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purplepenning's review
adventurous
dark
emotional
mysterious
medium-paced
3.75
Content Warnings
Graphic: Body horror, Injury/Injury detail, Death, and Murder
Moderate: Trafficking, Violence, Grief, Gore, and Sexual content
Minor: Alcoholism, Cursing, Alcohol, Lesbophobia, Racism, Sexism, Transphobia, Drug abuse, and Homophobia
mar's review against another edition
- Plot- or character-driven? Plot
- Strong character development? No
- Loveable characters? It's complicated
- Diverse cast of characters? No
- Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes
2.75
Content Warnings
Graphic: Death, Murder, Violence, and Sexual content
Moderate: Transphobia, Ableism, Suicide, Trafficking, and Misogyny
Minor: Drug use, Gore, Sexual violence, and Racism
sshabein's review
dark
funny
mysterious
fast-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? Plot
- Strong character development? No
- Loveable characters? It's complicated
- Diverse cast of characters? Yes
- Flaws of characters a main focus? It's complicated
2.75
I was interested enough to see how the story shook out in the end, and there were several amusing moments, but I didn't like this one as much as the previous book. There's also a brief moment with a side character that feels transphobic in 2021 (and should've been in 2011) that just didn't sit right with me — "Are you a man?" the main guy asks, once he notices there are no boobs attached to this semi-naked person he was previously referring to as "she", and the person answers, "Only biologically." It isn't written well enough to where one could say, "Oh it was just someone done up in a feminine way, but there's more to it than that." Also? It was so irrelevant to the plot that it felt more like it was being played as a bio-essentialist joke. If that's not the intent, fine, but write it better. So hopefully future books do not have this sort of not-getting-it attempt at "Look we're so wild and crazy in Soho!"
Also, though I know there are later-revealed reasons for the new relationship in the book happening has weirdly fast and all-in as it was, before that reveal (or the reader just figuring it out later), it all just reads as "Wait, WTF, shouldn't this person be more of a suspect than a new girlfriend? How... did this happen exactly?" And there IS a reason, but not enough foreshadowing, I guess.
That said, I am in no particular rush to carry on with the series just yet. Plenty of other things to read.
Also, though I know there are later-revealed reasons for the new relationship in the book happening has weirdly fast and all-in as it was, before that reveal (or the reader just figuring it out later), it all just reads as "Wait, WTF, shouldn't this person be more of a suspect than a new girlfriend? How... did this happen exactly?" And there IS a reason, but not enough foreshadowing, I guess.
That said, I am in no particular rush to carry on with the series just yet. Plenty of other things to read.
Content Warnings
Graphic: Violence
Minor: Racism and Transphobia
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