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_marycappiello3's review against another edition
adventurous
dark
emotional
inspiring
mysterious
sad
tense
fast-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
4.0
Content Warnings
Graphic: Animal death, Body horror, Child death, Death, Torture, Violence, Blood, Medical content, Kidnapping, Grief, Medical trauma, Death of parent, Murder, Pregnancy, Alcohol, and Injury/Injury detail
fkshg8465's review against another edition
adventurous
dark
emotional
inspiring
mysterious
reflective
sad
tense
medium-paced
- 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
5.0
If I wasn’t a vegetarian, I think I might like trying to be a vampire. 😂😂😂😂
I couldn’t put this down. In fact, I was so mad that I had to go to sleep at all, and it was already almost 4 am when I finally gave into my slumber. Had no idea it had been made into a TV show until I was well into the book and read it in someone else’s review while making dinner last night. Now I’ve got to figure out how to stream it while waiting for the second book to come off my holds shelf on Libby.
I couldn’t put this down. In fact, I was so mad that I had to go to sleep at all, and it was already almost 4 am when I finally gave into my slumber. Had no idea it had been made into a TV show until I was well into the book and read it in someone else’s review while making dinner last night. Now I’ve got to figure out how to stream it while waiting for the second book to come off my holds shelf on Libby.
Content Warnings
Graphic: Animal death, Body horror, Bullying, Child death, Confinement, Death, Drug use, Panic attacks/disorders, Physical abuse, Racism, Sexism, Slavery, Violence, Xenophobia, Blood, Medical content, Kidnapping, Grief, Death of parent, Murder, Pregnancy, Fire/Fire injury, War, Injury/Injury detail, and Pandemic/Epidemic
lakeofstars's review against another edition
mysterious
slow-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? Character
- Strong character development? It's complicated
- Loveable characters? No
- Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes
1.5
if you take away the extremely toxic romance, then there's a good story set in a Really interesting universe here. i adored the weaving of history, science, and magic, the fact that it focuses on two scholars, and that there's a big underlying mystery that actually requires the expertise of said scholars (a geneticist and a historian) to unwind. but then, all of it is shaped around a stupid, disgusting, unhealthy romance, and that ruins it all for me. matthew, the male lead, is extremely possessive, controlling, and manipulative towards diana, the female lead. he controls her every move, location, and even the people she can interact with. all of this is excused because he is a vampire who “can’t control his instincts” and has lived longer and therefore “knows what is best.” beyond the distastefulness of such a love interest being romanticized, i personally think that the concept of characters “just being born violently possessive and controlling, they can’t help it!” is… weird at best and bioessentialist at worst. i get it, he’s a vampire, they’re not meant to be sweet and cuddly, but it leaves a bad taste in my mouth when such toxic behaviors are not only excused, but defended within the text. it works in horror stories like carmilla (which was MILD compared to the way matthew treats diana sometimes), not in regular romances where we are expected to take such “boys will be boys”-esque excuses at face value. at least it seems like all vampires in this universe have these instincts, not just the males, which would make things significantly more problematic. but that doesn’t mean i’m ever going to accept that matthew’s abusive treatment of diana is “romantic.” additionally, i didn’t like matthew as a character. even beyond the toxicity, he was not nearly as charming as the author clearly wanted us to believe that he was. the amount of times i audibly scoffed because he was throwing another tantrum (a 1500-year-old man, btw), saying something that was supposed to be suave but felt cringey, or insisting his privacy was more important than diana’s was abysmal.
also- ironically, considering the entire basis of her character is that she was forging her own path- diana had NO agency at any point. whether it was finding out her op magic had been guiding her all along, matthew dictating her every action, or other characters swooping in and saving her any time she is about to have to fend for herself, she doesn't DO anything!! oh, except for have a five-paragraph internal soliloquy about mundane activities like exercising or preparing tea every other page. thankfully, she does investigate a lot of things herself, but believe me when i say you have to trudge through chapters of her doing busywork and either thinking about or being bossed around by matthew before you get to see it. i don’t mind an overpowered MC if they’re written well, which i hoped diana would be, but she ended up being a typical mary sue who, despite being described as incredibly headstrong and independent, constantly bends to the will of and needs to be saved by the big strong male lead. i wish that this book was just about her because before she started dating matthew and everything came crashing down, i found her characterization and gradual acclimation to her new abilities to be compelling.
but all of that aside, this book’s greatest sin is that it was boring. i was BORED reading a book about solving mysteries, about magic, about witches and daemons and vampires, about history, about science, about alchemy- about so many things i normally love. the novel barely focused on what made it interesting to me in the first place. it made what should have been high stakes seem inconsequential, considering the characters barely paid them any mind most of the time. if this author wanted to write a contemporary romance where a witch and a vampire drink wine and do yoga, then she could have written exactly that instead of sidelining the plot. the imbalance between the romance (notice how i didn’t say relationship development? that’s because there was barely any transition between “i trust him i guess” and “i’m in love with him and we are basically married”) and the main story was severe, and while this may not be a problem for someone who enjoys the romance genre more (and who can stomach such a problematic dynamic), it was a major turn off for me. a book can absolutely be primarily a romance without neglecting the rest of the plot, but unfortunately that was not the case here. and suddenly, at around the 80% mark, the author seemed to remember all of the other plot threads she had neglected and rushed to provide answers that should have been built up throughout the middle section of the novel. Love That!
tl;dr: pros- atmosphere, language/prose, worldbuilding (for the first half, at least). cons- pacing, character writing, relationships
- this was originally going to be 2 stars, but i looked at the other books i gave that rating to and this is definitely worse than them. so... here we are.
- this was originally going to be 2 stars, but i looked at the other books i gave that rating to and this is definitely worse than them. so... here we are.
