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bookmarkyourthoughts'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
3.75
This dark mystery novel is full of a multitude of plotlines, interesting characters, and an absolutely gorgeous gothic setting. Bardugo brilliantly draws out the secrets among the characters and university, enticing readers to eagerly read to discover more.
Though a little slow at some points, this was such a phenomenal read and a great introduction for me into dark academia literature.
๐ฅ๐๐๐ ๐๐ ๐ฌ๐ข๐จ ๐๐๐๐
๐Dark academia vibes
๐Urban fantasy
๐University/school setting
๐"Whodunnit" plot
๐Spooky settings and spooky beings
๐Reluctant hero trope
๐Womance
๐Found family trope
Graphic: Drug abuse, Drug use, Gore, Rape, Self harm, Sexual assault, Suicide, Toxic relationship, Violence, and Murder
bookish_cat_mom'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: Confinement, Death, Drug abuse, Drug use, Gore, and Sexual assault
Moderate: Suicide
madinhoa's review against another edition
- Plot- or character-driven? Plot
- Strong character development? Yes
- Loveable characters? Yes
- Diverse cast of characters? Yes
- Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes
3.75
Graphic: Addiction, Adult/minor relationship, Alcoholism, Animal cruelty, Animal death, Body horror, Child abuse, Cursing, Death, Domestic abuse, Drug abuse, Drug use, Eating disorder, Emotional abuse, Gore, Gun violence, Mental illness, Panic attacks/disorders, Physical abuse, Rape, Self harm, Sexual assault, Sexual content, Sexual violence, Suicide, Torture, Violence, Forced institutionalization, Blood, Excrement, Vomit, Medical content, Kidnapping, Grief, Cannibalism, Medical trauma, Suicide attempt, Murder, Toxic friendship, Abandonment, Alcohol, Sexual harassment, Injury/Injury detail, and Classism
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: Addiction, Death, Drug abuse, Drug use, Misogyny, Violence, Blood, Medical trauma, Murder, and Injury/Injury detail
Moderate: Alcoholism, Cursing, Racism, Suicide, Schizophrenia/Psychosis , Gaslighting, Alcohol, and Classism
Minor: Bullying, Emotional abuse, Gun violence, Panic attacks/disorders, Grief, and Colonisation
praptireads's review against another edition
5.0
im going to just say this rn but i liked this as much as i liked six of crows. which is saying a lot. for entirely different reasons tho. this was a paranormal fantasy heavily entwined with the real world and also very much an adult novel. it was dark and sinister and honestly spooked me too much sometimes but i absolutely cannot and will not complain, because as always leigh bardugo served. the plot, the characters, the twists, the heart wrenching backstories, this had it all.
the concept itself had me hooked from the beginning. i loved alex, the mc, so so much. she's deeply flawed and messed up but has become one of my favourite protagonists. i also loved darlington because he is literally everything tbh. he's literally described as the golden boy. he's incredibly smart, charismatic and inquisitive, and above all, a gentleman.
tl ; dr, it's LEIGH BARDUGO, just read it. deserves as much hype as the grishaverse. โผ๏ธmake sure to check trigger warnings โผ๏ธ
Graphic: Addiction, Body horror, Death, Drug abuse, Gore, Misogyny, Suicide, Blood, Excrement, Murder, Abandonment, and Sexual harassment
talia03'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
5.0
Moderate: Drug abuse, Drug use, Rape, Sexual assault, Sexual violence, Suicide, and Murder
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: Death, Drug abuse, Drug use, Rape, Self harm, Sexual assault, Violence, Vomit, and Murder
Minor: Addiction, Self harm, Suicide, Torture, Blood, Medical content, Grief, Schizophrenia/Psychosis , and Injury/Injury detail
theheartisanarrow's review against another edition
5.0
now i kinda picked the best and worst time to read, worst bc i'm so busy and i wish i could've read the book in fewer sittings and given it more of my focus bc it deserves all of it, best bc i LOVED it, was able to dodge the mean cliffhangers and move swiftly on to the sequel <3
side note: even though i was okay with the triggers and shit, it still didn't leave me unfazed, so please check the trigger warnings before reading! this book is quite dark overall and among other subjects deals quite a bit with sexual assault/rape culture, so be safe x
Graphic: Drug abuse and Sexual assault
Moderate: Gore, Suicide, and Murder
Minor: Addiction, Excrement, and Vomit
alisonkolonick'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
4.5
Graphic: Addiction, Death, Drug abuse, Drug use, Gore, Rape, Sexual assault, Suicide, Violence, Grief, and Abandonment
art_books_chemistry'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
5.0
Firstly, I loved the setting. Is New Haven a crime ridden city and not as nice as Yale-ites would like to pretend? Totally. But they get locked into their campus and can ignore it and the rest of us just avoid The Green and stick to the main bar area at night. I went to school at the other college in the Havens area and then stayed and worked for an extra year. I really loved the reference to the body found under the giant old tree after Hurricane Sandy since I was around when it happened. It's the little touches like that that help me immerse into a story when I know the setting.
This is peak Dark Academia. Secret Societies have always been shrouded in mystery and the potential of magic. The way Leigh Bardugo went about explaining it in this novel felt incredibly realistic from an outside perspective which allows you to get drawn into the story. I will say that there are a lot of moving pieces that could become confusing. I'm glad I read this on kindle instead of listening to it since I could flip around and make sure I was remembering names and associations correctly, especially since there were time jumps periodically.
I found the plot engrossing, the magic intriguing, and the mystery riveting. As far as characters go, I won't say they are lovable because they have many flaws, some of which are distasteful. This does, however, make them very real which is far more important than a lovable character that is too perfect for the plot to make sense. Plot and character development is top notch though.
TL;DR Amazing urban fantasy, I NEED THE SEQUEL NOW.
Graphic: Cursing, Death, Drug use, Toxic relationship, Violence, Blood, Vomit, Medical content, Murder, Injury/Injury detail, and Classism
Moderate: Rape
Minor: Gun violence, Sexual content, Sexual violence, Suicide, Excrement, Fire/Fire injury, and Alcohol