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cursed_sapphire's review
- Plot- or character-driven? N/A
- Strong character development? It's complicated
- Loveable characters? Yes
- Diverse cast of characters? Yes
- Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes
3.25
I'm ultimately glad I stuck with it, as the last 40% was I-couldn't-put-down-the-book good. Once the character group was finally assembled and Bardugo got to show off her skill at writing character interactions, I was hooked.
I will also say that the plot picked up significantly near the end as well. The first half of the book seemed like a jumbled mess of too many ideas and plot threads that weren't meshing well. The last half of the book tied everything together in an interesting way, although I will say there we many ideas I felt could have been cut with no real loss. The murder was forgettable and distracting, as every time this plot popped back up, I had long forgotten it was even happening. And even in the end
The latter half of this book, while structured in a somewhat bizarre way, was also much more compelling. In the first half of the book, despite Eitan and the murder investigation, I never felt the stakes. Perhaps it didn't help that the plot of this book
They needed to go to hell so much sooner.
The main villain and the new head of Lethe were also underused and therefore felt superfluous. The new head of Lethe could have been interesting.
This review has so far been predominantly negative, but I will say I came away enjoying this book. It felt like an overambitous first draft only edited to remove typos, but it felt like the first draft to an amazing story. The last part of the book was darker and more atmospheric, with tangible threats that tied in with all the main character's struggles. The group of protagonists were very enjoyable when they all finally grouped up, and I wanted to see more of all them working together. The characters themselves were made much more compelling as they descended into hell, and that really helped color the rest of their interactions moving forward.
While I have a ton of nitpicks and issues, I think the largest problems this book had were structural. It felt like 2-3 books mashed together. Elements were introduced abruptly and quickly forgotten, only to resurface and finally be compelling in that last 40%. Even the characters and plot points I complained about could have been interesting in another installment, as all the stories presented had interesting components. But with them all fighting for attention, they made the book feel like a scrambled mess of useful parts desperately trying to fit together to function as a cohesive machine. I think that either this series needed to split up into more, shorter books, or more ideas needed to be cut. However, I still found this messy, cluttered jumble compelling, and after that ending, I'm excited to see how all this will conclude in the final installment.
Graphic: Murder and Violence
Moderate: Torture
Minor: Police brutality
20sidedbi's review against another edition
- Plot- or character-driven? A mix
- Strong character development? It's complicated
- Loveable characters? Yes
- Diverse cast of characters? Yes
- Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes
5.0
Graphic: Death, Domestic abuse, Addiction, Drug abuse, Murder, Abandonment, Animal cruelty, Animal death, Police brutality, Classism, Misogyny, Racism, Violence, Child abuse, Confinement, Drug use, Panic attacks/disorders, Stalking, Fire/Fire injury, Grief, Blood, Body horror, Death of parent, Emotional abuse, Gore, Injury/Injury detail, Mental illness, Forced institutionalization, and Physical abuse
Minor: Rape, Slavery, and Vomit
mary_stormageddon's review against another edition
- Plot- or character-driven? A mix
- Strong character development? Yes
- Loveable characters? Yes
- Diverse cast of characters? No
- Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes
4.75
Graphic: Death, Injury/Injury detail, Fire/Fire injury, Animal death, Blood, Police brutality, Self harm, Suicidal thoughts, Torture, Violence, Grief, Mental illness, Murder, and Panic attacks/disorders
mitchelldavis1997's review
- Plot- or character-driven? Plot
- Strong character development? It's complicated
- Loveable characters? It's complicated
- Diverse cast of characters? Yes
- Flaws of characters a main focus? No
4.0
Graphic: Torture, Abandonment, Drug abuse, Fire/Fire injury, Injury/Injury detail, Police brutality, Violence, Alcohol, Alcoholism, Animal cruelty, Confinement, Death, Animal death, Blood, Addiction, Body horror, Suicide, Death of parent, Drug use, and Suicide attempt
jeggert10's review
- Plot- or character-driven? Plot
- Strong character development? It's complicated
- Loveable characters? Yes
- Diverse cast of characters? Yes
- Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes
4.75
Graphic: Injury/Injury detail, Gore, Animal death, Blood, Death, Violence, Death of parent, Murder, and Cursing
Moderate: Alcohol, Mental illness, Abandonment, Racism, Domestic abuse, Sexism, Toxic relationship, Grief, Police brutality, Classism, and Confinement
Minor: Sexual content, Panic attacks/disorders, Slavery, Torture, Vomit, Addiction, Child death, Drug use, Fire/Fire injury, Gun violence, and Suicide attempt
caitkrar's review
- Plot- or character-driven? Plot
- Strong character development? Yes
- Loveable characters? Yes
- Diverse cast of characters? Yes
- Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes
3.5
Moderate: Animal cruelty, Drug abuse, Drug use, Death of parent, Death, Police brutality, Adult/minor relationship, Self harm, Murder, Animal death, Blood, and Vomit
Minor: Fire/Fire injury and Grief
hippievamp's review
- Plot- or character-driven? A mix
- Strong character development? It's complicated
- Loveable characters? Yes
- Diverse cast of characters? Yes
- Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes
5.0
Graphic: Misogyny, Police brutality, Racism, Blood, Murder, Confinement, Death, Gore, Grief, Violence, Panic attacks/disorders, and Classism
Moderate: Drug use, Cancer, Fire/Fire injury, Stalking, Bullying, Gun violence, and Medical content
Minor: Chronic illness, Medical content, Animal cruelty, Animal death, Child abuse, Suicide attempt, Torture, and Rape
ashwiebe's review
- 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
4.75
Graphic: Gore, Death, Grief, Addiction, Body horror, Animal cruelty, Animal death, and Blood
Minor: Panic attacks/disorders, Self harm, Terminal illness, and Police brutality
carolyn_baird_'s review against another edition
- Plot- or character-driven? A mix
- Strong character development? It's complicated
- Loveable characters? No
- Diverse cast of characters? No
- Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes
3.0
Graphic: Death, Death of parent, Blood, Body horror, Violence, Drug use, Fire/Fire injury, Grief, Gun violence, Injury/Injury detail, Police brutality, Suicidal thoughts, Addiction, Animal death, Emotional abuse, Panic attacks/disorders, and Murder
goodchivesonly's review against another edition
- Plot- or character-driven? Character
- Strong character development? No
- Loveable characters? No
- Diverse cast of characters? Yes
- Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes
1.0
Graphic: Blood, Stalking, Murder, Panic attacks/disorders, Violence, Death of parent, Police brutality, Animal death, Death, and Injury/Injury detail