shaylaeliz's review against another edition
adventurous
mysterious
medium-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? It's complicated
3.0
Content Warnings
Graphic: Sexual content
Moderate: Toxic relationship
Minor: Emotional abuse, Pregnancy, Misogyny, and Violence
kayanoelle's review against another edition
adventurous
dark
emotional
sad
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
4.75
This was such a ride!!! I read this in two days and stayed up very late to read as much as I can. The character development in this book was incredible and I was always at the edge of my seat!! If you've already read the book, I don't need to tell you that the end was immensely gratifying lol I loved it.
Content Warnings
Graphic: Sexual content, Violence, and Drug use
Moderate: Vomit
Minor: Slavery
haunting_bluejay's review against another edition
adventurous
dark
emotional
hopeful
inspiring
reflective
tense
medium-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
5.0
Holy shit. So initially I found Gild and Glint kinda meh, i enjoyed Glint more that Gild though, but felt those two could have been one book. But holy shit did I love Gleam. Watching Auren both literally and metaphorically break out of her cage was stunning. And the manipulation and abuse from Midas was way too accurate, speaking from experience. Im so excited for my copy of Glow to arrive now.
Content Warnings
Graphic: Emotional abuse, Sexism, Sexual assault, Sexual content, and Physical abuse
Moderate: Drug abuse
natticalore's review against another edition
adventurous
dark
medium-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? Plot
- Strong character development? No
- Loveable characters? Yes
- Diverse cast of characters? It's complicated
- Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes
3.25
No tengo mucho que decir de este libro. En contraste con los otros, este tiene un equilibrio perfecto entre trama y personajes. La trama avanza, y mucho, en comparación con el libro anterior. Sin embargo, no la veo tan desarrollada como la del primer libro, ni tan original tampoco. Eso no quita que no me haya gustado, porque he de admitir que ninguno de los plot twists que han habido me los esperaba.
Los personajes tambien tienen su equilibrio propio, porque seguimos teniendo a Rip, ahora también conocido como Slade Ravinger, una Auren consciente de que lo que ha sufrido a manos de Midas no es ni por asomo sano, y la Wrath de Slade, que siguen siendo tan maravillosos como antes. Pero también está Midas de nuevo, y con una actitud 500 veces peor que la que tenía en el primer libro, y mira que yo pensaba que era imposible. Y aparece también Malina en varios capítulos, los cuales, honestamente, me saltaba, porque no venía que aportaran mucho a la trama. Y además se ha vuelto una egocéntrica sedienta de poder tal y como cierto rey con una obsesión poco sana con el oro.
Pensaba leerme el siguiente libro ahora después, pero no le tengo tanta devoción a la saga como para leerme casi 800 páginas de Auren y Slade.
P. D.: Slade tiene una boca muy MUY filthy y no sé de donde ha salido porque en ningún momento ha dado señales de hablar así.
Los personajes tambien tienen su equilibrio propio, porque seguimos teniendo a Rip, ahora también conocido como Slade Ravinger, una Auren consciente de que lo que ha sufrido a manos de Midas no es ni por asomo sano, y la Wrath de Slade, que siguen siendo tan maravillosos como antes. Pero también está Midas de nuevo, y con una actitud 500 veces peor que la que tenía en el primer libro, y mira que yo pensaba que era imposible. Y aparece también Malina en varios capítulos, los cuales, honestamente, me saltaba, porque no venía que aportaran mucho a la trama. Y además se ha vuelto una egocéntrica sedienta de poder tal y como cierto rey con una obsesión poco sana con el oro.
Pensaba leerme el siguiente libro ahora después, pero no le tengo tanta devoción a la saga como para leerme casi 800 páginas de Auren y Slade.
P. D.: Slade tiene una boca muy MUY filthy y no sé de donde ha salido porque en ningún momento ha dado señales de hablar así.
Content Warnings
Graphic: Toxic relationship and Sexual content
rozanne_visagie's review against another edition
dark
emotional
mysterious
tense
fast-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? A mix
- Strong character development? Yes
- Loveable characters? Yes
- Diverse cast of characters? N/A
- Flaws of characters a main focus? N/A
5.0
This book was full of twists and turns! So far Gleam is my favourite book in the series.
After an ending like this, I have to dive to into the next book immediately.
Thank you Penguin Random House SA for gifting me a copy of this book in exchange for an honest review.
After an ending like this, I have to dive to into the next book immediately.
Thank you Penguin Random House SA for gifting me a copy of this book in exchange for an honest review.
Content Warnings
Graphic: Drug abuse and Sexual content
forgottencupoftea'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
5.0
The first two books are great, this third book is incredible! I'm now officially fully obsessed with this series and I will feel personally attacked if things end up going some type of way I don't like.
Gleam gives you all the great things that had been hinted at and scattered in Gild and Glint: great characters, a strong plot, an intricate political intrigue, slow burn romance, more plot twists/revelations and a journey towards self discovery.
Auren has slowly become one of my favourite heroines. She is a strong woman with warring/complex emotions, I've loved being able to experience firsthand (through her narration) the change in her thoughts, mindset. There's something incredible to the way she starts accepting herself and I'm weirdly proud of the fact that she starts embracing her true self.
