the_escapist's review against another edition
- Plot- or character-driven? A mix
- Strong character development? Yes
- Loveable characters? Yes
- Diverse cast of characters? No
- Flaws of characters a main focus? It's complicated
3.75
Moderate: Bullying, Classism, Kidnapping, Mental illness, Self harm, Car accident, and Blood
Minor: Abandonment, Addiction, Sexual assault, Animal death, Alcohol, Adult/minor relationship, Chronic illness, Torture, Terminal illness, Death, Death of parent, Violence, Gore, and Animal cruelty
tiana_king's review against another edition
- Plot- or character-driven? A mix
- Strong character development? No
- Loveable characters? Yes
- Diverse cast of characters? No
- Flaws of characters a main focus? It's complicated
4.25
This was always my favorite vampire book series. Lots of original content, addressing classism, plenty of drama, and a ton of adventure. My only criticism is that there isn’t a ton of build up for either of the romances. I understand that a decent amount of time passed in the book and the author couldn’t write about every little interaction that made people fall in love but she could’ve spent a smidge more time on it. Other than that a great read with good plot twists!
Graphic: Addiction, Schizophrenia/Psychosis , Animal death, Self harm, Terminal illness, Torture, Grief, Medical trauma, and Classism
Moderate: Blood, Fire/Fire injury, Car accident, Adult/minor relationship, and Kidnapping
Minor: Sexual content, Abortion, and Death of parent
dreareads_'s review against another edition
4.0
10/5 nostalgia
4/5 because this story is so campy, and so freaking fun. The character of Rose continues to be one of the best ya protagonists ever written. The friendship between Lissa and Rose is codependent but also SO beautiful.
Look Dimitri should be in jail, but suspend believe that a 24 year old mentor is crushing on a 17 year old student (🤢) and the relationship is your usual right person wrong time trope.
BUT the best character is Christian, I adore him and will continue to adore him for the rest of the series.
PROBLEMATIC STUFF: The main relationship (was it so hard to just make him a year or two older or have no power over her!?), there’s quite a bit of slut shaming and internalized sexism, some fat phobia, and pretty much NO diversity.
Overall this is just a fun book 😭
Graphic: Bullying, Gaslighting, Gore, Grief, Suicide attempt, Toxic friendship, Animal death, Animal cruelty, Classism, Death, Emotional abuse, Adult/minor relationship, Addiction, Murder, Self harm, Suicidal thoughts, and Violence
madeleineelr'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
3.0
Graphic: Adult/minor relationship, Animal death, and Self harm
Moderate: Bullying, Car accident, Death, Mental illness, and Sexism
Minor: Addiction and Suicide attempt
iviarelle's review against another edition
- Plot- or character-driven? Plot
- Loveable characters? It's complicated
- Diverse cast of characters? No
- Flaws of characters a main focus? No
3.5
Early on I thought I would revise my original rating more, but having finished it... Not so much. It's very 2007, from the mutual crush on a teacher (though not followed through on) to the extremely awkward handling of self harm and depression, from the Not Like Other Girls to the style and structure of the plot itself.
It's not an unpleasant read but it needs the "aged like bread" warning before you head in. Some of it still looks fine but there's some faintly blue fuzz on one corner of the loaf.
Also, I'm endlessly amused by "I'll read more!" and then proceeding to read exactly 0 further pages in 6 years. This time maybe!
=====
2016
The pacing is a little bit off for me, but this book kept me reading to the end and I'll probably read more of the series which is more than I can say for some books!
Graphic: Fire/Fire injury, Violence, Death, Classism, Self harm, Kidnapping, Gore, Suicidal thoughts, Mental illness, Grief, Car accident, Blood, Torture, Medical content, Injury/injury detail, Murder, Animal death, and Toxic relationship
Moderate: Death of parent, Infidelity, Alcohol, Animal cruelty, Terminal illness, Adult/minor relationship, and Physical abuse
Minor: Addiction, Drug use, Lesbophobia, Homophobia, and Outing