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nineinchnails's review
adventurous
dark
emotional
funny
mysterious
sad
tense
medium-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? A mix
- Strong character development? Yes
- Loveable characters? Yes
- Diverse cast of characters? It's complicated
- Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes
4.0
these books are not good for my blood sugar at ALL i can't remember the last time i've felt so anxious and excited reading a book: or spent so long continuously reading a book that i missed breakfast, lunch, and dinner. the writing (specifically the prose) has improved quite a bit imo but even if it hadn't the plot manages to capture my attention so entirely that it doesn't really matter. i love angst and most of the characters were suffering so even though it's a lot of pining (i usually am not a big fan) i was obsessed!! the first half-ish was probably too slow paced but i really enjoyed it because there was a lot of character development (and suffering) and relationship development.
i think this is the first time i've felt them make progress with each other without them completely backtracking afterwards even if it is tentative and fragile progress. i am pretty much a tory girl now i think; she's so stubborn and prideful and argumentative and moody and insecure and vulnerable and loyal i would die for her!!! she feels very real and i feel more connected to her than i expected to at the start of the series. i think it might have been another case of me finding a character (ever so slightly) irritating because they remind me so much of myself that it's painful. some of her decisions and actions are questionable to say the least but it's more and more understandable the more we see of her chapters.
that goes for all the main characters if i'm honest since they get even more development + growth and even the ones i was iffy about i've kind of softened to. i'm still not obsessed with darcy and orion together (torydarius clear them any day) but i think i've come out the end of this book not hating them together so much... whatever makes darcy happy i guess! i do think the gap between them in terms of power imbalance/their dynamics is starting to close so it feels like they're closer to an even playing ground, if that makes sense, which is making me less icked out over them now. torydarius had so much development in this book and i was almost glad for the reason that they were suffering in this book because i don't think we could have got so much good without all that bad (in this context at least) but i'm hoping they get some sort of reprieve from the turmoil in the next book cause i don't know how much more i can take of it. ALSO torydarius felt very buffy x spike coded here like specifically season 6 the episode where the house falls down i'm obsessed with them.
the last half of the book made me feel sick because i was cycling through ITS JOEVER💔 and WE ARE SO BACK🥳 every 5 pages. honestly i don't even know what to say about the ending because it feels like there's so much going on but things just seem insanely grim. the only thing comforting me is the fact that i've finished 2 series by this duo now and if history (and the steadily increasing page count of ZA books) is reliable then i'm sure we will have a novella-sized epilogue by the time the final book comes out. i usually hate epilogues that long because they feel pointless and needlessly excessive but i think after all this suffering i will probably need it.
i think this is the first time i've felt them make progress with each other without them completely backtracking afterwards even if it is tentative and fragile progress. i am pretty much a tory girl now i think; she's so stubborn and prideful and argumentative and moody and insecure and vulnerable and loyal i would die for her!!! she feels very real and i feel more connected to her than i expected to at the start of the series. i think it might have been another case of me finding a character (ever so slightly) irritating because they remind me so much of myself that it's painful. some of her decisions and actions are questionable to say the least but it's more and more understandable the more we see of her chapters.
that goes for all the main characters if i'm honest since they get even more development + growth and even the ones i was iffy about i've kind of softened to. i'm still not obsessed with darcy and orion together (torydarius clear them any day) but i think i've come out the end of this book not hating them together so much... whatever makes darcy happy i guess! i do think the gap between them in terms of power imbalance/their dynamics is starting to close so it feels like they're closer to an even playing ground, if that makes sense, which is making me less icked out over them now. torydarius had so much development in this book and i was almost glad for the reason that they were suffering in this book because i don't think we could have got so much good without all that bad (in this context at least) but i'm hoping they get some sort of reprieve from the turmoil in the next book cause i don't know how much more i can take of it. ALSO torydarius felt very buffy x spike coded here like specifically season 6 the episode where the house falls down i'm obsessed with them.
the last half of the book made me feel sick because i was cycling through ITS JOEVER💔 and WE ARE SO BACK🥳 every 5 pages. honestly i don't even know what to say about the ending because it feels like there's so much going on but things just seem insanely grim. the only thing comforting me is the fact that i've finished 2 series by this duo now and if history (and the steadily increasing page count of ZA books) is reliable then i'm sure we will have a novella-sized epilogue by the time the final book comes out. i usually hate epilogues that long because they feel pointless and needlessly excessive but i think after all this suffering i will probably need it.
Content Warnings
Graphic: Fire/Fire injury, Confinement, Sexual content, Body horror, Physical abuse, Torture, and Violence
Moderate: Kidnapping, Sexual harassment, Toxic relationship, Addiction, Emotional abuse, Domestic abuse, Death, Grief, Blood, Bullying, Child abuse, Gun violence, Injury/Injury detail, and Alcoholism
Minor: Abandonment, Car accident, Child death, Adult/minor relationship, Classism, Death of parent, War, Infidelity, and Police brutality
student/teacher relationship, incarcerationkat1105's review
adventurous
challenging
dark
emotional
mysterious
tense
fast-paced
5.0
Content Warnings
Graphic: Torture, Violence, Addiction, Body horror, Classism, Cursing, Death, Fire/Fire injury, Grief, Physical abuse, Blood, Sexual content, Bullying, Domestic abuse, Emotional abuse, Injury/Injury detail, Murder, and Kidnapping
folkofthebook's review
adventurous
challenging
dark
emotional
funny
mysterious
sad
tense
fast-paced
5.0
UGH the cliffhanger !!!!
thoughts i had while reading:
thoughts i had while reading:
- Tory had to say no because Darius truly didn’t understand what was at stake, who he was gaining. Now is their chance to really pass the TRUE test to their pairing and build a relationship built on more than hate and sex.
- This book is so fucking good
- Tory and Darius literally have me screaming
- The bday party scene AHHH
- Yes I wish there was more pitball now I understand the game better. honestly better than quidditch.
- FUCK KYLIE FUCK THAT BITCH FUCKKKKK
- Why are these authors destroying me WHY R U DOING THIS TO ME
- I am team Mission: Defy the Stars
- I want Seth with his new love interest so badly it’s not even funny
- (Insert clip of Leo screaming “I defy you, stars!”)
- I need a Gabriel spice scene in this series at some point dear god
- AKDKANDKAFKNFKFEKLEK CLIFFHANGER TWIST WHY WHY WHYYYYYYYYYYY
anyways, can you tell I like this series?
Content Warnings
Graphic: Blood, Body horror, Death, Murder, Physical abuse, Sexual content, Torture, and Violence
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