Reviews tagging 'Addiction'

A Darker Shade of Magic by V.E. Schwab

8 reviews

rubybastille's review against another edition

adventurous fast-paced

• 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

Fun but feels like it's doing a lot and some threads felt left behind. Each London is vividly imagined, from the sumptuous Red to spine-chilling White. I wish we could have learned more about Kell's lost past and the vanishing Antari, which feels like a big deal but isn't really addressed.

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Self harm, Blood, and Murder

Moderate: Addiction, Torture, and Sexual harassment

lisa07xie's review against another edition

emotional mysterious tense fast-paced

• Plot- or character-driven? Plot
• Strong character development? Yes
• Loveable characters? Yes
• Diverse cast of characters? Yes
• Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes

3.5

I would give it free point five stars and I really like the story itself it does have a different view of Magic then over books. It was kind of hard to get into for me because the beginning was Just Not for me but after some time I began to enjoy it and I accustomed to the writing Style which was really descriptive and it is in 3 Person but we get to see the pov from so many small Characters even which I think is quite rare. But the romance was lacking I was told it has a romance subplot which I think is really untrue the romance in this book was a whole sentence long which was quite disappointing... But I did like the Characters and the story it was something different

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Addiction, Body horror, Child abuse, Cursing, Death, Gun violence, Physical abuse, Suicidal thoughts, Torture, Violence, Blood, Trafficking, Kidnapping, Grief, Murder, Alcohol, War, Injury/Injury detail, and Classism

valerian_honeybee's review against another edition

adventurous dark emotional medium-paced

• 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

4.25

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Addiction, Gore, Physical abuse, Self harm, Torture, Violence, Blood, Kidnapping, Injury/Injury detail, and Pandemic/Epidemic

Moderate: Misogyny, Sexism, and Abandonment

Minor: Alcohol and War

laurenbaggy's review against another edition

adventurous dark mysterious tense medium-paced

• Plot- or character-driven? Plot
• Strong character development? Yes
• Loveable characters? Yes
• Diverse cast of characters? Yes
• Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes

4.0

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Death, Torture, Violence, Blood, Murder, and Injury/Injury detail

Moderate: Addiction, Child death, Self harm, and Sexual assault

Minor: Addiction, Confinement, Gore, and Slavery

cowardlyteaman's review against another edition

adventurous emotional funny mysterious tense fast-paced

• Plot- or character-driven? Plot
• Strong character development? Yes
• Loveable characters? Yes
• Diverse cast of characters? No
• Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes

4.5

I really liked this book!
The plot was good, the characters were good, and I really like its pace.
Especially in the end, I felt like some of the battles were a bit short and shallow? However, I am aware that this is a trilogy, and will give the end game a chance to be tension I'm looking for.

I would very much recommend this to any fantasy fan who likes a bit of a blood bath and very interesting world-building. There's elemental magic, alternative worlds, humorous dialogue, and a small romance sub-plot that doesn't take up tedious space at all.

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Addiction, Gore, Self harm, Torture, Blood, Murder, and Alcohol

Moderate: Sexual assault

Minor: Drug use and Sexual content

zoeelora's review against another edition

adventurous dark tense fast-paced

• Plot- or character-driven? A mix
• Strong character development? Yes
• Loveable characters? Yes
• Diverse cast of characters? No
• Flaws of characters a main focus? It's complicated

4.5

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Self harm, Blood, and Murder

Moderate: Addiction, Body horror, Child abuse, Child death, Confinement, Cursing, Death, Emotional abuse, Genocide, Gore, Gun violence, Misogyny, Physical abuse, Rape, Self harm, Sexism, Sexual assault, Sexual content, Slavery, Torture, Violence, Forced institutionalization, Kidnapping, Grief, Medical trauma, Stalking, Death of parent, Murder, Fire/Fire injury, Abandonment, Alcohol, Sexual harassment, and Injury/Injury detail

zannayo's review against another edition

adventurous dark tense fast-paced

• Plot- or character-driven? A mix
• Strong character development? It's complicated
• Loveable characters? No
• Diverse cast of characters? No
• Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes

3.0

This book was written well enough and had a lot of potential. I liked it less as I kept reading it though, most of the characters grated on me quite a bit. I'm a sucker for meaningful bonds between characters and there just wasn't any of that here. 

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Addiction, Death, Drug abuse, Gore, Gun violence, Torture, Blood, Murder, Fire/Fire injury, and Injury/Injury detail

Moderate: Self harm, Sexism, Slavery, Violence, Kidnapping, Stalking, Sexual harassment, War, and Classism

livreaderlife's review against another edition

adventurous dark inspiring fast-paced

• Plot- or character-driven? A mix
• Strong character development? Yes
• Loveable characters? Yes
• Diverse cast of characters? It's complicated
• Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes

4.75

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Content Warnings

Moderate: Addiction, Death, Sexual harassment, Colonisation, and Classism