Reviews with content warning for Torture - O Labirinto dos Espíritos

I don’t think a single female character in the novel wasn’t sexualized, assaulted, or called a whore. The book was slow and at some points dragged. While the writing was beautiful, at some points if felt pretentious and convoluted. The last 200 pages of the book were fantastic, but I don’t know if I’d go through the other 600 to get to it again.

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jashanac's review against another edition

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4.75

As per usual with the books in this series... I'm kind of just sitting here without any words coming to mind because I'm a bit in awe.

I might change this rating from 4.75 to 5, but right now the pacing of this one is stopping me from going up to 5. All three of the other books I really flew through, regardless of their length. I was ENGROSSED the entire time. With this one, it is quite a bit longer for one thing, but there was a chunk in the middle area that I wasn't quite as gripped by or engrossed in.

Fermin is absolutely one of my all-time favorite characters! I absolutely adore him.

The ending here was a bit long, I felt -- all of the part with Julian giving exposition about his life. But I didn't hate it as I see some people -- it felt satisfying to me.

I really don't feel like I have the words to properly express how much I adore this entire series, though. Calling it a masterpiece in Gothic literature is absolutely valid, and I was simply engrossed with essentially every bit of this story.

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alice_sherwood12's review against another edition

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adventurous challenging dark emotional mysterious reflective sad tense fast-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? Yes

4.0

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narsere's review against another edition

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adventurous dark mysterious tense medium-paced

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

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laurenleigh's review against another edition

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adventurous dark mysterious sad tense medium-paced

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

5.0

I feel a little sad that this series is over for me now, but I also think Zafón did a terrific job of tying up all loose ends. The Shadow of the Wind will always be my favorite, but I think this is a close second! As usual, Zafón blends together dark gothic intrigue with a little romance and political commentary, but in this novel, he adds some police procedural. I loved the combo! Alicia Gris was a fantastic character that kept me engaged. I love her, but I also questioned her choices throughout. I think that’s a good sign of a multi-faceted realistic character. The book’s pacing kept things exciting, and the plot certainly kept me guessing. I know I will return to this and the other books in its world, and I’ll love the reminder of our Barcelona trip.

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