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rogerwatersballs'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? Yes
5.0
Graphic: Adult/minor relationship, Death, Domestic abuse, Emotional abuse, Pedophilia, Rape, Sexual assault, Sexual content, Sexual violence, Blood, Murder, and Fire/Fire injury
directorpurry's review against another edition
- Plot- or character-driven? A mix
- Strong character development? Yes
- Loveable characters? It's complicated
- Diverse cast of characters? It's complicated
- Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes
2.75
Graphic: Child abuse, Confinement, Death, Domestic abuse, Physical abuse, Rape, Sexism, Sexual assault, Sexual violence, Violence, Blood, Religious bigotry, Death of parent, Murder, Pregnancy, Fire/Fire injury, Abandonment, and Sexual harassment
Moderate: Adult/minor relationship, Pedophilia, Antisemitism, and War
Minor: Infidelity, Xenophobia, and Islamophobia
heartfelthullabaloo's review against another edition
- 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? No
4.0
William was the WORST bad guy! I absolutely loathed him and I cannot believe how much he got away with, it was OUTRAGEOUS!!!!!!! So, kudos to the author for writing someone to root against.
The politics of the Catholic Church! The things that they sanctioned is sickening and infuriating. Trying to play a giant chess game to rise to power and using God as a tool to justify your actions is awful. I can’t imagine why anyone is still catholic to this day. Sure, they’re not all like that and they did some good and helped some people but man, the corruption is hard to look past.
The actual story itself, was great. Will I read the next one? Sure will because we’re about to go on a plague kick and I’ve heard that’s coming up next.
Graphic: Adult/minor relationship, Death, Domestic abuse, Physical abuse, Rape, Sexual violence, Violence, Religious bigotry, Death of parent, Murder, Fire/Fire injury, Abandonment, and Alcohol
aether_seawo1f's review against another edition
- Plot- or character-driven? Plot
- Strong character development? Yes
- Loveable characters? It's complicated
- Diverse cast of characters? N/A
- Flaws of characters a main focus? It's complicated
3.0
Graphic: Ableism, Adult/minor relationship, Alcoholism, Animal cruelty, Animal death, Bullying, Confinement, Cursing, Death, Domestic abuse, Emotional abuse, Gore, Infertility, Misogyny, Panic attacks/disorders, Pedophilia, Physical abuse, Rape, Sexism, Sexual assault, Sexual content, Sexual violence, Suicidal thoughts, Toxic relationship, Violence, Blood, Vomit, Antisemitism, Grief, Medical trauma, Death of parent, Murder, Pregnancy, Fire/Fire injury, Abandonment, Alcohol, Sexual harassment, War, Injury/Injury detail, and Classism
christina_chen's review against another edition
- Plot- or character-driven? Character
- Strong character development? Yes
- Loveable characters? Yes
- Diverse cast of characters? No
- Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes
4.5
Graphic: Adult/minor relationship, Child abuse, Rape, Sexual violence, Murder, and Sexual harassment
Moderate: Domestic abuse, Misogyny, Physical abuse, Sexual violence, Fire/Fire injury, and Injury/Injury detail
expandingmybookshelf's review against another edition
- Plot- or character-driven? Character
- Strong character development? Yes
- Loveable characters? Yes
- Diverse cast of characters? Yes
- Flaws of characters a main focus? N/A
4.0
Graphic: Adult/minor relationship, Animal death, Body horror, Cursing, Death, Gore, Infidelity, Physical abuse, Rape, Sexual assault, Sexual content, Violence, Blood, Grief, and Murder
kirstar'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
3.75
Graphic: Rape, Sexual assault, Sexual violence, and Violence
Moderate: Death of parent
Minor: Adult/minor relationship and War
cheazcakeguy's review against another edition
- Plot- or character-driven? Plot
- Strong character development? No
- Loveable characters? No
- Diverse cast of characters? Yes
- Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes
2.5
I only finished this because I read it for a book club. Way too much unnecessarily explicit SA & pedophilia (just because it's "historically accurate" does not mean I want to read full details of a 14-year-old being r*ped by someone twice her age), characters were mostly one dimensional and often more like caricatures, and the pacing was uneven. The plot and the character Philip were the only things keeping me going, as it is ultimately a good story. The descriptions of the cathedral and the building process were also great. However, all of the tension and story beats ended up feeling super repetitive and recycled, and for the last couple hundred pages I was rolling my eyes at the dramatic twists and turns which felt contrived and meaningless at that point. I really wanted to love this book, but ultimately it was unremarkable. Hard to recommend, unless you like to read soap operas with one-note characters and you're okay with repeated graphic SA. I suppose if you *really* like drama and architecture, and have extreme patience, this is the book for you.
Graphic: Adult/minor relationship, Child abuse, Death, Domestic abuse, Gore, Misogyny, Pedophilia, Physical abuse, Rape, Sexism, Sexual assault, Sexual content, Sexual violence, Torture, Violence, Religious bigotry, Stalking, Death of parent, Murder, Pregnancy, Fire/Fire injury, and Sexual harassment
Moderate: Emotional abuse and War
Minor: Animal death, Child death, Antisemitism, Alcohol, and War
breadwitchery's review against another edition
- 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? No
3.0
Graphic: Death, Misogyny, Rape, Sexual violence, Violence, and Murder
Moderate: Adult/minor relationship, Pedophilia, Antisemitism, and War
Minor: Confinement, Fatphobia, Pregnancy, Fire/Fire injury, and Alcohol
delvesinshelves's review against another edition
I don’t shy away from challenging books, but there has to be a strong why when it comes to this degree of sexual violence.
The most recent series I read with content of this sort is the Poppy War trilogy, which deliberately covers a parallel to the rape of nanking.
This book is not covering real historical events, and not all of the rape/attempted rape seems to be serving a purpose of any kind in the story.
I was really excited to read about the building of a historical cathedral over the decades, but I think this book may be harmful without sufficient redeeming qualities for me to push through. DNF.
Graphic: Adult/minor relationship, Child death, Death, Gore, Misogyny, Rape, Sexism, Sexual assault, Sexual content, Sexual violence, Violence, Grief, Death of parent, Pregnancy, Sexual harassment, and Injury/Injury detail
Minor: Miscarriage