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gillian_aftanas'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
Graphic: Addiction, Bullying, Confinement, Death, Drug abuse, Drug use, Genocide, Gun violence, Physical abuse, Violence, Forced institutionalization, Blood, Police brutality, Medical content, Kidnapping, Grief, Murder, Colonisation, War, Injury/Injury detail, and Classism
Moderate: Child death, Cursing, Emotional abuse, Mental illness, Sexual content, Torture, Xenophobia, and Fire/Fire injury
Minor: Alcohol
chasinggrace'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? No
3.0
Other than the frustrating prose - and the choppy world/character building that went along with it - I was enamored by the story. I found the interactions and banter between Paige and Warden to actually be done quite well. His personality and speaking style was distinct, and their interactions kept me interested without them being overly obvious or corny.
As stubborn as she can be, I did enjoy how Paige’s past in the syndicate helped her in the lost city. She’s not a bulletproof FMC but she’s also not hopeless. Can she be dumb and rash? Yes. And a little too “let’s save everyone even though that’s illogical.” But overall, I was rooting for her and wanted to read about her more.
My favorite aspects of this story were the dialogue between Paige and Warden, the setting within Magdalen, and the relationships Paige had between the Seven Dials and the other humans in the lost city. I also loved the ending, but didn’t want it to be the end! It ends in a way that really makes you want to read the next book, despite this one’s flaws.
Graphic: Body horror, Child death, Cursing, Death, Gore, Gun violence, Physical abuse, Slavery, Torture, Violence, Forced institutionalization, Trafficking, Grief, Murder, Fire/Fire injury, Alcohol, Colonisation, War, and Classism
ceruleanshelves'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
"Go to hell."
"I already exist on a level of hell."
"Exist on one that isn’t near mine."
this was lit. 2010s ya dystopian vibes of red queen + shatter me with early 1900s SOC + peaky blinders and some macabre fantasy horror elements and more intricate worldbuilding of the locked tomb.
i know throwing all those titles out there sounds like this might be a pale imitation of some of them or a trope-built book, but it's not. it firmly stands on its own feet.
But there was no normal. There never had been. Normal and natural were the greatest lies we had ever created – we humans, with our little minds.
while this is a bit slower paced and there can be some cumbersome worldbuilding, i found myself really intrigued and invested in paige's story and this world. there's an interesting blend of real history and cultural references into this, and i found the blending of the above mentioned elements to be very creative in making a unique setting.
i love the idea of the mime crime and i can't wait to see those politics play out more in the future, as well as the mysterious and elusive origins of the rephaim and their enemies, the emim.
and ARCTURUS. I NEED MORE ARCTURUS 😩
‘Run, little dreamer.’
this is the first time in a WHILE that i've gotten to get into an established series with 0 info or spoilers, and i'm definitely keeping it that way while i catch up. seeing as it's going to be 7 books i'm soooo excited to see what the overall journey for paige and this world will be!
"I want to remind them that if you leave one spark aglow, it can still burn everything down."
Graphic: Death, Gun violence, Violence, Blood, Murder, and Injury/Injury detail
Moderate: Confinement and Xenophobia
Minor: Addiction, Child death, Gore, Death of parent, Fire/Fire injury, and War
lonny05'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: Death and War
hayreading's review
- Plot- or character-driven? Character
- Strong character development? Yes
- Loveable characters? Yes
- Diverse cast of characters? Yes
- Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes
4.75
Graphic: Alcoholism, Bullying, Child death, Confinement, Cursing, Drug use, Genocide, Gore, Gun violence, Hate crime, Physical abuse, Racism, Slavery, Torture, Toxic relationship, Violence, Forced institutionalization, Xenophobia, Police brutality, Medical content, Trafficking, Kidnapping, Grief, Murder, Sexual harassment, War, Injury/Injury detail, and Deportation
mmidi's review
- Plot- or character-driven? A mix
- Strong character development? It's complicated
- Loveable characters? It's complicated
- Diverse cast of characters? Yes
- Flaws of characters a main focus? It's complicated
3.75
Graphic: Gun violence, Physical abuse, Slavery, Torture, Violence, Xenophobia, Trafficking, Murder, War, and Injury/Injury detail
julienicole1106'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: Bullying, Child abuse, Child death, Confinement, Cursing, Death, Gun violence, Physical abuse, Sexual assault, Slavery, Torture, Violence, Blood, Kidnapping, Grief, Murder, Fire/Fire injury, Alcohol, Colonisation, War, Injury/Injury detail, and Classism
sauvageloup's review against another edition
- Plot- or character-driven? A mix
- Strong character development? Yes
- Loveable characters? It's complicated
- Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes
3.5
pros:
- the worldbuilding is very imaginative, with the whole mix of clairvoyance, angels, emim, ghosts/poltergeists and rephaium. I liked all the different types of clairvoyance and reading about Paige using her gift. the Rephs were also imaginative, seeming to be a strange mix of vampire/angel/demon/clairvoyant.
- I thought the main relationships, friendship and romance, were nicely built up and not rushed, but sign posted well.
- the writing was overall clear and gripping with moments of being poetic. i wanted to keep reading, once I was 50 or so pages in.
- I did like the side characters, Liss, julian, seb and Michael were all interesting.
cons:
- the biggest issue I think was the feeling that the plot wandered too much. it felt like we tumbled from one event to another without any particular structure, and so the tension felt off, as big events happened without any build up.
- lost track of who everyone was with such a big cast, and I was also still unsure about what exact powers paige and the rephs had.
- it felt like there were a lot of holes in explanations, with a lot of slang used without being explained. a certain amount makes sense, but I feel that it tipped over into too much. i had a lot of questions and even when there were answers, they seemed somewhat arbitrary. also why was Arcturus still being called Warden at the end?
- there was also a big worldbuilding dump at the start, which I was told about and wasnt too bad, but it definitely could've been handled smoother.
- also, if I'm being honest, I didnt find paige very interesting. yes shes spunky and she is shown as being kind to Seb, Liss and Julian, and yet she still felt extremely 2D, I didnt really feel for her as a full person and the emotional impact of some events was definitely lessened bc of it.
(- I'm definitely curious to see what Shannon changed in her new rewriting of the book)
overall, a gripping and pretty original thriller, but with some shaky plotting and too big cast. but I've got the mime order and will most likely be reading it!
Graphic: Body horror, Child abuse, Child death, Confinement, Death, Domestic abuse, Drug use, Emotional abuse, Physical abuse, Sexual assault, Sexual content, Sexual violence, Slavery, Torture, Violence, Forced institutionalization, Blood, Police brutality, Kidnapping, Grief, Murder, War, and Injury/Injury detail
buud_w0rm's review against another edition
- Plot- or character-driven? Character
- Strong character development? Yes
- Loveable characters? Yes
- Diverse cast of characters? No
- Flaws of characters a main focus? N/A
4.0
Graphic: Death, Violence, and War
Moderate: Sexual content and Slavery
katievallin'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? Yes
5.0
Graphic: Bullying, Child death, Cursing, Death, Drug use, Emotional abuse, Gun violence, Hate crime, Physical abuse, Slavery, Violence, Blood, Police brutality, Kidnapping, Grief, Murder, Fire/Fire injury, War, and Injury/Injury detail
Moderate: Domestic abuse, Medical content, Trafficking, Alcohol, and Colonisation
Minor: Addiction, Torture, Vomit, and Death of parent