cathy_alice'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
4.75
Graphic: Death of parent, Rape, Medical content, Physical abuse, War, Death, Gun violence, Hate crime, Sexual assault, Genocide, Homophobia, Miscarriage, Police brutality, and Racism
leahisdudish's review against another edition
3.0
also the way of writes about boobs gives me the ick. if you borrow my copy you will see REALLY KEN written next to every boob reference
Graphic: Violence, Racism, Antisemitism, War, Sexual violence, Death, and Rape
lizzyfields'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? No
4.75
Graphic: Rape, War, Violence, and Sexual assault
Moderate: Genocide and Infidelity
ricksilva's review against another edition
- Plot- or character-driven? Character
- Strong character development? Yes
- Loveable characters? It's complicated
- Diverse cast of characters? No
- Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes
4.0
As with the first volume in the series, Follett does a great job with the historical details, and he continues to be very clever in his ability to bring characters together from different backgrounds and to place them in the midst of historical events.
The soap-opera elements include some good drama and some interesting plot twists, although a few of the instances of star-crossed lovers begin to feel a bit repetitive. Still, there is enough variety to keep things engaging.
The horrors of the war are certainly not glossed over, although different characters experience them in different ways. There is a lot of war violence, and frequent references to torture, and I did find a particularly horrifying rape scene late in the story to be questionable in terms of plot necessity while it followed some tropes that are better left by the wayside.
I think the character arcs in this story didn't quite live up to those of the first book, but this story made up for that with more surprises, and a more global scope of events.
Graphic: War, Violence, Sexual violence, Rape, and Torture
margot_p's review against another edition
- Plot- or character-driven? A mix
- Strong character development? Yes
- Loveable characters? Yes
- Diverse cast of characters? It's complicated
5.0
Spoiler
Même si ça me brise le cœur, j'aime le développement (et le descente en enfer) de Grigori qui tombe de plus en plus dans le communisme. La mort de Walter m'a fait pleurer et honnêtement je ne m'en remettrai jamais 😭Le dernier chapitre est incroyable (bien que j'aurais aimé que Maud connaisse Lloyd en sachant qu'il est son neveu...)!
Graphic: War, Hate crime, Rape, Violence, Pregnancy, Miscarriage, Death of parent, and Antisemitism
motivationsloch's review against another edition
- 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
3.5
Graphic: Sexual violence, Sexual assault, Pregnancy, Murder, Miscarriage, Medical content, Injury/injury detail, Gun violence, Forced institutionalization, Death of parent, War, Violence, Slavery, and Rape
Moderate: Torture, Outing, and Infertility
Minor: Abortion and Suicide
machenn's review against another edition
- Plot- or character-driven? Plot
- Strong character development? No
- Loveable characters? Yes
- Diverse cast of characters? It's complicated
- Flaws of characters a main focus? No
4.0
Moderate: Antisemitism, Blood, Death, Grief, Police brutality, Pregnancy, Rape, Violence, and War