booktechnerd's review
3.0
Graphic: Child death, Gore, Kidnapping, Medical content, Child abuse, Murder, Torture, Vomit, Death, Violence, Fire/Fire injury, Pregnancy, and Blood
Moderate: Miscarriage
Minor: Antisemitism, Sexual violence, Rape, Misogyny, Sexual assault, Sexual content, and War
joey_paige'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? No
- Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes
5.0
Graphic: Violence and Torture
Moderate: Blood, Death, Death of parent, Infertility, Injury/Injury detail, Mental illness, Panic attacks/disorders, Sexual assault, Sexual content, Sexual violence, Medical content, Stalking, Confinement, Cursing, and Medical trauma
Minor: Murder and Rape
toastyghosty13's review
- Plot- or character-driven? Plot
- Strong character development? No
- Loveable characters? It's complicated
- Diverse cast of characters? No
- Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes
2.5
I also have issues with the fact that
Spoiler
Gallowglass has supposedly been in love with Diana this entire time. This gives a huge ick since he has called her "Auntie" since the 2nd book of the series. It is also just strange to include his infatuation for her as a detail since there were never any hints or evidence that he was feeling this way until she saw his tattoo of her in this book. It felt very forced. He starts to sulk a lot and Diana hopes he will find someone to love, which sounds like he might meet someone in the future but he basically just disappears with no explanation.This entire book centers around finding the book of life and
Spoiler
Benjamin and Knox. I do not understand why Diana is able to do a tracking spell for the 3 missing pages, the book, and TJ Weston but is unable to do the same for Knox and Benjamin despite the fact that Knox is able to track her with his own spell. She is a weaver, she should be able to just create her own spell for this.I also do not understand the ending, where
Spoiler
Philippes ghost returns and says that he "has been looking for the one that could do his burdens without breaking" and that "it isn't over yet". This obviously implies some sort of continuation and that more will come, yet this is the last book of a trilogy? At least we got some closure about how Diana and Matthew and Sophie and Nathan can have children, but there are still so many other things left open, like Emily's death and her actions shortly before it, plus anything on Gallowglass as well as what happens next with Phoebe and Marcus.Another bit about the ending of the book is that
Spoiler
the fight against Benjamin and Knox is so lackluster. The entire book is a buildup to Diana and crew trying to find them and the book of life, just for her to kick their butts in ~2 pages, which is considerably less than the amount of text it took to describe her giving birth to the twins. This was exceptionally a let down to me on both fronts of too little combative showdown and too many birth descriptors. I did not need to know about her contractions, nor did I find it relevant in anyway to the main plot line. Even the existence of the twins seems so pointless to me because they bring basically no value.In addition, Benjamin and Knox are such evil and disgusting creatures that have committed horrific actions against others; they deserve to have a gruesome and drawn out death. I feel like no justice was done and that their quick deaths were letting them off very easily
Overall, I was pretty disappointed in the way this trilogy has ended and I am kind of upset that I had bought the hardcover versions after liking the first two books so much. I almost hope there is a 4th book to actually tie it all together with all of the loose ends still left, but at the same time I don't know that I would bother reading it.
Graphic: Murder, Miscarriage, Torture, Rape, Sexual violence, and Pregnancy
Moderate: Sexual content and Child death
Minor: Drug use
lillucys's review against another edition
- Plot- or character-driven? Character
- Strong character development? It's complicated
- Loveable characters? It's complicated
- Diverse cast of characters? It's complicated
- Flaws of characters a main focus? It's complicated
5.0
The Book of Life is the last novel in a trilogy which tells the story of Diana, a witch, and Matthew, a Vampire, coming together (Book 1, A Discovery of Witches) and their time living in Elizabethan England in 1590-1 (Book 2, Shadow of Night), picking up their tale now that they have returned to the present day.
The final book in this trilogy brings in the wider De Clermont family and is a much darker story compared to the first two novels. It also does brings nicely to an end the story of the couple's troubles with the Congregation and their violation of the Covenant. I do hope that further novels are written about some of the other characters in the story, such as Gallowglass, Matthew's nephew, and their children Phillip and Rebecca.
Moderate: Death, Kidnapping, Sexual content, Murder, Rape, Violence, Blood, Grief, Injury/Injury detail, Pregnancy, and Torture
Minor: Cursing
theimposter's review
- 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
4.5
Graphic: Body horror, Child death, Blood, Violence, Torture, Sexual content, Kidnapping, Medical trauma, Injury/Injury detail, Infertility, Animal cruelty, and Animal death
Moderate: Gore, Miscarriage, Pregnancy, and Rape
baearles'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? No
4.25
Graphic: Death, Blood, Injury/Injury detail, and Pregnancy
Moderate: Violence and Torture
Minor: Sexual content
the_3bs's review
- 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
Moderate: Sexual content
keepcalmblogon's review
- 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
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!
Graphic: Sexual content and Sexual assault
artmajorese's review
- 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
Heads up that the main subplot contains a lot of sexual violence, including incest and sexual violence against children.
Graphic: Blood, Death, Domestic abuse, Gore, Physical abuse, Torture, Emotional abuse, Incest, and Confinement
Moderate: Child abuse, Pedophilia, Rape, Sexual assault, Sexual content, and Sexual violence
katvou's review against another edition
- Plot- or character-driven? Character
- Strong character development? Yes
- Loveable characters? Yes
- Diverse cast of characters? Yes
- Flaws of characters a main focus? It's complicated
3.75
Graphic: Alcohol, Blood, Child death, Death, Injury/Injury detail, Murder, and Pregnancy
Moderate: Death of parent, Gore, Grief, Kidnapping, Medical content, Physical abuse, Torture, and Violence
Minor: Drug abuse, Miscarriage, Child abuse, Drug use, Infertility, Rape, Sexual content, and Sexual violence