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andrhyshend'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: Self harm, Torture, Forced institutionalization, and Kidnapping
gcarney15's review against another edition
- Plot- or character-driven? Character
- Strong character development? It's complicated
- Loveable characters? Yes
- Diverse cast of characters? Yes
- Flaws of characters a main focus? It's complicated
5.0
Graphic: Addiction, Alcoholism, Body horror, Bullying, Child abuse, Cursing, Death, Drug abuse, Drug use, Eating disorder, Emotional abuse, Hate crime, Homophobia, Mental illness, Panic attacks/disorders, Physical abuse, Rape, Self harm, Sexism, Sexual assault, Sexual content, Sexual violence, Suicidal thoughts, Suicide, Torture, Toxic relationship, Violence, Forced institutionalization, Blood, Police brutality, Medical content, Kidnapping, Medical trauma, Car accident, Suicide attempt, Death of parent, Murder, Fire/Fire injury, Gaslighting, Alcohol, Sexual harassment, and Injury/Injury detail
anniereads221's review against another edition
4.5
Graphic: Ableism, Addiction, Body horror, Bullying, Child abuse, Confinement, Death, Domestic abuse, Drug abuse, Drug use, Gore, Homophobia, Mental illness, Physical abuse, Racism, Rape, Self harm, Sexual violence, Torture, Toxic relationship, Violence, Forced institutionalization, Blood, Vomit, Medical content, Grief, Religious bigotry, Death of parent, Acephobia/Arophobia, Murder, Schizophrenia/Psychosis , Gaslighting, Alcohol, and Injury/Injury detail
katanai'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
4.75
Graphic: Death, Gun violence, Physical abuse, Forced institutionalization, Murder, and Injury/Injury detail
Moderate: Physical abuse, Rape, Sexual content, Sexual violence, Torture, Violence, Blood, Kidnapping, and Alcohol
Minor: Panic attacks/disorders, Self harm, and Vomit
wynterymess'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: Alcoholism, Body horror, Child abuse, Confinement, Cursing, Death, Domestic abuse, Drug abuse, Drug use, Emotional abuse, Gore, Gun violence, Homophobia, Physical abuse, Torture, Violence, Blood, Kidnapping, Death of parent, Murder, Fire/Fire injury, Alcohol, and Injury/Injury detail
Moderate: Addiction, Panic attacks/disorders, Self harm, Police brutality, Acephobia/Arophobia, and Outing
Minor: Ableism, Body shaming, Eating disorder, Misogyny, Rape, Sexism, Sexual assault, Sexual violence, Forced institutionalization, Vomit, Medical content, Grief, Religious bigotry, Car accident, Abandonment, and Sexual harassment
reygov's review against another edition
2.75
Graphic: Addiction, Child abuse, Drug abuse, Physical abuse, Torture, Violence, Blood, Murder, Schizophrenia/Psychosis , and Injury/Injury detail
Moderate: Addiction, Death, Drug use, Gore, Gun violence, Sexual content, Forced institutionalization, and Medical trauma
Minor: Pedophilia, Rape, and Sexual assault
sabinehunter'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: Confinement, Cursing, Death, Domestic abuse, Gore, Gun violence, Mental illness, Physical abuse, Sexual content, Suicide, Torture, Violence, Blood, Kidnapping, Death of parent, Murder, Alcohol, and Injury/Injury detail
Minor: Drug use, Homophobia, Rape, Self harm, Sexual assault, Sexual violence, Forced institutionalization, Stalking, Car accident, and Schizophrenia/Psychosis
josie_readz's review against another edition
- Plot- or character-driven? Character
- Strong character development? Yes
- Loveable characters? Yes
- Flaws of characters a main focus? It's complicated
5.0
Graphic: Addiction, Child abuse, Death, Domestic abuse, Drug abuse, Drug use, Emotional abuse, Gun violence, Homophobia, Physical abuse, Rape, Self harm, Sexual assault, Torture, Forced institutionalization, Kidnapping, Death of parent, Murder, Fire/Fire injury, Alcohol, and Injury/Injury detail
jenny_librarian's review against another edition
- Plot- or character-driven? Plot
- Strong character development? It's complicated
- Loveable characters? No
- Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes
3.0
Everything I ever heard about this before picking up the books for myself was how much people love Neil and Andrew together. Well, I can tell you: I don't see it. You could say it's my aroace-ness that makes me blind to those things, but I have plenty of ships I love to prove you wrong. I just find that Neil and Andrew have absolutely no chemistry, and I think part of the reason is that we never get any real insight into Andrew's thoughts because the books are written from Neil's perspective.
