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theresamothinmyroom'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
4.25
Graphic: Death, Genocide, Gore, Gun violence, Terminal illness, Violence, Blood, Grief, Car accident, Death of parent, Fire/Fire injury, War, and Injury/Injury detail
Moderate: Child death, Vomit, and Alcohol
Minor: Sexual content
carefulfearanddeaddevotion's review
- Plot- or character-driven? Plot
- Strong character development? Yes
- Loveable characters? Yes
- Diverse cast of characters? It's complicated
- Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes
4.0
personally, i found Kate and August, together, to be the strongest part of this savage song. For our dark duet to keep them completely apart for more than half the book - why mess with a winning formula. for the first 50% of the book, I really thought i was gonna give it 3 stars, but then Kate and August reunited and it reminded me why i liked the first book so much - but too little too late frankly, especially when the rest of the story didn't really hold up.
1. disappointed we didn't find out why the Chaos Eater was created -- side note: the discussion the wardens had about the monster names made me think, who came up with those names? i didn't give it much thought, but I assumed the monsters themselves had chosen those names-especially since they refer to themselves by them, something i don't think they'd do if humans had assigned those names to them -- i was really expecting to find out that it was Leo and that it was created by a Sunai killing another Sunai.
2. Did I misunderstand a massive piece of lore, or were we not told in the first book that the reason the Sunai go after sinners is so that the monster they created would die with them? is this something i made up? WHY WAS SLOAN STILL ALIVE??????? I swear that Alice, in the last page of the first book, had said there was no heart (in Sloan's chest where one should be), and I was expecting this to be the reason he was alive or that at least we would come back to it. Did I misread?? I really was waiting for this to come back at all in the second book, and it just didn't
3. Why did she kill kateeeee 😭😭😭😭😭😭😭😭😭 all that fighting to live, those near misses with death, only to kill her????? fuck you victoria. fr. i literally said no so loud my mom asked me if I was alright from the other side of the house.
3b. um the wardens? riley? ok yea august finds those unsent messages, is the implication that he's gonna do anything about them? no, not really. what's going on in Prosperty, more monsters? who's dealing with them? i really wanted a warden (or at least riley)/kate reunion. mostly, i just didnt want kate to die 😭😭😭😭😭😭😭😭😭😭😭😭😭
4. was really expecting the sunai's music to play a larger part in the whole chaos eater thing - like maybe they'd be able to separate the light soul from the red soul? idk. i also thought that Kate killing the monster she'd created would clear her soul. that also didn't happen 🥲 and then she died
hm writing this review is really making me think about why i wanted to give this book 3 stars. but like do i care about logic? not really. because i started cheesing the second kate reached the seam and didnt stop until kate died.
Graphic: Body horror, Death, Gore, Gun violence, Violence, Blood, Murder, Fire/Fire injury, War, and Injury/Injury detail
Moderate: Cancer, Terminal illness, and Stalking
Minor: Death of parent
natashareadsbooks's review
- Plot- or character-driven? Plot
- Loveable characters? Yes
- Diverse cast of characters? Yes
- Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes
4.0
4⭐ out of 5⭐.
1🌶️ out of 5🌶️. - YA, kissing, tension, fade to black
Tropes:
→ YA
→ dystopian
→ paranormal romance
Minor: Body horror, Bullying, Confinement, Death, Emotional abuse, Genocide, Gore, Gun violence, Hate crime, Mental illness, Panic attacks/disorders, Physical abuse, Suicidal thoughts, Suicide, Violence, Forced institutionalization, Blood, Grief, Mass/school shootings, Car accident, Suicide attempt, Death of parent, Murder, Fire/Fire injury, Abandonment, War, Injury/Injury detail, and Classism
ajboyd_'s review against another edition
- Plot- or character-driven? Plot
- Strong character development? Yes
- Loveable characters? Yes
- Diverse cast of characters? No
- Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes
5.0
I LITERALLY HAD MY HEART TORN OUT OF MY CHEST AND CRAMMED BACK IN. OVER. AND OVER. AND OVER. AGAIN.
Moderate: Death, Genocide, Slavery, Violence, Blood, Grief, Murder, Fire/Fire injury, and Injury/Injury detail
Minor: Kidnapping
aromarrie'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? N/A
4.5
the darkness that permeates this world isn’t just physical, and it doesn’t just live with the monsters of verity but also in the humans responsible for their existence, some humans suffering as a result. every single character breathed a life of their own and while the ending of the first book felt a bit anti-climactic, this one was a rush of adrenaline all in its own, shifting between different perspectives in a war that didn’t rev up its final engine until the last couple of chapters. they were all so well-developed, and i was immediately fascinated with them as soon as i revisited this world, feeling so unlike the dread i had before i finally decided it was time to finish this duology.
while i admit the ending felt a bit,,,off, almost as if there was something missing, that’s a whole grief of its own that has no choice but to create another monster while we’re at it. i highly recommend this duology to the readers who like to see a fantasy so grounded not by magic, but by the horrors and darkness that humanity still stir up to this day.
it’s up to us to shine our own light.
Graphic: Violence, Blood, and Murder
Moderate: Death and Fire/Fire injury
Minor: Child death