Reviews tagging 'Body horror'

The Shadow of What Was Lost by James Islington

6 reviews

musebeliever's review

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adventurous sad medium-paced
  • Plot- or character-driven? A mix
  • Strong character development? No
  • Loveable characters? Yes
  • Diverse cast of characters? No
  • Flaws of characters a main focus? No

2.5


I listened to the audiobook. For me, this hits the spot of an entertaining book that is very easy to follow without insulting my intelligence. 
I enjoyed the plot, the tropes and the writing. I enjoyed the world-building. I am a sucker for the fantasy trope of millennial old civilizations coming back to haunt us. 

I did roll my eyes on half a dozen occasions at how women are sometimes used in the book. Cue a woman's tragic demise to feed a man's very sad background story (×2). Cue women immediately disliking each other because they want the same man. 🙄 Asha is a cool character but she somehow has no women friends while the bromance be bromancing. The two other women characters that are interesting are only love interests. Sadly, not a drop of queerness has blessed this book. 

Despite this, I really think this is a very well written YA book. I would continue the serie if I find the rest of the book series on sale.

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nerdkitten's review against another edition

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adventurous emotional mysterious tense fast-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

5.0


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considerthelily's review against another edition

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adventurous dark mysterious sad tense medium-paced
  • Plot- or character-driven? A mix
  • Strong character development? It's complicated
  • Loveable characters? It's complicated
  • Diverse cast of characters? No
  • Flaws of characters a main focus? No

3.75


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donatio's review against another edition

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adventurous mysterious medium-paced
  • 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? No

3.75

I did love the heavy world-building, that there was not as much romance as in many other books and I agree with all the people who say that the females were better-crafted than the male ones. 
Yet this book felt quite slow to me and as if nothing much happens. The time skips seemed to skip over important parts and it all seems quite "easy" as in the prota could always find a solution right away and there were many points when they could just TELL that someone was trustworthy, too often in my opinion. Furthermore I have not been able to really bond with the characters, their grief for example did not affect me. 
You can tell that it is a debut and not up there with Samantha Shannon or V. E. Schwab but I am intrigued enough to read the next books. 

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iono's review

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adventurous dark mysterious medium-paced
  • Plot- or character-driven? A mix
  • Strong character development? Yes
  • Loveable characters? Yes
  • Diverse cast of characters? No
  • Flaws of characters a main focus? No

4.25


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ellanarose's review against another edition

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adventurous dark slow-paced
  • Plot- or character-driven? Plot
  • Strong character development? It's complicated
  • Loveable characters? It's complicated
  • Diverse cast of characters? No
  • Flaws of characters a main focus? It's complicated

4.25


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