wilybooklover's review against another edition
5.0
I am in DIRE need of the sequel though after that ending!! Also I wish we had the US cover in the UK, it's so much prettier.
Graphic: Body horror, Child death, War, Injury/Injury detail, Murder, Violence, Blood, Death, Drug use, Gore, and Sexual content
Moderate: Dementia, Fire/Fire injury, Grief, Confinement, Death of parent, Sexual assault, Sexual violence, Child abuse, Bullying, and Emotional abuse
Minor: Infidelity, Animal death, Classism, Pregnancy, and Adult/minor relationship
analenegrace's review against another edition
- Plot- or character-driven? Plot
- Strong character development? Yes
- Loveable characters? Yes
- Diverse cast of characters? N/A
- Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes
3.75
Graphic: Animal death, Gaslighting, Sexual content, Blood, Chronic illness, Classism, Emotional abuse, Sexism, Alcohol, Toxic relationship, War, Cursing, Grief, and Stalking
ruthlessreads'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
Graphic: Abandonment, Alcohol, Bullying, Child abuse, Injury/Injury detail, Death, Emotional abuse, Gore, Body horror, Drug use, Medical content, Blood, Physical abuse, and Violence
Moderate: Gaslighting, Grief, Animal death, Pandemic/Epidemic, Biphobia, and Death of parent
Minor: War
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
cheye13's review against another edition
- Plot- or character-driven? Plot
- Strong character development? Yes
- Loveable characters? Yes
- Diverse cast of characters? It's complicated
- Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes
5.0
It's everything I loved from The Bone Witch trilogy, but stepped up just a little for an adult audience and it sure hits the spot. Can't wait to see what Chupeco does with this series.
Graphic: Body horror, Gore, Injury/Injury detail, Violence, and Death
Moderate: Animal death, Sexual content, Murder, Grief, and War
Minor: Death of parent, Emotional abuse, Child death, Cursing, Dementia, Medical content, Religious bigotry, and Infidelity
Also moderate warnings for mind control and loss of autonomy, and general warning for content that typically comes with both zombies (flesh) and vampires (blood). The most graphic child death occurs in the first chapter, and the parental grief is contained to early chapters. The emotional abuse is parental and more of a background element.mandkips'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? Yes
3.0
Graphic: Violence, Blood, and Gore
Moderate: Sexual content, Child abuse, Emotional abuse, and Death of parent
Minor: Pregnancy, Animal death, and Adult/minor relationship
pvbobrien'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
4.25
Graphic: Violence, Body horror, Gore, and Blood
Moderate: Death, Fire/Fire injury, Injury/Injury detail, Death of parent, Bullying, Medical content, Sexual content, Hate crime, and Child abuse
Minor: Cursing, Pregnancy, Child death, Dementia, Religious bigotry, Sexual violence, and Animal death
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
vigil'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? It's complicated
4.25
i have my fair share of issues about this book, but everytime i wasn't reading it, i was thinking about reading it. i never had a bad moment with this book, despite many warning that it starts to hit it's stride 20% into it. i was invested from page one essentially.
for my critiques, i'll say there is the issue with repetitive word choice, (there's only so many times i can read the word attractive) prose that definitely has it roots in YA despite being an adult book, and too much telling rather than showing in the romance. i think was written for zidan and remy, along with what has been set up for them is great, both individually and character wise. the same unfortunately cannot quite be said for xiaodan, who i feel got the short end of the stick. i know that she likes remy, and her fiance, i know several objective facts about her, but very little beyond that. that lack of interiority unfortunately spread to the relationship somewhat, leaving me fine with her interactions with her love interests, but never truly satisfied in the same way remy and malekh's do. however, this is the first book in what i presume to be a series, and that i expect that there will be more on xiaodan, especially with the events of the ending, a part of the book that really stood out for me.
that's not to say i didn't enjoy the relationship, because i absolutely did. they were always engaging to have on page, and i don't have any specific complaints about them (aside from the issue with xiaodan above). more fantasy authors should include sex scenes in their books.
plotwise, i had a fun time. i think this book would work excellent in a graphic novel or animation format because of how high-action it was. the rot plotline was a good opener for the series,
Spoiler
but i wasn't sad to read the offhanded mention of it being neutralized in the ending. it's a perfect book one plot, but i think i'd be annoyed seeing it be carried into book two, as all the threads and theories surrounding it were solved, or deliberately and explicitly shelved for the sequel.Graphic: Abandonment, Adult/minor relationship, Animal death, Body horror, Bullying, Child abuse, Child death, Confinement, Cursing, Dementia, Injury/Injury detail, Mental illness, Murder, Panic attacks/disorders, Blood, Rape, Sexual assault, Sexual content, Toxic relationship, Violence, War, Death, Death of parent, Emotional abuse, and Gore
ridesthesun'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
4.5
I'm a weenie so I skimmed some of the more gory sections, but this was such a fun story, and I'm really looking forward to the sequel!!!
Graphic: Blood, Body horror, Child death, Confinement, Cursing, Violence, War, Animal death, Death, Death of parent, Gore, Injury/Injury detail, Murder, Physical abuse, and Sexual content
Moderate: Emotional abuse, Adult/minor relationship, Alcohol, and Child abuse