Reviews with content warning for Kidnapping - Piranesi

I really enjoyed this book. I found that I did not want to put it down. The story is told through the journal entries of the main character. They live in a world that is made up of endless classical buildings attached to one another. There is an ocean in the basement and the sky in the upper levels. The main characters descriptions of the world are really beautiful. This is definitely a story that the less you know the better it will be the first time you read it.

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neverlandangel's review against another edition

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adventurous mysterious reflective medium-paced

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

4.5

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booksmoviesandstories's review against another edition

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adventurous challenging dark emotional mysterious tense fast-paced

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

4.5

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daniellekat's review against another edition

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adventurous mysterious fast-paced

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

4.5

A perfect blend for readers who love character books and readers who love plot books.
It’s been a while since I’ve read a book that I couldn’t put down. The beginning was confusing and slow, but the writing was worth pushing through. I’m glad I didn’t know much about this going in because I think that really helped me enjoy it and reflect on it. I wasn’t sure about the ending as soon as I had finished, but going back to read it again made me bump up my original rating.

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ambers's review against another edition

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challenging emotional mysterious reflective tense medium-paced

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

3.5

I'm of two minds about this book. I read the whole thing in one sitting, and I honestly thought I was going to give it 5/5 stars. Then, as I started to think about it, I changed that to 4/5. At the time of actually siting down to write this review, I've dropped it to 3.5/5.

Why? There was obviously plenty that I loved, given my knee jerk reaction. The lush writing, the strange ecology, the dreamlike quality and its descent into nightmare - all of that was fantastic. Unfortunately, I can't get past the author's choice to write her only gay character as a predatory villain with a pattern of taking advantage of younger men, including lumping his sexuality in with his 'transgressive' nature (which explicitly includes several despicable acts). It isn't that queer characters can't be villains (although I would, honestly, caution authors to be careful of that regardless - being aware of harmful tropes is important), but this particular blend of using sexuality to highlight someone's perversion is harmful and dated. The longer I sit with that, the more I sour on this book. It's a real shame, because Piranesi could've been something beautiful.

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fayeferre's review against another edition

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adventurous informative mysterious reflective slow-paced

Plot- or character-driven? A mix
Strong character development? Yes
Loveable characters? It's complicated
Diverse cast of characters? No

4.5

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jes312's review against another edition

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dark mysterious reflective sad slow-paced

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

4.0

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