I, obviously, loved Slade. He is such a good (actually! for real!) morally grey character and love interest. What a man! (fae?!) I wish we knew more about him, I hope we end up getting some of his background because there is so much potential when it comes to his psychology/history.
The romance between the two of them was to die for! The banter, the angst, the slow burn, the chemistry, the encouragement...honestly, I could have died. If you were waiting on the romance, wait no more, dinner is served!
There were also so many heart-wrenching, harrowing, tear-jerking moments. The last 20% or so of the book were an emotional rollercoaster. I finished the book late at night and I was a sobbing mess (if you know, you know).
I will end this by saying that there were a bunch of POVs I could not find myself interested in? Mainly Malina's? I do feel quite bad about it to be honest as I'm very aware that she's in the position she's in because, as a woman, she was essentially "put" there but good grief she's pretty shit herself?
Gleam gives you all the great things that had been hinted at and scattered in Gild and Glint: great characters, a strong plot, an intricate political intrigue, slow burn romance, more plot twists/revelations and a journey towards self discovery.
Auren has slowly become one of my favourite heroines. She is a strong woman with warring/complex emotions, I've loved being able to experience firsthand (through her narration) the change in her thoughts, mindset. There's something incredible to the way she starts accepting herself and I'm weirdly proud of the fact that she starts embracing her true self.
I, obviously, loved Slade. He is such a good (actually! for real!) morally grey character and love interest. What a man! (fae?!) I wish we knew more about him, I hope we end up getting some of his background because there is so much potential when it comes to his psychology/history.
The romance between the two of them was to die for! The banter, the angst, the slow burn, the chemistry, the encouragement...honestly, I could have died. If you were waiting on the romance, wait no more, dinner is served!
There were also so many heart-wrenching, harrowing, tear-jerking moments. The last 20% or so of the book were an emotional rollercoaster. I finished the book late at night and I was a sobbing mess (if you know, you know).
I will end this by saying that there were a bunch of POVs I could not find myself interested in? Mainly Malina's? I do feel quite bad about it to be honest as I'm very aware that she's in the position she's in because, as a woman, she was essentially "put" there but good grief she's pretty shit herself?
Content Warnings
Graphic: Emotional abuse, Physical abuse, Sexual content, and Violence
Moderate: Drug abuse, Gaslighting, Sexual assault, and Toxic relationship
shannon_magee's review against another edition
adventurous
dark
emotional
slow-paced
- 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
2.0
Up until about 80% this book was reading as the best of the series so far (despite an aggressive amount of analogies in the writing that made it a struggle to read. You could tell they wanted to be lyrical and meaningful, perfect for a blurb or social media quote, but there were just too many of them and they were too extended, clunking up the narrative. The pace also seemed highly confused, which wound up contributing to a clunky narrative). Unfortunately, at around 84%, this book became a dumping ground for trauma porn. Extensive trauma porn, in an already unabashedly trauma-tastic series. And the payoff is never satisfying enough to make going through the gleefully awful events in this book worth it. Every time I read a book in this series, I’m excited by the potential of the premise and the characters, and every time the writing is overdone and the dramatics so heightened it just leaves be hollow and disappointed. I truly don’t understand why the romantasy community is so happy with this series.
Content Warnings
Graphic: Domestic abuse, Violence, Torture, Injury/injury detail, Drug use, Death, Rape, Toxic relationship, Misogyny, Emotional abuse, Sexual violence, Vomit, Sexual harassment, Sexual assault, Drug abuse, Physical abuse, Sexism, Sexual content, Confinement, Bullying, Blood, Addiction, and Murder
reneec1's review against another edition
challenging
dark
emotional
hopeful
tense
fast-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? A mix
- Strong character development? Yes
- Loveable characters? Yes
- Diverse cast of characters? N/A
- Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes
5.0
Content Warnings
Graphic: Confinement, Sexual content, and Emotional abuse
Moderate: Violence and Sexual assault
xlaurareads's review against another edition
adventurous
challenging
dark
emotional
hopeful
mysterious
sad
tense
medium-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? Yes
5.0
screaming, crying, throwing up - this book was an absolute banger! i was anxious, i was sad, i was furious, happy, and completely torn apart. the character developmemt, the world-building, the plot twists - everything was amazing and thought through in greatest detail. the twist at the end of the book regarding midas? i wasn't expecting that and i was shocked to the bones. and the ending? the epilogue wasn't that much needed in my opinion although i greatly appreciate slade's perspective. and what i didn't like too much was the dirty talk. i mean, it was amazing..if it wasn't for the time this book is set in, that just didn't fit too well for me and disturbed my reading experience a teeny weeny bit. however, the book was so exceptional that i cannot for the life of me deduct points for this minor issue. this really might be new favorite series (and that means a lot after acotar had my heart for years).
Spoiler
he deserved how auren ended him. every bit of it and more. i hate that bastard with all my heart.
Content Warnings
Graphic: Physical abuse, Cursing, Death, Emotional abuse, Drug abuse, Drug use, Gaslighting, Injury/injury detail, Pregnancy, Violence, Sexual assault, Sexual content, and Toxic relationship
tiana907's review against another edition
adventurous
dark
emotional
inspiring
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
4.75
Content Warnings
Graphic: Sexual content and Emotional abuse
Moderate: Physical abuse, Drug abuse, and Violence
Minor: Sexual assault