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: Murder, Violence, Blood, Death, Grief, Rape, Sexual content, Vomit, Drug abuse, Emotional abuse, Drug use, Fire/Fire injury, Gore, Injury/Injury detail, and Medical content
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: Excrement, Injury/Injury detail, Mental illness, Murder, Alcohol, Body horror, Cursing, Drug abuse, Drug use, Fire/Fire injury, Gaslighting, Gore, Gun violence, Hate crime, Misogyny, Rape, Addiction, Grief, Physical abuse, Sexual assault, Alcoholism, Blood, and Death
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: Child death, Death, Sexual harassment, Sexual violence, Sexual assault, Injury/Injury detail, Grief, Gore, Drug abuse, Blood, Addiction, Rape, Drug use, Sexual content, Physical abuse, Murder, Mental illness, and Kidnapping
Moderate: Vomit, Toxic relationship, Suicide, Pedophilia, Bullying, and Gun violence
Minor: Fire/Fire injury and Infidelity
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, Alcohol, Death, Animal death, Blood, Classism, Murder, Medical content, Gore, Violence, Sexual assault, Sexual violence, Sexual content, Physical abuse, Medical trauma, Injury/Injury detail, Vomit, Misogyny, Fire/Fire injury, Cursing, Rape, Body horror, and Domestic abuse
Moderate: Animal death, Emotional abuse, Excrement, Murder, Misogyny, Cursing, Gore, Grief, Injury/Injury detail, Medical content, Physical abuse, Rape, Self harm, Addiction, Body horror, Classism, Domestic abuse, Drug abuse, Sexual assault, Blood, Death, Drug use, Sexual violence, Stalking, and Violence
Minor: Physical abuse, Body horror, Blood, Drug use, Injury/Injury detail, Gore, Fire/Fire injury, Sexual harassment, Sexual assault, Rape, Trafficking, Sexual violence, Toxic relationship, Death, Misogyny, Murder, and Violence
sam_wal's review
- 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: Grief, Blood, Murder, Injury/Injury detail, Mental illness, Death, Sexual assault, Cursing, Gore, Drug use, Rape, Addiction, and Drug abuse
Moderate: Emotional abuse, Child abuse, Confinement, Violence, Alcohol, Sexual content, Fire/Fire injury, Medical trauma, and Physical abuse
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: Gun violence, Violence, Blood, Toxic friendship, Toxic relationship, Death, Drug abuse, Drug use, Gore, Injury/Injury detail, Medical trauma, Murder, and Fire/Fire injury
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: Death, Drug use, Medical content, Toxic relationship, Blood, Classism, Injury/Injury detail, Cursing, Murder, Violence, and Vomit
Moderate: Rape
Minor: Excrement, Alcohol, Suicide, Fire/Fire injury, Gun violence, Sexual content, and Sexual violence
rmkhen's review
- Plot- or character-driven? Plot
- Strong character development? Yes
- Loveable characters? Yes
- Diverse cast of characters? Yes
- Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes
4.0
Graphic: Drug use and Drug abuse
Minor: Fire/Fire injury
dumaurier's review
- Plot- or character-driven? A mix
- Strong character development? Yes
- Loveable characters? No
- Diverse cast of characters? Yes
- Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes
3.75
Spoiler
the sexual assault of a child by a ghost?? was incredibly unnecessary and i nearly stopped reading at that point.Graphic: Vomit, Sexual assault, Murder, Addiction, Adult/minor relationship, and Drug abuse
Minor: Medical trauma, Injury/Injury detail, and Fire/Fire injury
orndal's review against another edition
- Plot- or character-driven? Plot
- Strong character development? No
- Loveable characters? No
- Diverse cast of characters? Yes
- Flaws of characters a main focus? No
2.5
The ending came out of nowhere with little to no setup for the reveals. As a mystery novel, this is terrible.
Graphic: Body horror
Moderate: Toxic friendship, Torture, Sexual violence, Sexual harassment, Sexual assault, Sexism, Schizophrenia/Psychosis , Racial slurs, Rape, Addiction, Vomit, Violence, Trafficking, Toxic relationship, Murder, and Medical trauma
Minor: Colonisation, Cultural appropriation, Cursing, Death, Gaslighting, Fire/Fire injury, Medical trauma, Mental illness, Misogyny, Cancer, Car accident, Classism, Antisemitism, Kidnapping, and Murder