very graphic. Not for the sensitive.erandle'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
3.0
Graphic: Body horror, Death, Gore, Violence, Blood, Fire/Fire injury, and Injury/Injury detail
Moderate: Drug abuse, Drug use, Emotional abuse, Mental illness, Physical abuse, Suicidal thoughts, Death of parent, and Abandonment
Minor: Addiction, Bullying, Suicide, Death of parent, and Colonisation
onemamareads's review
- Plot- or character-driven? Plot
- Strong character development? Yes
- Loveable characters? Yes
- Diverse cast of characters? Yes
- Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes
4.75
Graphic: Child abuse, Death, Emotional abuse, Physical abuse, Blood, Murder, and Classism
syllareads'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
3.5
First of all, the reason this book caught my attention in the first place was because it's absolutely stunning. The cover is beautiful! I'm delighted Lauren Blackwood got to create such a visually stunning book, she deserves it - and I hope more people pick it up purely because the cover makes them curious enough to, and they actually fall in love with this.
I have not yet read Jane Eyre (this book definitely makes me want to remedy that, though) so I can't speak on how well Within these Wicked Walls works as a reimagining (or as a book that has at least drawn inspiration from Jane Eyre). I can say that Lauren Blackwood tries to capture the allusive nature of gothic novels and succeeds for the most part - a lot of her descriptions, as well as the desperate yearning between Andromeda, our MC, and Magnus, her Love Interest, were beautifully done.
However.
The book being YA.... really ruined it for me in the end. Many scenes in between beautiful, desperate moments of longing and despair read incredibly juvenile and pulled me out of the story almost by force. The characters smirk and grin at each other in between sentences of agony and loss and heartbreak. The dialogues go from impossibly tender to teenage ribbing in an instant. Every time I thought I was feeling it, I got forcefully pulled back out of it by some character being a teenaged ass again, and after a while this back and forth made it incredibly hard for me to care properly for any of the characters involved.
Overall: this is not a bad book, and I recommend people at least try. The setting is stunning! I'm so happy BIPOC authors get to retell stories however they wish, with whatever culture they belong to because yes, the canon is incredibly white and every book changing that is a good book for that alone. Personally, the "YA-ness" in between the gothic novel aspects really pulled me out of it and I couldn't get a lot of personal enjoyment out of the book, which makes me very upset :c
Moderate: Emotional abuse and Blood
Minor: Death, Trafficking, and Death of parent
frantically's review against another edition
- Plot- or character-driven? A mix
- Strong character development? No
- Loveable characters? It's complicated
- Diverse cast of characters? No
- Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes
2.75
Graphic: Chronic illness, Death, Violence, and Abandonment
Moderate: Emotional abuse, Physical abuse, Death of parent, and Classism
Minor: Trafficking and Grief