Scan barcode
kbowles24's review against another edition
- Plot- or character-driven? A mix
- Strong character development? Yes
- Loveable characters? Yes
- Diverse cast of characters? Yes
- Flaws of characters a main focus? It's complicated
5.0
Graphic: Sexual content, Sexism, Death, War, Gun violence, Gore, Cursing, Blood, Confinement, Emotional abuse, Colonisation, Slavery, Gaslighting, Classism, Violence, Racism, Murder, Misogyny, and Injury/Injury detail
Moderate: Grief, Physical abuse, Child death, Toxic relationship, Torture, Death of parent, Sexual harassment, and Fire/Fire injury
Minor: Medical content, Alcohol, Alcoholism, Kidnapping, Suicide, Drug use, Addiction, Pregnancy, Car accident, Abandonment, and Drug abuse
hiddeninfantasy'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
4.25
Moderate: Drug use, Gore, Cannibalism, Murder, Sexual content, Gun violence, Rape, Emotional abuse, Genocide, Injury/Injury detail, Slavery, War, Abandonment, Alcohol, Cursing, Kidnapping, Body horror, Confinement, Fire/Fire injury, Grief, Toxic relationship, Violence, Sexual assault, Death, Torture, Blood, and Drug abuse
savshanae's review
- Plot- or character-driven? Plot
- Strong character development? It's complicated
- Loveable characters? No
- Diverse cast of characters? It's complicated
- Flaws of characters a main focus? It's complicated
2.5
As one of my friends put it, “it feels like she flew too close to the sun” and I wouldn’t be sad to see this book dropped into the ocean forever.
Graphic: Grief, Slavery, Toxic friendship, Medical trauma, Physical abuse, Sexism, Vomit, Racism, Toxic relationship, Violence, War, Classism, Misogyny, Murder, Kidnapping, Gore, Gun violence, Cannibalism, Abandonment, Body horror, Child abuse, Death, Torture, and Blood
Moderate: Alcohol, Animal cruelty, and Bullying
natashaleighton_'s review against another edition
- Plot- or character-driven? A mix
- Strong character development? Yes
- Loveable characters? Yes
- Diverse cast of characters? It's complicated
4.0
Graphic: Violence, War, and Torture
Moderate: Misogyny, Slavery, and Sexual content
Minor: Blood, Addiction, and Alcohol
yarisbooksandbevs's review against another edition
- Plot- or character-driven? A mix
- Strong character development? Yes
- Loveable characters? Yes
- Diverse cast of characters? Yes
- Flaws of characters a main focus? It's complicated
4.5
Graphic: Blood, Sexual content, Death, Death of parent, Colonisation, Injury/Injury detail, Body horror, War, Murder, Torture, Cursing, Gun violence, Slavery, Violence, Fire/Fire injury, and Grief
Moderate: Drug abuse, Drug use, Kidnapping, and Police brutality
Minor: Alcohol, Child death, and Suicidal thoughts
winterwoodbooks's review against another edition
- Plot- or character-driven? A mix
- Strong character development? Yes
- Loveable characters? Yes
- Diverse cast of characters? Yes
- Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes
5.0
Graphic: Sexual harassment, Sexual violence, Slavery, Vomit, Child abuse, Gaslighting, Fatphobia, Violence, Cannibalism, Genocide, Medical trauma, Sexual content, Death of parent, Alcoholism, Blood, Classism, Murder, Police brutality, Self harm, Sexual assault, Child death, Dysphoria, Medical content, Death, Gun violence, Hate crime, Suicide, Suicide attempt, Toxic relationship, Injury/Injury detail, Rape, Sexism, Body horror, Body shaming, Domestic abuse, Fire/Fire injury, Grief, Misogyny, Abandonment, Alcohol, Cursing, Gore, Mental illness, Panic attacks/disorders, Physical abuse, Drug abuse, Drug use, Emotional abuse, Excrement, Torture, Kidnapping, Suicidal thoughts, and War
kittykels's review against another edition
- Plot- or character-driven? Plot
- Strong character development? It's complicated
- Loveable characters? It's complicated
- Diverse cast of characters? No
3.0
This book was mostly boring, which is such a shame given how complex the story idea is. The good stuff is drowning in a sea of info-dumping and word vomit, a lot of it repetitive.
