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c_alexander's review against another edition
adventurous
dark
emotional
tense
fast-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? A mix
- Strong character development? It's complicated
- Loveable characters? Yes
- Diverse cast of characters? It's complicated
- Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes
4.5
sequel in my hands now please
the heavy incorporation of christianity and catholic guilt did not read as having purpose/thought behind it beyond the horniness element (i.e. wanted a reason forcharacters to fuck in a confessional booth so made them super catholic then forgot to include it in other contexts)
author wrote several of the horror/gore scenes really beautifully! one scene in particular made my stomach drop unexpectedly. I do wish that Leo had more character development/personality, hoping for this in the sequel...
the heavy incorporation of christianity and catholic guilt did not read as having purpose/thought behind it beyond the horniness element (i.e. wanted a reason for
author wrote several of the horror/gore scenes really beautifully! one scene in particular made my stomach drop unexpectedly. I do wish that Leo had more character development/personality, hoping for this in the sequel...
Content Warnings
Graphic: Animal death, Body horror, Child abuse, Death, Domestic abuse, Gore, Hate crime, Homophobia, Physical abuse, Sexual content, Suicide, Violence, Blood, Grief, Religious bigotry, Suicide attempt, Murder, and Injury/Injury detail
Moderate: Addiction, Drug abuse, and Classism
Minor: Slavery, Toxic relationship, and Vomit
aisling_rose's review against another edition
challenging
dark
mysterious
tense
medium-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? A mix
- Strong character development? No
- Loveable characters? It's complicated
- Diverse cast of characters? No
- Flaws of characters a main focus? No
4.75
kade_234567891011's review
4.0
4.25
“Cass, darling,” he says, and he grins with blood-stained teeth. “Move, would you?”
Book slayed so hard I need the next one now.
“Cass, darling,” he says, and he grins with blood-stained teeth. “Move, would you?”
Book slayed so hard I need the next one now.
sunflowerofyore's review against another edition
adventurous
dark
emotional
tense
medium-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? Plot
- Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes
4.0
salemlockheart's review against another edition
5.0
“Perhaps I don’t feel guilt for what I do. Perhaps I feel guilty because it is expected.”
warning in advance for spoilers, just in case. i'll start by saying this book was fucking insane, and absolutely was not at all what i expected it to be. it was incredible.
i'm not a fantasy reader by any means, nor have i ever really enjoyed the genre, but this book had me hooked from the get-go. i read 230 pages in a couple hours.
i'm giving it five stars because the premise and execution was stellar, but i want to note that some of the writing was a little cloudy. there were some sentences that felt a little off to me— poorly worded, i guess. i enjoyed the story enough that i was able to easily brush those aside, though i know others might not be able to.
everything with cassius' relationship with his brother, and his dad, packed a punch. especially the flashback scenes.
and the confessional scene? yeah. if i wasn't already a big fan of blasphemy before, i definitely am now. i thought it was over, and then... it wasn't. there's something about the way the author portrays cass' bone-deep religious guilt. he's caught in the loop of sinning, immense guilt, and sinning again despite it all.
“So you’ve doomed him instead of yourself, I do not say. So you’ll damn me for sacrificing one to save many."
there's something about cassius that feels so real. people seem to have this understanding that even in hardship, that you will be good. no-one can be altruistic forever. you will eventually have to fend for yourself and be selfish.
cassius is a very complex character. more-so than i was expecting him to be. there were multiple times where my jaw dropped, especially at the last trial. (you know). genuinely, i was so shocked the author managed to slip that in, because in that moment, you are cassius. you've both forgotten about the deal that's been made.
this really was a really fucking good book. i wasn't expecting the guts and gore, which were a weirdly pleasant surprise. it added to the raw and violent imagery of what the characters were going through & made everything feel much more significant.
there's so much i want to say about this book, but it feels like i can't without spoiling all of it.
warning in advance for spoilers, just in case. i'll start by saying this book was fucking insane, and absolutely was not at all what i expected it to be. it was incredible.
i'm not a fantasy reader by any means, nor have i ever really enjoyed the genre, but this book had me hooked from the get-go. i read 230 pages in a couple hours.
i'm giving it five stars because the premise and execution was stellar, but i want to note that some of the writing was a little cloudy. there were some sentences that felt a little off to me— poorly worded, i guess. i enjoyed the story enough that i was able to easily brush those aside, though i know others might not be able to.
everything with cassius' relationship with his brother, and his dad, packed a punch. especially the flashback scenes.
and the confessional scene? yeah. if i wasn't already a big fan of blasphemy before, i definitely am now. i thought it was over, and then... it wasn't. there's something about the way the author portrays cass' bone-deep religious guilt. he's caught in the loop of sinning, immense guilt, and sinning again despite it all.
“So you’ve doomed him instead of yourself, I do not say. So you’ll damn me for sacrificing one to save many."
there's something about cassius that feels so real. people seem to have this understanding that even in hardship, that you will be good. no-one can be altruistic forever. you will eventually have to fend for yourself and be selfish.
cassius is a very complex character. more-so than i was expecting him to be. there were multiple times where my jaw dropped, especially at the last trial. (you know). genuinely, i was so shocked the author managed to slip that in, because in that moment, you are cassius. you've both forgotten about the deal that's been made.
this really was a really fucking good book. i wasn't expecting the guts and gore, which were a weirdly pleasant surprise. it added to the raw and violent imagery of what the characters were going through & made everything feel much more significant.
there's so much i want to say about this book, but it feels like i can't without spoiling all of it.
dinosaurgorawr's review against another edition
dark
emotional
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
3.5
peachy_reads's review against another edition
adventurous
challenging
dark
tense
medium-paced
- 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? Yes
3.5
beze0's review against another edition
4.0
Truly I ate this book up. Devoured it. It physically hurt to read (in an emotional religious guilt kinda way) but also gripped me by the balls too hard to stop. I don’t have much to say about it but I am looking forward to more!