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fkshg8465's review against another edition
- Plot- or character-driven? Character
- Strong character development? Yes
- Loveable characters? It's complicated
- Diverse cast of characters? Yes
- Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes
4.0
Excited to read the third installment as well as the prequel as soon as they come off hold at my library.
Graphic: Addiction, Bullying, Child death, Confinement, Death, Drug use, Emotional abuse, Gun violence, Infidelity, Miscarriage, Rape, Sexism, Suicide, Torture, Violence, Forced institutionalization, Blood, Grief, Religious bigotry, Suicide attempt, Murder, Pregnancy, Outing, Toxic friendship, Alcohol, War, and Injury/Injury detail
abby_can_read's review
- Plot- or character-driven? A mix
- Strong character development? Yes
- Loveable characters? No
- Diverse cast of characters? No
- Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes
2.0
This was not a book I enjoyed. I won't be continuing with the series.
Graphic: Miscarriage, Sexual content, and Blood
Moderate: Torture, Violence, and Pregnancy
Minor: Child abuse, Drug use, and Antisemitism
torturedreadersdept's review
- 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
Moderate: Animal death, Body horror, Bullying, Child abuse, Child death, Confinement, Cursing, Death, Drug abuse, Infertility, Mental illness, Miscarriage, Misogyny, Physical abuse, Self harm, Sexism, Sexual content, Torture, Toxic relationship, Violence, Forced institutionalization, Xenophobia, Blood, Vomit, Antisemitism, Medical content, Grief, Religious bigotry, Stalking, Suicide attempt, Death of parent, Murder, Schizophrenia/Psychosis , Pregnancy, Fire/Fire injury, Gaslighting, Toxic friendship, Alcohol, Sexual harassment, Dysphoria, War, Injury/Injury detail, and Classism
mads_reads_books's review against another edition
- Plot- or character-driven? Character
- Strong character development? Yes
- Loveable characters? It's complicated
- Diverse cast of characters? No
- Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes
3.5
Graphic: Ableism, Child abuse, Confinement, Gore, Hate crime, Infertility, Miscarriage, Sexual violence, Violence, Forced institutionalization, Kidnapping, Grief, Religious bigotry, Stalking, Death of parent, Pregnancy, Gaslighting, Toxic friendship, Colonisation, Injury/Injury detail, and Classism
Moderate: Miscarriage and Misogyny
caitlinpfry'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? Yes
4.5
I am in love with how much the author has weaved in from actual history into this books as it makes my late night research wormholes much more worthwhile than TikTok doomscrolling 😂
I will say Diana is incredibly patient with Matthew and his middle school girl moods 😅
Moderate: Drug use, Miscarriage, Violence, Blood, Grief, Pregnancy, and Injury/Injury detail
emo_erudite's review against another edition
- Plot- or character-driven? Character
- Strong character development? Yes
- Loveable characters? It's complicated
- Diverse cast of characters? No
- Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes
3.5
The writing was superb, but I hated how Matthew was such a dick most of the time. And it was like Diana just took it. That was what made me lower my rating from 4.75 stars to 3.5. It’s hard for me to imagine a modern woman, and a feminist at that, putting up with that man’s BS. Outside of needing her magic lessons, I’m surprised she didn’t kick him to the curb on more than one occasion.
I did like how there was kind of back and forth between Matthew and Diana in the past and the rest of the family in the present, so there wasn’t a ton for the readers to catch up on when they got back. It was cool how the family tracked down the painted miniatures and other little trinkets from their time in the past. This was also a smart way to introduce Phoebe into the story, since she was an employee at the auction house.
Graphic: Miscarriage and Pregnancy
Moderate: Alcoholism, Misogyny, Violence, and Pregnancy
Minor: Drug abuse
gillian_aftanas's review against another edition
- Plot- or character-driven? A mix
- Strong character development? It's complicated
- Loveable characters? Yes
- Diverse cast of characters? It's complicated
- Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes
4.5
Graphic: Death, Gore, Mental illness, Miscarriage, Misogyny, Sexism, Sexual content, Suicidal thoughts, Torture, Violence, Blood, Grief, Murder, Pregnancy, Toxic friendship, and Injury/Injury detail
Moderate: Religious bigotry, Suicide attempt, Death of parent, Sexual harassment, Colonisation, and Classism
Minor: Addiction, Animal death, Child abuse, Child death, Confinement, Drug abuse, Drug use, Rape, Sexual assault, Forced institutionalization, Vomit, Antisemitism, and Alcohol
zoenelson'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
4.25
I think Harkness also struggled to balance the many conflicts raised in the first book, on top of introducing a whole new cast of historical characters. The conflicts between Matthew and Diana, as well as with others, felt manufactured in this novel.
Despite the shortcomings, there was a lot to love: some of the new characters enriched the story (Pierre, Gallowglass, the children,
I have hope she's setting us up well for the final book in the trilogy!
Moderate: Miscarriage and Blood
Minor: Torture, Violence, and Pregnancy
kirsten_rainbow'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? No
3.0
Graphic: Violence
Minor: Antisemitism and Abandonment
amy_reading_23's review against another edition
- Plot- or character-driven? A mix
- Strong character development? Yes
- Loveable characters? It's complicated
3.75
The only reason I won't give it 4 stars is because I still don't like how Matthew treats Diana. Mostly he is better than the first book but that's not saying much. He is still abusive and its still excused as being because of his vampirism and past. It is such a shame as without that these would be great books.
Graphic: Torture and Toxic relationship
Moderate: Death, Drug use, Miscarriage, Misogyny, Panic attacks/disorders, Physical abuse, Sexual content, Suicidal thoughts, Violence, Forced institutionalization, Blood, Religious bigotry, Schizophrenia/Psychosis , Pregnancy, and Injury/Injury detail