maddiereadswords's review against another edition
4.5
This doesn't have the same creepy, haunting vibes as the first two books, and the two parts feel a little more disconnected to the point where I almost wish it had been two separate books (mostly because the back half in particular is so fast-paced and plot heavy that it really loses that spooky edge, and also partly because I selfishly can never get enough of these characters.) This is easily the darkest and most "adult" installment so far, and while it doesn't hit quite as hard as the first two for me, it's still an absolute powerhouse of a book that drags me through the full spectrum of human emotion every time I read it. <3
Spoiler
Also shout out to Ling Chan for being so autistic that she accidentally bypassed internalized homophobia, and to Miriam Lubovitch and Viola Campbell for being such milfs that they keep adopting fucked up children like Pokemon despite being held captive. I love women.Graphic: Xenophobia, Kidnapping, Racism, Sexual assault, Physical abuse, Ableism, Antisemitism, Death, Domestic abuse, Hate crime, Gun violence, Animal death, Violence, Alcohol, Torture, Forced institutionalization, Murder, Rape, Sexual violence, Slavery, Homophobia, Mental illness, Religious bigotry, and Stalking
Moderate: Classism, Deportation, Fire/Fire injury, Misogyny, Sexual content, Dementia, and Sexism
ellie_gonzalez'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? Yes
3.75
Graphic: Antisemitism, Forced institutionalization, Ableism, Fire/Fire injury, Religious bigotry, Domestic abuse, and Mental illness
Moderate: Pedophilia
rainbeauregard'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
Graphic: Death, Classism, Body horror, Child death, and Blood
Moderate: Violence and Murder
Minor: Domestic abuse, Homophobia, Gore, Hate crime, Racism, Deportation, Fire/Fire injury, Murder, Medical trauma, Sexism, Panic attacks/disorders, Antisemitism, War, Violence, Slavery, Religious bigotry, and Ableism
This book is worth a read but it has a LOT of potentially triggering contentpagesandtales'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: Domestic abuse, Sexual assault, Violence, Physical abuse, Racism, Racial slurs, Xenophobia, Death, Murder, Religious bigotry, and Antisemitism
allisonsmith120's review against another edition
- Plot- or character-driven? A mix
- Strong character development? Yes
- Loveable characters? Yes
- Diverse cast of characters? Yes
5.0
Graphic: Racism
Moderate: Antisemitism, Sexual content, Mental illness, Physical abuse, Sexual assault, Slavery, Domestic abuse, and Rape
Minor: Medical trauma
overbooked207'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
2nd book of September 2022 and 28th of the year:
This was another great addition to the Diviners series with truly creepy moments, great mysteries, an amazing, lovable, and diverse cast of characters, important commentary and messages, the always beautiful found family trope, queer representation, disability representation, fantastic writing, and more! I think that Lair of Dreams is still my favorite of the three books I've read so far, but I still recommend the whole series as a whole and can’t wait to finish it hopefully soon! TW for death, violence, murder, mention of lobotomies and memory loss, discrimination, racism, antisemitism, eugenics, domestic abuse, blackmail, ableism, homophobia, alcohol, institutionalization, bomb/explosion, vomit, rape, sexual assault, gun violence, medical content/trauma, and grief📖🔮☠️🏳️🌈
Graphic: Ableism, Alcohol, Antisemitism, Medical trauma, Grief, Homophobia, Medical content, Child death, Death, Racism, Rape, Sexual assault, Forced institutionalization, Gun violence, Sexism, Xenophobia, Domestic abuse, Murder, and Violence
grexcarolinii's review against another edition
0.5
but I had to take away 1 star for the incredibly triggering r*** scene written in second person - you know, just to add to the triggering effects (note: none of the rest of the book was written in 2nd person, nor has any of the previous novels. I can only assume the author did this to add to the disgust of the scene, so at best is exploitative and gross, at worst it's downright malicious).
A second star taken away for just the casual mention of having a side characters love interest in Confederate costuming. For a book/series that likes to touch and try to wrestle with the problems of 1920s America - this felt so gross and tone death. How in the same book can you have the slaves of ghosts, references to the Jim Crows laws, and then just have a guy show up in Confederate uniform like it's just... fine?
No. Absolutely not.
Add to this a host of kinda unlikeable characters, not a whole lot of plot for a 546 page book
And far, far too many really awkward gross sex scenes to boot...
The half a star is literally for having a single Ace character, that's it
Graphic: Rape and Sexual assault
Moderate: Antisemitism, Domestic abuse, Racism, and Sexual content
Notably: the rape scene is written in second personavidreaderandgeekgirl'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? It's complicated
3.75
Graphic: Sexual violence, Blood, Xenophobia, Stalking, Death, Fire/Fire injury, Sexism, Physical abuse, Alcohol, Animal death, Murder, Racism, Domestic abuse, Violence, Gun violence, and Chronic illness
Moderate: Torture, Grief, Gore, Ableism, Alcoholism, Antisemitism, Sexual assault, Misogyny, Hate crime, Police brutality, and Sexual content
nienke'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? It's complicated
3.75
Graphic: Domestic abuse, Sexual violence, Racism, Racial slurs, Xenophobia, Emotional abuse, Homophobia, Physical abuse, Religious bigotry, Death, and Antisemitism
Moderate: Rape
ellanarose'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? It's complicated
5.0
Graphic: Antisemitism, Hate crime, Racism, Domestic abuse, Fire/Fire injury, Physical abuse, Sexual assault, Death, Forced institutionalization, Injury/Injury detail, Gun violence, Sexual content, and Violence