sealbrecht's review against another edition
adventurous
mysterious
tense
fast-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? Plot
- Strong character development? No
- Loveable characters? Yes
- Diverse cast of characters? Yes
- Flaws of characters a main focus? No
4.5
i'm not afraid of dying but i'm afraid of dying here
Content Warnings
Graphic: Death, Slavery, Violence, Murder, Blood, Gore, Self harm, Sexual violence, and Torture
Moderate: Sexual assault
Minor: Rape and Kidnapping
winterwoodbooks's review against another edition
adventurous
challenging
dark
emotional
funny
mysterious
tense
fast-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? A mix
- Strong character development? Yes
- Loveable characters? It's complicated
- Diverse cast of characters? No
- Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes
3.5
A little bit too fast for me and sometimes the characters felt just like a bit too try hard.
Still I loved to stumble through this world and adventure and enjoyed it :3
Felt a little like Mistborn x Six of Crows
Still I loved to stumble through this world and adventure and enjoyed it :3
Felt a little like Mistborn x Six of Crows
Content Warnings
Graphic: Blood, Death of parent, Gore, and Rape
martuchi's review against another edition
adventurous
dark
mysterious
tense
medium-paced
- 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
Excellent. This would be a 5-star-read if Lila wouldn’t be such a “not like most girls” girl. However, you still like her despite some of her remarks.
Content Warnings
Graphic: Murder
Moderate: Rape
xnedra2084's review
adventurous
dark
medium-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? A mix
- Strong character development? Yes
- Loveable characters? Yes
- Diverse cast of characters? No
- Flaws of characters a main focus? No
5.0
Content Warnings
Graphic: Physical abuse, Torture, Violence, Murder, Blood, Child abuse, Death, and Injury/injury detail
Minor: Rape
gayxiaolong's review
adventurous
mysterious
tense
medium-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? Plot
- Loveable characters? Yes
3.75
i enjoyed this book and i do think i'll read the sequels but there's a lot that i wish it handled better. it takes a while to get going and didn't really grab me until halfway through. and then there's the misogyny 😭. the treatment of lila just left a bad taste in my mouth. i really don't understand I also found it frustrating that her gender non conformity was constantly faced with trying to pass / people seeing through it and realizing she was "actually" a girl. i really think this book was fun and adventurous i just think lila deserved better than the way she was written.
Spoiler
introducing her by showing an attempted rape and having every character imply sexual advances towards her if there's never any discussion of it or growth from it. i just don't know what purpose that served.
Content Warnings
Graphic: Blood and Injury/injury detail
Moderate: Rape, Sexual assault, and Sexual harassment
shelbywhite's review
adventurous
dark
mysterious
fast-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? Plot
- Strong character development? It's complicated
- Loveable characters? Yes
- Diverse cast of characters? It's complicated
- Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes
4.25
Content Warnings
Minor: Rape, Sexual assault, War, and Torture
alexiab's review
adventurous
mysterious
tense
slow-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? Plot
- Strong character development? Yes
- Loveable characters? Yes
- Diverse cast of characters? No
- Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes
5.0
W O W. what an incredible story. What an incredible start to a series. I shouldn’t be so blown away by VE Schwab’s unique stories and beautiful prose and yet here I am. Blown away.
I think my absolutely favourite part of this authors writing is the way she introduces the reader to a brilliant and intriguing concept, and just lets the story unfold. The flow is excellent, the characters are beyond charming, and the magical world and all it’s drama is so gripping that I can’t make myself stop reading.
I deeply regret putting off this book for so long. I didn’t want it to end despite knowing full well there were 2 more books. Where the hell can the story go from here?!
I think my absolutely favourite part of this authors writing is the way she introduces the reader to a brilliant and intriguing concept, and just lets the story unfold. The flow is excellent, the characters are beyond charming, and the magical world and all it’s drama is so gripping that I can’t make myself stop reading.
I deeply regret putting off this book for so long. I didn’t want it to end despite knowing full well there were 2 more books. Where the hell can the story go from here?!
Content Warnings
Graphic: Blood, Gun violence, and Violence
Minor: Rape
creepypiespice's review against another edition
adventurous
dark
tense
fast-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? Plot
- Loveable characters? Yes
- Diverse cast of characters? No
3.75
Content Warnings
Graphic: Blood, Death, Fire/Fire injury, Injury/injury detail, Murder, Self harm, Torture, and Violence
Moderate: Cursing, Rape, Sexual assault, Sexual content, and Sexual harassment
Minor: Death of parent and Sexism
podanotherjessi's review
adventurous
dark
lighthearted
fast-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? Plot
- Strong character development? No
- Loveable characters? Yes
- Diverse cast of characters? No
- Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes
3.75
Let me start by saying this book is good. Really good even. It's definitely enjoyable. But I just don't love it, and I don't really know why.
The characters are simple, but they still have motivations that make sense, and they're deep enough to be believable. The plot had a habit of introducing information in weird ways - either just in time to be useful or just after the reader was surprised by something. Sometimes, an explanation in the text (that was very tell-y) would leave out a detail and then only provide it later after a twist happened that the reader might have expected if we'd had that info. That kind of thing.
But it's fun and quick and light if that's what you're looking for in a book. I just was expecting something more after all of the hype.
Characters - 7
Plot - 8
Setting - 9
General appeal - 7
Writing style - 7
Originality - 9
Ending - 6
The characters are simple, but they still have motivations that make sense, and they're deep enough to be believable. The plot had a habit of introducing information in weird ways - either just in time to be useful or just after the reader was surprised by something. Sometimes, an explanation in the text (that was very tell-y) would leave out a detail and then only provide it later after a twist happened that the reader might have expected if we'd had that info. That kind of thing.
But it's fun and quick and light if that's what you're looking for in a book. I just was expecting something more after all of the hype.
Characters - 7
Plot - 8
Setting - 9
General appeal - 7
Writing style - 7
Originality - 9
Ending - 6
Content Warnings
Graphic: Blood, Death, Gore, Torture, and Violence
Moderate: Grief and Gun violence
Minor: Sexual assault, Sexual harassment, and Rape
sorilis's review
adventurous
emotional
mysterious
medium-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? A mix
- Strong character development? It's complicated
- Loveable characters? Yes
- Diverse cast of characters? No
- Flaws of characters a main focus? It's complicated
5.0
Content Warnings
Minor: Rape