Althea ☾'s Reviews > Before the Devil Breaks You

I CAN’T BELIEVE I JUST READ THAT. these plot twists make me want to scream (I did) and throw my phone (I did not)

I have no idea how y’all survived 3 years waiting for The King of Crows, *sends a thousand virtual hug*

“It was impossible to imagine that such harm could happen under the promise of such a blue sky.”

— overall thoughts: 4.5 —
⇢ content warnings// (view spoiler)[Blackmail, Death, Domestic Abuse, Eugenics, Institutionalization, Racism, Terrorism (hide spoiler)]
⇢ representation: poc main characters, asian main character with physical disability, african-american main character, lgbtq main character, latinx main character, side character with mental illness

the diversity of this cast, not just in representation but in their personality as well is just so distinct. this is what i crave!! at the same time, diversity reps don’t ever become a character’s defining trait which I love.

“All the times I say, ‘Don’t see me’? With you, I wish I had an opposite power: See me. See me, Evie. See all of me. There’s a fella who loves you right here. I’m not perfect. I’m a handful. But you know what? So are you. There. Not sugarcoating it.”

🌚 thoughts empty. head full of: SAM
because I just think that we need more non-toxic love interests... yes i'm looking at you jericho. His relationship with Evie with their never ending quips at each other is just so damn adorable. Find someone who would be happy just to see you laugh, people.

I love him. I love them. I want more. I will reread this just for Sam and Evie.

“Be gone loneliness. I have no time for you.”

🌚 as usual, themes of white supremacy, feminism, and a lot of things that we are still fighting for today are prevalent and central to the plot

🌚 I am constantly and pleasantly surprised at how much the world expands in every book. And yet the characters are also never defined by their powers. Just like their diversity reps. At the very core of everything, they are just people and Libba Bray does not fail to get that.

🌚 MORE BACKGROUND ON THETA, FINALLY!
Since each book does sort of focus on different characters I'm really happy that we got to spend more time with her

🌚 character dynamics and development
You guys have no idea how long I have been rooting for all of them to just simply be in the same room and now we get to see them having both girls' and boys' nights out. The way that they all interact with each other gahhhh *chef's kiss* i love

aside from the main group that we have come to know over 40+ hours of audiobook is even more side characters that i just had no idea what to think about until the ending and I appreciate Libba Bray's patience in pulling all of these themes, characters and plot together

the characters felt like they have grown into themselves. Since their relationships play such a huge part in the plot I really loved that we got to spend so much time with them. While I did think that there was a lot of meanings in their various interactions, I was also just simply happy to me to be able to be around the cast. they feel like home <3

🌚 dare I say it that the pay-off was worth it. We all know at this point how slow the pacing of the story is but this is one of the rare books that I actually don't care. Every scene is flushed out and made me not want the book to end. And besides, would you really want such an atmospheric book end so quickly?

"Before the Devil breaks you, first he will make you love him."

I shall now go and buy physical copies of these just so that I can highlight every page while waiting for my copy of the last book to arrive because I am broken-hearted (and definitely did not cry)

I once again feel like this review does not reflect my love for it with all it's messages and meaning but it's okay because I am so beyond satsfied.

// buddy read with Mina, Jen K, Michelle, and Selina

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