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pointeshoebookworm'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? No
4.0
Graphic: Child abuse and Violence
Moderate: Gore and Fire/Fire injury
Minor: Sexual violence and Slavery
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
icapturethecastle's review against another edition
- Plot- or character-driven? A mix
- Strong character development? Yes
- Loveable characters? No
- Diverse cast of characters? Yes
- Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes
2.0
Graphic: Blood and Death of parent
Moderate: Death, Gore, Blood, and Death of parent
Minor: Racism, Slavery, Suicidal thoughts, and Violence
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
beingsimba's review against another edition
3.5
Where this book falls incredibly flat is in regards to the interpersonal relationships. Romantic, parental, friendships, all of them just didn't play out very well in this novel. Too much developed too fast for there to be any real weight behind any of them. And essentially all characters except Andromeda were fairly annoying.
Would be interested in more by Blackwood but this one was not for me. Very much did enjoy the audiobook.
Graphic: Blood
Moderate: Child abuse, Death, and Gore
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
nannahnannah's review against another edition
- Diverse cast of characters? Yes
- Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes
4.5
Representation:
- all characters but one are Ethiopian
- the love interest has depression
- one of the characters has chronic pain & a wooden leg
Within These Wicked Walls is a loose Jane Eyre retelling that takes place in an Ethiopian-inspired world. The MC, Andromeda, is a debtera (exorcist) who takes on the very dangerous job of cleansing a castle of the Evil Eye. Only four other people have successfully done this, and of those one is still alive to tell the tale. Even more dangerous, Andi falls in love with Magnus, the Evil Eye’s host.
This book has one of the most fascinating magic systems I’ve ever seen before: church-sponsored debtera cleanse places of their evil hauntings and their manifestations through use of silver amulets (the worst evil haunting is, of course, the Evil Eye). These amulets are created by sensing welded strokes and looping different colors of thread. It’s this magic system that immediately drew me in.
What kept me intrigued was the dialogue and Andromeda herself. Andi is an incredibly nuanced character, with her no-nonsense attitude, her own messiness when it comes to Magnus, and the fact she knows she’s being ridiculous. And even though I have some gripes with the relationship she has with her old guardian, Jember (I’ll get to that in a moment), most of the time Andi’s response to her past trauma and the way she decides to deal with it is incredibly realistic and evocative.
Jember was, and is, an abusive guardian. It’s a fact. There are a lot of scenes describing this abuse -- sometimes in great detail -- and even more in hints and mentions. Sometimes it’s incredibly overwhelming (I’m a survivor of child abuse and very sensitive to things like this, but I think this would be intense for anyone).
I also think Magnus gets off way too easy when it comes to what he keeps from Andromeda (this story’s version of Bertha). I just want him to acknowledge that he actually does something wrong! Andi is the one who is made to apologize and feel ashamed -- and only when there’s a threat of losing her does he feel any sort of repentance.
But overall I think these are the only two issues that come to mind (other than wishing there was more lore about the amulets!). Each character is vibrant and full of their own quirks and flaws and manner of behaving, and though this is a dialogue-heavy book, the dialogue sure makes it worth it. There are also scenes and lines written with such care they’ll stick with me for a long while (as I eagerly await Lauren Blackwood’s next novel).
Graphic: Child abuse and Gore
Minor: Slavery
c4vyn'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? Yes
2.5
Graphic: Body horror, Gore, and Blood
Moderate: Addiction and Torture
clhtdr's review against another edition
- Plot- or character-driven? Plot
- Strong character development? No
- Loveable characters? No
- Diverse cast of characters? Yes
- Flaws of characters a main focus? No
3.0
Moderate: Emotional abuse, Gore, Physical abuse, Blood, Death of parent, and Colonisation