Scan barcode
setsailforthestars's review against another edition
- Plot- or character-driven? Character
- Strong character development? No
- Loveable characters? It's complicated
- Diverse cast of characters? Yes
- Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes
3.0
Graphic: Bullying, Sexual content, and Gaslighting
Moderate: Alcoholism, Emotional abuse, Gore, Gun violence, and Classism
crownoflaurel's review against another edition
- Plot- or character-driven? Character
- Strong character development? It's complicated
- Loveable characters? It's complicated
- Diverse cast of characters? Yes
- Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes
3.75
Graphic: Gaslighting
Moderate: Classism
Minor: Bullying, Drug abuse, and Stalking
yananhai's review against another edition
- Plot- or character-driven? Plot
- Strong character development? No
- Loveable characters? No
- Diverse cast of characters? Yes
- Flaws of characters a main focus? It's complicated
3.5
I do understand why some people dislike the characters, there is almost zero development they go through (except maybe Tristan, but even that's a stretch). there is much more focus on building the plot and basis of the magic, and even that wasn't explained well.
this book did not do a good job in making me want to read the next one. so, I won't for now. maybe in the future, when I'm more in the mood.
Graphic: Death, Blood, and Murder
Minor: Drug use, Misogyny, Kidnapping, and Classism
aburbage's review against another edition
- Plot- or character-driven? Character
- Strong character development? It's complicated
- Loveable characters? It's complicated
- Diverse cast of characters? Yes
- Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes
5.0
I’d heard mixed reviews prior to reading and I don’t understand how you couldn’t love this book unless the reader was confused.
There are multiple characters and points of view. You don’t know if you love them or hate them. I can’t wait to see what’s next!
Minor: Classism
nikogatts's review against another edition
- Plot- or character-driven? N/A
- Strong character development? No
- Loveable characters? No
- Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes
1.75
Likewise, there are interesting characters and arcs to be explored -- particularly in the case of Reina, who resents her immense magical power and sees it as a way for both nature and society to take advantage of her -- but these are sacrificed in favor of chapter after chapter of Callum, the Wish.com version of Patrick Bateman, toying with sad boy Tristan.
The most painful of this book's failures was the worldbuilding, which led me to create this non-comprehensive list of things that went un- or underexplained, in ascending order of how angry I get when I think about it:
-General story bits that weren't described well and/or weren't believable.
-How magic and magical people interact with and impact the rest of the world.
There is no information given on non-magical people, even though they're 99.9995 percent of the world. One of the book's (attempted) themes is the exclusivity of information and whether world-changing (albeit dangerous) knowledge should be kept siloed instead of available to populations who could benefit from it. This theme would have been much more powerful if there had been any perspective from the have-nots of this world. (I think it was a missed opportunity to not have Ezra, Libby's boyfriend, be non-magical, or to have a more prominent presence from the Forum, the magical-info-for-all organization.)
Oh, and magical creatures exist, but they're only mentioned in relation to one character, so they're barely relevant.
-How the magic system works.
I'm not even going to bother getting into Callum's empath powers, which often transcend sensing emotion and go straight into full mind-reading. Commander Deanna Troi >>>>>> this asshole, always and forever.
There are also overlaps in "rare" types of magic and casual magic that is done with little fanfare. One example is when two characters use physics magic to create a wormhole (for the first time ever, apparently) that can be used to teleport across physical space. But throughout the book, the characters travel internationally via magical portal, and the difference (if any) between this and the wormhole is never explained.
-Anything about the library.
And what do the readers get? About a paragraph and a half about a big room with some pneumatic tubes, and some scattered references to ancient texts. That's it. That's fucking it.
New rule I'm setting for myself: If a book sounds interesting but got a lot of hype on certain social media sites with consistently poor track records, I get it from the library.
Graphic: Suicide and Suicide attempt
Moderate: Blood and Murder
Minor: Death, Terminal illness, Colonisation, and Classism
beegster16's review against another edition
- Plot- or character-driven? A mix
- Strong character development? No
- Loveable characters? It's complicated
- Diverse cast of characters? Yes
- Flaws of characters a main focus? It's complicated
3.75
Graphic: Death, Sexual content, and Suicide
Moderate: Cursing, Death, Violence, Alcohol, and Classism
Minor: Child death, Chronic illness, Grief, and Colonisation
jaclynszick'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? It's complicated
4.5
Moderate: Body horror, Child death, Chronic illness, Cursing, Death, Sexual content, Suicidal thoughts, Violence, Blood, Alcohol, and Classism
booksemmahasread's review against another edition
- Plot- or character-driven? Character
- Strong character development? Yes
- Loveable characters? It's complicated
- Diverse cast of characters? Yes
- Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes
4.0
Graphic: Child abuse, Child death, Death, Emotional abuse, Sexual assault, Sexual content, Suicidal thoughts, Suicide, Suicide attempt, and Murder
Moderate: Cancer, Gun violence, Grief, Injury/Injury detail, and Classism
themiscyra_anna's review against another edition
- Plot- or character-driven? Plot
- Strong character development? It's complicated
- Loveable characters? No
- Diverse cast of characters? Yes
- Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes
Graphic: Suicide, Gaslighting, and Classism
Moderate: Adult/minor relationship, Child abuse, Domestic abuse, Sexual violence, Toxic relationship, and Alcohol
Minor: Bullying, Terminal illness, and Death of parent
beetayz's review against another edition
- Plot- or character-driven? Character
- Strong character development? It's complicated
- Loveable characters? It's complicated
- Diverse cast of characters? Yes
- Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes
3.75
I did find myself enjoying moments of this book and some of the plot battle scenes, but other times I felt like I might put it down unfinished. The writing often felt like the author was glancing at a thesaurus and it brought me out of the story. I expected more character development and actualization of plot to happen but the pace was so slow and the world is not well depicted.
I can see why it has a cult following and once I dive into this genre more, I think I’ll know if it’s worth it for me to continue.
Moderate: Toxic relationship, Toxic friendship, Abandonment, Alcohol, and Classism