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faelsafe's review against another edition
- Plot- or character-driven? A mix
- Strong character development? It's complicated
- Loveable characters? It's complicated
- Flaws of characters a main focus? No
1.5
Moderate: Adult/minor relationship, Animal death, Mental illness, Self harm, and Kidnapping
zoeelora's review against another edition
- Plot- or character-driven? Character
- Strong character development? No
- Loveable characters? No
- Diverse cast of characters? No
- Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes
1.0
Moderate: Adult/minor relationship, Animal cruelty, Animal death, Body shaming, Bullying, Chronic illness, Confinement, Cursing, Death, Emotional abuse, Gore, Mental illness, Panic attacks/disorders, Physical abuse, Self harm, Sexual content, Suicidal thoughts, Terminal illness, Torture, Violence, Blood, Medical content, Kidnapping, Grief, Stalking, Car accident, Suicide attempt, Death of parent, Murder, Fire/Fire injury, Alcohol, Sexual harassment, Injury/Injury detail, and Classism
elskabee'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? It's complicated
3.5
This is my first time rereading this book in over ten years and I liked it more than I was worried. I can't say it has aged amazingly, but most of the difficult topics (self-harm and depression, age gap crushes) are dealt with in a way that never glamourises or romanticises and even has some good healthy takeaways by the end. I do however wish that conversations around slut-shaming and bullying were handled a bit better. The former simply had a messy message and seemed to contradict itself, the latter not seriously acknowledged despite how prominent the bullying/school drama plotlines are throughout.
The writing style is very simple and easy to read which is fine, but older readers might find it a bit lacking. I found the multiple plot elements enough to hold interest. The school politics wore on me a bit, whereas the journey Rose goes on to learn to be more responsible and trust people around her was well done imo. I also really enjoyed the worldbuilding of the vampire society and how the school is run. I think the author put a lot of thought into the position each character in the book has in society and how that affects their choices and how they treat others. Most of the time they treat each other poorly! but societal pressure and petty teenage angst create a pressure cooker environment in the school that is palpable. Rose in particular is mean to almost everyone except Lissa, which is acknowledged in the book and honestly just made me like Rose more. Give me petty teenage characters that get angry and mess up (Not perfect and bland protags that have no room for growth)
Anyway, this book despite its length has a lot going on and although it is very much a vampire YA book published in 2007, I did enjoy my time reading it!
Graphic: Animal death and Self harm
Moderate: Adult/minor relationship, Mental illness, Blood, and Kidnapping
Minor: Terminal illness, Death of parent, and Alcohol
The adult/minor relationship is between a 17 year old and a 25 year old. He is her mentor and never pressures her and in fact actively avoids pursuing her. The minor doesn't spend much time pursuing him but does think about her attraction to him and internally acknowledges that the relationship probably shouldn't happen due to the age gap between them. Near the end of the bookthe_escapist's review against another edition
- Plot- or character-driven? A mix
- Strong character development? Yes
- Loveable characters? Yes
- Diverse cast of characters? No
- Flaws of characters a main focus? It's complicated
3.75
Moderate: Bullying, Mental illness, Self harm, Blood, Kidnapping, Car accident, and Classism
Minor: Addiction, Adult/minor relationship, Animal cruelty, Animal death, Chronic illness, Death, Gore, Sexual assault, Terminal illness, Torture, Violence, Death of parent, Abandonment, and Alcohol
lmcknight's review against another edition
- Plot- or character-driven? Character
- Strong character development? No
- Loveable characters? No
- Diverse cast of characters? No
- Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes
1.0
Moderate: Adult/minor relationship, Animal cruelty, Animal death, Bullying, Drug use, Misogyny, Pedophilia, Self harm, Sexual content, Suicidal thoughts, Violence, Blood, Kidnapping, Car accident, Suicide attempt, Death of parent, and Lesbophobia
sarahsbookss's review against another edition
- 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
4.0
Graphic: Adult/minor relationship, Animal cruelty, Animal death, Bullying, Death, Gore, Infidelity, Mental illness, Panic attacks/disorders, Self harm, Torture, Blood, Kidnapping, Grief, Car accident, Death of parent, Fire/Fire injury, Alcohol, and Injury/Injury detail
jenny_librarian's review against another edition
- Plot- or character-driven? A mix
- Strong character development? Yes
- Diverse cast of characters? No
- Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes
4.0
I like the exploration of depression and self-harm. It’s not perfect, but it’s better than I’ve seen in other work. Same for the adult/teen relationship. I was extremely worried by the fact that the author kept mentioning their age difference. Any new mention made it more impossible for them to realistically be together without irking the reader (as it should be, because teacher/student relationships are PROBLEMATIC). And the ending does feel very much Twilight-era, and I don’t doubt they’re gonna end together (🙄) but it at least tried to show that these relationships are unhealthy.
I’m debating whether or not to continue the series. Also, love Christian. Hands down my favourite character.
Graphic: Mental illness, Misogyny, Self harm, Sexism, Sexual assault, and Sexual harassment
Moderate: Adult/minor relationship, Torture, and Kidnapping
Minor: Ableism, Death, Domestic abuse, Sexual violence, Car accident, Death of parent, and Acephobia/Arophobia
madalynmiles's review against another edition
- Loveable characters? Yes
4.0
Graphic: Animal death, Mental illness, Self harm, Suicidal thoughts, and Blood
Moderate: Adult/minor relationship and Kidnapping
Minor: Bullying, Abortion, Fire/Fire injury, and Alcohol
readwithchar's review against another edition
- Plot- or character-driven? Plot
- Strong character development? Yes
3.5
Graphic: Animal death, Mental illness, Misogyny, Self harm, Torture, Kidnapping, and Death of parent
Moderate: Adult/minor relationship and Grief
tiana_king's review against another edition
- Plot- or character-driven? A mix
- Strong character development? No
- Loveable characters? Yes
- Diverse cast of characters? No
- Flaws of characters a main focus? It's complicated
4.25
This was always my favorite vampire book series. Lots of original content, addressing classism, plenty of drama, and a ton of adventure. My only criticism is that there isn’t a ton of build up for either of the romances. I understand that a decent amount of time passed in the book and the author couldn’t write about every little interaction that made people fall in love but she could’ve spent a smidge more time on it. Other than that a great read with good plot twists!
Graphic: Addiction, Animal death, Self harm, Terminal illness, Torture, Grief, Medical trauma, Schizophrenia/Psychosis , and Classism
Moderate: Adult/minor relationship, Blood, Kidnapping, Car accident, and Fire/Fire injury
Minor: Sexual content, Abortion, and Death of parent