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keepcalmblogon'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
Now, I have to admit, I do think these books are LOOONG to the point I felt they could have benefited from some cuts, but in the end they are five stars. Diana and Matthew have got to be one of my favorite fantasy couples. Diana is such a strong, independent woman and Matthew is a classic alpha male, but Diana has no problem putting him in his place! Their almost enemies-to-lovers romance gives me the tingles and their epic love is world shattering.
I recommend this series to all the readers out there looking for a fall read this spooky season!
Graphic: Sexual assault and Sexual content
artmajorese's review against another edition
- Plot- or character-driven? Plot
- Strong character development? It's complicated
- Loveable characters? Yes
- Diverse cast of characters? No
- Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes
3.75
Heads up that the main subplot contains a lot of sexual violence, including incest and sexual violence against children.
Graphic: Confinement, Death, Domestic abuse, Emotional abuse, Gore, Incest, Physical abuse, Torture, and Blood
Moderate: Child abuse, Pedophilia, Rape, Sexual assault, Sexual content, and Sexual violence
katvou'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? It's complicated
3.75
Graphic: Child death, Death, Blood, Murder, Pregnancy, Alcohol, and Injury/Injury detail
Moderate: Gore, Physical abuse, Torture, Violence, Medical content, Kidnapping, Grief, and Death of parent
Minor: Child abuse, Drug abuse, Drug use, Infertility, Miscarriage, Rape, Sexual content, and Sexual violence
beccaand'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: Death, Rape, Torture, Violence, and Blood
Moderate: Child death, Sexual violence, Kidnapping, and Pregnancy
Minor: Body horror and Sexual content
juliette_95's review against another edition
- Plot- or character-driven? A mix
- Strong character development? Yes
- Diverse cast of characters? Yes
- Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes
3.0
Graphic: Death, Physical abuse, Torture, Violence, Blood, and Injury/Injury detail
Moderate: Sexual content
Minor: Addiction, Child death, Drug abuse, Drug use, Misogyny, Death of parent, and Alcohol
laura_mcloughlin'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
4.0
I would love to see Gallowglass get his own book though
Moderate: Rape, Sexual content, Sexual violence, Torture, Kidnapping, Stalking, Murder, and Pregnancy
Minor: Body horror
fireside_reads'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? It's complicated
3.75
Moderate: Torture
Minor: Child death, Sexual content, Violence, and Pregnancy
theespressoedition'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
4.5
Going into it, my mind was so open because I was looking forward to learning more about Matthew and Diana, now that they were back in the present day. So much had happened in Shadow of Night and knowing that this was the trilogy's finale, I figured it would begin to wrap things up relatively early on.
Instead, we were met with a ton of crazy twists, character additions, and new storylines right at the beginning, which totally threw me off.
I'm a quick reader. I know that about myself. It takes me an average of about three days to finish a book - even relatively long ones. However, The Book of Life took me well over a week to complete! When I reached the 30% mark, I looked at my progress and felt winded. So much had happened and yet there was still so much book to get through. Because of the slow pacing of these novels, I began to feel bored. I wanted more action, less description.
I messaged a friend of mine who just adores this series and began to talk with her about my feelings. It wound up being incredibly helpful, talking with her, because I was able to uncover the elements I really enjoyed - like the character development for Gallowglass, Marcus, Sarah, and Diana. Diana especially came into her own in this book, after learning so much about her magic in Shadow of Night. It was really neat to see that incredible growth in her, not only when it came to her skills, but even in the way she began to relate with Matthew.
Additionally, one of the things I learned is that these are the kind of books you need to set aside time to read. Instead of trying to squeeze them in, you need to really dwell on them and let yourself just be absorbed in the story. Allow it to take you to all of the places it's trying to go and you'll appreciate it much more. Don't attempt to rush through it like I originally did. After chatting with my friend, I found myself excited to get back into the world, and over the next couple of days, I really focused on my reading. It made the ending so much more satisfying than I could possibly express.
There are a lot of really gruesome moments in this particular installment in the trilogy. I've been sitting here, trying to figure out how to talk about them without giving away spoilers, because they include characters that simultaneously are and aren't a major focus in the other books. That sounds confusing, but once you begin reading, you'll understand what I mean. The vampire killer in London is a large part of this book. And their story is incredibly saddening and even a bit angering. It's also very bloody. In addition to that, you'll learn about another member of Matthew's family, who happens to be an incredibly graphic torturer and sexually abusive individual. This subject matter was really challenging for me to read, and I did skim parts of it because of the really gory nature. Please be aware of this going into the book. I do wish there had been content warnings for these things and unfortunately, there were not.
If I had to give the entire series a rating, I would probably say it receives 4 stars. It's a wonderfully-written trilogy with well-rounded characters and tons of world-building. If you ever wanted to feel like "creatures" were real, this book will accomplish that. The research that went into it made it feel so much more realistic than any other supernatural/paranormal series I've ever read. The ending was great but did leave me wanting to learn more about certain characters. I hope Deborah Harkness continues to write about them as the years go on.
Graphic: Death, Gore, Rape, Sexual assault, Torture, Blood, and Murder
Moderate: Grief, Death of parent, and Pregnancy
Minor: Sexual content
maddox22's review against another edition
- Plot- or character-driven? Character
- Strong character development? Yes
- Loveable characters? It's complicated
- Diverse cast of characters? It's complicated
- Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes
3.0
Graphic: Child abuse, Confinement, Death, Physical abuse, Racism, Sexual content, Torture, Violence, Blood, Grief, Stalking, Schizophrenia/Psychosis , Pregnancy, and Injury/Injury detail
Moderate: Adult/minor relationship, Animal cruelty, Animal death, Child abuse, Child death, Confinement, Drug use, Mental illness, Miscarriage, Pedophilia, Rape, Sexual assault, Sexual violence, Toxic relationship, Blood, Medical content, Kidnapping, Grief, Religious bigotry, and Death of parent
nyssbomb'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
4.25
Graphic: Mental illness, Torture, Violence, Blood, Medical content, and Pregnancy
Moderate: Child abuse, Child death, Chronic illness, Rape, Sexism, Sexual assault, Sexual content, Sexual violence, Toxic relationship, Trafficking, Kidnapping, Death of parent, and War
Minor: Miscarriage and Racism