Graphic: Sexual content
Moderate: Injury/Injury detail, Misogyny, Vomit, Torture, Cursing, Alcohol, Blood, Death, Gun violence, and Violence
midnightrose_reads's review
- Plot- or character-driven? A mix
- Strong character development? Yes
- Loveable characters? Yes
- Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes
4.0
My biggest critique of the book though, is its length. I feel the book could have been just as effective between 600 or 700 pages. Perhaps it being multi-POV, contributed to it being 800+ pages. But I think that the plot would have been a lot more propulsive overall (like I felt the first two books were) with a bit of its length trimmed by the editor.
I’m also very much wondering if this is going to be a trilogy or a quartet. The way the book ended (wrapped up but also with a couple of plot threads dangling loose) makes it seem it could go either way.
Graphic: Gore, Genocide, Blood, Death, Torture, Violence, Injury/Injury detail, Mental illness, Misogyny, Cursing, Drug use, Fire/Fire injury, and War
Moderate: Sexual content
Minor: Alcohol
angelofthetardis'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
3.5
Thus far I haven't been as drawn into the world of Crescent City as I have with Sarah J Maas' other realms, but I was nevertheless very excited to read this one as soon as it came out as it starts to draw the worlds closer together. With Hunt, Ruhn and Baxian stuck in the dungeons of the Asteri and facing torture, and Bryce no-where to be found on Midgard or in Hel, everything is set up for this to be a gripping, bloody, thrilling ride toward the ultimate showdown.
I was hoping for an epic crossover event, a really impactful tale that would serve as an episode in both of her incomplete series and a temporary yet meaningful blending of the Night Court and Lunathion... but I was left feeling a bit cheated. I will be fair, although the ending of CC2 had been spoiled for me some time ago, I only read the book a few weeks ago so I haven't had the same length of time to have this building in my head. But if I had, I suspect I would have hurled the book across the room. Ultimately, there's a lot of wandering through tunnels, a little bit of friendly interrogation and a bitch-off between Nesta and Bryce and... that's about it. I did like the fact that little hints from both CC and ACOTAR were pulled into the narrative here, but overall the crossover element felt more like it was there to please the fans than to actually move the plot along. There is one moment which is gorgeous and brilliant and sort of illustrates Nesta's character development in a nutshell though...
This series is probably the most complex of the three in terms of worldbuilding, and generally speaking you can see that a LOT of thought has gone into it, but it almost feels like too much. There are just so many elements to keep track of, so many character threads to follow and so much lore to remember that a lot of bits and pieces get lost in the noise. And this book only adds to the worldbuilding, expanding on the origins of the people of Midgard, the history of the Asteri and so on. Unfortunately, while I can imagine the scenes where this is set out playing well on a TV or movie screen, when listening or reading it does feel like a never-ending info dump during these moments. And there are more than one of them, which really deadens the pace and had me zoning out a little. Similarly, I'd say that a lot of snippets could have been edited out so that the focus remained on the main story.
I'm ashamed to say that I can't ever really tell you who my favourite character is. I just can't connect with anyone in here. Their relationships with each other are well drawn and every one of the main characters and supporting cast is really well fleshed out, but there's just nothing binding my soul to one of them. If I had to choose, I'd probably go with Hunt, but even that doesn't sit quite right. And in terms of their character arcs throughout this book, I wouldn't day there are any major surprises - everyone basically acts exactly as you'd expect them to.
Likewise, most of the major plot points are fairly predictable; however, there are a couple of moments that make you sit up and take notice, and those are worth tuning in for. There are a couple ofmloose threads that I guess could be picked up in another book or two, but I suspect any future instalments might suffer from too thin a plot and too much magical politics.
The whole series has a bit more of a sci-fi edge to it, but that's definitely expanded in this book - why am I imagining Stargates dotted a over Crescent City and at the Northern Rift? I do like it because it's not what I was expecting, but equally I think I'm more of a straight fantasy type of girl.
I'm not disappointed with the book, but nor am I particularly worried about picking it up again. A shame for such an anticipated release!
Graphic: Death, Cursing, Death of parent, War, Blood, Injury/Injury detail, Violence, Sexual content, Murder, Gore, Body horror, and Torture
Moderate: Classism, Fire/Fire injury, Kidnapping, Gun violence, Slavery, and Grief
Minor: Sexual violence, Car accident, Vomit, Alcohol, and Cannibalism
katvou's review against another edition
- Plot- or character-driven? A mix
- Strong character development? Yes
- Loveable characters? Yes
- Diverse cast of characters? Yes
- Flaws of characters a main focus? It's complicated
5.0
Graphic: Death, Blood, Body horror, Gaslighting, Injury/Injury detail, Grief, Murder, Gore, War, Sexual content, and Violence
Moderate: Animal death and Kidnapping
Minor: Cannibalism, Excrement, Vomit, and Alcohol