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amy_in_the_city's review against another edition
- Plot- or character-driven? Plot
- Strong character development? No
- Loveable characters? Yes
- Diverse cast of characters? Yes
- Flaws of characters a main focus? No
3.5
As a result of trying to cram in the various plotlines and other character POVs, I feel like Bryce and Hunt got lost in the shuffle. I was hoping to learn more about the main couple and see more of their relationship, but they were mostly in the story to serve the plot instead of the plot serving them. I missed seeing cute relationship moments like we had in the first book, and I don't feel like we really learned any more about Bryce and Hunt's pasts or struggles. I was hoping to see Hunt working through his emotions about the awful things he's done as the Umbra Mortis, his trauma from being enslaved, etc. but it seemed like all of that mostly went away or got brushed aside.
I loved seeing more of Ruhn and enjoyed his storyline of
Ithan seemed like an OK character, but I'm just tired of every guy in this book being in love with Bryce for some reason, and I wish that wasn't part of Ithan's character. I have hopes he'll be better in the next book as they seemed to be setting up some interesting storylines for him.
Everyone seemed to be making stupid decisions in this book. They're
I really didn't like that the book ended on such a cliffhanger. I get that it's a series, but when I finish reading a romance book, I don't want to be left feeling worried for characters who <spoiler are in mortal peril and are going to be tortured for who knows how long. If I wanted that, I'd go read a normal fantasy series, not a romance fantasy. The only solution I can think of for how to avoid having such a stressful ending for the readers while still having plenty of stakes for Bryce in the next book is if
Graphic: Confinement, Cursing, Death, Gore, Infidelity, Sexism, Sexual content, Slavery, Torture, Violence, Murder, Colonisation, War, and Injury/Injury detail
Moderate: Child abuse, Domestic abuse, Genocide, Gun violence, Misogyny, Physical abuse, Blood, Trafficking, Kidnapping, Grief, Fire/Fire injury, and Classism
Minor: Drug use and Sexual assault
yarisbooksandbevs's review against another edition
- Plot- or character-driven? A mix
- Strong character development? Yes
- Loveable characters? Yes
- Diverse cast of characters? Yes
- Flaws of characters a main focus? It's complicated
4.0
Graphic: Cursing, Death, Sexual content, Slavery, Violence, Blood, Grief, Murder, and Fire/Fire injury
Moderate: Bullying, Gun violence, and Alcohol
Minor: Child abuse, Drug use, Infertility, Infidelity, Torture, and War
_alyssar_'s review against another edition
- Plot- or character-driven? A mix
- Strong character development? Yes
- Loveable characters? Yes
- Diverse cast of characters? Yes
5.0
Graphic: Death, Gore, Gun violence, Sexual content, Slavery, Violence, Blood, Grief, Murder, Fire/Fire injury, and Injury/Injury detail
Minor: Addiction, Child abuse, Drug use, Infidelity, Physical abuse, Rape, Sexual assault, Sexual violence, Torture, Medical content, Alcohol, and Colonisation
cdoubet's review against another edition
- 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
Graphic: Confinement, Cursing, Death, Domestic abuse, Drug use, Emotional abuse, Genocide, Gore, Gun violence, Hate crime, Mental illness, Misogyny, Physical abuse, Sexism, Sexual content, Toxic relationship, Violence, Blood, Kidnapping, Grief, Mass/school shootings, Religious bigotry, Murder, Fire/Fire injury, Toxic friendship, Alcohol, Colonisation, War, Injury/Injury detail, and Classism
Moderate: Sexual violence, Slavery, Torture, Medical content, and Sexual harassment
Minor: Child abuse, Incest, Infidelity, Panic attacks/disorders, Rape, Death of parent, Pregnancy, and Abandonment
tguccione's review against another edition
- 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
Moderate: Child abuse, Confinement, Death, Gore, Gun violence, Sexism, Sexual assault, Sexual violence, Slavery, Torture, Violence, Blood, Grief, Murder, Fire/Fire injury, Colonisation, War, Injury/Injury detail, and Classism
readwithde'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? No
5.0
Bryce was a bit annoying, and Hunt was a bit underwhelming, but the supporting cast was absolutely incredible. Team Ruhn.
