Reviews tagging 'Classism'

Hell Bent by Leigh Bardugo

53 reviews

cre8withcait's review against another edition

adventurous dark emotional mysterious tense medium-paced

• Plot- or character-driven? A mix
• Strong character development? Yes
• Loveable characters? Yes
• Diverse cast of characters? It's complicated
• Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes

4.5

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Body horror, Death, Drug abuse, Drug use, Mental illness, Panic attacks/disorders, Physical abuse, Rape, Sexual assault, Sexual violence, Violence, Blood, Grief, and Murder

Moderate: Animal cruelty and Animal death

Minor: Addiction, Cursing, Gun violence, Racism, Self harm, Torture, Police brutality, Stalking, Suicide attempt, Fire/Fire injury, Abandonment, and Classism

klsreads's review against another edition

adventurous challenging dark mysterious reflective sad tense medium-paced

• 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

4.0

*Extremely long sigh* I made a mistake because I thought this was the final book, not the second in a trilogy. I read it thinking it was going to wrap everything up and ended up pretty disappointed. I was wrong!! That being said, I don't think Hell Bent hit it out of the park like I thought it would. There was so much action and (dare I say) extraneous plot devices that I got whiplash. This isn't the first time I felt that way with Bardugo's writing. I think it worked in Six of Crows, but not as much here. The darkness requires some sitting, some stewing. I think Bardugo needs to fully commit to the audience - is this adult? Mature YA? There's sexual violence, but no sexual autonomy or processing. There's physical and emotional violence, but it doesn't settle. There's urgency, but less understanding. Things aren't reckoned with. College kids don't always act like college kids, cops don't act like cops, people are just kind of...off? I wanted to sit more in the big moments and implications, but found myself getting rushed along despite the first ~300 pages dragging. 

I'm giving this a 4 because I love the premise of the series, and I hope that Bardugo can pull it off with the final novel. There are SO many interesting things going on, and I think she can recapture the balance of the first book, answer the big questions, and actually explore power, class, racism, sexism, colonialism, and violence in academia. 

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Animal death, Body horror, Bullying, Cursing, Death, Domestic abuse, Emotional abuse, Gore, Gun violence, Misogyny, Physical abuse, Racism, Sexism, Toxic relationship, Violence, Blood, Grief, Stalking, Murder, Toxic friendship, Alcohol, Injury/Injury detail, and Classism

Moderate: Confinement, Drug abuse, Drug use, Panic attacks/disorders, Rape, Sexual violence, Vomit, Police brutality, Fire/Fire injury, Sexual harassment, and Colonisation

Minor: Animal cruelty, Child death, Slavery, Suicidal thoughts, and Suicide attempt

anxieteaandbiscuits12's review against another edition

challenging dark emotional funny mysterious medium-paced

• 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

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Animal cruelty, Animal death, Gore, Violence, Murder, and Fire/Fire injury

Moderate: Addiction, Adult/minor relationship, Death, Domestic abuse, Drug abuse, Drug use, Emotional abuse, Blood, Grief, Alcohol, and Classism

20sidedbi's review against another edition

challenging dark emotional mysterious reflective sad tense medium-paced

• Plot- or character-driven? A mix
• Strong character development? It's complicated
• Loveable characters? Yes
• Diverse cast of characters? Yes
• Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes

5.0

Brilliant but WOAH check the content warnings.

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Addiction, Animal cruelty, Animal death, Body horror, Child abuse, Confinement, Death, Domestic abuse, Drug abuse, Drug use, Emotional abuse, Gore, Mental illness, Misogyny, Panic attacks/disorders, Physical abuse, Racism, Violence, Forced institutionalization, Blood, Police brutality, Grief, Stalking, Death of parent, Murder, Fire/Fire injury, Abandonment, Injury/Injury detail, and Classism

Minor: Rape, Slavery, and Vomit

jeggert10's review against another edition

adventurous dark funny mysterious tense fast-paced

• Plot- or character-driven? Plot
• Strong character development? It's complicated
• Loveable characters? Yes
• Diverse cast of characters? Yes
• Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes

4.75

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Animal death, Cursing, Death, Gore, Violence, Blood, Death of parent, Murder, and Injury/Injury detail

