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rewatchrereadrewind's review against another edition
- Plot- or character-driven? Plot
- Strong character development? It's complicated
- Loveable characters? Yes
- Diverse cast of characters? It's complicated
- Flaws of characters a main focus? It's complicated
3.25
Graphic: Confinement, Gore, Torture, Kidnapping, Murder, and Injury/Injury detail
Moderate: Animal death, Sexual content, Slavery, Excrement, and Vomit
Minor: Sexual assault
mfmccoy0216's review against another edition
- Plot- or character-driven? Character
- Strong character development? No
- Loveable characters? It's complicated
- Diverse cast of characters? No
- Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes
2.75
Graphic: Cursing, Death, Torture, Violence, Blood, Excrement, Murder, and Classism
dpmarvelous's review against another edition
- Plot- or character-driven? Character
- Strong character development? Yes
- Loveable characters? Yes
- Diverse cast of characters? It's complicated
- Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes
4.0
Graphic: Animal cruelty and Animal death
Moderate: Body horror, Confinement, Death, Gore, Blood, Kidnapping, Grief, Death of parent, Murder, Alcohol, Colonisation, and Classism
Minor: Rape, Sexual assault, Sexual content, Sexual violence, Slavery, Torture, Violence, Excrement, Vomit, Fire/Fire injury, Sexual harassment, and War
disasterdump's review against another edition
- Plot- or character-driven? A mix
- Strong character development? It's complicated
- Loveable characters? No
- Diverse cast of characters? It's complicated
- Flaws of characters a main focus? No
0.5
i get that she had to set up the world and make the ~love story~ make sense but jesus it was slow.
feyre is illiterate as a plot point but she’s also an idiot. being uneducated and being an imbecile are different things, and she is both.
tamlin is boringgg, and worse, he’s blonde. i cannot bring myself to gaf abt him. blond men are a plague.
amarantha is a drag, she could’ve been a really interesting villain but instead we get these weak little challenges. like…
other “villain” is interesting but i have to say…
also, the phrase “my bowels turned watery” needs to die a fiery death... why did she say it three times😭😭😭 GIRL now i’m sick to my stomach😭
whatever, i’ve now read it and i never have to endure it again and i’ll know wtf my friend is talking about when she references it. that’s enough for me ¯\_(ツ)_/¯
Graphic: Confinement, Death, Gore, Physical abuse, Violence, Blood, Grief, and Injury/Injury detail
Minor: Infidelity, Sexual content, Slavery, Torture, Excrement, Vomit, Kidnapping, Death of parent, Sexual harassment, Colonisation, War, and Classism
2blueshoes's review against another edition
2.5
Graphic: Physical abuse, Sexual content, Torture, Violence, Murder, Sexual harassment, and Injury/Injury detail
Moderate: Adult/minor relationship, Animal cruelty, Animal death, Bullying, Child death, Confinement, Emotional abuse, Gore, Blood, Excrement, and Grief
Minor: Sexual violence, Toxic relationship, Vomit, Medical content, Religious bigotry, and Gaslighting
venus_rose's review against another edition
- Plot- or character-driven? A mix
- Strong character development? Yes
- Loveable characters? Yes
- Flaws of characters a main focus? It's complicated
5.0
Graphic: Blood
Moderate: Death, Gore, Sexual content, Torture, Violence, Vomit, Murder, and War
Minor: Animal death, Sexual assault, Slavery, and Excrement
sam0ny's review against another edition
- Plot- or character-driven? Plot
- Strong character development? Yes
- Loveable characters? It's complicated
- Diverse cast of characters? N/A
- Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes
4.0
Graphic: Blood
Moderate: Animal death, Gore, Torture, and Violence
Minor: Death, Domestic abuse, Emotional abuse, Excrement, and Gaslighting
inadequate_hero's review against another edition
- Plot- or character-driven? Character
- Strong character development? Yes
- Loveable characters? No
- Diverse cast of characters? It's complicated
- Flaws of characters a main focus? It's complicated
2.5
Having already read the second in the series, I’m just going to say I’m glad I proceeded with it. Everything is muuuuch better.
