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thymeslyp's review against another edition
dark
emotional
sad
slow-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? Plot
- Strong character development? No
- Loveable characters? No
- Diverse cast of characters? No
- Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes
2.5
This is a knock off of The Dark is Rising by Susan Cooper. It’s well written but a pretty blatant copy and what it adds isn’t very interesting imo. there is a twist at the end but if I tell you there is a twist then you’ll easily guess what the twist is at the end of the day a really good last hour of an audiobook doesn’t make up for the lead up being fairly boring. I don’t like books where 3/4 of the characters are just there to die
Mild vent- I picked up this acclaimed TikTok book only to find out it's just a clone of one of my favorite books that won a newbery.
This book: dark rise, main character: and English boy named Will (17) who is on the run from some scary other world baddies "the dark". He finds the "light" who are called stewards and learns magic from the old steward while hanging out in a pocket out side of time. All very Arthurian legend coded.
The award winning book from 1973- titled 'The Dark is Rising'. Main character a boy name Will (12). Creepy things begin happening to him and on his 12th but he finds out he is a member of a group of spiritual beings called the old ones who exist outside of time. He learns magic from the eldest old one (will is the youngest and last to be born) who happens to be Merlin if you know Arthurian legends. The only ones are the "circle of light" that stand against the darkness.
Mild vent- I picked up this acclaimed TikTok book only to find out it's just a clone of one of my favorite books that won a newbery.
This book: dark rise, main character: and English boy named Will (17) who is on the run from some scary other world baddies "the dark". He finds the "light" who are called stewards and learns magic from the old steward while hanging out in a pocket out side of time. All very Arthurian legend coded.
The award winning book from 1973- titled 'The Dark is Rising'. Main character a boy name Will (12). Creepy things begin happening to him and on his 12th but he finds out he is a member of a group of spiritual beings called the old ones who exist outside of time. He learns magic from the eldest old one (will is the youngest and last to be born) who happens to be Merlin if you know Arthurian legends. The only ones are the "circle of light" that stand against the darkness.
Content Warnings
Graphic: Animal death
offthecarousel_'s review against another edition
dark
mysterious
reflective
fast-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? Plot
- Strong character development? It's complicated
- Loveable characters? Yes
- Diverse cast of characters? Yes
- Flaws of characters a main focus? No
3.75
Hmm.... this book left me pretty conflicted. I liked the characters, the plot seemed teased throughout the book so things seemed to come along mostly naturally, though a couple things felt a little choatic. Once again, I've stumbled into a book that's probably too dark for me, but I want to trust the author that there will be comfort at some point later in the trilogy (I've read something of theirs before). Based on reviews of the second book though it seems like I'll be waiting for book 3 for that lol. I've tipped it to 4 because I realize I think parts of this book just aren't aimed with me as the audience in mind.
One thing that seemed strange to me were that the events of the book seem cyclical. The main characters would sneak out of the sanctuary to do something dangerous and then go back in. Then they'd sneak out again to do something and go back in. Then, wouldn't you know it, the book ends with a character sneaking out once again. It just felt repetitive when those are the big moments in the book.
The other thing that frustrates me is when a character is one of the main POVs of the book but a good chunk of their thought process is hidden from us because of plot twist reasons. I felt like for Violet's POV, we got a lot of internal thoughts and feelings, but Will's POV was more distant with lots of his thoughts and feelings hidden from the reader. Will's full thoughts are only revealed after he's made a decision or done some action. When that happens I'm very tempted to say, "Just don't have things from his POV then," but... I feel that it's done deliberately so the reader's feelings echo Violet's in the end. It's frustrating for me, and not a stylistic choice I'm a fan of, but it's done fairly well.
That said, I do enjoy a lot of the dialogue between characters and the way their friendships and trust developed. I'm semi-interested in reading the rest of the trilogy.
One thing that seemed strange to me were that the events of the book seem cyclical. The main characters would sneak out of the sanctuary to do something dangerous and then go back in. Then they'd sneak out again to do something and go back in. Then, wouldn't you know it, the book ends with a character sneaking out once again. It just felt repetitive when those are the big moments in the book.