Moderate: Confinement, Domestic abuse, Mental illness, Racism, Sexism, Toxic relationship, Police brutality, Grief, Abandonment, Alcohol, and Classism

Minor: Addiction, Child death, Drug use, Gun violence, Panic attacks/disorders, Sexual content, Slavery, Torture, Vomit, Suicide attempt, and Fire/Fire injury

szuum's review against another edition

dark mysterious tense medium-paced

• Plot- or character-driven? A mix
• Strong character development? Yes
• Loveable characters? Yes
• Diverse cast of characters? It's complicated
• Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes

4.0

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Animal death, Death, Gore, Violence, Blood, and Classism

Moderate: Misogyny, Sexism, and Sexual assault

Minor: Drug use and Suicide attempt

emilywemily6's review against another edition

adventurous dark mysterious medium-paced

• Plot- or character-driven? A mix
• Strong character development? It's complicated
• Loveable characters? Yes
• Diverse cast of characters? It's complicated
• Flaws of characters a main focus? It's complicated

4.25

I still really enjoyed this book, but the major themes differed greatly from what I loved and what intrigued me in the first book. This book was less dark academia/Yale and secret society lore, which I missed. And while the plot had plenty to twists and turns, some parts were slow and I didn’t really see where the book was going. This book takes the series in a different direction than the first, and I’m not sure if I will like that direction as much as the first book. Though I’m excited to read more in the series and see how it goes!

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Bullying, Cursing, Death, Gore, Torture, Violence, Blood, Grief, Fire/Fire injury, Injury/Injury detail, and Classism

Moderate: Body horror, Sexual content, and Kidnapping

Minor: Animal cruelty, Animal death, Drug use, and Medical content

hippievamp's review against another edition

dark funny mysterious tense medium-paced

• Plot- or character-driven? A mix
• Strong character development? It's complicated
• Loveable characters? Yes
• Diverse cast of characters? Yes
• Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes

5.0

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Confinement, Death, Gore, Misogyny, Panic attacks/disorders, Racism, Violence, Blood, Police brutality, Grief, Murder, and Classism

Moderate: Bullying, Cancer, Drug use, Gun violence, Medical content, Stalking, and Fire/Fire injury

Minor: Animal cruelty, Animal death, Child abuse, Chronic illness, Rape, Torture, Medical content, and Suicide attempt

_likethefruit's review against another edition

challenging dark emotional informative mysterious reflective tense medium-paced

• 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

As a sequel to Ninth House, Hell Bent is a fantastic book with an epic adventure to hell. Unfortunately, the epic level of this journey is so complex, and loaded with so much history and context, that the book is sometimes an information overload. I kept wondering if I missed too many details from the previous book, but in reality, the author was dropping more world building so casually that it felt pre-established. This made the book a little harder to read, but the adventure was totally worth it. Total book hangover after this one! 

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Addiction and Drug use

Moderate: Body horror, Gore, Sexual violence, and Classism

Minor: Slavery

ceruleanshelves's review against another edition

adventurous dark emotional funny mysterious reflective tense medium-paced

• 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

“Galaxy Stern,” Darlington said, his eyes flashing gold, “I have been crying out to you from the start.”

nothing makes me happier than when the second book lives up to the first book. and when it's even better?? 😩🤌🏼

“But I like this life better.”
“Better than what?”
“Better than what I was living before. Better than a world without magic.”

this is one of those series i read and can't help but feel envious of both the characters and the author. the characters for getting to live this life, and the author for having been able to dream it up.

“Life is cruel. Magic is real. And I’m not ready to die.”

one character that i really came to adore was mercy. i feel like she was all of us readers, wishing so badly to find a way in to live magic and leave the real world behind. tripp was also a very endearing character who brought some lighthearted comic relief in as well. i did not care for hellie after this book, esp bc the babbit rabbit story.

“Fuck off.”
“I did miss you, Stern.”

the agonizing slowburn of alex & darlington is SO DELICIOUS oh my god i just know the pay off is going to be well worth it.

“Come on, Darlington,” she said. “Let's give them hell.”

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Death, Violence, Blood, Murder, and Injury/Injury detail

Moderate: Animal death, Grief, and Death of parent

Minor: Misogyny, Rape, Sexual assault, Sexual violence, Suicidal thoughts, Forced institutionalization, Vomit, and Classism