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that_guy_bo's review against another edition
- Plot- or character-driven? Character
- Strong character development? Yes
- Loveable characters? It's complicated
- Diverse cast of characters? Yes
5.0
And I have to say, this was one of the most gripping books I've ever read!
I've raved about it to anyone and everyone at every possible opportunity, because it really doesn't matter what your sexual orientation is, this is an entrancing book.
The scenery is dripping with every possible luxury, which makes the slowly mounting horror of the story stand that much starker against the decadent backdrop.
Additionally, as a huge fan of vampires, while this isn't technically a vampire story, it has all the trappings of one, and it certainly has the atmosphere! So if you're a fan of vampires, you'll very likely love this book.
Graphic: Death, Emotional abuse, Blood, Medical content, and Gaslighting
Moderate: Addiction, Body horror, Chronic illness, Mental illness, Toxic relationship, Grief, Toxic friendship, and Abandonment
Minor: Chronic illness, Drug abuse, Drug use, Incest, Self harm, Terminal illness, Death of parent, and Classism
jasper_is_atypical'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? It's complicated
4.75
Graphic: Addiction, Animal death, Body horror, Bullying, Confinement, Cursing, Death, Domestic abuse, Drug abuse, Drug use, Gore, Self harm, Sexual content, Toxic relationship, Violence, Blood, Excrement, Medical content, Trafficking, Grief, Cannibalism, Murder, Schizophrenia/Psychosis , Gaslighting, Abandonment, Alcohol, Injury/Injury detail, and Classism
Moderate: Adult/minor relationship, Torture, and Xenophobia
Minor: Incest and Death of parent
mary_stormageddon'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
4.25
Graphic: Chronic illness, Death, Drug use, Incest, Sexual assault, Violence, Blood, and Murder
zany25's review against another edition
- Plot- or character-driven? Character
- Strong character development? It's complicated
- Loveable characters? Yes
- Diverse cast of characters? Yes
- Flaws of characters a main focus? It's complicated
4.25
Also I’ve drawn blood for work in the real world and their blood letting descriptions were pretty spot on, aside from the sprinkling of supernatural of course, I enjoyed how they described the veins and scarring as a nice realistic touch.
Graphic: Drug use, Toxic relationship, Blood, Injury/Injury detail, and Classism
Moderate: Death, Domestic abuse, Emotional abuse, Infidelity, Sexual content, Grief, and Alcohol
Minor: Addiction, Body horror, Incest, Mental illness, Self harm, Terminal illness, and Forced institutionalization
tnm94's review against another edition
- Plot- or character-driven? A mix
- Strong character development? No
- Loveable characters? It's complicated
- Diverse cast of characters? Yes
- Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes
4.0
Graphic: Body horror, Child abuse, Chronic illness, Death, Drug use, Emotional abuse, Gore, Mental illness, Self harm, Violence, Blood, Cannibalism, Murder, and Injury/Injury detail
Moderate: Addiction, Animal cruelty, Animal death, Confinement, and Classism
Minor: Incest
minycrd's review against another edition
- Plot- or character-driven? A mix
- Strong character development? No
- Loveable characters? It's complicated
- Diverse cast of characters? Yes
- Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes
3.75
Graphic: Gore and Blood
Moderate: Death and Murder
Minor: Confinement, Drug abuse, Drug use, Incest, and Death of parent
citrus_seasalt's review against another edition
5.0
Some of those mental images…eugh they’ll stay with me for a while. I went into this expecting (and really only knowing about) toxic, sexually-charged sapphic madness—which, okay, we certainly got—but then came out more throughly disturbed with a book than I’ve been in a while?! Kudos to Alexis Henderson! The horror was horror-ing.
Overall, definitely some of the goriest and most lush gothic writing I’ve read.
Graphic: Confinement, Gore, Physical abuse, and Injury/Injury detail
Moderate: Emotional abuse and Toxic relationship
Minor: Incest
giulianalb99's review against another edition
- 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
3.0
La verdad es que el libro como tal no está mal y la pluma de la autora es espectacular pero me ha dejado un poco sin más.
Tenía unas expectativas medias tirando a altas porque la sinopsis me pareció bastante buena, pero ha acabado siendo otro libro que seguramente acabe olvidando desgraciadamente. La idea principal que es básicamente cómo la nobleza se aprovecha de los más débiles bebiendo literalmente su sangre es genial pero, durante todo el libro, no pasa absolutamente nada salvo el proceso que va tomando la relación bastante tóxica entre la protagonista y Lisavet. Estaba en el 70% y todavía no pasaba nada hasta que en los últimos capítulos BOOM, y después me he quedado en plan “¿ya está?”. Leer tantas páginas de puro aburrimiento (que repito, la autora escribe súper bien) y relleno para llegar al final y que se resuelva todo tan rápido no me ha convencido del todo.
Lo que sí me ha gustado es cómo la autora ha plasmado (de manera digámoslo extraña) cómo los ricos obtienen y hacen lo que quieren mientras se aprovechan de los que no tienen tanto para vivir, así como las cosas tan raras que pueden llegar a hacer pagando infinitas sumas de dinero.
¿Recomendaría este libro? Sí, pero no creo que sea para todo el mundo ya que contiene sangre, tortura, horror, es bastante gore, abuso de sustancias tóxicas, relación tóxica, canibalismo, muerte, y un largo etcétera. Recomiendo leáis los trigger warnings antes de empezar el libro.
Graphic: Addiction, Animal death, Bullying, Child abuse, Chronic illness, Confinement, Cursing, Death, Domestic abuse, Drug abuse, Drug use, Emotional abuse, Gore, Incest, Mental illness, Misogyny, Physical abuse, Terminal illness, Torture, Toxic relationship, Violence, Blood, Medical content, Trafficking, Cannibalism, Death of parent, Murder, Gaslighting, Alcohol, and Injury/Injury detail
flameoflareon's review
- 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
2.5
To me, the book's most damning fault is that the main characters lack chemistry. They are supposed to be desperately in love, but I just wasn't sold.
Graphic: Gore, Physical abuse, Self harm, Sexual content, Torture, Toxic relationship, Violence, Blood, Injury/Injury detail, and Classism
Moderate: Drug abuse, Drug use, and Incest
Minor: Animal death and Rape
Needles.phantasmaboo'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? Yes
3.5
I thought the plot of this book was okay. The horror elements were much stronger than the mystery elements. Outside of the final 20% of the book, there really isn't too much investigating. The mystery is also quite easy to decipher and completely predictable. Still, there isn't a dull moment in this book, but without feeling overly action-packed.
Character-wise, I loved Marion and Lisavet, but with that they and the other characters were a bit more developed. With five to 6 Bloodmaidens, the servants, and the two principle characters, there seemed to be little time to really delve into everyone with the same depth. Still, I found it sufficient to provide an entertaining and tense story. In particular, I thought that the bonds between Lisavet and Marion should have been explored more although there was enough there for me to extrapolate more about their relationships and their motives.
Overall, I gave the book 3.5 stars. I think it's worth the read if you're into horror with a bit of mystery, but not the other way around.
Graphic: Sexual content, Sexual violence, Terminal illness, and Violence
Moderate: Incest
Minor: Death of parent