The other thing that frustrates me is when a character is one of the main POVs of the book but a good chunk of their thought process is hidden from us because of plot twist reasons. I felt like for Violet's POV, we got a lot of internal thoughts and feelings, but Will's POV was more distant with lots of his thoughts and feelings hidden from the reader. Will's full thoughts are only revealed after he's made a decision or done some action. When that happens I'm very tempted to say, "Just don't have things from his POV then," but... I feel that it's done deliberately so the reader's feelings echo Violet's in the end. It's frustrating for me, and not a stylistic choice I'm a fan of, but it's done fairly well.
That said, I do enjoy a lot of the dialogue between characters and the way their friendships and trust developed. I'm semi-interested in reading the rest of the trilogy.
Content Warnings
Graphic: Death, Genocide, Torture, and Death of parent
Moderate: Animal death and Toxic relationship
Minor: Adult/minor relationship
Major Character Death is definitely applicable here.smartie_5748's review against another edition
challenging
dark
emotional
mysterious
sad
tense
fast-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? A mix
- Strong character development? Yes
- Loveable characters? Yes
- Diverse cast of characters? N/A
- Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes
5.0
Content Warnings
Graphic: Death and Blood
Moderate: Slavery, Torture, Violence, Death of parent, Murder, and Injury/Injury detail
Minor: Animal death and War
nillech's review against another edition
adventurous
dark
emotional
mysterious
tense
medium-paced
- 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
4.75
Content Warnings
Graphic: Violence
Moderate: Racism, Torture, Kidnapping, Death of parent, Murder, Fire/Fire injury, and Injury/Injury detail
Minor: Animal death and Blood
shadowspinner's review against another edition
adventurous
dark
tense
medium-paced
- 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
5.0
Content Warnings
Graphic: Death, Blood, and War
Moderate: Animal death and Violence
Minor: Gun violence
cait's review against another edition
adventurous
challenging
dark
mysterious
sad
tense
medium-paced
- 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
Content Warnings
Minor: Animal death, Child abuse, Child death, Confinement, Death, Emotional abuse, Gore, Homophobia, Infidelity, Physical abuse, Racism, Violence, Blood, Vomit, Kidnapping, Grief, Death of parent, Murder, Gaslighting, Abandonment, War, Injury/Injury detail, and Classism
viivacious's review against another edition
medium-paced
- Loveable characters? Yes
- Diverse cast of characters? Yes
4.0
A bit slow at the start, but I was fully in it once the set ups were done and the story could get going. The characters were likeable so it hits when something happens to them. There were some things I did not see coming, I liked the surprise.
Content Warnings
Minor: Adult/minor relationship, Animal death, Death, Racial slurs, and Rape
spooderman's review against another edition
adventurous
dark
mysterious
tense
medium-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? A mix
- Strong character development? It's complicated
- Loveable characters? Yes
- Diverse cast of characters? N/A
- Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes
3.75
Content Warnings
Graphic: Adult/minor relationship, Confinement, Death, Emotional abuse, Panic attacks/disorders, Physical abuse, Torture, Violence, Blood, Kidnapping, Grief, Death of parent, Murder, Gaslighting, War, Injury/Injury detail, and Classism
Moderate: Animal cruelty, Animal death, Pedophilia, Racism, Toxic relationship, Xenophobia, Trafficking, and Toxic friendship
Minor: Child abuse, Child death, Homophobia, Incest, Infidelity, Self harm, Sexism, Sexual assault, Slavery, Suicidal thoughts, Stalking, Outing, and Abandonment
lilifane's review against another edition
adventurous
challenging
dark
emotional
hopeful
mysterious
tense
medium-paced
- 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
This book broke me. So if this sounds appealing to you, and you read it based on my review, please don't complain afterwards.
The start was very promising, but then there was a lot of world building and getting to know characters for like 30-50% of the book. Enough action and plot twists to keep me interested, but also very few bread crumbs of what I really wanted to read about to make me impatient. The second half is just a wild ride.
