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aleareads's review against another edition
adventurous
challenging
dark
mysterious
reflective
tense
fast-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? Yes
5.0
This book swept me off my feet from the first few pages, and I’m still not ready to come down! It’s one of those rare books where every word is precious AND it’s also a page turner! It’s thought provoking and thrilling. Schwab’s writing is simply beautiful, and the changing timelines are incredibly fluid and effective to the story.
It has me thinking morality and what makes a hero vs villain, and I love that the motivations of the characters are so fleshed out.
I would absolutely recommend for anyone, but especially if you love:
🦸♀️ superheroes, villains, and super powers
🦇 the Dark Knight trilogy
✨ thought provoking and thrilling fantasy
I absolutely cannot wait to read book 2; I will
be getting my hands on a copy soon!
It has me thinking morality and what makes a hero vs villain, and I love that the motivations of the characters are so fleshed out.
I would absolutely recommend for anyone, but especially if you love:
🦸♀️ superheroes, villains, and super powers
🦇 the Dark Knight trilogy
✨ thought provoking and thrilling fantasy
I absolutely cannot wait to read book 2; I will
be getting my hands on a copy soon!
Content Warnings
Graphic: Death, Gun violence, Torture, Violence, and Murder
Moderate: Animal death, Suicide, and Suicide attempt
meganemarshall's review
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
3.75
I don't really know how I feel about this book. I loved the setting. I loved the idea. I love Victor and the strays he is picking up and making a family out of. The side characters were awesome, except Serena. Honestly, Serena deserved worse.
I don't understand how anyone could read this book and not root for Victor. Maybe I had the wrong idea going in. I thought it was going to be hero vs villain or 2 villains against each other. Instead, it was a functioning psychopath against a religious crazy psychopath.
I feel like we're supposed to see both Eli and Victor as villains, but I don't see Victor as a villain at all. Sure, he's killed people, and maybe in the next book, he goes full super villain. Instead, he gets out of prison with his bestie, hunts down a monster, and adopts a little girl and a dog. He is the perfect morally grey protagonist. Good - no, but not the worst of humanity.
Unlike Eli, who, on the other hand, is the worst. He is a villain. He is the bad guy. He's crazy. He acts like he has the moral high ground, but he's just a religious fanatic, like many serial killers before him. Relying on religion for his motives felt weak.
People really raved about this book, and maybe it just didn't hit for me. It was a good time, but it didn’t blow me away. I'll put the sequel on my TBR, but i'm not gonna pick it up immediately.
I don't understand how anyone could read this book and not root for Victor. Maybe I had the wrong idea going in. I thought it was going to be hero vs villain or 2 villains against each other. Instead, it was a functioning psychopath against a religious crazy psychopath.
I feel like we're supposed to see both Eli and Victor as villains, but I don't see Victor as a villain at all. Sure, he's killed people, and maybe in the next book, he goes full super villain. Instead, he gets out of prison with his bestie, hunts down a monster, and adopts a little girl and a dog. He is the perfect morally grey protagonist. Good - no, but not the worst of humanity.
Unlike Eli, who, on the other hand, is the worst. He is a villain. He is the bad guy. He's crazy. He acts like he has the moral high ground, but he's just a religious fanatic, like many serial killers before him. Relying on religion for his motives felt weak.
People really raved about this book, and maybe it just didn't hit for me. It was a good time, but it didn’t blow me away. I'll put the sequel on my TBR, but i'm not gonna pick it up immediately.
Content Warnings
Graphic: Violence and Murder
Moderate: Gun violence and Suicide attempt
Minor: Drug abuse
cchaney876's review against another edition
dark
sad
tense
fast-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? Plot
- Strong character development? No
- Loveable characters? No
- Diverse cast of characters? No
- Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes
3.0
Wow! This is a dark book. Definitely a thriller, but there is a lot to watch out for when it comes to trigger warnings.
Content Warnings
Graphic: Animal death, Child death, Death, Toxic relationship, Violence, Suicide attempt, and Murder
triley's review against another edition
dark
emotional
tense
fast-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? A mix
- Strong character development? No
- Loveable characters? It's complicated
- Diverse cast of characters? No
- Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes
4.0
Content Warnings
Graphic: Child death, Death, Gun violence, Violence, Murder, and Injury/Injury detail
Moderate: Animal death, Self harm, Blood, and Suicide attempt
megw27's review
adventurous
dark
emotional
tense
fast-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? Character
- Strong character development? Yes
- Loveable characters? It's complicated
- Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes
4.75
Content Warnings
Graphic: Suicide, Violence, Suicide attempt, and Murder
tamzy6's review against another edition
adventurous
dark
mysterious
tense
fast-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? Plot
- Strong character development? No
- Loveable characters? It's complicated
- Diverse cast of characters? It's complicated
- Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes
4.0
What a ride! This book read like a graphic novel without it actually being a graphic novel, and that's a testament to Schwab's writing skills. It's fast paced with sociopathic characters and everyone operates in a very morally grey area - just my kind of thing.
Content Warnings
Graphic: Physical abuse, Torture, and Suicide attempt
Moderate: Animal death, Gun violence, Toxic relationship, Blood, Murder, and Toxic friendship
outlast0002's review
adventurous
dark
emotional
mysterious
sad
tense
fast-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? Character
- Strong character development? It's complicated
- Loveable characters? Yes
- Diverse cast of characters? No
- Flaws of characters a main focus? No
5.0
Content Warnings
Graphic: Violence, Blood, Religious bigotry, Murder, and Toxic friendship
Moderate: Animal cruelty, Animal death, Gun violence, Self harm, Torture, and Suicide attempt
Minor: Addiction
westernskynaida's review against another edition
4.0
Man I was not expecting this book to be as good as it was. The first half of the book is kind of slow, but the exposition is needed to understand everyone’s reasoning for things
As someone who has been through their own NDE, it was definitely an interesting take on things and I really enjoyed the semantics of how that causes events in this book
It really does feel like taking the what it means to be a hero or a villain and turning it on its head. Some characters you’ll love, others you’ll probably despise. The last 60 or so pages go by SO fast. I feel like this is a more enjoyable take on the idea from the movie Unbreakable
I’m adding two new major content warnings in the review because I was really NOT prepared for that heavy of a discussion/talk of it during the first half of the book
As someone who has been through their own NDE, it was definitely an interesting take on things and I really enjoyed the semantics of how that causes events in this book
It really does feel like taking the what it means to be a hero or a villain and turning it on its head. Some characters you’ll love, others you’ll probably despise. The last 60 or so pages go by SO fast. I feel like this is a more enjoyable take on the idea from the movie Unbreakable
I’m adding two new major content warnings in the review because I was really NOT prepared for that heavy of a discussion/talk of it during the first half of the book
Content Warnings
Graphic: Suicide and Suicide attempt
gryffindor88's review
dark
emotional
mysterious
sad
tense
medium-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? Character
- Strong character development? It's complicated
- Loveable characters? Yes
- Diverse cast of characters? No
- Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes
2.75
Good characters. Barely there plot. Pacing was horrible
Content Warnings
Moderate: Self harm and Suicide attempt
alexashabit's review
dark
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
4.5
Content Warnings
Graphic: Gun violence, Suicide, and Suicide attempt
Moderate: Animal death