Reviews tagging 'Violence'

Hell Bent by Leigh Bardugo

340 reviews

abernathy_33's review against another edition

adventurous dark emotional funny mysterious reflective 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? It's complicated

5.0

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Death, Violence, and Murder

Moderate: Animal death, Drug abuse, and Drug use

Minor: Sexual assault, Slavery, and Suicide attempt

cre8withcait'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? It's complicated
• Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes

4.5

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Body horror, Death, Drug abuse, Drug use, Mental illness, Panic attacks/disorders, Physical abuse, Rape, Sexual assault, Sexual violence, Violence, Blood, Grief, and Murder

Moderate: Animal cruelty and Animal death

Minor: Addiction, Cursing, Gun violence, Racism, Self harm, Torture, Police brutality, Stalking, Suicide attempt, Fire/Fire injury, Abandonment, and Classism

sangsmiles's review against another edition

adventurous dark mysterious medium-paced

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

4.25

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Animal death, Death, Sexual assault, Violence, and Murder

Moderate: Sexism

klsreads's review against another edition

adventurous challenging dark mysterious reflective sad tense medium-paced

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

4.0

*Extremely long sigh* I made a mistake because I thought this was the final book, not the second in a trilogy. I read it thinking it was going to wrap everything up and ended up pretty disappointed. I was wrong!! That being said, I don't think Hell Bent hit it out of the park like I thought it would. There was so much action and (dare I say) extraneous plot devices that I got whiplash. This isn't the first time I felt that way with Bardugo's writing. I think it worked in Six of Crows, but not as much here. The darkness requires some sitting, some stewing. I think Bardugo needs to fully commit to the audience - is this adult? Mature YA? There's sexual violence, but no sexual autonomy or processing. There's physical and emotional violence, but it doesn't settle. There's urgency, but less understanding. Things aren't reckoned with. College kids don't always act like college kids, cops don't act like cops, people are just kind of...off? I wanted to sit more in the big moments and implications, but found myself getting rushed along despite the first ~300 pages dragging. 

I'm giving this a 4 because I love the premise of the series, and I hope that Bardugo can pull it off with the final novel. There are SO many interesting things going on, and I think she can recapture the balance of the first book, answer the big questions, and actually explore power, class, racism, sexism, colonialism, and violence in academia. 

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Animal death, Body horror, Bullying, Cursing, Death, Domestic abuse, Emotional abuse, Gore, Gun violence, Misogyny, Physical abuse, Racism, Sexism, Toxic relationship, Violence, Blood, Grief, Stalking, Murder, Toxic friendship, Alcohol, Injury/Injury detail, and Classism

Moderate: Confinement, Drug abuse, Drug use, Panic attacks/disorders, Rape, Sexual violence, Vomit, Police brutality, Fire/Fire injury, Sexual harassment, and Colonisation

Minor: Animal cruelty, Child death, Slavery, Suicidal thoughts, and Suicide attempt

brianneh's review against another edition

adventurous dark mysterious medium-paced

3.5

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Animal cruelty, Animal death, Gore, Violence, Blood, Grief, Death of parent, Murder, and Injury/Injury detail

Moderate: Panic attacks/disorders

dragonlilly's review against another edition

adventurous dark emotional funny hopeful informative mysterious reflective sad tense fast-paced

• Plot- or character-driven? A mix
• Strong character development? Yes
• Loveable characters? Yes
• Diverse cast of characters? Yes

4.0

This sequel was just as good, and maybe even better in certain areas than the first, and the first book was great! I absolutely have to commend Leigh Bardugo for all the research she did for these books, and it seems the research had increased even more for this one. Although, Turner's line about Judges being boring is so wrong, and Judges has to objectively be one of the more exciting books of the Old Testament in the Bible for sure. The book is interesting with cool bits of mystery, while also being a bit thoughtful, and lots of fun and bouts of sadness. I am a big fan of Bardugo's writing, in that every line feels quite purposeful. Later phrases or sentences hark back to previous ones, and previous words hint at the future in a satisfying way. 

I feel more attached to the characters in this book than in the previous one, and I love the feel-good camaraderie. I love the discoveries, and the scene in which the main group are forcefully made to see each others' past was super cool and well done. And I will also say that I enjoyed the ending of this book a lot more too. The necessary questions that needed answering in this book were answered and yet still left us wondering for more but not in a disappointing way, but an exciting way. The ending made me worried, then joyful and smiling, and then thrilled at a fun action scene that gets us ready for the next book. Very good sequel overall and am excited for when the next book comes out. 

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Death, Violence, Grief, and Murder

Moderate: Animal death, Suicide, Blood, and Vomit

Minor: Panic attacks/disorders and Slavery

lngoldstein's review against another edition

adventurous dark mysterious tense medium-paced

4.0

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Animal death, Death, Violence, Forced institutionalization, Blood, Cannibalism, Gaslighting, and Injury/Injury detail

Minor: Racism, Rape, Slavery, Suicidal thoughts, Suicide, and Suicide attempt

joongarten's review against another edition

dark emotional mysterious tense medium-paced

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

4.5

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Addiction, Animal cruelty, Animal death, Death, Drug abuse, Drug use, Gun violence, Violence, Blood, Murder, Fire/Fire injury, and Injury/Injury detail

Moderate: Grief and Death of parent

Minor: Slavery and Vomit

rotidoti's review against another edition

adventurous dark tense fast-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

4.25

Not quite as good as the first book but it reads so much quicker now that you have much more context to everyone and everything.

Leigh Bardugo's writing style is so enrapturing and I had an incredibly hard time putting this red down when I needed to do productive tasks. 

I loved this story a lot!! My only complaint was that the romance aspect felt a bit out of nowhere and forced. Otherwise, brilliant all around. 

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Addiction, Animal death, Death, Gore, Slavery, Torture, Violence, Police brutality, and Death of parent

drewg's review against another edition

adventurous dark emotional tense medium-paced

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

4.0

Great pickup at the end. The foundation was there. But overall, it didn’t come together quite as tightly as the first book did. 

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Violence

Moderate: Gore

Minor: Sexual violence