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bordino's review against another edition
- Plot- or character-driven? Character
- Strong character development? It's complicated
- Loveable characters? It's complicated
- Diverse cast of characters? No
- Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes
3.75
Graphic: Adult/minor relationship, Body horror, Child abuse, Child death, Pedophilia, Physical abuse, Rape, Sexual assault, Sexual content, Sexual violence, Slavery, Suicidal thoughts, Torture, Toxic relationship, Violence, Blood, Trafficking, Kidnapping, Stalking, Suicide attempt, and Murder
cecilyroseceillam's review against another edition
- Plot- or character-driven? Character
- Strong character development? It's complicated
- Loveable characters? It's complicated
- Diverse cast of characters? It's complicated
- Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes
4.0
Graphic: Adult/minor relationship, Child abuse, Emotional abuse, Pedophilia, Physical abuse, Rape, Sexual assault, Slavery, and Cannibalism
asavagegarden's review against another edition
- Plot- or character-driven? Character
- Strong character development? Yes
- Loveable characters? It's complicated
- Diverse cast of characters? No
- Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes
5.0
this is armand telling david talbot (yes, it makes no sense, it should've been journalist daniel molloy) the story of his life, since he was a child to the current day.
i read this book without knowing much, just having read the previous 5 books in the chronicles, and with misleading ideas in favour of marius de romanus that other people told me. this book is VERY hard to read because it has extremely distressing topics (i will add some trigger warnings at the end) and i highly recommend if you think any trauma could be triggered by this book... do not read. do not harm yourself.
that being said, i still rate this book 5 stars because of how complex armand is as a character, he became one of my favorite characters. i can HATE what happens in this book but still recognize no matter how fucked up it is, that it is a good book. dark and traumatizing.
TW: rape, pedophilia, physical abuse, grooming, sexual abuse, human trafficking, child trafficking and more.
marius de romanus is the worst character to ever exist and i'm sad rice (who i'm sure is in hell for writting this book) didn't kill him before dying herself. this fictional monster is an abuser in all the forms of the word and he commits graphic abuse to children ON page. so please beware.
Graphic: Adult/minor relationship, Child abuse, Pedophilia, Physical abuse, Sexual violence, Blood, Suicide attempt, and Sexual harassment
shellfish's review against another edition
- Plot- or character-driven? A mix
- Strong character development? No
- Loveable characters? It's complicated
3.0
Graphic: Adult/minor relationship, Child abuse, Confinement, Pedophilia, Physical abuse, Rape, Slavery, Toxic relationship, Blood, Trafficking, Kidnapping, and Suicide attempt
While there isn't literal incest, a major relationship does have a pseudo-incestuous dynamic, i.e. a relationship between a minor and a father figure.armand's review against another edition
armand is my favorite vampire of the series, and it was very painful to get through this book. although i wanted to read more about his backstory, story ripped my heart to shreds. i disliked marius before, but he is now one of my most HATED literary characters of all time. i’ve seen many people demonize and bash on armand’s character for being Strange and Offputting… and while i understand why some people can find him to be uncomfortable, why is he the way he is? he was a child when he was made and he suffered, while being a human child, repeated CSA, physical and mental abuse and grooming, by the hands of his immortal maker marius and mortals alike. he never got to have a childhood, and was thrust upon a world full of sick individuals that twisted his perception of the world and those around him.
and throughout the series, we see how the abuse that he suffered affects his relationships with other people throughout the series.
he didn’t achieve a deep, long-lasting romantic relationship, but he found love in his two “adopted children”, his brother and sister, sybelle and benji. and it makes me very glad! this little family is just what he needs. i feel for him, and this book only deepened my appreciation of the character.
on another note, anne rice’s purple prose in this is lovely! loved the philosophical monologues, and how descriptive it was. her writing is beautiful to me, but i did have MAJOR issues with how graphic the sexual content was in this depicting the life of a teenage boy, and how romanticized the dynamic between marius and armand was (although i understand that this was in the victim’s pov… but it could’ve been handled better) for a book about how predatory adults traumatized a person forever in a teenage body, the topics surrounding this could’ve been handled WAYYY better (didn’t have much hope bc this is an anne rice book but geez)
Graphic: Adult/minor relationship, Child abuse, Emotional abuse, Pedophilia, Physical abuse, Rape, Sexual assault, Sexual content, Sexual violence, Slavery, Blood, Trafficking, and Sexual harassment
carrionkid's review against another edition
4.0
Graphic: Adult/minor relationship, Body horror, Child abuse, Child death, Confinement, Death, Pedophilia, Physical abuse, Rape, Sexual assault, Sexual content, Sexual violence, Slavery, Torture, Violence, Blood, Trafficking, Kidnapping, Suicide attempt, Murder, Fire/Fire injury, and Alcohol
sofipitch's review against another edition
- Plot- or character-driven? Character
- Strong character development? It's complicated
- Loveable characters? It's complicated
- Diverse cast of characters? Yes
- Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes
3.0
Graphic: Adult/minor relationship, Body horror, Physical abuse, Rape, Sexual assault, Sexual content, Sexual violence, Suicidal thoughts, Suicide, Blood, Trafficking, Kidnapping, Grief, and Suicide attempt
Minor: Child abuse, Cannibalism, Car accident, and Death of parent
parttimerarebookdealer's review against another edition
- Strong character development? Yes
- Loveable characters? Yes
- Diverse cast of characters? N/A
- Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes
Graphic: Adult/minor relationship, Child abuse, Child death, Confinement, Death, Emotional abuse, Gore, Mental illness, Physical abuse, Rape, Self harm, Sexual assault, Suicidal thoughts, Suicide, Torture, Toxic relationship, Blood, Trafficking, Kidnapping, and Grief