It is supposed to be YA and I recognize the typical tropes coming with a YA fantasy books. But most of them have a spin or are resolved in a new way, which I really loved. You expect things to happen, and then they do happen, but in unexpected ways to mess with your head. In fact, I truly believe, the author just wrote this book to mess with my head specifically. Especially with the ending, which makes me question everything I thought I knew about myself.
Anyway, this book also seems a little too brutal for YA? The stakes are definitely higher than usual, and the author isn't afraid of showing it.
The world building is interesting, and the mysteries are intriguing, but what I loved the most were the intense and intimate scenes between the characters. I held my breath so many times I lost count, tbh. Thank goodness, the sequel is coming out next month. Can't wait to get my heart ripped out and trampled on again.
The start was very promising, but then there was a lot of world building and getting to know characters for like 30-50% of the book. Enough action and plot twists to keep me interested, but also very few bread crumbs of what I really wanted to read about to make me impatient. The second half is just a wild ride.
It is supposed to be YA and I recognize the typical tropes coming with a YA fantasy books. But most of them have a spin or are resolved in a new way, which I really loved. You expect things to happen, and then they do happen, but in unexpected ways to mess with your head. In fact, I truly believe, the author just wrote this book to mess with my head specifically. Especially with the ending, which makes me question everything I thought I knew about myself.
Anyway, this book also seems a little too brutal for YA? The stakes are definitely higher than usual, and the author isn't afraid of showing it.
The world building is interesting, and the mysteries are intriguing, but what I loved the most were the intense and intimate scenes between the characters. I held my breath so many times I lost count, tbh. Thank goodness, the sequel is coming out next month. Can't wait to get my heart ripped out and trampled on again.
Content Warnings
Graphic: Animal death, Death, Genocide, Slavery, Torture, Violence, Blood, Grief, and Death of parent
mallorypen's review against another edition
adventurous
challenging
dark
emotional
sad
tense
medium-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? Plot
- Strong character development? It's complicated
- Loveable characters? Yes
- Diverse cast of characters? It's complicated
- Flaws of characters a main focus? It's complicated
3.0
I wanted to love this book. It had the feeling of a great epic! It had a haunting, dark vibe to the storytelling! It had unexpected twists! The characters were compelling and formed a broad cast!
But … it was boring?
The pacing was very odd; in some parts, tons of things happened in quick succession and in others, the story lagged. It also didn’t help that multiple of the narrators were untrustworthy - Will especially - but in a way that made it obvious that the only reason they were was to preserve the twist at the end. And though the twist was interesting, if not altogether unguessable, the fact that Will knew almost at the beginning of the book (and certainly at the midway point) and didn’t “tell” the reader was annoying, not mysterious. His character felt inconsistent - first, he’s being self-sacrificing and doing the right thing despite overwhelming odds - and then he’s utterly convinced of his own downfall into darkness despite himself.
The way Catherine was used in the story - and ultimately fridged - was obnoxious and disappointing. And the queer relationships all seemed insidious, which was doubly disappointing and honestly kind of disgusting.
The concept of the Stewards and Lions were well done, and again, the cast of characters was enjoyable. I don’t know if I’ll keep with the series, though.
But … it was boring?
The pacing was very odd; in some parts, tons of things happened in quick succession and in others, the story lagged. It also didn’t help that multiple of the narrators were untrustworthy - Will especially - but in a way that made it obvious that the only reason they were was to preserve the twist at the end. And though the twist was interesting, if not altogether unguessable, the fact that Will knew almost at the beginning of the book (and certainly at the midway point) and didn’t “tell” the reader was annoying, not mysterious. His character felt inconsistent - first, he’s being self-sacrificing and doing the right thing despite overwhelming odds - and then he’s utterly convinced of his own downfall into darkness despite himself.
The way Catherine was used in the story - and ultimately fridged - was obnoxious and disappointing. And the queer relationships all seemed insidious, which was doubly disappointing and honestly kind of disgusting.
The concept of the Stewards and Lions were well done, and again, the cast of characters was enjoyable. I don’t know if I’ll keep with the series, though.
Content Warnings
Graphic: Death
Moderate: Animal death