Content Warnings
Graphic: Torture, Toxic relationship, Kidnapping, and Grief
Moderate: Misogyny, Panic attacks/disorders, Stalking, Death of parent, and War
Minor: Animal death and Pregnancy
infusionofviolets's review
adventurous
emotional
mysterious
reflective
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
4.0
Content Warnings
Graphic: Torture
Moderate: Animal death, Violence, Blood, Kidnapping, Grief, Suicide attempt, Death of parent, and Injury/Injury detail
Minor: Hate crime, Mental illness, Misogyny, Panic attacks/disorders, Medical content, Pregnancy, and War
torturedreadersdept's review against another edition
adventurous
challenging
dark
emotional
funny
mysterious
slow-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
Content Warnings
Graphic: Animal death, Body horror, Bullying, Confinement, Cursing, Death, Infertility, Panic attacks/disorders, Sexual content, Torture, Violence, Blood, Medical content, Kidnapping, Grief, Stalking, Death of parent, Murder, Pregnancy, Fire/Fire injury, Gaslighting, Alcohol, Dysphoria, and Injury/Injury detail
Minor: Child death, Miscarriage, and War
kgreer's review against another edition
adventurous
mysterious
medium-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? A mix
- Strong character development? Yes
- Loveable characters? It's complicated
- Diverse cast of characters? N/A
- Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes
3.0
This book is the love child of Twilight and Emily Wilde’s Encyclopedia of Faeries. It is the intersection between academia and vampires.
As a STEM girly, I enjoyed the way the author explained magic with “science” (even though it was a little ridiculous and the non-magical science parts weren’t always correct - but it’s a fantasy book so I let that go)!
The beginning was slow but then picked up once the romantic interest started becoming relevant. At some points, I felt like the main character lost parts of who she was (independent, precautious, studious) as the story continued. Part of this change was ~character growth and development~ but part of her changes felt like it was just to fit the romance. And to me, without the romance, the plot wouldn’t have been as interesting.
It should be said that the main character had to confront suppressed parts of herself and deal with some hefty trauma - so who am I to critique how the author envisioned/wrote about how the character reacts to all that. In the end does it really matter that the character seemed whishy-washy at times? I did not read this book for a world based in reality or for a main character that would react like I would - so all and all, I did not hate the book but it’s not my favorite.
I may try reading the next book and I am hoping it picks up and gets straight to the action and drama!
As a STEM girly, I enjoyed the way the author explained magic with “science” (even though it was a little ridiculous and the non-magical science parts weren’t always correct - but it’s a fantasy book so I let that go)!
The beginning was slow but then picked up once the romantic interest started becoming relevant. At some points, I felt like the main character lost parts of who she was (independent, precautious, studious) as the story continued. Part of this change was ~character growth and development~ but part of her changes felt like it was just to fit the romance. And to me, without the romance, the plot wouldn’t have been as interesting.
It should be said that the main character had to confront suppressed parts of herself and deal with some hefty trauma - so who am I to critique how the author envisioned/wrote about how the character reacts to all that. In the end does it really matter that the character seemed whishy-washy at times? I did not read this book for a world based in reality or for a main character that would react like I would - so all and all, I did not hate the book but it’s not my favorite.
I may try reading the next book and I am hoping it picks up and gets straight to the action and drama!
Content Warnings
Moderate: Confinement, Death, Blood, and Grief
Minor: Death of parent
pewterwolf'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? It's complicated
3.75
At the time of writing this, this would be my fourth time reading this (though I have only read the series through once), and while I am a fan of this world and the characters, there are little things that irritated me (pacing, when important information is shared to the reader [and this is a very detail-heavy book], a tad insta-love for my taste).
Content Warnings
Graphic: Cursing, Hate crime, Panic attacks/disorders, Sexual content, Blood, Grief, Death of parent, Murder, Abandonment, Alcohol, and Injury/Injury detail
Moderate: Death, Panic attacks/disorders, Physical abuse, Torture, Kidnapping, and Religious bigotry
Minor: Death of parent and War
gillian_aftanas's review against another edition
adventurous
challenging
dark
emotional
mysterious
tense
slow-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
4.5
Content Warnings
Graphic: Animal death, Death, Gore, Panic attacks/disorders, Torture, Violence, Xenophobia, Blood, Medical content, Grief, Death of parent, Fire/Fire injury, Alcohol, and Injury/Injury detail
Moderate: Mental illness, Kidnapping, Stalking, Murder, and Pregnancy
Minor: Child death, Cursing, Infertility, Misogyny, and Sexual content
sycamore22's review against another edition
adventurous
mysterious
medium-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? A mix
- Strong character development? It's complicated
- Loveable characters? No
- Diverse cast of characters? Yes
- Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes
3.75
Content Warnings
Moderate: Torture, Medical content, and Injury/Injury detail
Minor: Grief, Alcohol, and War
-Wine is drunk many times throughout the book, and flavors/smells are discussed. No one ever gets drunk though! -A main character experiences extensive bodily wounds that are described while she is captured by an enemy. The triage for these wounds is also described in detail. -A main character experiences the loss of his wife and child. His grief is not discussed in great detail, but it is expressed. -War is discussed, but these discussions are preceding said war.dizzyappealam's review against another edition
adventurous
dark
mysterious
medium-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? Plot
- Strong character development? It's complicated
- Loveable characters? Yes
- Diverse cast of characters? No
- Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes
3.5
He is super possessive, but it was kind of cool and cute. Suprisingly wholesome ending. Will read the next book. Mystery is eh. I hope it gets better later. Was a cozy dark academia vibe.
Content Warnings
Moderate: Animal death, Gore, Panic attacks/disorders, Blood, Medical content, Grief, Murder, Abandonment, and War