Minor: Confinement, Cursing, Death, Drug use, Eating disorder, Emotional abuse, Physical abuse, Rape, Sexual assault, Slavery, Torture, Toxic relationship, Blood, Excrement, Kidnapping, Grief, Cannibalism, Murder, Gaslighting, Abandonment, Sexual harassment, War, and Classism
mandersdraws's review against another edition
- Plot- or character-driven? Character
- Strong character development? It's complicated
- Loveable characters? No
- Diverse cast of characters? No
2.0
I’m currently reading the next book in the series, and the further I get, the more I think this book is only here to serve as a prequel. I don’t feel like it stands very well on its own merits, and as it is, I’m wondering if it was all set up just for the sequel to tear down.
Now. The main thread of this book, and one of the most frustrating things about it, is how the main character Feyre is kept incredibly uninformed about the world, its magic, and the people around her.
For most of the novel the characters have reasons or excuses for never telling her important details. But in my opinion, there are plenty of situations in the book where they definitely could have told her more. They could have answered many more of her questions. They could have explained why something was dangerous. Especially when it becomes clear that this girl will not follow a rule or a warning without being given any reasoning behind it. Characters then often blame Feyre for being uninformed about magic or faerie society, which I find to be…well, unfair and kinda slimy. Especially when sex gets involved.
It also means that some of the rules of the magic in the world are just murky and unclear and appear to be inconsistent. The narration is in 1st person so (with maybe a few exceptions) we only know what Feyre knows.
And on the topic of world building, I had a little trouble staying invested when it came to the main villain of this book. They felt a little stereotypical to me in the way they are described. Additionally one of the great challenges they present, that ends up being the climax of the book, just felt a little silly.
I also have some thoughts about how the narration deals with class issues in this book. There seems to be kind of a rigid caste structure in this world that doesn’t really get examined.
Another point of frustration for me are Feyre’s own feelings about her family. I feel personally like whenever the narrative turns towards her father and sisters that her feelings are inconsistent. And listen. I know feelings don’t have to make sense. But it was a frustrating reading experience, mostly because for the majority of the book, I don’t feel like the narration recognizes the dichotomy in how she feels about them. It just kind of switches back and forth between devotion and resent.
I also feel a little uncomfortable knowing who the fan-favorite love interest ends up being in later books. That character treats the protagonist absolutely horribly in this book, and while there are (again) lots of magical and political reasons for him to treat her that way, if it’s not addressed and reconciled later, I’ll be kind of grumpy about it lol. Of course, this book’s love interest doesn’t treat Feyre great either IMO, and has a fair few red flags himself, but honestly. It’s bad. It’s all bad.
Now here’s what I did like:
I like that Feyre has character growth. It’s subtle and slow, but as a character who hasn’t had the time or privilege for introspection in her adolescent life, I think it makes sense. Feyre is a hunter by trade but the story has her questioning who and what she wants to be.
I like that the love story has our characters finding common ground. That sounds like a low bar I guess, but the narrative is VERY EXPLICIT that they find each other sexy, so it’s nice that spice isn't all the characters have in common lol.
When the book bothers to flesh out other characters than our main couple, I do tend to like them. Lucien is very likable, and I even ended up liking Nesta.
Already I can see the sequel has more characters for us to get to know, and I hope for more development for them and for Feyre.
Graphic: Animal death, Confinement, Gore, Sexual content, Torture, Violence, Xenophobia, Excrement, Murder, Alcohol, Sexual harassment, Injury/Injury detail, and Classism
Moderate: Toxic relationship, Vomit, and Abandonment
Minor: Alcoholism, Drug abuse, Drug use, Sexual violence, and War
-Is drinking “faerie wine” alcohol use or drug use? It blurs the line. -Fantasy racism is a big topic in this book. -Additionally while it’s never addressed directly, I think this book is kind of heavy on rape culture.m_parker9612's review against another edition
- Plot- or character-driven? Plot
- Strong character development? Yes
- Loveable characters? Yes
- Diverse cast of characters? Yes
- Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes
4.5
Graphic: Confinement, Death, Emotional abuse, Physical abuse, Slavery, Toxic relationship, Forced institutionalization, Blood, Excrement, Kidnapping, Grief, Medical trauma, Death of parent, Murder, and Injury/Injury detail