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emperor_aj's review against another edition
- Plot- or character-driven? Plot
- Strong character development? Yes
- Loveable characters? It's complicated
- Diverse cast of characters? Yes
- Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes
4.0
Graphic: Death, Gore, Rape, Sexual assault, Sexual violence, Toxic relationship, Violence, Blood, and Murder
Moderate: Addiction, Bullying, Vomit, Medical content, Alcohol, and Injury/Injury detail
Minor: Adult/minor relationship, Cancer, Cursing, Racism, Sexism, Stalking, Fire/Fire injury, and Gaslighting
stephliljazz'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
4.75
Graphic: Addiction, Death, Drug abuse, Toxic relationship, Violence, Blood, and Murder
Moderate: Panic attacks/disorders, Physical abuse, Rape, Sexual assault, Suicidal thoughts, Vomit, Toxic friendship, Injury/Injury detail, and Classism
Minor: Cursing, Death, Domestic abuse, Drug use, Emotional abuse, Gun violence, Self harm, Blood, Fire/Fire injury, and Alcohol
emmirosereads's review against another edition
- 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
3.75
I will be honest and say I don't think I would have gotten through this book, let alone so quickly, if I hadn't listened to the audiobook. The audiobook narrator does a really good job and makes the experience really enjoyable. I love the dark and gritty world Leigh Bardugo builds for us in our world today. I think the way she writes and tells this story is unique in how she flip-flops between timelines, giving us little bits of information to trail us to the big finish. That being said there is a lot of world lore that gets thrown at us at once which can be a lot to take in.
I love Alex Stern as our main character. She's tough and gritty and I love seeing how she fights to overcome and conquer everything in her life, despite everything going against her. I loved seeing how Leigh Bardugo deals with the themes throughout the book, of race and class. Of an underdog getting a second chance at life, but at what cost? Just seeing how she writes and deals with Alex Stern's moral grayness throughout this book.
This book is definitely not for the faint of heart and is not a book for everyone but I'm glad I at least gave it a chance. I'm having mixed feelings about the ending but I'm interested to see what the sequel brings.
Graphic: Addiction, Drug abuse, Drug use, Mental illness, Misogyny, Sexual assault, Violence, and Murder
Moderate: Sexual assault, Toxic relationship, Violence, and Toxic friendship
Minor: Car accident and Fire/Fire injury
cloud_kitty_cat's review against another edition
- Plot- or character-driven? Character
- Strong character development? No
- Loveable characters? It's complicated
- Diverse cast of characters? It's complicated
- Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes
4.5
Graphic: Death, Drug abuse, Drug use, Emotional abuse, Gore, Rape, Sexual content, Violence, Blood, Vomit, Medical content, Grief, Murder, Fire/Fire injury, and Injury/Injury detail
estefizaga'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
Moderate: Addiction, Alcoholism, Body horror, Cursing, Death, Drug abuse, Drug use, Gore, Gun violence, Hate crime, Mental illness, Misogyny, Physical abuse, Rape, Sexual assault, Blood, Excrement, Grief, Murder, Fire/Fire injury, Gaslighting, Alcohol, and Injury/Injury detail
annemoon'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
Graphic: Addiction, Child death, Death, Drug abuse, Drug use, Gore, Mental illness, Physical abuse, Rape, Sexual assault, Sexual content, Sexual violence, Blood, Kidnapping, Grief, Murder, Sexual harassment, and Injury/Injury detail
Moderate: Bullying, Gun violence, Pedophilia, Suicide, Toxic relationship, and Vomit
Minor: Infidelity and Fire/Fire injury
quinnpjd930's review against another edition
- Plot- or character-driven? A mix
- Strong character development? Yes
- Loveable characters? It's complicated
- Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes
5.0
Graphic: Addiction, Animal death, Body horror, Cursing, Death, Domestic abuse, Gore, Misogyny, Physical abuse, Rape, Sexual assault, Sexual content, Sexual violence, Violence, Blood, Vomit, Medical content, Medical trauma, Murder, Fire/Fire injury, Alcohol, Injury/Injury detail, and Classism
Moderate: Addiction, Animal death, Body horror, Cursing, Death, Domestic abuse, Drug abuse, Drug use, Emotional abuse, Gore, Misogyny, Physical abuse, Rape, Self harm, Sexual assault, Sexual violence, Violence, Blood, Excrement, Medical content, Grief, Stalking, Murder, Injury/Injury detail, and Classism
Minor: Body horror, Death, Drug use, Gore, Misogyny, Physical abuse, Rape, Sexual assault, Sexual violence, Toxic relationship, Violence, Blood, Trafficking, Murder, Fire/Fire injury, Sexual harassment, and Injury/Injury detail
sam_wal's review against another edition
- Plot- or character-driven? Plot
- Strong character development? Yes
- Loveable characters? It's complicated
- Diverse cast of characters? Yes
- Flaws of characters a main focus? No
4.25
Graphic: Addiction, Cursing, Death, Drug abuse, Drug use, Gore, Mental illness, Rape, Sexual assault, Blood, Grief, Murder, and Injury/Injury detail
Moderate: Child abuse, Confinement, Emotional abuse, Physical abuse, Sexual content, Violence, Medical trauma, Fire/Fire injury, and Alcohol
thequiltyreader'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? No
4.0
Graphic: Death, Drug abuse, Drug use, Gore, Gun violence, Toxic relationship, Violence, Blood, Medical trauma, Murder, Fire/Fire injury, Toxic friendship, and Injury/Injury detail
art_books_chemistry's review against another edition
- Plot- or character-driven? Plot
- Strong character development? Yes
- Loveable characters? It's complicated
- Diverse cast of characters? Yes
- Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes
5.0
Firstly, I loved the setting. Is New Haven a crime ridden city and not as nice as Yale-ites would like to pretend? Totally. But they get locked into their campus and can ignore it and the rest of us just avoid The Green and stick to the main bar area at night. I went to school at the other college in the Havens area and then stayed and worked for an extra year. I really loved the reference to the body found under the giant old tree after Hurricane Sandy since I was around when it happened. It's the little touches like that that help me immerse into a story when I know the setting.
This is peak Dark Academia. Secret Societies have always been shrouded in mystery and the potential of magic. The way Leigh Bardugo went about explaining it in this novel felt incredibly realistic from an outside perspective which allows you to get drawn into the story. I will say that there are a lot of moving pieces that could become confusing. I'm glad I read this on kindle instead of listening to it since I could flip around and make sure I was remembering names and associations correctly, especially since there were time jumps periodically.
I found the plot engrossing, the magic intriguing, and the mystery riveting. As far as characters go, I won't say they are lovable because they have many flaws, some of which are distasteful. This does, however, make them very real which is far more important than a lovable character that is too perfect for the plot to make sense. Plot and character development is top notch though.
TL;DR Amazing urban fantasy, I NEED THE SEQUEL NOW.
Graphic: Cursing, Death, Drug use, Toxic relationship, Violence, Blood, Vomit, Medical content, Murder, Injury/Injury detail, and Classism
Moderate: Rape
Minor: Gun violence, Sexual content, Sexual violence, Suicide, Excrement, Fire/Fire injury, and Alcohol