alphabetmafiamember'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: Violence, Blood, Panic attacks/disorders, Murder, Emotional abuse, Death of parent, Death, and Sexual content
Moderate: War, Kidnapping, Fire/Fire injury, Alcohol, Xenophobia, Vomit, Sexism, Pandemic/Epidemic, Misogyny, Bullying, Adult/minor relationship, Infidelity, Grief, Confinement, Classism, Drug use, Dementia, Cursing, and Child death
Minor: Sexual assault and Slavery
lunemaline's review against another edition
- Plot- or character-driven? A mix
- Strong character development? It's complicated
- Loveable characters? Yes
- Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes
5.0
Graphic: Emotional abuse, Death, Body horror, War, Toxic relationship, Blood, Murder, Violence, and Grief
Moderate: Child death
Minor: Vomit
growplantsreadbooks's review against another edition
- Plot- or character-driven? Plot
- Loveable characters? Yes
4.75
There was a bit too much "there is no way they both like me" when the hot vampires were literally throwing themselves at him ... But there were enough reasons for Remy as a character to feel that way so it at least made sense.
Spoiler
I thought their sex-filled Fortnite at Xiaodan's placeThe characters didn't have the most annoying features of their Castlevania doppelgangers (alcoholism & not kissing each other), but the characters were so similar in every other way that it was hard to think of these stories separately. I kinda wish Zidan was more moody like Alucard, it felt like
Spoiler
they made him more aggressive because he's a top lolAnyway, this book is full of action and it was hard to put down. I finished the whole thing in a weekend! Id recommend it to anyone a fan of queer fantasy!
I'll definitely read the next one.
Graphic: Blood, Cursing, Injury/Injury detail, Body horror, and Sexual content
Moderate: Toxic relationship, Adult/minor relationship, Alcohol, and Sexual assault
Minor: Vomit
discarded_dust_jacket's review against another edition
- Plot- or character-driven? Plot
- Strong character development? Yes
- Loveable characters? Yes
- Diverse cast of characters? Yes
- Flaws of characters a main focus? No
4.25
But I think audiobook format was the right choice for me in this case, because this is a long book, and I tend to struggle with pushing through stories that heavily involve things like political intrigue and military movement. But listening to it made it easier to space out a little bit during the parts I’d typically find boring, yet not have it stall my overall progress.
Graphic: Blood, Body horror, Death of parent, Violence, Dementia, Drug use, Gore, Sexual content, Emotional abuse, Grief, and Panic attacks/disorders
Moderate: Murder
Minor: Child death and Vomit
mar'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: Gore, Blood, Violence, Murder, Death, and Sexual content
Moderate: Medical content, Grief, Sexual assault, Child abuse, and Child death
Minor: Vomit and Death of parent
fifteenthjessica'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
4.0
Rin Chupeco definitely knows how to craft an intriguing fantasy novel with complex characters that mix in the most interesting ways, but I'm still not sold on her skill at describing what is going on. Like the huas in The Bone Witch, the Breaker, Remy's main weapon, is hard for me to picture. It's called a scythe often, so I assume it has a more polearm like handle, but the way he's described as moving with it makes it hard for me to picture him doing it with a long handle. A picture on a variant cover suggests it is in fact a short handle and heavily inspired by real world weapons like Kusarigama, but it's never outright stated, probably because pre-modern Japanese weaponry is an obscure area of knowledge for most Western readers. Also, like when I read the Bone Witch, I found myself sitting there wondering "Wait, how'd that happen?" as a main character is described as having a serious injury.
Fair warning to anyone looking into book who are younger fans of Chupeco's YA novels, things get steamy. Most is completely consensual, but an important subplot is about Remy's affair with an older woman (possibly multiple) that is less due to any attraction Remy's feels for her and more because it's the only way to get information about vampire movement in Aluria that everyone admits should be given to him because he's a vampire hunter, but the woman's husband is a giant asshole. Nothing graphic, but characters definitely bang, and I know I would not have enjoyed that type of content when I was in my young teens.
Graphic: Blood, Violence, and Body horror
Moderate: Confinement, Violence, Cursing, Death, Fire/Fire injury, Child abuse, Infidelity, War, Injury/Injury detail, Sexual violence, Gore, Grief, Sexual content, Chronic illness, Dementia, Emotional abuse, and Murder
Minor: Adult/minor relationship, Alcohol, Animal death, Kidnapping, Classism, Vomit, and Medical content
lbelow'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: Toxic relationship, Torture, Murder, Child death, Body horror, Alcohol, Xenophobia, Violence, Blood, Vomit, Hate crime, Death, and Cursing
Minor: Sexual assault and Adult/minor relationship
A disabled characterSpoiler
is cured by nefarious meansjust_one_more_paige's review against another edition
- 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
Graphic: Sexual content, Death, Blood, Cursing, Grief, Injury/Injury detail, Violence, Vomit, Body horror, Gaslighting, Mental illness, and Murder
zarhara'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
Moderate: Emotional abuse, Grief, Murder, Sexual content, Blood, War, Death of parent, Gore, and Violence
Minor: Cursing, Animal death, Medical content, Alcohol, Vomit, Sexual harassment, Pregnancy, Child death, Child abuse, and Gaslighting
grets_reads's review against another edition
- 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
4.25
Graphic: Violence
Moderate: Death of parent, Cursing, Sexual content, Murder, Emotional abuse, and Injury/Injury detail
Minor: Grief, Medical content, Vomit, and Child death