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nesquik05's review against another edition
- Plot- or character-driven? N/A
- Strong character development? It's complicated
- Loveable characters? No
- Diverse cast of characters? Yes
- Flaws of characters a main focus? It's complicated
3.0
The book started extremely slowly, and didn't particularly pique my interest, but I'd heard really good things about it so I kept going, and after a while it certainly picked up and I got more invested, but then it just slowed down again and I got bored again... Then quite suddenly, it became incredibly fast-paced, and nothing ever really felt completed again! All in all, I was disappointed by the lack of worldbuilding - it really did feel like the author just couldn't be bothered to actually flesh it out, and so made Gideon the most uncurious person ever. Haven't decided whether I'll read any more of the series - on the one hand, I want to know more! On the other, I'm not sure I'm going to find anything more out...
Graphic: Child death, Death, Violence, and Death of parent
Moderate: Physical abuse and Toxic relationship
jelliclejules'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: Body horror, Cursing, Death, Violence, Blood, Murder, and Injury/Injury detail
Moderate: Chronic illness, Self harm, Suicide, Terminal illness, Grief, and Cannibalism
Minor: Bullying, Child death, Confinement, Genocide, Infertility, Miscarriage, Slavery, Suicidal thoughts, Suicide attempt, Death of parent, Pregnancy, and War
gygaxis's review against another edition
- Plot- or character-driven? Character
- Strong character development? It's complicated
- Loveable characters? Yes
- Diverse cast of characters? Yes
- Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes
5.0
Graphic: Body horror, Bullying, Death, Domestic abuse, Emotional abuse, Gore, Physical abuse, Toxic relationship, Medical content, Death of parent, Murder, Toxic friendship, and Injury/Injury detail
Moderate: Child death
clovetra's review against another edition
- Plot- or character-driven? Character
- Strong character development? Yes
- Loveable characters? Yes
- Diverse cast of characters? It's complicated
- Flaws of characters a main focus? It's complicated
5.0
Graphic: Chronic illness, Death, Suicide, Terminal illness, Violence, Murder, and Injury/Injury detail
Moderate: Cancer, Child death, Confinement, Cursing, Slavery, Suicide attempt, Fire/Fire injury, and War
vael'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? It's complicated
4.0
Graphic: Body horror, Bullying, Cancer, Child death, Death, Emotional abuse, Genocide, Gore, Suicide, Toxic relationship, Violence, Blood, Medical content, Cannibalism, Death of parent, Murder, and Toxic friendship
andi885'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
3.0
Graphic: Child death, Death, Gore, and Suicide
aurabora'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
5.0
It doesn't really take off until all the houses have arrived at Canaan House, but then the story morphs into an interesting puzzle box/locked room mystery. I was not expecting an "And Then There Were None" type of intrigue in this fantasy novel, but it was a pleasant surprise! I'm not sure I 100% followed all of the logical jumps the characters made as they figured out the puzzles, but I was able to follow all of the plot points no problem. There's a lot of intrigue and unanswered questions about the world that I'm itching to learn more about, so I will absolutely be continuing on with the series.
Surprisingly, I found the book to be a joyful reading experience, so that's primarily why I'm rating it 5 stars. Horror and necromancers are not normally my thing, and I've read plenty of grimdark novels that, while good, were harder to get through. However, this does not qualify as horror at all, so I was safe there. There were just a few more mentions of skeletal features and viscera than I would normally seek out, but not so many as to put me off. After each listening session, I found myself in a better mood and eager to find more time to continue on!
Gideon's voice was so strong throughout, and I thought that the audiobook narrator did an excellent job in capturing it while differentiating all the other characters' voices. It first caught me off guard that Gideon does use so much "modern" language (like "that's what she said" jokes), but I guess who's to say that language doesn't belong in this world? Once I got over that initial anachronistic feeling, I thoroughly enjoyed the humor.
Graphic: Cursing, Death, Gore, Terminal illness, Violence, Blood, and Injury/Injury detail
Moderate: Child death
angorarabbit'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: Body horror, Bullying, Child death, Chronic illness, Death, Emotional abuse, Gore, Physical abuse, Suicide, Violence, Blood, Cannibalism, Death of parent, Murder, Toxic friendship, and Injury/Injury detail
Moderate: Confinement
Minor: Sexual content
sourcherrysyrup'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: Death and Violence
Moderate: Child death
booktamerghc'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: Body horror, Death, Gore, and Murder
Moderate: Child death, Suicide, Death of parent, and Injury/Injury detail
Minor: Cancer and Grief