Reviews with content warning for Sexual assault - The Book of Life

Pros: this series started strong and totally fell flat. The plot and world are interesting; love a supernatural romance and a happy ending.

Cons: Ben was a twirly-mustache villain and the threat of SA should never be a plot point.

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joey_paige's review against another edition

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adventurous emotional mysterious tense slow-paced

Plot- or character-driven? A mix
Strong character development? It's complicated
Loveable characters? It's complicated
Diverse cast of characters? No
Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes

5.0

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saroreen's review against another edition

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challenging dark emotional 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? No

4.0

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redheadsuperpowers's review

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adventurous dark emotional hopeful 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? No

3.75

I stick by my description of this series as Twilight for adults, but it's so well written, and I enjoyed this close to the series so much. It tied up all the major plot points, and the minor ones left open are likely to close with the next series set in this universe. (The first of those books is out!) The relationship between the main characters, Diana and Matthew, settles some, easing how annoyed I was with male lead in the second book. The family moments were many, and one scene made me cry. I was disappointed with one major plot point though. It's a spoiler, so I won't share it, but I was like 'wait, what? Why? Who?' and the book did not answer that point.

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keepcalmblogon's review

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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? No

5.0

I’ve decided to do a series review of A Discovery of Witches because these books are so thick but they don’t have enough differentiation from story to story in order to be reviewed separately. I don’t mean that as a detriment either, of course each book has its own story arc, but the overarching storyline flows so clearly from book to book, it’s no wonder they were made into a TV series.

Now, I have to admit, I do think these books are LOOONG to the point I felt they could have benefited from some cuts, but in the end they are five stars. Diana and Matthew have got to be one of my favorite fantasy couples. Diana is such a strong, independent woman and Matthew is a classic alpha male, but Diana has no problem putting him in his place! Their almost enemies-to-lovers romance gives me the tingles and their epic love is world shattering.

I recommend this series to all the readers out there looking for a fall read this spooky season!

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artmajorese's review

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adventurous medium-paced

Plot- or character-driven? Plot
Strong character development? It's complicated
Loveable characters? Yes
Diverse cast of characters? No
Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes

3.75

I mostly picked this one up because I'm a completionist, I needed something to do on a 5-hour flight, and I had already powered through book 2. To my surprise, I enjoyed reading the book! Expect a convoluted plot, which to me felt a little bit un-earned in its resolution. Most of the book is spent doing things OTHER than solving the central problem. But if you can suspend your disbelief, you'll find some fun character development moments and (finally) the answer to "what's the deal with Ashmore 782?"

Heads up that the main subplot contains a lot of sexual violence, including incest and sexual violence against children.

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adearen's review against another edition

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medium-paced

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

3.75

The book is generally slow and disjointed until about the last 100 or so pages when the story line finally starts to resolve. The first book was the best in the series and the author honestly lost track of the narrative by trying to flesh out characters and live that while interesting and that I enjoyed in the end led to a rather convoluted storyline through most of books 2 and 3. Finall resolving only in the final arc of book 3, when Diana is finally allowed to be the awesomely powerful witch the author has been trying to convince us she is since book 1.

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