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bookswithbethx's review against another edition
- Plot- or character-driven? A mix
- Strong character development? No
- Loveable characters? Yes
- Diverse cast of characters? Yes
- Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes
4.0
Graphic: Child death, Death, Gore, Misogyny, Physical abuse, Sexism, Slavery, Suicidal thoughts, Torture, Violence, Blood, Murder, and War
sophieamreacher'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? Yes
5.0
Graphic: Ableism, Alcoholism, Body horror, Body shaming, Bullying, Child abuse, Chronic illness, Cursing, Death, Domestic abuse, Emotional abuse, Gore, Hate crime, Misogyny, Physical abuse, Racial slurs, Racism, Self harm, Sexism, Sexual violence, Slavery, Suicidal thoughts, Suicide, Torture, Violence, Blood, Excrement, Vomit, Police brutality, Trafficking, Kidnapping, Grief, Cannibalism, Medical trauma, Stalking, Death of parent, Murder, Fire/Fire injury, Gaslighting, Abandonment, Alcohol, War, Injury/Injury detail, and Classism
just_readsthings'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
4.75
I appreciate sticking to buildup work in this one, instead of attempting to make it a perfectly balanced book. It’s heavy in many senses but the prose is free from clumsiness and pompousness which both tend to plague the genre.
Graphic: Body horror, Chronic illness, Death, Gore, Violence, Blood, and Injury/Injury detail
Moderate: Ableism, Addiction, Alcoholism, Suicidal thoughts, and Torture
Minor: Slavery, Trafficking, and War
bitter_critter's review against another edition
- Strong character development? No
- Loveable characters? No
- Diverse cast of characters? Yes
- Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes
2.0
There is a decently thick line between characters that are morally bad or questionable and characters that are just unlikeable. I found Logen and the Dogman kind of interesting but every other character whose POV we can read was boring and flat.
Maybe it's something you would like and could connect to, but this fell flat for me.
Graphic: Suicidal thoughts, Torture, Violence, and Xenophobia
Moderate: Ableism, Racism, Slavery, and Injury/Injury detail
Minor: Animal cruelty, Animal death, Child abuse, Confinement, Death, and Blood
da3m0nic'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
4.5
Graphic: Cursing, Death, Domestic abuse, Gore, Physical abuse, Torture, Violence, Blood, Grief, and Injury/Injury detail
Moderate: Confinement, Mental illness, Sexism, Suicidal thoughts, Xenophobia, Kidnapping, War, and Classism
lashette's review against another edition
- Plot- or character-driven? A mix
- Strong character development? No
- Loveable characters? No
- Diverse cast of characters? Yes
- Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes
4.0
Graphic: Ableism, Animal death, Death, Domestic abuse, Fatphobia, Misogyny, Physical abuse, Sexism, Suicidal thoughts, Torture, Violence, Blood, Vomit, Trafficking, Murder, Injury/Injury detail, and Classism
mikariah'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
3.5
Because the thing that really sells this book for me is the characters.
And I can accept a LOT if the characters are great, which I believe that these are. Now, I'm a little biased because 'just-a-little-too-fucked-up' is exactly how I like my characters in the morning. Exactly. They are all problematic faves. Even the least terrible of them have some mess they're going through, and it sucked me in, which is good because there is not much plot to speak of. Yet.
The prose is straightforward and practical. Perhaps a little too much at times, and I wished there was less psychological distancing in the flow, but overall it read quickly and painlessly.
As a side note: the content warnings aren't necessarily expressing some sort of validation within the text. The characters are just... well, they have problems. And they experience problems.
Graphic: Domestic abuse, Gore, Torture, Violence, Blood, and Injury/Injury detail
Moderate: Ableism, Misogyny, Toxic friendship, and Classism
Minor: Fatphobia, Rape, Slavery, Suicidal thoughts, Xenophobia, Vomit, Cannibalism, and War
midnightrose_reads's review against another edition
- Plot- or character-driven? Character
- Strong character development? Yes
- Loveable characters? Yes
- Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes
4.0
This first book is incredibly character and world-building focused. Wildly funny at times as well. Can’t wait to continue on with the series!
Graphic: Cursing, Death, Gore, Torture, Violence, Blood, Vomit, Murder, Alcohol, and Injury/Injury detail
Minor: Child abuse, Suicidal thoughts, and Cannibalism
ratat0sk42'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
5.0
It has smooth and easy to read prose, and lots of style with a surprisingly funny edge to its narration. Every single character has depth and motivations that make you unsure if they're the good guy or the bad guy at any given moment.
One thing some people may take issue with us that the book doesn't really have much of a plot in the traditional sense, not much actually happens but I found the characters tso engrossing I didn't mind at all.
Another thing of note is that the book is part of the First Law trilogy, which is less three stories that fit together than one big story cut into thirds, as such it doesn't really end, it just flows into the next book. If you read this book, you're in for the long haul. it's a damn good though.
Graphic: Ableism, Chronic illness, Death, Emotional abuse, Gore, Physical abuse, Slavery, Suicidal thoughts, Torture, Toxic relationship, Violence, Kidnapping, Murder, War, and Injury/Injury detail
Moderate: Body horror, Child abuse, Sexual content, Xenophobia, Blood, Trafficking, Cannibalism, and Colonisation
Minor: Alcoholism, Grief, and Death of parent
singalana'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? Yes
- Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes
4.25
Graphic: Chronic illness, Death, Gore, Physical abuse, Torture, Violence, and Injury/Injury detail
Moderate: Xenophobia, Vomit, Dementia, Kidnapping, Medical trauma, and War
Minor: Animal death, Sexual content, Suicidal thoughts, Toxic relationship, Excrement, Toxic friendship, and Alcohol