Reviews tagging 'Animal cruelty'

Hell Bent, by Leigh Bardugo

64 reviews

lissy6848's review against another edition

adventurous challenging dark mysterious medium-paced

• 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

4.75

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Death of parent, Violence, Animal death, Animal cruelty, Blood, and Mental illness

Moderate: Schizophrenia/Psychosis , Fire/Fire injury, Injury/Injury detail, Death, Racism, and Addiction

alexandra296's review against another edition

adventurous mysterious fast-paced

• 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

5.0

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Grief

Moderate: Animal cruelty, Animal death, and Violence

shays's review against another edition

adventurous dark slow-paced

• Plot- or character-driven? A mix
• Loveable characters? It's complicated
• Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes

3.75

 In Hell Bent, Leigh Bardugo employs a non-linear narrative structure similar to Ninth House; we get a glimpse into a moment of crisis before returning to the beginning of the school year and learning how Alex came to that critical point. The story is told predominantly from Alex’s point of view, but with additional sections from the other characters. In particular, on the descent to hell, we see from the perspective of each of the four pilgrims the murder that qualifies them to descend, deepening our insights into the secondary characters. The not-quite-human Darlington also gets a stint in the second half. 

Full review: https://shayshortt.com/2023/02/21/hell-bent/

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Police brutality, Animal death, and Animal cruelty

meleah_neely's review against another edition

dark 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

4.0

3.5 really, but I thought the book was fun so it gets bumped a star. overall, compared to her last, I think this one is slightly better in the sense that I felt there were fewer random/unnecessary moments than in the first book (especially in moments that deal with heavy gender-based cases of abuse and assault). however, one of the negatives is the pacing of the book. I often found that the descriptions were a bit heavy at times and I felt that there was not as much connection and genuine interactions with the characters as there was in the first book, so the chemistry, while not feeling forced, just fell flat. 

there are some specific things within this that I will spoil below, but all in all, I think this is a really fun read when you're looking to pass the time. in addition, I think the serious moments and reflections in this book are really stunning and you can tell how much leigh as evolved as a writer, philosopher, and world-builder.

Spoiler

- I would have liked to see more of dawes' backstory! while alex's story is special, it's also the story we have heard before. I thought one of the strongest aspects of ninth house was darlington's story, and I would have loved something similar for dawes, especially since she plays a more prominent role.

- on that note on darlington, I wish there were more of him. while I understand that's the 'point', I thought he fell way flatter than usual in his own thoughts and in his interactions with everyone after being rescued. it really did feel like he took more of a secondary/unnecessary role after his rescue, and it left me feeling uncomfortable in the wrong way (almost like it was defamation to all that his character was built up to be in the first book). I'm also not really buying that he would just surrender to alex, to his role, and to lethe as easily as he did.

- the twist was... just fine. maybe it's because I'm older, but I thought that this twist was a bit more expected than the first and just was not a page-turner in the way the other was.

- unfortunately, the ending did not make me really excited for the third book, since this new plotline just felt like a weird grab all while the one for the first book just made more sense? idk idk

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Death, Death of parent, Physical abuse, Torture, Child death, Blood, Gore, Grief, Fire/Fire injury, Animal death, Violence, and Murder

Moderate: Addiction, Sexual content, Injury/Injury detail, Drug abuse, Drug use, Alcohol, Emotional abuse, Vomit, and Police brutality

Minor: Animal cruelty, Police brutality, Body shaming, Forced institutionalization, and Panic attacks/disorders

krisalexcole's review against another edition

dark mysterious slow-paced

• 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

2.0

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Murder, Death, Injury/Injury detail, and Violence

Moderate: Abandonment, Addiction, Medical trauma, Alcohol, Animal death, Death of parent, Gore, Sexual assault, Vomit, Drug abuse, Misogyny, Emotional abuse, Fire/Fire injury, Confinement, Drug use, Animal cruelty, and Blood

Minor: Racism, Rape, Forced institutionalization, Gun violence, Fatphobia, Slavery, Suicide attempt, and Body shaming

arobear's review against another edition

adventurous dark emotional mysterious 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? Yes

5.0

I liked the way the narrative was structured in Hell Bent better than Ninth House, especially since I was expecting the shifting viewpoints.

Spoiler

I really love how the journey into hell was described by each of the players and delved into more of the complexity of side characters.

I'm even more invested in Darlingstern now (first het relationship that I've felt actual chemistry with in a LONG time) and I'm looking forward to the next book in the series! 

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Violence, Suicidal thoughts, and Death

Moderate: Animal cruelty and Animal death

Minor: Blood

lizcastner's review against another edition

adventurous challenging 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? Yes

5.0

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Animal death, Fire/Fire injury, Murder, Violence, Cursing, Death of parent, Dysphoria, Injury/Injury detail, Abandonment, Animal cruelty, Death, Vomit, Blood, Body horror, Confinement, and Grief

Moderate: Racism, Torture, and Mental illness

Minor: Schizophrenia/Psychosis , Suicide attempt, Rape, Panic attacks/disorders, Addiction, Cancer, Police brutality, Sexual content, Suicidal thoughts, Child death, Drug use, Slavery, Alcohol, Drug abuse, and Sexual assault

katconig's review against another edition

adventurous dark mysterious medium-paced

• Plot- or character-driven? Plot
• Strong character development? It's complicated
• Loveable characters? It's complicated
• Diverse cast of characters? Yes
• Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes

5.0

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Content Warnings

Moderate: Murder, Animal cruelty, Animal death, Blood, and Sexism

Minor: Addiction

listette's review against another edition

dark mysterious tense slow-paced

• Plot- or character-driven? Character
• Strong character development? No
• Loveable characters? Yes
• Diverse cast of characters? Yes
• Flaws of characters a main focus? No

4.0

I had a really hard time getting into this book and felt like the book is moving really slow at times. 

Most of the action was at the final pages and I must say that hell was a bit of a letdown. 

The characters are still so loveable and I’m looking forward for more

Spoiler

Vampire Tripp Shenanigans

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Content Warnings

Moderate: Violence

Minor: Addiction, Gun violence, Animal cruelty, Blood, and Racism

carolynkwolff's review against another edition

challenging dark emotional mysterious tense fast-paced

• Plot- or character-driven? A mix
• Strong character development? It's complicated
• Loveable characters? It's complicated
• Diverse cast of characters? It's complicated
• Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes

3.75

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Violence, Murder, Animal death, Drug use, Gore, Emotional abuse, Physical abuse, Death, Death of parent, Sexism, Sexual assault, and Sexual harassment

Moderate: Rape, Animal cruelty, and Slavery

Minor: Suicide, Suicide attempt, and Vomit