A review by tilla
Hell Bent by Leigh Bardugo

adventurous dark mysterious tense medium-paced
  • Plot- or character-driven? Plot
  • Strong character development? Yes
  • Loveable characters? Yes
  • Diverse cast of characters? N/A
  • Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes

3.75

It is a good series and very engaging, though it is not my favourite of Bardugo's.
This was a good follow-up to the first book, that explored and explained more of the universe and set up the next installment(s?), which I definitely will return to (though I for some reason thought this was a duology). I like the characters a lot and find them quite interesting - I feel that Bardugo is often good at writing morally questionable characters (that you still want to root for). I still felt a bit disconnected from almost all other characters than Alex and Darlington. I like the other characters in their little group but still felt they were somewhat on the sideline and I didn't feel that close to the others which is a shame. I hope in the next books I will have a different experience.

I did think that this one suffered a bit from middle-book-syndrome. It had to unfold way more of the world, be a follow-up and set up the next one. This resulted in what I felt was a slightly strange pacing in the last 100 pages that had to wrap-up and move along a lot of differing storylines that then felt a little... rushed.