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charlietilstra's review against another edition
- Plot- or character-driven? A mix
- Strong character development? Yes
- Loveable characters? It's complicated
- Diverse cast of characters? Yes
- Flaws of characters a main focus? It's complicated
4.25
Graphic: Sexual assault, Sexual violence, and Sexual harassment
Moderate: Schizophrenia/Psychosis
sgtz00's review against another edition
- Loveable characters? No
- Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes
1.5
Graphic: Addiction, Adult/minor relationship, Rape, Sexual assault, Sexual content, Suicidal thoughts, Toxic relationship, Violence, and Murder
Moderate: Cursing, Death, and Schizophrenia/Psychosis
thenoodlevore's review against another edition
- Plot- or character-driven? A mix
- Strong character development? It's complicated
- Loveable characters? It's complicated
- Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes
4.0
Graphic: Addiction, Body horror, Drug abuse, Gore, Mental illness, Misogyny, Rape, Sexism, Sexual assault, Sexual violence, Suicidal thoughts, Toxic relationship, Violence, Vomit, Grief, Medical trauma, Murder, Schizophrenia/Psychosis , Alcohol, Sexual harassment, and Classism
Moderate: Addiction, Body horror, Body shaming, Bullying, Cursing, Death, Drug abuse, Drug use, Gun violence, Mental illness, Misogyny, Physical abuse, Rape, Sexual assault, Sexual content, Sexual violence, Suicidal thoughts, Terminal illness, Forced institutionalization, Excrement, Medical content, Kidnapping, Stalking, Car accident, Death of parent, and Colonisation
laudee'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? Yes
3.75
Graphic: Death, Drug use, Sexual assault, and Murder
Moderate: Blood and Injury/Injury detail
Minor: Self harm and Schizophrenia/Psychosis
ptara's review against another edition
- Plot- or character-driven? Plot
- Strong character development? No
- Loveable characters? No
- Diverse cast of characters? Yes
2.25
Graphic: Addiction, Drug use, Gore, Mental illness, Violence, and Schizophrenia/Psychosis
Moderate: Drug abuse, Racism, and Sexual assault
risaleel'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? Yes
5.0
Graphic: Addiction, Death, Drug abuse, Drug use, Misogyny, Violence, Blood, Medical trauma, Murder, and Injury/Injury detail
Moderate: Alcoholism, Cursing, Racism, Suicide, Schizophrenia/Psychosis , Gaslighting, Alcohol, and Classism
Minor: Bullying, Emotional abuse, Gun violence, Panic attacks/disorders, Grief, and Colonisation
anastashamarie's review against another edition
- Plot- or character-driven? Plot
- Strong character development? It's complicated
- Loveable characters? Yes
- Diverse cast of characters? Yes
- Flaws of characters a main focus? No
5.0
⚠️THIS IS NOT A YA SERIES, IT CONTAINS MATURE THEMES. I've seen a lot of folks surprised by the content; I lost trigger warnings in my "considerations" section below to help make an informed decision
📜I need to start of by saying that I've never read anything by this author, even through the Grishaverse has been on my TBR for a while. Other than knowing that Leigh Bardugo is widely loved and that it was a dark academia fantasy (which is quickly becoming a fave subgenre of mine), I went into this totally blind. And man, did I thoroughly enjoy it.
🔮 Why was it great?
• The world building is awesome. Soft magic system with lots of paranormal/supernatural elements. Realistic but "off" setting. (Someone said Stephen King, and I could see that.) Very immersive, likely influenced by the author actually holding alum status at Yale.
• Interesting story weaving: Alternating timeframes (before to now) and perspectives (Darlington's vs Alex's) showed how the MCs worlds intertwined. The confusion, slow reveal of the world, and missed references make me relate to Alex more (though I already do in a lot of ways -- first gen college student at "fancy" university, imposture syndrome, trying to balance my personal sh*t with my school work and overwhelming job). Excellent literary choice in terms of matching tone and theming to info given.
• Gentle exploration of classism & privilege in higher ed. Nothing has heavy-handed as some dark academia can be, but very present through in a way that enhanced the story and character development.
• I related to little pieces of a lot of the characters, which made a lot of this hit close to home. The emotions in this hit hard for me. Also, I especially loved Dawes; she speaks to my PhD candidate heart in a way few other characters can.
• I switched between the audiobook and the paperback due to time constraints on this. Both are great options.
🐍 Considerations if you want to read it:
• This is an ADULT paranormal crime novel. There is no romance in it, but it definitely covers adult themes. TWs: blood, violence, drug use, death, overdose, sexual assault
• Early parts of the book felt a little slow, almost like a minute-by-minute play of present day, like watching it unfold IRL, boardering on slice-of-life if your life involved secret societies. I don't mind this, but I know a slow build isn't everyone's cup of tea.
• A lot of folks complained about "not understanding the references" which is sort of the point. Alex is confused, and I think in a lot of ways we are meant to be too to understand that. I also think the extra details/history/lore that you can look up are part of the fun because this book is very well researched and a lot of what's included has toes to real life things. It's almost worth two reads: one for the plot and one to go back and dig up everything they reference. But I don't think the homework is at all necessary if you go in with the understanding that you don't NEED the details to grasp the plot.
📖 I don't have any criticisms. I just absolutely adored this one.
Graphic: Addiction, Death, Drug abuse, Drug use, Rape, Sexual assault, Sexual violence, Violence, Blood, Murder, Injury/Injury detail, and Classism
Moderate: Cursing, Domestic abuse, Emotional abuse, Gore, Gun violence, Misogyny, Physical abuse, Vomit, Grief, and Alcohol
Minor: Racism, Sexual content, and Schizophrenia/Psychosis
daisy2050's review against another edition
- Plot- or character-driven? Plot
- Strong character development? Yes
- Loveable characters? No
- Diverse cast of characters? No
- Flaws of characters a main focus? It's complicated
4.5
Graphic: Death, Drug abuse, Drug use, Rape, Self harm, Sexual assault, Violence, Vomit, and Murder
Minor: Addiction, Self harm, Suicide, Torture, Blood, Medical content, Grief, Schizophrenia/Psychosis , and Injury/Injury detail
blancake'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
3.5
Graphic: Mental illness, Rape, Sexual assault, Sexual violence, and Schizophrenia/Psychosis
jessreadreceipts's review against another edition
- Plot- or character-driven? Plot
- Strong character development? It's complicated
- Loveable characters? Yes
- Diverse cast of characters? Yes
- Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes
5.0
Graphic: Sexual violence, Violence, and Murder
Moderate: Mental illness, Rape, Sexual assault, Vomit, Medical trauma, and Schizophrenia/Psychosis
Minor: Animal cruelty, Drug abuse, Drug use, Gun violence, Toxic relationship, Trafficking, and Stalking