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snowiceblackfruit77'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? Yes
4.0
Graphic: Ableism, Addiction, Body horror, Bullying, Child death, Cursing, Death, Drug abuse, Drug use, Genocide, Gore, Gun violence, Hate crime, Misogyny, Racism, Sexism, Slavery, Torture, Violence, Forced institutionalization, Blood, Vomit, Medical content, Trafficking, Kidnapping, Death of parent, Murder, War, Injury/Injury detail, and Classism
oxfordcommas91's review against another edition
- Plot- or character-driven? Character
- Strong character development? It's complicated
- Loveable characters? It's complicated
- Diverse cast of characters? Yes
- Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes
4.0
Graphic: Addiction, Animal death, Bullying, Child abuse, Child death, Confinement, Death, Drug use, Genocide, Gun violence, Sexual violence, Torture, Violence, Forced institutionalization, Blood, Kidnapping, Grief, Murder, and War
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
Graphic: Ableism, Addiction, Animal death, Body horror, Bullying, Child abuse, Child death, Confinement, Cursing, Death, Drug abuse, Drug use, Genocide, Gore, Gun violence, Misogyny, Physical abuse, Sexism, Slavery, Suicidal thoughts, Torture, Toxic relationship, Violence, Blood, Medical content, Trafficking, Kidnapping, Grief, Murder, Gaslighting, Toxic friendship, Alcohol, Dysphoria, and Injury/Injury detail
joeyl22's review against another edition
- Plot- or character-driven? A mix
- Strong character development? It's complicated
- Loveable characters? Yes
- Diverse cast of characters? Yes
- Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes
3.75
Graphic: Animal cruelty, Animal death, Body horror, Bullying, Child death, Confinement, Death, Gore, Gun violence, Violence, Blood, Fire/Fire injury, Cultural appropriation, and Injury/Injury detail
madalina0_0'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: Bullying, Child abuse, Child death, Death, Drug abuse, Drug use, Emotional abuse, Gun violence, Physical abuse, Slavery, Torture, Toxic relationship, Violence, Blood, Trafficking, Stalking, Death of parent, Murder, Gaslighting, Toxic friendship, and Injury/Injury detail
e_papankova_333'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: Ableism, Addiction, Bullying, Death, Domestic abuse, Drug use, Emotional abuse, Genocide, Gun violence, Mental illness, Panic attacks/disorders, Rape, Sexism, Sexual assault, Slavery, Violence, Blood, Antisemitism, Trafficking, Kidnapping, Grief, Murder, Gaslighting, Abandonment, Injury/Injury detail, Classism, Deportation, and Pandemic/Epidemic
luna_a'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
Graphic: Death, Drug use, Panic attacks/disorders, Violence, Blood, and Kidnapping
Moderate: Slavery
Minor: Bullying
infjkiki'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: Animal death, Death, Genocide, Gore, Gun violence, Physical abuse, Slavery, Torture, Violence, Blood, Trafficking, Kidnapping, and Murder
Moderate: Ableism, Animal cruelty, Bullying, Child death, Cursing, Misogyny, Panic attacks/disorders, Suicidal thoughts, Excrement, Vomit, Grief, Death of parent, Cultural appropriation, Abandonment, and Alcohol
stormeno'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? It's complicated
5.0
Moderate: Ableism, Addiction, Death, Gun violence, Mental illness, Panic attacks/disorders, Violence, Blood, Trafficking, Grief, Gaslighting, Abandonment, Injury/Injury detail, and Classism
Minor: Animal cruelty, Bullying, Confinement, Drug use, Sexism, Sexual assault, Slavery, Suicidal thoughts, Kidnapping, and Death of parent
mxbluet18'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
5.0
alcohol consumption and recreational drug use; drugging without consent; forced and coerced drug dependency. As well as implied panic attacks and nightmares; implied coerced suicide; blood and gore depiction, graphic physical injuries, emesis, medical experimentation, dead bodies, plague, body modifications (with consent).
Grief depiction and death of a father, brother, family and friend; murder, attempted murder, physical assault, knife and gun violence, torture, strangulation, explosions. Kidnapping, drowning.
☆
☆
Realistically I picked this up three days ago and finished it in the early hours. Once I started it I didn't really put it down. It's a duology that's been sitting on my TBR list for a while, as was the Shadow and Bone series, and it took a while for me to get to them, which is something I regret. My friend recommended them to me a while ago, and I understand why they did now. I even sent them a message while I was reading saying that I understand the pull of Kaz Brekker now.
~
One thing that really stood out to me was the amount of representation in this. Both in terms of sexuality and disability and neurodivergency. There's a bisexual character and a gay character.
And Kaz walks with a cane because of a severe limp and chronic pain, as well as the leather gloves he always wears, which is somewhat discussed as being because of trauma and a resulting aversion to touch, he the flashbacks and fainting he experiences are potentially the result of PTSD from childhood trauma. And while it's not actually confirmed in the books, the descriptions make it fairly plain that Jesper probably has ADHD. He also has a gambling addiction.
~
Two other things I feel the book does really well, and I feel are written very well is flesh out the characters, give them a really rich backstory, but make their motives subtle but clear. Like for Kaz, he clearly has a reason for persuing Pekka Rollins, and his childhood was explained in segments. But it's left to the reader to connect those dots because nothing is explicitly stated.
Graphic: Body horror, Child abuse, Chronic illness, Death, Drug use, Gore, Gun violence, Panic attacks/disorders, Physical abuse, Sexual assault, Sexual content, Blood, Medical content, Trafficking, Abandonment, and Injury/Injury detail
Minor: Ableism and Bullying