Graphic: Cursing, Death, Gore, Racism, Sexual content, Violence, Police brutality, Murder, Colonisation, War, Injury/Injury detail, and Classism
Moderate: Confinement, Drug use, Slavery, Torture, Blood, Grief, Death of parent, and Alcohol
Minor: Child abuse, Infertility, Infidelity, Rape, Sexual violence, Kidnapping, and Fire/Fire injury
britwalsh16's review against another edition
- Plot- or character-driven? A mix
- Strong character development? Yes
- Loveable characters? Yes
- Diverse cast of characters? Yes
- Flaws of characters a main focus? No
5.0
I honestly don’t know what else to say without spoilers!! Just read it!!
Graphic: Cursing, Death, Drug use, Gore, Gun violence, Misogyny, Physical abuse, Sexual content, Slavery, Violence, Blood, Grief, Murder, Fire/Fire injury, War, Injury/Injury detail, and Classism
Moderate: Confinement, Infidelity, Rape, Torture, Stalking, Sexual harassment, and Colonisation
Minor: Addiction, Child abuse, Genocide, Vomit, and Alcohol
deshanejt's review against another edition
- 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
Graphic: Death, Sexual content, Slavery, Blood, War, and Injury/Injury detail
Moderate: Genocide, Torture, Grief, Fire/Fire injury, Colonisation, and Classism
Minor: Gun violence, Infertility, and Infidelity
angelofthetardis's review against another edition
- 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? It's complicated
3.5
While I think the author has done better relationship arcs, this is probably the first time that it's felt like an equal relationship from the get go, rather than the big powerful man teaching the gorgeous girl something to help her to become his equal. And their banter, understanding and ease around one another, plus their protectiveness of each other, is my favourite part of the book. If this book were focused on the development of their relationship, with other bits going on in the background, I could definitely get in board with it. However, as it is their relationship is just one element of an incredibly busy plot.
I had hoped that I'd have absorbed enough from the first book to be comfortable with the world and the characters going into book two. No, I'm not floundering and completely lost, but at the same time there are so many characters, species and sub-plots to keep straight, I ended up feeling a little overwhelmed with it, which tempered my enjoyment. I'm sure certain plot threads will be picked up again in future books, but at this stage there seems to be a lot of loose ends or even dead ends, again giving the feeling of about three books worth of plot being crammed into one. And yet the pace isn't that fast - it's not a slog to read, but you are fully aware of the heft of this tome as you are trying to get through it.
As always, you cannot fault the worldbuilding, and I admire the depth and breadth of the creativity of thought and detail that has gone into bringing life to Crescent City - again, I think this is the most considered scape Maas has created to date. However, I again come back to the sheer quantity of information the reader needs to be able to process.
Unfortunately I wasn't shocked by the Day/Night twist at all; to me, it was incredibly obvious straight away how that was going to turn out. The more interesting twist for me was Bryce's plans for Emile, but equally this felt like a rather clunky explanation; it can across like the author had forgotten to include a resolution to that particular aspect and so covered herself with a quickly invented 'secret plan reveal'. This sort of sums up the writing overall for me - it doesn't flow anywhere near as well as ACOTAR or TOG.
However, this is a prime example of why I don't generally mind spoilers - someone told me ages ago about what happens at the end of this book and so, even though this is my least favourite of SJM's series to date, I knew I had to get these read so that I can devour book 3 when it comes out! I am desperately hoping will give this series a huge boost in my estimations!
Graphic: Cursing, Death, Sexual content, Violence, Blood, and Colonisation
Moderate: Confinement, Gore, Gun violence, Sexual violence, Slavery, Torture, Fire/Fire injury, Alcohol, and Injury/Injury detail
Minor: Vomit
kshertz'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
4.5
Moderate: Body horror, Death, Gore, Violence, Blood, Death of parent, Fire/Fire injury, War, and Injury/Injury detail