Now, I'm not sure I should wish we'd gotten Andrew's perspective because I think the author made it pretty clear she's not exactly an expert on mental illness. It's never named what Andrew has (as far as I'm aware), but the whole medication thing was a huge red flag on the amount of research she probably put into that storyline.
But enough about that supposed OTP. You know who had real chemistry with Neil? Kevin. I kid you not, for the whole first book I tried to make sense of why everyone shipped Neil with Andrew while Kevin was right there. And I forgot he had a girlfriend until the 2.5 seconds she appeared around the 75% mark. I swear, the author made her up just to prove Andrew was the only choice.
I would have LOVED to see Kevin and Neil as a couple. Of course, it would have made everything around them go down in flames, but at least it would have been entertaining and I would've enjoyed it. As it stands, I was more interested in seeing what would happen with the mafia storyline (fiddled out too easily) and the championship (suspension of disbelief required, big time!) than any interaction between Neil and Andrew.
And while I'm ranting, let's talk about the whole school and Exy thing.
1) no way would Neil had been allowed to continue playing with the way he disregarded his studies. That might work in a school where the athletes are champions and revered by all, but it's made clear from the get-go that the Foxes aren't that respected. I wouldn't have minded as much if we hadn't seen classes at all or if Neil had actually studied, but the author makes it seem like he NEVER works at all for class, barely even listens when he attends. Making that little effort in college will get you failing grades for sure.
2) the championship rules (like the whole sport, to be fair) made absolutely no sense. To have a round of 2-out-of-3, then most points, then a death match in a tournament is too many rules. Can you imagine that in real life? Only people into fantasy sports and analysts would understand it. It would never work!
3) the way the Ravens can basically do anything they want. If they're the best team in the nation and their stadium is home to the national team, they'd be under constant scrutiny. Yet, they get away with pretty much everything until Neil and Kevin (and eventually Jean) make their big reveals. Seriously, you're telling me absolutely no one would have ever suspected the cult-like team to use psychological torture on their players? Come on.
I almost forgot an important point: consent. It's supposed to be super important to Andrew once his relationship with Neil develops. Which is hilarious because he completely disregarded Neil's consent when they drugged him in the first book. And even in this book, when Andrew basically forces Neil to drink after he said multiple times that he doesn't. So what if he's not on the run anymore? He said no, you respect it. The whole idea of consent seems to be important to the author only when it comes to sex, and it's a big problem.
So yeah, I don't get the hype. A compelling read, but nothing as amazing as the superfans would make you believe.
Graphic: Death, Emotional abuse, Gun violence, Torture, Violence, Blood, Kidnapping, Schizophrenia/Psychosis , Fire/Fire injury, Alcohol, and Injury/Injury detail
Moderate: Death, Domestic abuse, Drug use, Mental illness, Pedophilia, Physical abuse, Rape, Sexual assault, Sexual violence, Torture, Medical content, Medical trauma, Gaslighting, and Toxic friendship
Minor: Addiction, Homophobia, Self harm, Forced institutionalization, Death of parent, and Abandonment
katerina_l'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: Addiction, Alcoholism, Child abuse, Confinement, Death, Drug abuse, Drug use, Emotional abuse, Gore, Gun violence, Homophobia, Mental illness, Panic attacks/disorders, Pedophilia, Physical abuse, Rape, Self harm, Sexual assault, Sexual violence, Torture, Violence, Forced institutionalization, Vomit, Police brutality, Kidnapping, Grief, Medical trauma, Murder, Schizophrenia/Psychosis , Fire/Fire injury, Toxic friendship, Abandonment, Sexual harassment, and Injury/Injury detail