Reviews

Death In The Spires by KJ Charles

madeleinehelena's review against another edition

dark emotional hopeful mysterious reflective sad tense medium-paced

• Plot- or character-driven? Character
• Strong character development? Yes
• Loveable characters? Yes
• Diverse cast of characters? Yes
• Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes

4.25

A sad yet hopeful story of friendship and betrayal. 

What effects does a murder in the friend group have on those remaining? Will finding and exposing the truth allow the persons involved to find peace? What does justice really mean?

Jem is relatable and I felt constantly worried for his well-being as he kept digging.

---

Content Warnings

Graphic: Violence and Racism

Moderate: Homophobia

Minor: Rape and Abortion

owlsreads's review

mysterious tense medium-paced

• Plot- or character-driven? A mix
• Strong character development? Yes
• Loveable characters? It's complicated
• Diverse cast of characters? Yes
• Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes

4.0

Another great read from KJ Charles! I really liked that this one focused more on the murder mystery bits than the romance. The plot was very well developed and intriguing and I liked the cast of characters and their complicated relationships with each other. I did wish we had a bit more of a HEA than what we got, however. Even so, great read and the audiobook narrator was lovely.

tschuli26's review against another edition

adventurous dark emotional funny hopeful informative inspiring mysterious reflective tense medium-paced

• 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

4.75

ashley_b22's review against another edition

adventurous dark emotional mysterious sad medium-paced

• Plot- or character-driven? A mix
• Strong character development? Yes
• Loveable characters? It's complicated
• Diverse cast of characters? Yes
• Flaws of characters a main focus? It's complicated

5.0

I had a blast the whole time 

ashley_elizabeth's review against another edition

dark emotional mysterious medium-paced

• Plot- or character-driven? A mix
• Loveable characters? It's complicated
• Diverse cast of characters? Yes

3.5

This is my second book by Charles, and likely won't be the last despite being only "whelmed" rather than "overwhelmed". The mystery was interesting but moreso because it gave us a vehicle to reunite our group of characters. I enjoyed the playing around with time throughout, giving us chapters set in the present and then skipping back to show us more about the group's development and the days leading up to the murder. I also really liked the connection between

Jem & Nicky. Initially they're set up to be excellent foils but then come to an understanding that I think blossomed  beautifully on the page.

My biggest complaints are that 1) some of the characters feel eerily similar to characters from Charles' other books (ie. Jem & Nicky are described quite similarly to Stephen & Lord Crane from "The Magpie Lord" series); and 2) the murder itself. Are we

just supposed to be ok with Toby being killed by one of the friends? And all because he was becoming "a terrible person" or something?

I understand the idea but it just felt like everyone was ok with it once they learned the truth. Which seems... a bit much? But this also made for a pretty satisfying ending, both in terms of storyline and emotional resonance, so I guess we'll go with it!

bee26's review against another edition

dark emotional mysterious medium-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? No

4.75

smdavis1495's review against another edition

adventurous emotional mysterious medium-paced

• Plot- or character-driven? A mix
• Strong character development? Yes
• Loveable characters? It's complicated
• Diverse cast of characters? Yes
• Flaws of characters a main focus? It's complicated

I totally forgot I started reading this during finals but remembered today after wanting something very different than the children's, middle grade,  and ya that I've been reading for work. I liked it a lot! It felt different from most KJ Charles that I've read before but I still really enjoyed it! I would be very happy to read another in this vein 

moondom's review against another edition

challenging dark emotional mysterious reflective sad tense medium-paced

• 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

4.25

adelaidebijou's review against another edition

dark emotional hopeful mysterious tense medium-paced

• Plot- or character-driven? Plot
• Strong character development? Yes
• Loveable characters? Yes
• Diverse cast of characters? Yes

5.0

polyphonic_reads's review

adventurous emotional mysterious medium-paced

• Plot- or character-driven? A mix
• Loveable characters? Yes
• Diverse cast of characters? Yes
• Flaws of characters a main focus? It's complicated

3.0