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corsetedfeminist'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? Yes
5.0
I don’t remember the last time I cried over a book.
I sobbed during the entire last battle and the Epilogue, and then I spent probably 20 minutes just staring at the ceiling.
This book is now firmly one of my favorite books ever, and it deserves 1,000 stars.
Gideon, my dear, sweet himbo. She has exactly three brains cells, and they are: Horny™️, Sword™️, and Harrow™️. The interaction between those brain cells throughout the book is perfect. Creating a crass, sarcastic character and then giving her a vow of silence for half the book so everyone assumes she’s so mysterious and internally she’s just grumbling at Harrow the entire time was perfect. Everyone’s disappointment when she did speak was perfect. Her protective fire- towards Harrow, towards the Fourth house, towards Dulcinea- was perfect in combination with her constant attempt to convince herself that she hates Harrow.
Harrowhark, my fierce, traumatized baby. I love a deeply morally grey character, but Harrow…. Her commitment to The Ninth House (and her personal aesthetic and mystery) and the weight of literally centuries of expectations is perfectly balanced with her slowly giving in to being vulnerable and soft with Gideon.
Their relationship gave me life, and then it just destroyed me. The theatrical hatred on both sides, and the barbed comments back and forth (Gideon’s nicknames. How am I to be normal!?!?) are firmly the best part of the first 2/3 of the book, and the heartbreaking loyalty and sacrifice of the last chapters are what made me cry over this book. It has so many little comments back and forth that just tore me to bits. (I cannot be normal about Gideon quoting the section from the book of Ruth that is commonly used in wedding vows. I just can’t.)
The rest of the plot, beyond these two, is extremely well done- I kept getting absolutely floored by plot twists, and then not having time to recover before something else happened. By the end I genuinely had no idea what was happening anymore except that I would die and/or kill for Gideon and Harrow.
It is quite literally perfect, and I’m starting Harrow the Ninth today so I can cry over space lesbians once again.
Graphic: Cursing, Infertility, Terminal illness, Violence, Blood, Grief, Death of parent, Murder, War, and Injury/Injury detail
keiwald'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? No
4.0
Graphic: Body horror, Child death, Chronic illness, Cursing, Death, Gore, Terminal illness, Violence, Blood, Religious bigotry, Murder, and Injury/Injury detail
Moderate: Classism
Minor: Death of parent
It is a book about necromancy, lots of bones, lots of death, lots of blood.owls_rainbow's review against another edition
- 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
4.0
Graphic: Body horror, Death, Gore, Suicide, Torture, Violence, Blood, Death of parent, and Injury/Injury detail
bootrat's review against another edition
- 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
I absolutely adored Gideon, and just want to look after her forever, and the way her relationship with Harrow is developed and revealed is so good. You often forget that they are 18 and 17, because they largely don't act like teenagers, but you get glimpses of it here and there. All the supporting characters are great too, and the world and idea behind this book is just so good. I can't wait to read the rest of the series!
Graphic: Death, Gore, Violence, and Blood
Moderate: Child death, Terminal illness, War, and Injury/Injury detail
kerrythefire's review
- Plot- or character-driven? Character
4.0
There were a lot of characters to keep track of, which can be made even harder when listening vs. reading, but I thought the narrator did a good job using different voices and Tamsyn Muir did enough to define each of their personalities and alignments that it made for a richer story. It was also fun seeing all the different kinds of necromancers, and I honestly could have gone even deeper there to satisfy the lore need in me.
From the beginning you could tell that there was a different connection between Gideon and Harrow other than just pure hate, and it was nice to see that relationship evolve while at the same time not have the book focus solely on that relationship. Their banter was always fun though. It was nice to see each of their relationships (mostly Gideon because this was her book) with other characters too.
I do feel like we still have some unanswered questions about Gideon's history and who she is, so hopefully more is revealed in the subsequent books. Will be interesting to see this next chapter of Harrow!
Also, the cover art is epic!
Graphic: Death, Gore, Violence, Blood, and Murder
Moderate: Death of parent
Minor: Child death
krisalexcole's review against another edition
- 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
Graphic: Death, Violence, Blood, and Injury/Injury detail
Minor: Bullying, Cancer, Child death, Chronic illness, Cursing, Gore, Terminal illness, Vomit, Cannibalism, Death of parent, and Murder
kendal_reads's review against another edition
- 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
4.25
Graphic: Death, Gore, Violence, and Blood
Moderate: Cancer, Child death, and Suicide
Minor: Cannibalism, Death of parent, and War
cicuma's review against another edition
- 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
Graphic: Body horror, Cancer, Death, Gore, Terminal illness, Violence, Blood, Murder, Toxic friendship, and Injury/Injury detail
Moderate: Child death, Cursing, and Grief
Minor: Abandonment
wickedgrumpy's review against another edition
- Plot- or character-driven? A mix
- Strong character development? Yes
- Loveable characters? Yes
5.0
Minor: Ableism, Body horror, Bullying, Child abuse, Child death, Chronic illness, Confinement, Cursing, Death, Domestic abuse, Emotional abuse, Genocide, Gore, Infertility, Mental illness, Self harm, Slavery, Suicidal thoughts, Suicide, Terminal illness, Torture, Toxic relationship, Violence, Blood, Medical content, Grief, Cannibalism, Religious bigotry, Medical trauma, Stalking, Suicide attempt, Death of parent, Murder, Fire/Fire injury, Gaslighting, Toxic friendship, Abandonment, War, Injury/Injury detail, Classism, and Pandemic/Epidemic
cuteasamuntin'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
5.0
Graphic: Body horror, Child abuse, Death, Gore, Terminal illness, Toxic relationship, Vomit, Murder, Toxic friendship, and Injury/Injury detail
Moderate: Bullying, Cancer, Chronic illness, Cursing, Blood, and Death of parent
Minor: Child death, Confinement, Genocide, Infertility, Mental illness, Medical content, Cannibalism, and Religious bigotry